THE MERMAID MANIFESTO

I am not sure if Mermaids like wine, but I am sure of, and declare, the following:
1. Mermaids exist and are real.
2. There has been evidence of their existence since antiquity.
3. There is still evidence today.
4. All mermaids are beautiful!

In Cornwall there is even a mermaid that became a Christian Saint; also, the Virgin Mary was portrayed as a mermaid in the novel Η Παναγιά η Γοργόνα (Mermaid Virgin Mary) by modern Greek writer Στρατής Μυριβήλης (Stratis Mirivilis).

I don't like Mirivilis at all, so I can't tell you anything about this book. My favorite mermaid book is Indigo, by Alice Hoffman.

This is another of my Brigitte Bardot mermaid drawings. I only draw Brigitte Bardot and no one else. I think this is because her beauty is so classic, I feel as if I am drawing a picture from a painting. The only other person which resembles this, is, for me, the model Kate Moss.

Have a lovely Friday, always with beauty and a book! Xxx 😃
‪#‎mermaids‬ ‪#‎virginmary‬ ‪#‎originaldrawing‬ ‪#‎original‬ art ‪#‎brigittebardot‬

TAKE A PLUNGE

To wrap up my Pafos Easter visit, here is traditional Cyprus cheese in the making! Pafos is renowned for its amazing cheese (as for the bread, it has been famous since antiquity. Geographer and world traveler Strabo, Στράβων, declared that bread from Pafos was the best he had eaten anywhere).

To return to cheese. They make this with cow's milk. Milk boils and curdles (with rennet) in a huge cauldron. It is broken in chunks and placed in special wicker baskets called talarka (ταλάρκα, Cypriot dialect, singular talari). The chunks are pressed until all the water (whey) runs out. Then they are dipped in boiling water, are left to dry then salted. The chunks are cut in smaller pieces, placed inside (unused!) tights and are hung to dry. You can see them in the pics. Cheese stays like this for 5 to 8 days, at the end of which it is ready to eat or to be sold at market.

So amazing!!! To make a round of the Pafos villages is to take a plunge into Cyprus traditional art, cookery and crafts. I love Pafos and I'm proud to call it my home country 😀

Have a good night, always with beauty and a book! Xxx

#Cyprus #Mediterranean #cheese #cheesemakers #home-made #sunshine #Paphos

MY DEAREST SUE

Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles, wrote this lovely boyish poem for his sister Susan (Sue):
My dearest Sue
Of lovely hue
No sugar can be sweeter;
You do as far
Excel Su-gar
As sugar does saltpeter

So nice! I found it in the book The Lunar Men, by Jenny Uglow, an account of the life and times of a group of British
Enlightenment thinkers. The Lunar men included Erasmus Darwin, James Watt (see the steam engine) and Josiah Westwood (see famous porcelain).

The bond between brother and sister was exalted in previous centuries, as per William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, for example. Centuries later, the Romantics were mystified by the pull of blood, in a way which resembled the erotic. This trend culminated in Lord Byron's real life passionate and doomed love for his half-sister Augusta Byron.

Today, sibling love can still be romanticized, or even eroticized, as in Flowers in the Attic, the "incest classic", as one y/a (young adult fiction) website put it. And the love between suspected siblings Jace and Clary in The Mortal Instruments.

I hope you are enjoying a nice afternoon, always with beauty and a book!

Xxx😀

THE LIPSTICK T-SHIRT (PART ONE)

The next best thing after a lipstick tattoo is, of course, a lipstick T-shirt! I recently got two, and the first one is this. From Stradivarius, my favorite shop!!!

Wearing makeup is an act of defiance. For centuries, women were condemned for trying to enhance their beauty. Lipstick was reviled, because it reddened the lips, the sexiest part of the face. Women were in the right, as they are always: since society rewards beauty in women, of course they will try to enhance it. Condemnation of beautiful women, blonde jokes and everything else, is plain hypocrisy and a way to control women.

In the Victorian era, rejection of makeup reached its peak. Beauty had to be natural and only a simple cream was allowed. Even my hero Charles Dickens ridiculed women who wore powder, lipstick and rouge.

However, in came the 20th century, Hollywood, Max Factor and electric lights. People could see each other better. All women wanted to look like Hollywood sirens. Nothing could stop makeup!

So, wear your makeup with pride. As Naomi Wolf has said, makeup is oppressive only if we feel inadequate without it.

Try to forgive Charles Dickens too. All geniuses have their odd moments.

More on lipstick T-shirts soon!

Xxx

SUMMER TO COME BACK

Here I am on the beach in Limassol over the Easter weekend! I'm missing summer so much now that the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Gr! Rain, dark clouds and sharp wind. Exactly what I hate!!!

Still, the summer weather over Easter was fantastic. If I didn't have the new tattoo, I would have gotten in the water, which looked amazing!

