tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post5677408294693196345..comments2023-12-28T16:38:26.304-08:00Comments on ACravan: Memoirs Of An Aesthete (Sir Harold Acton, Villa La Pietra and China)ACravanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00315707533118640284noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post-27270532622251352482014-03-16T00:55:16.132-07:002014-03-16T00:55:16.132-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anna Maria Baldinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01220442525856002356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post-78558682993440192522012-11-20T14:20:43.615-08:002012-11-20T14:20:43.615-08:00Dirk -- Thank you so much for your reply to this. ...Dirk -- Thank you so much for your reply to this. I was fascinated to read what you wrote. I don't know where you are at the moment, but greetings from Berwyn, Pennsylvania, just ahead of American Thanksgiving. CurtisACravanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00315707533118640284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post-92067665369337503572012-11-16T10:54:25.213-08:002012-11-16T10:54:25.213-08:00Having lived in Florence for a few years I have se...Having lived in Florence for a few years I have seen Sir Harold around (for instance his bald head in the platea was unmistakable from the upper reaches of the Teatro della Pergola, at the concerts of the Amici della Musica). I actually was introduced to and exchanged a few words with him - but was far too timid to pursue the acquaintance - a pity for I think he was a very kind man, both interested in people and - obviously - very interesting himself. My one interesting memory of him is after a reading by Muriel Spark at the British Institute, to which I was taken by an American friend,who insisted that we should go and talk to Miss Spark - she was lovely as well !- after her lecture. We were the last in line after Sir Harold, and after he had taken his leave she turned to us with a big smile, saying "isn't he an attractive man?". He must have been in his eigthies,and she was no longer quite young either - but how well we understood what she meant... <br /><br />DirkDirkhttps://twitter.com/jansen_dirknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post-86276266984461528652011-12-01T01:27:47.838-08:002011-12-01T01:27:47.838-08:00Stephen: Hi and thanks so much for writing. I...Stephen: Hi and thanks so much for writing. I'm sure my old friend Roger is aware of the difference between 20th century Acton and his relative, the 1st Baron Acton, whose picture appears in another post in this space:<br /><br />http://acravan.blogspot.com/2010/12/eve-of-destruction-no-matter-who-you.html<br /><br />As he joked: "He was just Acton."<br /><br />Thanks very much for visiting here and for writing. I hope you will come back soon and write again. I try to keep things bouncing as much as I can in these difficult times.<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />CurtisACravanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00315707533118640284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post-23808844162245369452011-11-30T19:35:11.714-08:002011-11-30T19:35:11.714-08:00Sir Harold Acton was interested in history, and I ...Sir Harold Acton was interested in history, and I think he would appreciate my passing along a bit of history here: while Sir Harold Acton was great in many ways, a relative of his, Lord Acton, is actually the one who said, 'Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.'Stephen Beilinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post-51611502955937591852010-12-13T17:39:51.755-08:002010-12-13T17:39:51.755-08:00Lovely these at the end of a long day. THBDC I th...Lovely these at the end of a long day. THBDC I think of often, actually. How could one not? What a name! Caroline used to work in the AXA Building on 6th Avenue where the THB murals are hung. I tried to think of them and block THBDC out of my mind, but the DC kept creeping back in. I think I'd like to hear a new Bryan Ferry record, although I wish he included a lyric about absolute power corrupting absolutely. Does Paul Thompson play drums on it? He's my favorite. Re Tuna: If I said that (I probably did), I deserve a daughter who is at an early stage of a sarcasm project that seems to be well-planned and stretching out into an infinite future. I think of Roger Wasby fairly often. CurtisACravanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00315707533118640284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post-41845610504331250062010-12-13T15:31:04.805-08:002010-12-13T15:31:04.805-08:00p.s.
"Chateaubriand should have stuck to coo...p.s.<br /><br />"Chateaubriand should have stuck to cooking steaks."<br /><br /> -- C.M. Roberts, provoking wrath of Roger WasbyRobert "Tuna" Harrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6720858203931120530.post-66153226623871508292010-12-13T15:18:32.836-08:002010-12-13T15:18:32.836-08:00Anthony Powell's Memoirs include a few Acton a...Anthony Powell's Memoirs include a few Acton anecdotes, including one featuring Gore Vidal, a Venice palazzo, and a defenestrated dog.<br /><br />What impresses me so much about Acton is that, while his focus was art, he still could find the time to make brilliant political pronoucements like "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."<br /><br />Speaking of Powell, my favorite cut on Bryan Ferry's new record ends with the words "a dance to the music of time."<br /><br />I wasn't serious; I was just Acton.<br /><br />RoddyThomas Hart Benton Duffield Cooknoreply@blogger.com