I remember asking the salesperson at Waterstones for a recommendation after finishing the Patrick Melrose novels. I asked for more stories about depraved British aristocrats, she gave me The Shooting Party and I loved it!
Coincidentally just finished The Shooting Party and really enjoyed it! Keeping with the theme of the British countryside, A Month in the Country is up next. Tis the season!
Great discoveries as always, David. I concur on the Wythe recommendation. I'm wearing my latest Wythe purchase as I type this: a blue university stripe Oxford cloth button down, which I recently acquired along with one of their stonewashed denim western snap shirts. I am enjoying them both, but I immediately fell in love with the fit of the OCBD when I put it on. In my collection, Drake's wins the Oxford cloth shirt trophy for best quality and tailoring, but if you want to feel like a million bucks but still want to keep keep the fit more casual, the Wythe shirt is the way to go.
Thanks for the recommendations. I'll order a copy of the Shooting Party.
Have you ever read the Transylvanian Trilogy? That was a book I never wanted to end. There are some good shooting parties in it as well as everything else one could imagine including now that I think of it a bit about what to wear shooting, and what a lady should wear to bed. I don't think I've ever read anything better, and if I ever do meet anyone else who's read it they light up at the mere mention of the book. It makes for very good reading if one is holed up in a country house somewhere for an extended period during the rainy season.
Just finished watching The American Buffalo by Ken Burns. I don't think a documentary has pissed me off more than this one. You watch it and you are just mad, at people, at the government . Unbelievably really.
The Shooting Party movie from 1984 is also a good watch. Moving to the Cotswolds from London in the early 90's I had the good fortune to be invited to a number of Country House shooting weekends and can testify to the accuracy of the general vibe - a wonderful experience.
Writing this on Solstice Eve, I just finished The Shooting Party; I found the ending incredibly moving. I have my new George Harrison biography to finish by the 31st, but you’ve inspired me to crack open A Month in the Country next. Happy Holidays, David!
I love sake, and enjoy it at least once a week. Broil a piece of salmon, splash a bit of sake on the crispy skin near the end of cooking. Sautéed Nappa cabbage with ginger and a splash of rice wine vinegar. Soba noodles in broth, or rice. Easy, and delicious. The sake makes it. And of course, I have the little ceramic cups.
Thanks for all the great recommendations. Wythe is new to me and great stuff.
Curious about discount flies. While I tie most of my flies, I do like to purchase some dries and deer head streamers on occasion - my experience with them is that the patterns are often way off from the originals, and the quality is very suspect. There are also all kinds of licensing issues where they are selling knock off flies (Galloup’s streamers and many other popular tiers), in which the original designers are not being paid their licensing royalties. Of course, there is not enough money in the industry to go after these guys. We should also promote legitimate fly sellers - like Umpqua, Fulling Mill, MFC - where the living fly designers are being paid the royalties for the designs, the quality control is stringent, and the flies ride and swim as intended.
Curse you Coggins, I’ve bought another book!
I remember asking the salesperson at Waterstones for a recommendation after finishing the Patrick Melrose novels. I asked for more stories about depraved British aristocrats, she gave me The Shooting Party and I loved it!
Coincidentally just finished The Shooting Party and really enjoyed it! Keeping with the theme of the British countryside, A Month in the Country is up next. Tis the season!
Great discoveries as always, David. I concur on the Wythe recommendation. I'm wearing my latest Wythe purchase as I type this: a blue university stripe Oxford cloth button down, which I recently acquired along with one of their stonewashed denim western snap shirts. I am enjoying them both, but I immediately fell in love with the fit of the OCBD when I put it on. In my collection, Drake's wins the Oxford cloth shirt trophy for best quality and tailoring, but if you want to feel like a million bucks but still want to keep keep the fit more casual, the Wythe shirt is the way to go.
Loving listening to EB White essays! Thank you 🙏🏻
Thanks for the recommendations. I'll order a copy of the Shooting Party.
Have you ever read the Transylvanian Trilogy? That was a book I never wanted to end. There are some good shooting parties in it as well as everything else one could imagine including now that I think of it a bit about what to wear shooting, and what a lady should wear to bed. I don't think I've ever read anything better, and if I ever do meet anyone else who's read it they light up at the mere mention of the book. It makes for very good reading if one is holed up in a country house somewhere for an extended period during the rainy season.
Just finished watching The American Buffalo by Ken Burns. I don't think a documentary has pissed me off more than this one. You watch it and you are just mad, at people, at the government . Unbelievably really.
The Shooting Party movie from 1984 is also a good watch. Moving to the Cotswolds from London in the early 90's I had the good fortune to be invited to a number of Country House shooting weekends and can testify to the accuracy of the general vibe - a wonderful experience.
Writing this on Solstice Eve, I just finished The Shooting Party; I found the ending incredibly moving. I have my new George Harrison biography to finish by the 31st, but you’ve inspired me to crack open A Month in the Country next. Happy Holidays, David!
I love sake, and enjoy it at least once a week. Broil a piece of salmon, splash a bit of sake on the crispy skin near the end of cooking. Sautéed Nappa cabbage with ginger and a splash of rice wine vinegar. Soba noodles in broth, or rice. Easy, and delicious. The sake makes it. And of course, I have the little ceramic cups.
Thanks for all the great recommendations. Wythe is new to me and great stuff.
Curious about discount flies. While I tie most of my flies, I do like to purchase some dries and deer head streamers on occasion - my experience with them is that the patterns are often way off from the originals, and the quality is very suspect. There are also all kinds of licensing issues where they are selling knock off flies (Galloup’s streamers and many other popular tiers), in which the original designers are not being paid their licensing royalties. Of course, there is not enough money in the industry to go after these guys. We should also promote legitimate fly sellers - like Umpqua, Fulling Mill, MFC - where the living fly designers are being paid the royalties for the designs, the quality control is stringent, and the flies ride and swim as intended.