The lost sensation of pearls

 

Life is about experiencing sensations.

Now, look at these paintings. Do you feel enchanted, stunned, enraged, baffled by them? I bet you don't. But these paintings were absolutely sensational when they were made. 

I estimate the tsarina you see left is wearing about half a billion in today's euro's worth of diamonds and pearls. The girl to the right seems caught in the act when she donned the most prized possession of her mistress, a set of pearl earrings. 

Pearls were handed down in families for centuries until they lost their value with the arrival of cultivated pearls in 1907. Before that, pearls were more expensive than diamonds. 

Definite proof of the cultural quirk that resulted in Brexit

 

Brexiting. A series on being English. # 13

Here is a short but definite proof of the element in English culture that, inexorably, led to Brexit. 

The British elite Remainers wanted to stay in the EU on the supposition, if not the conviction, that they could mould (AE: mold) the European Union to their liking. The British elite Leavers wanted to leave the EU because they thought changing it to their liking would prove to be impossible. Both the Remainers and the Brexiteers thought they knew better than the Continentals. It is this commonality of rock-solid belief in British superiority that created Brexit.

It is perfectly illustrated by a speech by David Cameron, Prime Minister of Great Britain from May 11, 2010, to July 13, 2016. Remember that David Cameron called the referendum on Brexit which was held on June 23, 2016.

In his speech on November 14^th, 2011, at the Lord Mayor’s banquet in London, David Cameron said: