williamshakespaw

[williamshakespaw]

Great News Just Announced

On July 19, three more ceremonial halls of the Alexander Palace reopened to visitors: the Semi-Circular Hall, the Portrait Hall, and the Marble Drawing Room. These rooms are now part of the palace tour, which includes 17 restored interiors.

In 2023–2024, major restoration work took place in these historic halls. The project included:

Complete renewal of technical and engineering systems

Restoration of parquet floors, ceilings, and window fittings

Recreation of mahogany doors with gilded bronze décor

The decorative finishes of these rooms were originally restored in 2010 for Tsarskoye Selo’s 300th anniversary.

The Interiors

Designed by Giacomo Quarenghi, the Semi-Circular and Portrait Halls and the Marble Drawing Room (formerly the Billiard Room) are masterpieces of classical architecture, adorned with artificial marble in varied tones and elegant neoclassical details.

These rooms witnessed a poignant moment in Russian history: on the night of July 31 – August 1, 1917, the family of Emperor Nicholas II spent their last night here before leaving for exile in Tobolsk.

The Exhibition

Inside these halls, you’ll now find about 70 authentic artworks and decorative pieces, including:

Portraits of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Nicholas I) and Queen Victoria, temporarily on loan from Pavlovsk Museum

Three original 18th-century chandeliers by Quarenghi’s design, each holding 100 candles

Four marble fireplaces with Imperial Porcelain vases from the 19th century

Paintings by renowned artists such as Alexander Roslin, Franz Krüger, Timofey Neff, and landscapes by Aivazovsky, Alekseev, Vorobyev, and Katel

Two monumental cloisonné enamel vases gifted to Nicholas II in 1916 by Prince Kotohito on behalf of Emperor Yoshihito of Japan

Restoration of the Palace

The Alexander Palace has been under comprehensive restoration since 2012. Highlights include:

Structural reinforcements and basement works (2012–2016)

Recreation of the historic interiors of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna’s private apartments (opened in 2021)

Ongoing restoration of the Crimson Drawing Room

This enormous effort is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the museum’s own resources, and charitable donations.

📷 Photos: Tsarskoye Selo Museum Reserve, Ekaterina Novak

[williamshakespaw]

her eyes were the sickly green of the sky before a tornado, and to his horror he discovered she could throw cows around just as easily

[williamshakespaw]

Curating a list

[williamshakespaw]

[williamshakespaw]

2-YEAR CHEDDAR

from GRAFTON VILLAGE

I usually try to review cheeses virginally - that is, ones that I’ve never had before. In this case, this is a cheddar I’ve had many times before. But I couldn’t leave it off the blog, what with its obvious appeal to leather and rubber fetishists.

As far as cheddars go, Grafton’s 2-year aged isn’t going to shock you. It’s mild, light on the salt, with a slightly sweet and grassy flavour. It’s got a nice texture. It’s dense, more moist than I expected, and smooth.

So what is the deal with the gummi suit on this cheese anyway? Well, cheese has obviously been around a lot longer than fridges. Fresh cheeses like mozzarella are too moist to last very long outside of a cold place (bacteria and fungi do so love damp places), though I don’t think anyone was too mad about eating that stuff quickly. But cheeses that have been aged (and dried) more have some more preservation options, which is where cheese wax comes in. The wax is a physical barrier, stopping fungal spores from landing, and also blocks moisture and air, making the cheese a pretty unfriendly place to grow. Even drier cheeses can be bandaged in cheesecloth and then slathered in lard to preserve them while allowing some ventilation.

I gotta admit: hot wax isn’t really my thing. But cheesecloth bondage and grease… it has potential.

[williamshakespaw]

[williamshakespaw]

[williamshakespaw]

ROLLER DERBY KISSES, Acrylic on MDF and leather, Riikka Hyvönen

[williamshakespaw]

minxy family guy master post

[williamshakespaw]

[williamshakespaw]

Laetitia Casta photographed by Walter Chin For Vogue Italy, March 1994.

[williamshakespaw]

Yeah so unfortunately, my friend was right. Muttering 'I'm gonna put on the greatest talent show this town has ever seen' darkly to myself is not only vastly funnier than saying I'm gonna kms, but is also somehow more concerning to anyone who might overhear it

[williamshakespaw]

[williamshakespaw]

lala

[williamshakespaw]

the phone?

[williamshakespaw]

love how fucked up the ned/robert dynamic is. they grew up together and got attached because they both have brothers they aren’t close to and replace with one another despite the jarring similarities (brandon and stannis). ned loving robert despite the atrocities he committed and the ones he refused to condemn, hiding himself in the north so he doesn’t have to be faced with how much of a monster his friend actually is and feeding that lie to his children. robert forcing ned to come south with him and run his kingdom all under the premise they were always meant to rule together (they were full on married for the entirety of agot tbh). robert projecting how much he wanted to be with ned onto lyanna. robert loving ned arguably more than anyone else in his life and despite all that he refuses to respect his boundaries and wishes. their entire agot relationship is held together by nostalgia and like 20 layers of traumabonding that neither would ever work through. ned getting himself killed because he loved robert too much. god what the fuck is wrong with those two.