Just Because!

Just because it is cold an dreary here, I think these two young lovelies are sightseeing somewhere warm and exotic! Egypt?

Will the Real One Stand Up?

I have been wrestling with this post for the last couple of days, becoming increasingly frustrated with the soppy, dollar store ideas out there for Valentines Day.

With Valentine’s day fast approaching the commercial world, are probably collectively rubbing their hands together with glee. Another day/holiday when lots of money is to be made, playing on the heart strings of us mere mortals.

It is generally believed that Saint Valentine was the patron Saint of Lovers, however really this is debatable. Many martyred saints by the name of Valentine (in Latin Valentinus) existed in Ancient Rome; however which one is our guy? The name of “Valentine”, derived from valens, meaning strong, worthy and popular was extremely popular in late antiquity. However of the Saint Valentine who we celebrate on February 14th, not much is known, except that there are several caskets/boxes of relics floating around in the world’s churches.

Santa Maria in Cosmedin Rome has his skull for posterity. No doubt the relic attracts countless lovers on February 14th, for his blessing.

There is another set in the Blessed John Duns Scotus' church in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland, my guess is as good as yours as to what is in this box.

Still in the region of the British Isles, the Irish also have a set. In 1836, some relics that were exhumed from the catacombs of Saint Hippolytus Rome, were identified with St Valentine; placed in a casket, and transported to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland, to which they were donated by Pope Gregory XVI. At least this set has official approval.

Alleged relics of St. Valentine also lie at the reliquary of Roquemaure in France, and also in the Stephansdom in Vienna. (The Viennese seem a little secretive about their lot, as I could not find a photo).

So not only being the patron Saint of Love, it seems that Saint Valentine could also do double duty as the patron Saint of Travel as well, because he sure does get around!

Regardless of the origins and whose bones all of the above may be, let’s dispense with the commercialism and the soppy kitsch of the day and celebrate love every day with savoir faire!

Off the Beaten Track with Savoir Faire

While not looking much from the outside and probably to a lot of people not looking much from the inside either, the Baron Hotel in Aleppo is one of those hostelries that is stepped in history and savoir faire. A stop on the famed Taurus Express that connected to the Orient Express in Istanbul it was a rest post for the many ex-patriots living in Baghdad and archaeologists who made the yearly pilgrimage to the Middle East. An endless parade of army officers and their wives, governess’ and the like crossed the threshold. The thing is in over 80 something years little has changed.

Aleppo Syria’s largest city was in the late 19 century a veritable crossroads of the world for the traveller of the era. Sometime around 1870, an Armenian by the name of Mazloumian was on his way to Jerusalem for a pilgrimage. While passing through Aleppo which was,even at that time, a cosmopolitan centre of commerce, he noticed how uncomfortable Europeans felt when staying at the traditional caravanserais. Eventually, he decided to build something modern in Aleppo and the result was the Ararat hotel, the first hotel in the region, at the end of the 19th century.

In 1909 the along with his brothers he enlarged his business by setting up the new Baron's Hotel amongst the gardens on the outskirts of old Aleppo. They built the first floor of the current building; the second floor followed in 1911, and the third in 1940.

Up until World War II the hotel was inundated with guests who were British agents posing as archaeologists spying on German generals, who arranged opulent banquets for their Ottoman allies while German engineers built the rail line from Berlin to Baghdad.

The hotel’s ledger reads like a Who’s Who of culture and politics. Lawrence of Arabia slept in room 202; King Faisal declared Syria's independence from the balcony in room 215; Agatha Christie wrote the first part of "Murder on the Orient Express" in room 203. The Presidential Suite was occupied in turn by Charles de Gaulle, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser, , Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (the founder of the United Arab Emirates), and the American billionaire David Rockefeller. Other notable guests included Julie Christie, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Lady Louise Mountbatten (Future Queen of Sweden), Charles Lindberg and Yuri Gagarin.

*Agatha Christie's room and desk

The décor is wondrously faded, with antique maps and travel advertisements plastering the walls. There is even a framed bar tab of Mr. Lawrence’s on the wall of the bar displayed with pride.

