Tag Archives: Victorian

Trying to Figure Out London!

Related Posts: Planning for London! and Planning for Blake’s London!

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Firstly, I just wanted to thank all the awesome bloggers who have given me very helpful advice for this trip!

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Note: This post is really just for me to try to jot down and organize all the information/recommendations/advice I’ve received about London so far. AND MORE ADVICE IS MORE THAN WELCOMED!

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Here, I’ve narrowed down the Blake historical sites to only the ones I want to see most:

  1. St. James’s Church: (10) Where Blake was baptized. The font still survives.
  2. Westminster Abbey: (10) Where Blake practiced drawing. Monument to Blake in the Abbey’s Poet’s Corner.Will probably end up here on a bus tour!
  3. Royal Academy, New Somerset House: (9) Where Blake studied and occasionally exhibited his work. Original building.
  4. 13 Hercules Buildings: (7) Where Blake produced the Songs of Experience. House demolished in 1918.
  5. 17 South Moulton Street: (10) Will be here on Tuesday!
  6. St. Mary’s, Battersea: (10) Where Blake married Kate. Original building.
  7. Bunhill Fields: (9) Where Blake is buried.

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Important: Buy an Oyster card!

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Harrods Vintage Bus Tour of London with Champagne Tea at Harrods

Okay, this might be really silly/crazy/touristy, but a tour in a vintage bus plus tea time? That just sounds so ridiculous (in a good way, I think)!

Won’t have time for this on Monday or Tuesday, so will have to do either Wednesday or Thursday.

Location: Starts at Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge.

Time: Starts at 1 p.m, for 5 hours.

Price: £49

Includes: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column, Hyde Park, the Houses of Parliament, The Royal Albert Hall, a cruise on the River Thames, and tea/scones at Harrods. 

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Jack the Ripper Tour

Might have time for this on Monday, or otherwise on Wednesday.

Option #1: Every night at 7 p.m. Outside exit 4 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 2 hours.

Option #2Every night at 7 p.m. Outside exit 4 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 2 hours.

Option #3: Every night at 7:30 p.m. Outside exit 3 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 1 hour, 45 minutes.

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Tate Britain

At the very top of my list!!!

Tentatively, I think I might go to the Tate and V&A on Tuesday, the bus tour and possibly Jack the Ripper on Wednesday, and then the British Museum and Blake historic sites on Thursday.

Location: Millbank.

Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).

Taking photos not allowed.

  • Need to find out more about the renovated Blake rooms!
  • Need to figure out what else I’d like to see at the Tate!

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Victoria and Albert Museum

Location: Cromwell Road.

Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).

May take photos, unless otherwise noted.

  • Ask information desk about the “…four of Blake’s ‘fresco’ paintings on display permanently.”
  • David Bowie is£14.00 (+£1.40 booking fee per ticket). Already bought my ticket!! :D

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British Museum

Location: Great Russell Street.

Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Price: Free.

Photography permitted in most galleries.

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National Gallery

Not sure if I’ll have time for this.

Location: Trafalgar Square.

Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Price: Free.

Taking photos not allowed.

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National Portrait Gallery

Not sure if I’ll have time for this. May go if nothing else to do on Thursday evening.

Location: St.Martin’s Place.

Time: Open Sat.-Wed. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thurs.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).

Taking photos not allowed.

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The Princess Louise

A restored Victorian pub. Recommended pint: Timothy Landlord’s.

Location: 208 High Holborn, Holborn. Between Covent Garden and the British Museum.

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

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Tea and Tattle

“Fresh leaf tea in a pot and bone china, scones with clotted cream and jam, finger sandwiches and tasty cakes… could anything be more British than afternoon tea in London.”

Location: 41 Great Russell Street (opposite the British Museum).

Time: 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

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The London Review Cake Shop

“…the traditional with a twist.”

Location: 14 Bury Place  Bloomsbury (near the British Museum).

Time: 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

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Coach and Horses, Soho

Very shabby, but landmark.

Location: 29 Greek Street, Soho

Time: 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

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French House

Location: 49 Dean Street

Time: 12 to 11 p.m. (Food served until 4 p.m.)

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Seven Stars

Something quieter.

Location: 53-54 Carey Street (behind the Royal Courts of Justice, near some of the Blake sites around the Strand/Fleet Street).

Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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The Angel

Something quieter.

Location: 61-62 St Giles High Street (a bit of a no-man’s-land between Covent Garden and Bloomsbury that’s central yet tourist-free).

Time: 12 to 11 p.m.

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The Queen’s Arms

Location: 30 Queen’s Gate Mews (near the V&A).

Time: 12 to 11 p.m.

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The Sherlock Holmes

Has a very authentic English feel. Fish & chips.

