Episode 1 - Princess
Olga, Baronet Sir Humphry and Lady Colin Campbell
New series exploring
how the cream of society handle domestic staff. In episode one,
Princess Olga Romanoff hires a 'garden boy' while renowned hostess
Lady Colin Campbell seeks a butler.
Show Clips &
Extras
Lady Linlithgow,
Detmar Blow and Carina Evans
Episode 2 - Lady
Linlithgow, Detmar Blow and Carina Evans
Lady Linlithgow
needs a new recruit to help run Bryngwyn Hall in Wales, while Carina
in Henley wants a home worker to do everything she does, apart from
sleep with her husband
Show Clips &
Extras
Caroline
Lowsley-Williams, Drew Rieger and John Mew
Episode 3 - Caroline
Lowsley-Williams, Drew Rieger and John Mew
Caroline plans
changes to the staff at the 2000-acre Chavenage House, and American
composer Drew Rieger has a housekeeping crisis in Baltimore with an
ex-royal butler coming to the rescue
Show Clips &
Extras
Sir Benjamin Slade,
Aurora Eastwood, The Rogers
Episode 4 - Sir
Benjamin Slade, Aurora Eastwood, The Rogers
Sir Benjamin Slade
of Maunsel House in Somerset is on the hunt for a handyman after the
last one ran off with his wife. And are Aurora Eastwood's standards
too high for a new groom?
Show Clips &
Extras
Sara Vestin Rahmani
and Anna Trent
Episode 5 - Sara
Vestin Rahmani and Anna Trent
Sara Vestin Rahmani
seeks a butler able to co-ordinate private jets and get along with
her two bulldogs. And the settling in period for Anna Trent's au pair
proves trickier than expected.
You
Can't Get The Staff, review: 'lightweight'
This
documentary about bumbling gentry and their long-suffering staff
lacked insight, says Gabriel Tate
The opening episode
of the five-part documentary series You Can’t Get the Staff
resembled one long compilation of “comedy” moments from Downton.
In other words, the activities of an assortment of bumbling gentry
and long-suffering staff were put to a soundtrack of plucked strings,
with results that were mildly entertaining but hardly hilarious. Lady
Colin Campbell, for example, asserted that “14 [dinner guests]
always ensures a row” like a latterday Violet Crawley. “Eight,”
agreed Grant Harrold, her hired butler, was “a nice number”.
While royal
muckraker Campbell (author of Diana In Private and similar pap) was
only hiring help for the night, Princess Olga Romanoff (descendant of
Tsar Alexander III) and Sir Humphry Wakefield (owner of Chillingham
Castle in Northumberland) wanted permanent staff: the former to tend
to her 35 acres, the latter to polish his 2,000-plus items of armour
and weaponry. Following a series of job interviews awkwardly staged
for the camera, both hired suitable candidates with their rivals
ruling themselves out after minor quibbles over foxhunting and
swordsmanship.
The snarky
voiceover, with its ready indulgence of screamingly obvious puns and
wordplay, obscured what could have been a far more insightful
documentary. Why, for example, did they all live alone? What did
their staff really make of them? Barring the passing mention of a
broken marriage or the nouveau riche, this was gaily ignored in
favour of another cutaway to a reaction shot or brief tutorial on how
to polish a chandelier. The result was lightweight and incurious.
A white émigré was
a Russian subject who emigrated from Imperial Russia in the wake of
the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, and who was in
opposition to the contemporary Russian political climate. Many white
émigrés were participants in the White movement or supported it,
although the term is often broadly applied to anyone who may have
left the country due to the change in regimes.
Some white émigrés,
like Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, were opposed to the
Bolsheviks but had not directly supported the White movement; some
were just apolitical. The term is also applied to the descendants of
those who left and still retain a Russian Orthodox Christian identity
while living abroad.
