King Charles III in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican ✎

I enjoyed watching King Charles III at the Sistine Chapel.

This has to do with the English Reformation of the 16th century and King Henry VIII.

Earlier this year, during the summer, I went with my partner on a trip to Rome and visited the Sistine Chapel.

Since I was raised a Catholic, I will never forget how - as we were approaching a small flight of stairs to walk “up” them and “into” the Sistine Chapel - my stomach was in a knot. It was also very moving to realise - and imagine - how many former Popes and Cardinals stood in my very spot throughout history.

And, of course, the fact that it is one of the most consequential repositories of breathtaking frescoes in the history of Western art.

It’s not often we get to see a service in the Sistine Chapel - so I thought this was worth blogging about. 👌

The Wohl Room at the National Gallery ✎

I took this photo on Wednesday afternoon when I popped into the National Gallery for a little walk around.

I love the architectural spaces and visuals when it’s a bit quiet.

Harbour and Room by Paul Nash (1932-1936) ✎

I’ve always been fascinated by this painting at the Tate.

It makes me feel like I’m stepping into a dream where reality & illusion merge and melt.

Like the film Inception.

This painting makes the idea of stepping into another reality totally bewitching.

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Paul Nash was a major British artist of the 20th century.

This painting captures his interwar surrealism. It’s actually cited by Britannica as an example of “compositions became increasingly dreamlike and illogical.”

The Apollo Gallery of the Louvre ✎

Last month, I took this photo at the Louvre.

The Apollo Gallery is the room where the recent major theft took place.

It houses some of the crown jewels of France.

It’s a dazzling room.

The Prince Andrew crisis ✎

It just gets worse and worse.

In the news, he specifically mentioned to a group that V. Giuffre was the “same age as his own daughters”. Christ. He’s irredeemably disgusting. I don’t think I can read this book.

It’s heartbreaking that V. Giuffre got so little time for peace after being robbed of so much.

Thanks to the US House Oversight Committee, Epstein email records have been releasing proving P. Andrew has been plainly lying in his interview with the BBC.

And, more to the point, how could he possibly have been so stupid to support Epstein after his 2008 conviction and then keep visiting him in New York?

The Royal Family have already cut him off, so he can never be part of Royal life again. The King cannot say anything without the government signing off. 

The British Monarchy has seen many scandals and I hope they will weather this one.

But, I think British society are so upset that something harsh needs to be done - like exile.

Our Ambassador to the US has been finished off, and now a Prince ... 

How is Epstein still haunting us?