Mini Museum Soirée (Bonus)
Thursday, April 8th at 5pm Eastern Time

Next to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s London palace, beside the River Thames, sits a mediaeval church that houses an extraordinary museum. Just near here lived the Tradescants, father and son, who were gardeners to the Stuart monarchs and avid collectors in their own right, and their tomb is in the graveyard. So it seems appropriate that this is now home to the Garden Museum, which celebrates all things English gardening and has recently been refurbished with a new cafe, shop and garden.

We are asking our friends to fill out two short surveys to determine where we go next, and we would love to know what you think! You will find the Virtual Soirée Survey here and the in-person Soirée Survey here. Once you have completed a survey, you will receive a complimentary invitation to this tour!

From Tree to Tasting—and How to Find the Best
Around the World Virtual Soirée (4/4)
Sunday, March 28th at 5pm Eastern Time

Olive oil used to be simple: you bought a bottle, any bottle, mixed up a salad dressing or poured some in a pan, and that was it. Not any more. Choosing, using—and tasting—olive oil has become one of the pleasures of eating, with almost as many associated subtleties and variations as choosing and drinking wine. We’ll enjoy a brief introduction to olives, from their 6,000-year-old human history and many hundreds of different varieties to the ways, past and present, in which they have been harvested and turned into oil. Then we’ll look at what makes a good oil—why it is that you want hand-picked, first pressed, and cold-pressed oils, and why as an olive oil you can’t simply be a virgin, you have to be extra virgin.

Petra, a Miracle in the Desert
Around the World Virtual Soirée (3/4)
Thursday, March 25th at 5pm Eastern Time

Remember the Indiana Jones movie, the one that can’t resist the pink-stoned beauty of Petra as a backdrop for its all-action hero. Or rather a tiny fragment of Petra, that famous temple front of a million Instagram posts. Because on our virtual tour we’ll learn—and see—that Petra was far more than this single temple; that it was a city the size of Manhattan, with glorious stone-cut monuments that still extend for many miles. But a city the size of New York in the middle of the desert—why would you do that? More to the point, how would you do that? What about water, for a start? Or the money to build, when all you have to sell is sand? Join us to understand this enigma of water and stone, along with the mysterious Nabatean civilization behind it, before we embark on a step-by-step exploration of the site’s most beautiful monuments.

Michelangelo and the Vault of the Sistine Chapel with Ross King
Author Series Soirée (3/3)
Monday, March 22nd at 5:00 pm Eastern

In 1508, Pope Julius II - known because of his military expeditions as the ‘Warrior Pope’ - commissioned Michelangelo to fresco the vault of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo had very limited experience of the physically and technically difficult technique of fresco, much less on the underside of a 12,000-square-foot surface. His reputation had been made in sculpture, with works such as the Pietà and the David, rather than in paint. This illustrated lecture examines the circumstances surrounding Michelangelo’s commission and how, in the four years between 1508 and 1512, he worked on his immense fresco in direct competition with Raphael, his younger and prodigiously talented contemporary, who was working on his own frescoes a few steps away in the Papal Apartments.

Love, Grief, and Faith—The Taj Mahal
Around the World Virtual Soirée (2/4)
Thursday, March 18th at 5pm Eastern Time

Is the Taj the single most beautiful building on Earth? If you have other candidates, let us know…We’ll explore this sublime monument in depth, walking on a virtual through its lovely gardens and majestic gateway to approach the famous white dome, but also burrowing down to admire its many hidden symbols and glorious decorative details. First, though, we’ll want to know why it’s here; why it’s the culmination of over 1500 years of architectural history; and why it’s a monument both to love—built by an emperor for his wife who died giving birth to her fourteenth child (yep, 14)—and to faith. For this is an Islamic tomb—wait, an Islamic tomb…in a predominantly Hindu country? We’ll find out why…

People, Myth, and Place
Around the World Virtual Soirée (1/4)
Thursday, March 11th at 5pm Eastern Time

Easter Island—or Rapa Nui as it is known to its inhabitants—is one of the most remote places on Earth. It’s also one of the most enigmatic, a puzzle with many more questions than answers, where the science, history, and archeology are all disputed. We’ll take a virtual tour to wrestle with its mysteries: why is it even here, an island speck lost in the ocean blue? Who were its first inhabitants: where did they come from, when—and why? Most important, how and why did they build their immense stone statues, or moai, the island’s greatest cultural legacy? More to the point, why did they stop, a question whose answer provides tantalizing lessons for our own times.