The term is most
commonly used in France, the United States, and the United Kingdom. A
term preferred by the émigrés themselves was first-wave émigré
(Russian: эмигрант первой волны, emigrant pervoy
volny), "Russian émigrés" (Russian: русская
эмиграция, russkaya emigratsiya) or "Russian military
émigrés" (Russian: русская военная эмиграция,
russkaya voyennaya emigratsiya) if they participated in the White
movement. In the Soviet Union, white émigré generally had negative connotations. Since the end of
the 1980s, the term "first-wave émigré" has become more
common in Russia. In Japan, "White Russian" term is most
commonly used for white émigrés even if they are not all Russians.
Most white émigrés
left Russia from 1917 to 1920 (estimates vary between 900,000 and 2
million), although some managed to leave during the 1920s and 1930s
or were expelled by the Soviet government (such as, for example,
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Ivan Ilyin). They spanned all classes and
included military soldiers and officers, Cossacks, intellectuals of
various professions, dispossessed businessmen and landowners, as well
as officials of the Russian Imperial government and various
anti-Bolshevik governments of the Russian Civil War period. They were
not only ethnic Russians but belonged to other ethnic groups as well.
Beauty
in Exile: The Artists, Models, and Nobility who Fled the Russian
Revolution and Influenced the World of Fashion
This book covers the
now vanished world of Russian exiles from the Revolution till the
1950-60's. It covers such areas as the influence of the Ballets
Russies in Paris prior to the revolution, the clothes the exiles
bought with themselves, and the importance of the Kokoshnik to
Russian fashion design.
We are also given
the history of the now vanished Russian émigré communities in
Constantinople in Turkey, Berlin in Germany and Harbin in China, with
a smaller amount of discussion of the communities in Paris and
London.
London and Paris
mostly get discussed in context with fashion, as many émigrés, both
noble and poor made a living in the various parts of the fashion
industry in exile. There is a whole chapter devoted to the house of
Kitmr with its exquisite embroideries and beading, which was run by
Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna the younger in the 1920's.
The author has also
unearthed other Russian émigré fashion houses which were well known
and respected in the 1920's but are mostly forgotten now, houses such
as Anely, Mode, Paul Caret, Tao, Yteb and Irfe which was run by the
Youssoupoff family.
The majority of the
book concentrates on fashion, but there is also discussion of the
theatre, cafe's and other craft oriented activities which the Russian
communities produced, especially in the 1920's. Many years of
painstaking research as been conducted by the author to reconstruct
this lost world. The book is full of black and white photos, which I
imagine would not have been easy to find. However, if you are looking
for nice colour photos of Russian costume, you will not find it here,
but if you are trying to find something out on the background on
émigré communities or the Russian fashion industry in the 1920's
this book will be the standard work for many years to come.
Émigré
enterprise: How Russian aristocrats became fashion pioneers
These days fashion
trends typically make their way to Russia from Europe, but a century
ago Russian designers were dressing the chic and fashionable on both
sides of the Atlantic.
Every year, from
January onwards, the world of fashion fixes its attention on what is
happening on catwalks and behind the scenes at Fashion Weeks across
the world. Industry professionals, lovers of beauty and glamor, and
it-girls from all over the world put New York, London, Milan and
Paris into their diaries.
One event unlikely
to feature on their itineraries, however, is Moscow Fashion Week,
which is not that well known even among fashion industry
professionals. Although the Russian couturiers of today lack the high
profile enjoyed by the giants of France and Italy, at one time
Russian designers dressed fashionable people on both sides of the
Atlantic.
The history of
Russian "expansion" into the foreign fashion market began
with the break-up of the Russian Empire following the revolution of
1917. Hundreds of members of the Russian aristocracy found themselves
making a new life abroad as refugees.
Most of the women
among them had brilliant education as well as fine manners and
impeccable taste. Moreover, as young girls they were all taught
embroidery and needlework.
