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Mary Poppins’ Carpetbag Reveals More Than She Does
In the original 1934 novel, Mary Poppins’ seemingly empty carpetbag produces ordinary belongings, peculiar medicine and an entire bed. Her possessions reveal far more than she is willing to explain.
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Gargoyles vs Grotesques: Only One of Them Was Doing the Plumbing
The difference between gargoyles and grotesques begins with rainwater. What…
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The surprisingly complicated business of carrying an umbrella
Umbrellas have attracted mockery, elaborate pavement manners and a Shropshire…
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Clothing Patterns Explained: What’s Woven and What’s Printed?
What makes gingham different from Tattersall? How does herringbone get…
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What a Hallmark Actually Tells You About Second-Hand Jewellery
A tiny stamp can look wonderfully official without proving very…
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Why Bonfire Smoke Sticks to Clothes — and How to Get It Out
Bonfire smoke can linger in clothes long after the fire…
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How to Judge Second-Hand Leather Gloves by the Parts Nobody Names
Most second-hand glove advice stops at checking the leather and…
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I’d Been Buying Bedding Backwards
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I’d always bought bedding by pattern, size and price. Then I learned what cotton, percale, sateen, bamboo-derived fibres and thread count actually mean.
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A Bestiary for People Bored of Dragons
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Fantasy has plenty of monsters. What it often loses is everything that made them strange in the first place: jobs, cures, local customs, particular hills and one very suspicious wolf-man.
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Someone Cut the Label Out: Washing a Wool Jumper Without Guessing
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A missing care label removes the certainty from washing wool. Here’s how to work from the lowest-risk option upwards, when cautious hand washing is reasonable and when to leave the jumper alone.
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I Like Old Things. I Don’t Like Things Pretending to Be Old.
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I like objects that show their age. I am much less interested when the age has been applied with sandpaper, dark glaze and decorative worm holes. On patina, distressed furniture and the difference between evidence and imitation.