Plumbing is erratic, paint is peeling and the rugs threadbare, however for the romance of a bygone era and charisma this cannot be beat. There are not many "golden age of travel" hotels that haven't suffered a makeover at the hands of a big chain, but you can rest assured that the Baron Hotel remains unchanged. The furniture looks as if it belonged to a boarding school common room circa 1930 and it seems that some of the staff have been on site for almost as long. You almost expect to see Mrs. Christie in the corridor!

Of course one could stay at far more luxurious and modern establishments when visiting Aleppo, but if you are anything like me, I would rather the somewhat genteel shabbiness of a bygone era!

Busting Out with Savoir Faire

I can’t help but notice the trend starting to develop on using busts as a decorating element in interiors these days. Several of my fellow bloggers have illustrated this perfectly on some of their blogs. Nothing, adds a more classical note to a room no matter the décor, than a finely sculpted bust.

So over here at Savoir Faire (who fully endorses this trend) we are taking things a little bit further, especially for those of you who want a little bit of an edge.

Don’t these selections of Beethoven look as if they could rock any interior? Right at home with the disco version of Beethoven’s 5th.

Lenin has never looked as good as he does here in Dutch Delft!

David monogrammed with The Louis Vuiton logo and a gold coif!

Mix up nature and classism with a mossy, weather beaten version which would be perfect for a limited commune with nature and the arts.

Then there are the below, which I just like, no reason, I just think they are really cool.

So lets bust out with some savoir faire!

For Your Eyes Only

We all know that James Bond and his creator Ian Fleming were the ultimate in Savoir Faire when we delved into the world of spies and such. Bond has become the definitive spy and his past and future adventures continue to inspire movies, books and the way we dress.

Where fictional characters are involved I am always interested to see how, when it comes to illustrating these characters and stories what direction the artists take in doing so. Growing up and even now I am intrigued by a series of Bond covers done for Pan Paperbacks in the mid to late 60’s.

The incredibly graphic and singular approach was once described as having "a stark elegance... consistently menacing and memorable. Each has a single photographic image on a plain or textured background. Blurb is dispensed with. It’s the visual equivalent of a cruel, sardonic smile”

The continuity of style over the series was a great exercise in brand recognition and management. These are instantly memorable, and the fact that the artist/designer made the words JAMES BOND twice the size of those for the titles of the books and of their author Ian Fleming, a whole new marketing approach was anticipated.

So of course Savoir Faire wanted to know who was behind these fantastic covers that he loved so much. Only one of the titles was ever credited with the artist and that was Thunderball. “Its cover is the best of an outstanding set of images and the acknowledgement of the designer suggests the publisher thought so too."

For Thunderball, the artist fills the cover with a close-up of a man’s naked back, perforated by two bullet holes. These are actual holes, die-cut into the card. Surrounding each is a torn-paper effect. It’s not the man who has been shot, it’s the book – and, as proof, the bullets can be found inside, depicted on the opening page. Bond’s life is so dangerous, this cover tells us, and even books about him aren’t safe. Read on if you dare”

So the artist, who was behind this wonderful marketing strategy, was one Raymond Hawkey. A gentleman, who was as equally suave as the man whose exploits he was illustrating and a trend setting graphic designer, who designed newspapers, magazines and book covers, he revolutionised British design at the height of the Cold War.

Whereas previous Bond covers had been rather illustrative covers in the Pulp Fiction genre nicely painted, but not exactly stylish, Hawkey’s covers were a radical departure. Neither hero nor villain is pictured. A minimalist aesthetic was used shared with close cropped, photographically based single elements of the story illustrated.

Take for example the cover for “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”; a wedding ring rests in some blood spattered snow. This is just a hint of what was to become when Bond finds himself on duty in the Swiss Alps.

The cover for Dr. No is again striking in its simplicity with the title “Dr. No” taking the form of a spider at the centre of its web, highlighting the sinister form of the title character.

One of my favourites was the cover for “The Man with the Golden Gun” highlighting the BOAC boarding pass. Being an airline nut, this one particularly catches my attention. I am sure that BOAC (now British Airways) hastened to agree to the use of their logo recognising a bit of free advertising when they saw it.

Widely regarded this set of visually striking covers is the most successful series of republished James Bond novels, and it seems that Mr. Hawkey himself had just as much Savoir Faire as Mr. Bond.