The Paris magazine
Illustrated Russia wrote about them at the time: "A Russian
émigré lady has shyly entered this city. There was a time when her
mother and grandmother ordered their dresses from Worth and Poiret,
but this young Russian woman has just escaped from the hell of the
revolution and civil war! She has arrived in the capital of female
elegance and knocked on the doors of a luxury maison de haute
couture. And the massive doors opened to let her in and she has
captured everyone's heart…"
The Russian
Revolution created ripples even in the world of fashion. Chic women
in Europe began to wear styles à la russe: kokoshniks (headdresses),
furs and boyar (aristocratic) collars. Collections featuring these
elements were presented in the 1920s by Paul Poiret, Coco Chanel and
many others.
Russian émigré
women, who had been trained in delicate needlework since childhood,
found themselves in great demand. Duchesses and countesses began to
produce embroidered accessories, costume jewelry, embroidered
fabrics, clothes and interior design items in the Slavonic style.
Russian aristocrats
mainly specialized in embroidery work and did it so well that they
began to receive orders from leading fashion houses. The most
successful of them all was Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, who set up
an embroidery workshop called Kitmir and signed an exclusive contract
with Chanel to design and manufacture embroidery.
All in all, Russian
aristocrats founded over 20 fashion houses. Maria Putyatina set up a
hat firm called Shapka (“hat” in Russian), which became so
successful that it soon branched into London.
Countess
Orlova-Davydova opened a Russian fashion house in Boulevard
Malesherbes, which specialized in "hand-knitting and printed
wool and silk fabrics". Meanwhile, Duchess Lobanova-Rostovskaya
set up her own Russian fashion studio in London, called Paul Caret.
The parents of one
of the founders of modern U.S. fashion, Ralph Lauren, came to America
with their parents from Russia in the 1920s. Until he turned 16, the
legendary fashion businessman was known under his father's surname,
Livshits.
Having started out
selling neckties that "looked expensive but cost little to make"
from an office without windows, Ralph Lauren now runs a fashion
empire of his own and is a regular fixture at New York Fashion Week.
Or take, for
instance, "the father of modern cosmetics", Max Factor
(Maksymilian Faktorowicz), the founder of cosmetic industry giant Max
Factor & Company.
Though a Polish
businessman of Jewish origin, he too was born in the Russian Empire,
of which eastern Poland was then part.
He opened his first
cosmetics store in Ryazan, and later worked in Odessa and Nikolayev.
Today one of the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame bears his name.
Another incredible
success story took place in Italy, where Irina Borisovna Golitsina, a
girl from a titled family of first-wave émigrés, brought up in
Russian aristocratic traditions, became a principessa of the Italian
fashion world.
Her fashion house,
Galitzine, was on a par with the houses of such established masters
as Gianni Versace, John Galliano and Yves Saint Laurent. It was she
who in 1963 designed the famous "palazzo pajamas", silk
pajama sets that were chic enough to be worn as eveningwear.
A special place
among successful Russian fashion houses abroad belonged to IRFE (the
acronym stood for the initials of its founders, Irina and Felix
Yusupov). Princess Irina, nee Romanov, was a niece of Tsar Nicholas
II and a favorite granddaughter of Alexander III.
Her husband, Prince
Felix Yusupov, famous for his involvement in the assassination of
Rasputin in 1916, belonged to one of Russia's oldest and richest
noble families.
All the splendor and
sophistication of their background was reflected in the models they
created.
Delighted by the
house's first collection, a review in the French edition of Vogue
magazine said: "This is a collection which is at the same time a
selection because it does not have a single model that does not
work."
The aristocratic
nature and flavor of the brand brought it enormous success and IRFE
opened branches in Normandy, Berlin and London.
In addition, it
released a revolutionary line of perfumes: Blonde for blonde women,
Brunette for dark-haired women, Titiane for redheads, and Grey
Silver, for elderly ladies - all in limited edition.
The sports of the
Russian tsars: Chess, cycling and tennis
Read more! The
sports of the Russian tsars
And yet in 1931,
seven years after its spectacular launch, IRFE was forced to shut
down, unable to cope with growing competition.
