![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ca2d_99cfee023c7340baa181739eaad83fa1~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/48ca2d_99cfee023c7340baa181739eaad83fa1~mv2.webp)
![Mme de Pompadour and Mme du Barry](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ca2d_99cfee023c7340baa181739eaad83fa1~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_319,h_319,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/48ca2d_99cfee023c7340baa181739eaad83fa1~mv2.webp)
Mme de Pompadour and Mme du Barry
I wrote about the colour pink a few weeks ago (you can read it here). Then recently I came across a pink conundrum that puzzled everyone...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ca2d_efcd141389a0439f89ab030750120107~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/48ca2d_efcd141389a0439f89ab030750120107~mv2.webp)
![Sea shells, feathers and a lion](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ca2d_efcd141389a0439f89ab030750120107~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_319,h_319,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/48ca2d_efcd141389a0439f89ab030750120107~mv2.webp)
Sea shells, feathers and a lion
A while ago you might have seen a wonderful set of plates similar to these, made by Chamberlains in Worcester in about 1815. That set was...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ca2d_effdf22fd0764401827c4cd5baf89853~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/48ca2d_effdf22fd0764401827c4cd5baf89853~mv2.webp)
![Summer Hike](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ca2d_effdf22fd0764401827c4cd5baf89853~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_319,h_319,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/48ca2d_effdf22fd0764401827c4cd5baf89853~mv2.webp)
Summer Hike
What better to do on a muggy summer day than to go on a hike in the countryside? But if you struggle to get out, I know a way to see the...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ca2d_17eb4161b59441379ac2be71700c3d07~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_250,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_auto/48ca2d_17eb4161b59441379ac2be71700c3d07~mv2.webp)
![The spirit of invention](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ca2d_17eb4161b59441379ac2be71700c3d07~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_319,h_319,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/48ca2d_17eb4161b59441379ac2be71700c3d07~mv2.webp)
The spirit of invention
This month you can read my latest column in Homes & Antiques: The Spirit of Invention. I am writing about the very beginnings of...