Location: 10-11 Northumberland Street

Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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The Old Shades

Great fish & chips.

Location: 37 Whitehall (Trafalgar Square).

Time: 10/11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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Lighthouse Fish Bar

Fish & chips of mammoth proportions.

Location: 8 Tooting Bec Road (1/2 block from Tooting Bec Tube Station).

Time: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

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Curry/Indian: Any suggestions?

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The Gay Hussar

Fabulous Hungarian food and a very interesting past illustrated by the political cartoons on its walls.

Location: 2 Greek Street, Soho.

Time: 12:15 to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 to 10:45 p.m.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Check Out “The Poet and the Flea”!!!

---Silhouettes

Yesterday, I posted the 20th page of The Poet and the Flea… What!? Wow!!

The Flea premiered online November 28th, 2012 and has already received more than 10,000 views.

I have been honored to received a number of wonderful reviews thus far, such as those by Sarah Goode and Hannah Meiklejohn, as well as an incredible invitation to speak to The Blake Society in London this coming May.

Self-publishing The Flea online has been an incredible experience so far and I thank everyone for their enthusiasm and support!

Best wishes,

G. E.

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FYI, to receive information about The Flea on your Facebook news feed, please “like” me at facebook.com/gegallas!

For those of you who have yet to check out The Flea (and for those who wish to read the first 20 pages over again), I’ve included links below. Enjoy!

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Start from the beginning!

Cover

Title Page

Note

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

Page 9

Page 10

For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebooktumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Celebrating 2,000 Followers!

Related Post: Celebrating 1,000 Followers!

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Fluffernutter Oval

Ladies & Gentlemen:

On behalf of my humble keeper Miss G. E. Gallas — I, Mr. Edgar Lawrence Fluffernutter™, would like to graciously thank you for your generous patronage.

Miss Gallas is flabbergasted that our supporters have doubled in a matter of two or three months, and is unwavering in her determination to sustain the quality of this enterprise.

Although I have little knowledge of these newfangled contraptions, it is to my understanding that there are additional entities (thepoetandtheflea.wordpress.com) where one might extend one’s support, and I would be much obliged if you were to kindly do so.

Your modest nocturnal mammal,

E. L. Fluffernutter™

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


First Zine Progress and Contest: Round Two!!

Related Posts: First Zine and Future Shop and First Zine Progress and Contest!!

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A few weeks ago, I finished the pen work for my first zine. I’ve been very busy recently, but hope that sometime soon I’ll be able to get this zine scanned, printed, and watercolored. Then, once The Flea plush toy is ready, I’m planning on opening my online store! :D

Here are a few closeups of some pen work for the zine:

Zine Preview 4

Zine Preview 5

Zine Preview 6

As I mentioned before, my first zine is an illustrated Pre-Raphaelite poem. The poem will remain a secret until closer to the zine’s release. But I’ll give one free copy to the first person who can correctly guess which poem it is.

I’ve realized that I made this contest a little bit too hard. Thusly, I added a few more hints (#4 and #5). Also, be sure to check the comments of my post First Zine Progress and Contest!! for even more hints. I will be shocked if no one produces the correct answer this time!

Hint #1: The Seven Deadly Sins.

Hint #2: The poem is not “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti.

Hint #3: More specifically than Hint #1 — The Seven Princes of Hell.

Hint #4: More specifically than Hint #3 — Mammon.

Hint #5: The poem was written by ONE of the three original Pre-Raphaelites — either William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, or Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

For a chance to win, either leave a comment below or (if you’d like to keep your guess secret from other contestants) shoot me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com — subject “First Zine Contest.”

Best of luck!!

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


First Zine Progress and Contest!!

Related Post: First Zine and Future Shop

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For the past month or so, in between working on Elias & the City of Cats and The First Reich, I’ve been sneaking in progress on my first zine.

Here are a few closeups of some pencil work for the zine:

Zine Preview 1

Zine Preview 2

Zine Preview 3

As I mentioned before, my first zine is an illustrated Pre-Raphaelite poem. The poem will remain a secret until closer to the zine’s release. But I’ll give one free copy to the first person who can correctly guess which poem it is.

Hint #1: The Seven Deadly Sins.

Hint #2: The poem is not “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti.

Hint #3: More specifically than Hint #1 — The Seven Princes of Hell.

For a chance to win, either leave a comment below or (if you’d like to keep your guess secret from other contestants) shoot me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com — subject “First Zine Contest.”

Best of luck!!

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Comics I Admire: “Pre-Raphernalia”

Who says comics can’t be educational and hilarious?

Today, I’d like to share a very special online comic I admire very much! Please, let me introduce you to…

Pre-Raphernalia: The Pre-Raph Sketchbook Cartoons of Raine Szramski!