The same fate
awaited the majority of Russian fashion houses in Paris. Smart and
sophisticated but lacking in business acumen, Russian aristocrats
created beautiful pieces but were unable to fight for their place
under the sun.
However, the story
has a silver lining: In 2006 a Paris-born Russian, Olga Sorokina,
revived the brand IRFE, which is now available in more than 20
countries of the world and has already presented its 2014 spring and
summer collection at Paris Fashion Week.
Countess Olga “Lala”
Hendrikoff was born into the Russian aristocracy, serving as a lady
-in- waiting to the Empresses and enjoying a life of great privilege.
But on the eve of her wedding in 1914 came the first rumours ofan
impending war – a war that would change her life forever and force
her to flee her country as a stateless person, with no country to
call home.
Spanning two of the
most turbulent times in modern history- World War I in Russia and
World War II in Paris- Countess Hendrikoff’s journals demonstrate
the uncertainty, horror and hope of daily life in the midst of
turmoil. Her razor-sharp insight, wit and sense of humour create a
fascinating eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution and the
Occupation and Liberation of Paris.
In “A Countess In
Limbo”, Countess Hendrikoff tells her remarkable true story that
includes the loss of her brother in the Russian Gulag, her
sister-in-law, Anastasia Hendrikoff, murdered with the Russian
Imperial family and herself being robbed at gunpoint and accused of
being a spy by the Nazis. She also speaks of the daily life that
continues during wartime - ration cards and food restrictions, the
black market, and the struggle to just get by for another day. Her
gripping story and thoughtful analysis provide an invaluable look at
life and humanity in the face of war.
The MGA is a sports
car that was produced by MG from 1955 to 1962.
The MGA replaced the
MG TF 1500 Midget and represented a complete styling break from MG's
earlier sports cars. Announced on 26 September 1955 the car was
officially launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show. A total of 101,081
units were sold through the end of production in July 1962, the vast
majority of which were exported. Only 5869 cars were sold on the home
market, the lowest percentage of any British car. It was replaced by
the MGB.
The MGA design dates
back to 1951, when MG designer Syd Enever created a streamlined body
for George Philips' TD Le Mans car. The problem with this car was the
high seating position of the driver because of the limitations of
using the TD chassis. A new chassis was designed with the side
members further apart and the floor attached to the bottom rather
than the top of the frame sections. A prototype was built and shown
to the BMC chairman Leonard Lord. He turned down the idea of
producing the new car as he had just signed a deal with Donald Healey
to produce Austin-Healey cars two weeks before. Falling sales of the
traditional MG models caused a change of heart, and the car,
initially to be called the UA-series, was brought back. As it was so
different from the older MG models it was called the MGA, the "first
of a new line" to quote the contemporary advertising. There was
also a new engine available, therefore the car did not have the
originally intended XPAG unit but was fitted with the BMC corporate
B-Series type allowing a lower bonnet line. The MGA convertible had
no exterior door handles, however the coupe has door handles.
It was a
body-on-frame design and used the straight-4 "B series"
engine from the MG Magnette saloon driving the rear wheels through a
4-speed gearbox. Suspension was independent with coil springs and
wishbones at the front and a rigid axle with semi-elliptic springs at
the rear. Steering was by rack and pinion. The car was available with
either wire-spoked or steel-disc road wheels.
1500
MG A 1500
The 1489 cc engine
fitted with twin H4 type SU Carburettors produced 68 hp (51 kW) at
first, but was soon uprated to 72 hp (54 kW). Lockheed hydraulic drum
brakes were used on all wheels. A coupé version was also produced,
bringing the total production of standard MGAs to 58,750.
An early open car
tested by British magazine The Motor in 1955 had a top speed of 97.8
mph (157.4 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in
16.0 seconds. A fuel consumption of 26.7 miles per imperial gallon
(10.6 L/100 km; 22.2 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £844
including taxes.