The weather forecast looks good, though. Summer is supposed to come back on Sunday.

Weather can be unstable in Cyprus as late as June 20. Then it is as a Bfbs reporter described it once: "someone turns on the switch and it is hot until November".

I would add, "and sunny too"!

Xxx
P.S. "Bfbs" is the British Forces radio.

NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD (THIS POST TO HER)

Are you ready for some traditional Cyprus Easter baking??? Here they are, all home-baked in Pafos by my Aunt Anna, who has amazing baking and cooking talent, especially for anything traditional!

I am posing near a basketful of flaounes, (φλαούνες), a type of cake made with a filling of cheese and raisins. Then it is covered with a sesame and egg mix. You can see the flaounes by themselves in three of the other pics. Flaounes are the sine qua non of the Cyprus Easter.

The other baking goody is the so-called paskia (πασκιά). In Cyprus dialect, it means something like "Easter bake". It's similar to the flaouna, but with meat inside as well as cheese. Plus, the filling is covered with dough, then baked. Paskia is particular to Pafos, you find it nowhere else in the world. It tastes great, and it is very filling. A couple of bites and you are full for hours!

Finally, we have the afkoti (αφκωτή). In Cyprus dialect, it means something like cake with egg. You see that it is a small dough case for the Easter egg.

My aunt says that my grandmother Eudocia baked for each of them when they were children an afkoti. It was a grand event!

My grandmother Eudocia, who passed away 20 years ago, was one of the kindest persons I have ever known. I am sad they did not give me her lovely name, which means, in Greek, "well-given". I was her only granddaughter and she loved me deeply. I loved her too. Let's dedicate this post to her.

Xxx

OUR FAVORITE FOOD-OBSESSED BILLIONAIRE

Here I am for an Easter getaway in Limassol and Pafos (the Greek Orthodox Easter was yesterday, May 1st). I am staying at the lovely Londa Hotel, in a room upgraded to deluxe last minute!

Upgrading is a wonderful surprise, though not always. Christian upgrades Anastasia's flight booking in Fifty Shades, making sure that, (a) she is in first class, and, (b) the seat next to her is empty. That is, he booked the seat next to her too. This feat makes Ana realize that Christian can be dangerous.

Yet Christian will always be "our favorite, food obsessed, Sado-masochistic billionaire," as one website put it. Fifty Shades of Grey is my favorite book!

I am having a very relaxing time in Limassol and Pafos. The pictures are from the fab Limassol beach. Pafos is nearly as old as time, mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey. More posts from Pafos soon!

Xxx

PREMIERING THE NEW TATTOO!

What else can the new tattoo be except a design of lipstick and nail varnish???? There it is on the lower part of the leg. So happy to get it! It's a perfect fit for The Lipstick Papers, my beloved blog.

I believe that tattoos originated in Polynesia, but I also heard that the ancient Greeks had something similar. Maybe they got it from another European tribe? I don't remember the article very well.

Anyway, all of my tattoos are personal: twice my beloved collie's name (she died in 2008), and some of my personal symbols. Stars, roses, nail varnish and -the best for last- lipstick!!!

This will not be the last tat! Stay tuned 😀

Xxx

THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL

In A Little Princess, I have to confess that I prefer "bad girls" Lavinia and Jessie to angelic Sara. The heroine is too good for me. Angels are unreal and annoying. I like Lavinia, who gets angry, spiteful and jealous!

The same goes for fairy tales and films. I love the evil queens and witches! They are the best.

I would never go watch The Huntsman, that new film. I would never want the evil queens to lose out to a man. (Even if that man is gorgeous Chris Hemsworth, yum yum). You will say, he has a woman with him! A powerful woman companion! Yes, he has a woman who fights with him, but she is a character who, in the end, will love and follow him. The message to women is clear: you can be powerful so long as you obey. If you want a kingdom and power for yourselves the penalty is death.

If I had written A Little Princess, in the end Sara would make friends with Lavinia and Jessie, and start a business with them. They were all spirited and clever, and would certainly succeed! If I had written the Huntsman, the evil queens would win!

Xxx

MISS LA CREEVY

Here I am with my amazing Brigitte Bardot sunglasses! I was so happy to get them this winter! As you know, Brigitte is my ideal for female beauty and the only person I draw. I haven't drawn anything for a while, and I hope to get back to my artwork soon!

My favorite female artist from literature is definitely Miss La Creevy, from Nicholas Nickleby, the novel by Charles Dickens. Miss La Creevy is a miniaturist, earns her bread from art and, though poor, she is always fashionable and cool. She saves the day many times in the book, if I remember correctly.

Another interesting artist, real life this time, is Elizabeth Vigee LeBrun, whose memoirs I am presently reading. I will tell you more about the book when I finish it.

Have a good night, always with beauty and a book! Xxx