Biography of a City
Aquitaine Soirée: from Lascaux to Bordeaux (5/5)
Thursday, February 25th at 5 PM Eastern Time

Today we will dip into France’s great southwestern port city. With its grand façades and majestic river-front, this laid-back city oozes wealth and charm, but we’ll see how the slave trade, as well as wine, played a major role in the city’s evolution. We’ll take a peek at charming squares, fountains, churches and museums to get a taste of this fascinating multi-faceted city.

Monday, February 22nd at 8:00 PM Eastern Time

Join Professor Adam Tooze as he shares his insights on the state of the world in these unprecedented times.

A Canelé Extravaganza with Dana and Julian in New York and Normandy

Aquitaine Soirée: from Lascaux to Bordeaux (4/5)
Sunday, February 21st at 5 PM Eastern Time

The recipes are all the same, or almost, but the results aren’t. The secret? It’s in the mixing, the moulds and the temperature. We’ll talk you through it and attempt to unravel the mysterious history of this Bordeaux delicacy while musing about French gastronomical traditions in general. Worried we might mess up? So are we, so we’ll cook some in advance just to be safe (and to let us magically do the whole thing in an hour).

A Tale of Terroir
Aquitaine Soirée: from Lascaux to Bordeaux (3/5)
Thursday, February 18th at 5 PM Eastern Time

Travel with us from the Romans to the United States, from Bordeaux to Champagne, from monks’ donkeys to mayors’ cocktail parties, as we discover the colourful story of French wine from vine to glass.

Duchess, Mother, Queen & Lover
Aquitaine Soirée: from Lascaux to Bordeaux (2/5)
Thursday, February 11th at 5 PM Eastern Time

Sex, scandal, scheming and sequestration all play a part in the life of one of the most remarkable and influential women of the Middle Ages. Duchess of Aquitaine at fifteen, Eleanor went on to be queen of both France and England, and mother to two kings.

Mini Museum Soirée (2/3)
Monday, February 8th at 5pm Eastern Time

Florence Nightingale Museum, Waterloo: arguably the world's most famous nurse, Nightingale was a well-born young woman who refused to conform and went on to set up not only her famous hospital at Scutari but also the world's first nursing school at St Thomas's Hospital, originally in east London but now in Waterloo.

Aquitaine Soirée: from Lascaux to Bordeaux (1/5)
Thursday, February 4th at 5 PM Eastern Time

Join us in pursuit of a scandalized bishop’s wife, the theft of a giant fish, a dog in a rabbit hole, a bored eight-year-old girl and an obsessed Catholic priest, as we scramble through the caves of France’s idyllic Dordogne region, unravelling the fascinating story of prehistoric art.

“The Accidental Masterpiece” with Ross King
Author Series Soirée (2/3)
Monday, February 1st at 5:00 pm Eastern

The image of The Last Supper is as readily familiar, Kenneth Clark once wrote, as the boot shape of Italy on a map. However, the history of how this famous mural came to be painted, how precisely Leonardo painted it, and who he painted it for, are much less well-known. This illustrated lecture recounts how Leonardo received the commission (for whose execution he had little experience and even less inclination) from Lodovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and how he went about creating his masterpiece through an experimental new style. While the mural is burdened with many myths - most of which have no basis in fact - the true story of its execution is even more remarkable.

Upper Crust Virtual Soirée (4/4)
Sunday, January 31st at 4pm Eastern Time

Get your aprons and join British cookery expert Sophie “Straw” Berry with guest epicureans Adam “Tea for” Tooze, Tim “Jammy” Jepson and Julian “Bakeoff” Brown for a deeply serious discussion on the history and economic significance of the British afternoon tea.

This will include when to put in the milk, why American-English muffins differ from English-English muffins, the great Marmite vs Gentleman's Relish debate and whether to put jam (not jelly) or cream on first when eating scones, which could get very ugly.

And you are not just spectators at the feast - oh no, no. You are invited to join in with our very own C&S Soiree Scone-Off. Chef-Patron Strawberry will conduct the messy bit and as the scones brown in ovens on either side of the Atlantic the debate will begin.

Ingredients: flour, butter, milk, caster sugar, vanilla essence, jam, cream and YOU!