Twin-Cam
MG A Twin Cam
A high-performance
Twin-Cam model was added for 1958. It used a high-compression (9.9:1
later 8.3:1) DOHC aluminium cylinder head version of the B-Series
engine producing 108 hp (81 kW; 109 PS). Due to detonation problems,
a 100 bhp (75 kW; 101 PS) low-compression version was introduced
later. Four-wheel disc brakes by Dunlop were fitted, along with
Dunlop peg drive knock-off steel wheels similar to wheels used on
racing Jaguars, unique to the Twin-Cam and "DeLuxe" MGA
1600 and 1600 MkII roadsters. These wheels and chassis upgrades were
used on a small number of the "DeLuxe" models built after
Twin-Cam production came to a halt. Aside from the wheels, the only
outside identifier was a "Twin-Cam" logo near the vent
aside the bonnet. A careful look at the rear wheel vents would also
reveal another feature unique to Twin-Cam and DeLuxe: those 4 wheel
Dunlop disc brakes mentioned above.
The temperamental
engine was notorious for warranty problems during the course of
production, and sales dropped quickly. The engine suffered from
detonation and burnt oil. Most of the problems with the Twin-Cam
engine were rectified with the low-compression version, but by then
the damage had been done. Many restored Twin-Cams are running more
reliably today than they ever did during production. The Twin-Cam was
dropped in 1960 after 2,111 (2,210 according to some) had been
produced. Production ended in April 1960, but had slowed to a trickle
long before.
An open car was
tested by The Motor magazine in 1958 and was found to have a top
speed of 113 mph (182 km/h), acceleration from 0–60 mph (97 km/h)
in 9.1 seconds and a fuel consumption of 27.6 miles per imperial
gallon (10.2 L/100 km; 23.0 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost
£1,283 including taxes of £428.
Oddly, an open MGA
Twin Cam (Reg. No.PMO 326)road tested by The Autocar magazine and
published on 18 July 1958 only recorded a 0-60 time of 13.3secs with
the Standing quarter mile of 18.6secs. The mean maximum speed was
113.5 mph, with a best of 114.0 mph. So the explanation must be that
either their car was down on power, or that a mistake was made when
recording the acceleration figures.
1600 and 1600
De-Luxe
MG A 1600
In May 1959 the
standard cars also received an updated engine, now at 1588 cc
producing 79.5 bhp (59 kW; 81 PS) . At the front disc brakes were
fitted, but drums remained in the rear.
31,501 were produced
in less than three years.
Externally the car
is very similar to the 1500 with differences including: amber or
white (depending on market) front turn indicators shared with white
parking lamps, separate stop/tail and turn lamps in the rear, and
1600 badging on the boot and the cowl.
A number of 1600 De
Luxe versions were produced with leftover special wheels and
four-wheel disc brakes of the departed Twin-Cam, or using complete
modified Twincam chassis left redundant by the discontinuance of that
model. Seventy roadsters and 12 coupés were built.
A 1600 open car was
tested by The Motor in 1959. It had a top speed of 96.1 mph (154.7
km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 13.3 seconds.
A fuel consumption of 29.7 miles per imperial gallon (9.5 L/100 km;
24.7 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £940 including taxes of
£277.
Mark II and Mark II
De-Luxe[edit]
MG A 1600 Mark II
The engine size was
increased again to 1622 cc by increasing the bore from 75.4 mm (2.97
in) to 76.2 mm (3.00 in) for the 1961 Mark II MGA. The cylinder head
was also revised with larger valves and re-engineered combustion
chambers. Horsepower increased to 90 bhp. It also had a higher ratio
4:1 rear axle, which made for more relaxed high-speed driving. An
inset grille and Morris Mini tail lamps appearing horizontally below
the deck lid were the most obvious visual changes. 8,198 Mark II
roadsters and 521 coupés were built.
Road & Track
magazine reviewed the MG A 1600 Mark II in the September 1961 issue
and reported an estimated top speed of 105 mph and a 0-60
acceleration of 12.8 seconds.