Raine Szramski is the awesome (and, not to mention, super nice) artist/illustrator of Pre-Raphernalia as well as another amazing series called Heaven & the Dead City, which can be either read online here or purchased here.

Pre-Raphernalia centers around the Victorian avant-garde artists known as The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, including the likes of John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These artists were quite eccentric, even by today’s standards, and lived oftentimes rowdy and scandalous lives.

What’s so wonderful about Pre-Raphernalia is that Raine takes the true historical events/relationships/facts and depicts them to the full extent of their eccentricity. When reading, I often find myself laughing out loud! Furthermore, she takes the time to write a full historically-accurate explanation of each comic, thoroughly detailing the backgrounds of each individual involved.

I highly recommend Pre-Raphernalia for anyone who wants to learn a little bit of history while having a fun time doing so. :D

Below are a number of my favorite images/pages from Pre-Raphernalia.

The following images belong to Raine Szramski.

Wombatink

millais2

sir ned1

For more Pre-Raphernalia and Raine Szramski, please check out the following websites…

preraphernalia.blogspot.com

thewatchertree.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/raine.szramski

rainesz.deviantart.com

www.co2comics.com/pages/co2_heaven_and_the_dead_city.html

www.lulu.com/spotlight/co2comics

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Note on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following images!!

“The Black Brunswicker” (1860) by John Everett Millais

“Isabella and the Pot of Basil” (1868) by William Holman Hunt

“Found” (1865–1869, unfinished) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

One of my more recent obsessions is with the artists know as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, it’s most famous members being John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Like many of my obsessions, the Pre-Raphaelites have been floating around the periphery of my awareness for some time, perhaps years. My interest was peaked only recently (this spring) by the Legion of Honor‘s stunning exhibit “The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860 – 1900,” featuring works by not only the Pre-Raphaelites but also their contemporaries, students, and successors (including William Morris, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, etc.). This exhibit picked up the threads of some other interests of mine, such as Charles Dickens’s companion and fellow writer Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone, The Woman in White, etc.). The exhibit also inspired me to dig deeper into the lives of these eccentric Victorian “Renaissance” men!

An easy way to learn more about the Pre-Raphaelites is through the BBC six-part series Desperate Romantics (2009), featuring a cast of lovely men and women (Aidan Turner, Rafe Spall, and Amy Manson to name a few) and gorgeous period costumes. While at times exuding a contemporary (as in 21st century) feel in the vein of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006), the series is very painstakingly researched yet thoroughly enjoyable to watch. It’s a series I’m just itching to re-watch and show to all my friends.

Aidan Turner as Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Another wonderful way to enjoy the Pre-Raphaelites is through the online comic Pre-Raphernalia: The Pre-Raph Sketchbook Cartoons of Raine Szramski (preraphernalia.blogspot.com). This series is another painstakingly researched yet thoroughly enjoyable journey into the bizarre history of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, with plenty of cameos by Rossetti’s pet wombat named “Top.”

My most recent encounter with the Pre-Raphaelites is surprisingly through the British footwear brand Dr. Martens. Dr. Martens has teamed up with Liberty of London to create shoes and purses featuring William Morris’s celebrated “Strawberry Thief” textile design. My birthday’s coming up, so I’m hoping to get my paws on one of these timeless purses!

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


Brainstorming: Web Series, Etc.

This list was originally intended for web series ideas, but has gotten off track a bit. So it’s more of just a brainstorming list intended for various mediums.

(This is just a rough list of ideas for my personal use. In no particular order!)

To be continued…

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


Brief Update

Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!

  1. Had a wonderful weekend (May 31st – June 4th) in San Francisco with friends Ariel and Olivia!
  2. Visited the Legion of Honor to see The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860-1900. Quite an amazing exhibit. Featured the artwork of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Aubrey Beardsley, etc. Also, very much enjoyed the Victorian Home Walk. I believe both experiences will help my writing.
  3. Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend: Currently in progress!
  4. The Poet and the Flea: As of Thursday, 28 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 28 pages (1-6 completed, and 6-28 in progress) of illustrated work.
  5. Thinking of converting “The Ink Drinker” (short story) into a full-length screenplay…
  6. No word yet from Playground Pictures. Monday, sent e-mail in response to ghostwriter gig on Craigslist.  Tuesday, sent e-mail in response to Japanese language tutor gig on Craigslist. Waiting for responses.
  7. Continuing research on various production companies to send query letters to.
  8. Tuesday, signed up with meetup.com. Joined a bunch of interesting groups. Hopefully, I’ll meet some new friends and learn the city!

To Do:

  • Apply to the Bluecat Screenplay Competition
  • Apply to The American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


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