Upper Crust Virtual Soirée (3/4)
Thursday, January 28th at 5pm Eastern Time

How did an entire nation become fixated on a drink that no other nation either liked or drank in the same way? How did strong Indian tea become the driver of a nation and has coffee really usurped its position as the nation's favourite? Who puts the milk in first? Not to mention where did the cakes come from, who invented the cucumber sandwich and what exactly is Gentleman's Relish? This is your chance to find out.

Monday, January 25th at 8:00 PM Eastern Time

Join Professor Adam Tooze as he shares his insights on the state of the world in these unprecedented times.

Upper Crust Virtual Soirée (2/4)
Thursday, January 21st at 5pm Eastern Time

You could call this treading on eggshells, because it makes Brits really nervous, especially if they are with people they don't know. But it's time to examine the evidence and work out what makes somebody posh: we'll go right back to the 1066 invasion by the Norman French and work our way forward using clothing, accents, eating habits, furniture names and pronunciation as our guide. Cheers, dears!

Upper Crust Virtual Soirée (1/4)
Thursday, January 14th at 5pm Eastern Time

The rollercoaster ride of English food: the pleasure, the pain, the politics... We'll look at the original English diet, the arrival and subsequent disappearance of olive oil, the philosophical battle of food v fuel and, brace yourselves, THE 1970s, the great nadir, followed by a slow and uphill struggle to present glory in London, if not all the regions.

Mini Museum Soirée (1/3)
Monday, January 11th at 5pm Eastern Time

William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow: This fine collection occupies the rather grand (for an early Socialist) childhood home of the driven, workaholic polymath who tried to turn back the tide of industrialisation and bring craftsmanship back into the English home. Designer, furniture maker, printer, factory owner and founder of one of the first Socialist groups in Britain - meet Mr Morris.

“The Most Exalted and Prodigal Magnificence”
Filippo Brunelleschi and the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence with Ross King
Author Series Soirée (1/3)
Thursday, January 7th at 5:00 pm Eastern

The octagonal dome that was to crown Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral begun in Florence in 1294, presented the most daunting architectural puzzle of the age: how to raise the highest and widest vault ever attempted. The cupola was to have a span greater than the Roman Pantheon - the world’s largest dome - and vaulting higher than any Gothic cathedral. The logistical problems were enormous. How could this enormous octagonal structure be made self-supporting? How could the tons of masonry be raised more than 200 feet in the air and laid into place with micrometric accuracy? This illustrated lecture examines the procedures developed by Filippo Brunelleschi as he worked on the dome between 1420 and 1436, successfully executing what is still the world’s largest masonry dome.

Sunday, December 20th at 5pm Eastern, 2pm Pacific.

Southeast Asian Soirée: Imagining Indochina (5/5)
Thursday, December 10th at 8 PM Eastern Time

Join Dana & Adam as they interview Tek, one of our favorite tour guides living in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Tek will tell his personal story of growing up in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge and discuss his amazing journey all the way to the present. Bring all of your questions--from the art and architecture of Cambodia to its current society and politics.

Thursday, December 3rd at 6:30 PM Eastern Time*

After our last lecture in each series, our C&S Members are invited to refill a glass and join us for a private reception to reflect on the Soirée with our hosts and discuss the highlights with our fellow travelers.

*NB: Our reception is happening after the 4th virtual tour because our 5th bonus talk on December 10th with Tek in Cambodia will be difficult for Julian to attend from France!

Desperately Seeking Shangri La: Preserving Luang Prabang (Laos)
South East Asian Soirée: Imagining Indochina (4/5)
Thursday, December 3rd at 5 PM Eastern Time

Located on a promontory at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers, Luang Prabang has been listed since 1995 on the World Heritage list for its unique and remarkably well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage. With it picturesque old temple complexes, photogenic saffron-clad monks and brightly coloured flowering trees, Luang Prabang oozes atmosphere and charm. Not surprisingly, however, this seeming haven attracts huge numbers of visitors from around the globe.

Let’s ramble together through the tranquil, almost car-free lanes of old Luang Prabang, and ponder the ever-growing problems of mass tourism. How to maintain the perilous balance between preserving tradition and catering to the needs of money-bringing visitors in search of authenticity. How do we guarantee a sustainable responsible tourism for tomorrow?