Did the Rooftop Bees of Notre Dame Survive?

It took me several days to think of the bees. After the smoke had cleared and the heartbreak settled in, I remembered: they kept beehives up there. So you might be wondering too: were the honeybees spared from the fire that ravaged Notre Dame and left the world in disbelief on that black Monday evening…

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10 New York Collector’s Addresses

To celebrate MessyNessyChic’s next book finally heading off to the printers, I thought we’d switch this week’s “Collector’s item du Jour” series with a special sneak peek at Don’t be a Tourist in New York. So I’ve combed through the manuscript and plucked out my favourite collector’s addresses … for your Keyholder eyes only! 1.…

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So in Albania, the Number of Abandoned Bunkers is Kind of a Problem

Once upon a time, during the Cold War, Albania’s paranoid dictator Enver Hoxha forced his country to build 700,000 bunkers, one for every four citizens. Today, the country is still trying to figure out what to do with his concrete mushrooms that have become synonymous with the landscape. A number of them have been creatively…

Thoughts for Our Lady of France

I wish I had taken your picture a thousand more times, my beautiful neighbour. For all the history lovers, architecture lovers (who feel that buildings have souls), Paris lovers: we are all no doubt feeling the same helplessness and sadness for Notre Dame. I think of the artisans who have spent the last decade tirelessly…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCXLVIII)

1. Unearthing the 1929 Julian Price House The historic 1929 Julian Price home appeared on Hoarders. The current owners maintain a Facebook page here. 2. A Real-life Rapunzel Tower The medieval dungeon at the Chateau de Tracy in the Loire Valley. Today, the domaine makes a very fine Pouilly Fumé, which you can buy from…

The Wondrous Search for the Lost Pink and White Terraces

“This is New Zealand’s Titanic,” said one scientist who dedicated several years of his career to searching for the 8th Wonder of the World – thought to be lost forever – destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption in 1886 that devastated the natural landscape. Known to the Māori people as “the Fountain of the Clouded…

Messy Nessy Movie House

Introducing the Messy Nessy Movie House, a library of movie recommendations, tailored to your interests. Never again be stuck for movie choices with our carefully-curated list featuring all the stories, themes and styles that you’ve either read about or would expect to find through Messsy Nessy Chic. Expect to find hundreds of titles under the…

When Native Americans Took Back Alcatraz

Fifty years ago, their revolution emerged like a Phoenix from the ashes. It was 1969, and a fire had just destroyed the San Francisco American Indian Center, which had proved an indispensable resource for over 30,000 members of the urban indigenous population. With no other options, local activists had to get radical. They found their…

Time Travel to the Real-Life Peaky Blinders Village

Peaky Blinders fans, hold onto your flat caps. In the heart of “Black Country”, an area of the West Midlands that became Britain’s own furnace, powering the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, an entire 26 acre village exists for you and I to experience a day in the life of Tommy Shelby… The Black…

Is MacPaint the Most Underrated form of Outsider Art?

Readers of a certain age may remember MacPaint’s arrival well: developed by Apple and released in 1984 with the OG Macintosh Computer, it was our planet’s first taste of fancy graphics editing, and it was available to absolutely everyone. For a price, of course (the first Mac cost the 2019 equivalent of $5,000 USD). As…