Summer Holidays 8

Party Outfit - Happy New Year!

Summer Holidays 7

Vaqueiro Manuel Garcia Anciano (82)

Summer Holidays 6

Summer Holidays 5

Homage to the International Brigades

Summer Holidays 4

Blacksmith - Asador

Summer Holidays 3

Olentzero - the Basque father Christmas

Merry Christmas from Catalonia

A Caganer is a figurine depicted in the act of defecation appearing in nativity scenes in Catalonia and neighbouring areas with Catalan culture such as Andorra, Valencia, Northern Catalonia (in southern France) and the Balearic Islands. It is most popular and widespread in these areas, but can also be found in other areas of Spain (Murcia), Portugal and southern Italy (Naples).

The name "El Caganer” literally means “the crapper” or "the shitter". Traditionally, the figurine is depicted as a peasant, wearing the traditional Catalan red cap (the "barretina"), but there are also quite a few fine samples with beret (a Basque, for instanstance, and the Catalonian police) and with his trousers down, showing a bare backside, and defecating.

Summer Holidays 2

Kelly Brook

Summer Holidays 1

Txirrita and Saiburu

Summer Holidays

Yes, it's that time of year again: Summer Holidays (here in the southern hemisphere, that is).
No posts on The Beret Project for a few weeks, just a daily picture of interesting, entertaining, thought provoking and/or inspiring beret related material. 

www.SouthPacificBerets.com / www.TheBeretCompany.net remains open for business, but parcels won't be send out within our usual 24 hours. All berets ordered will be posted on 13 January at the latest, but I'll do my best to make it earlier than that. 

I wish everyone visiting here lovely holidays and all good wishes for the New Year in every respect, and keep wearing those berets!

See you again mid-January!

Pieter (2)

My good Dutch friend Pieter has featured on The Beret Project before, but with his ever expanding collection of Bordeaux coloured berets, there is every reason for a Part II!

I know few people with such a dedication to both the beret and colour as Pieter; always seen in Bordeaux (maroon), always with a (good sized) Basque beret.  

Pieter reading a great Dutch novel

Pieter will be very much on my mind this Christmas, as I shall finally sample his bottle of 1984 Chateau Bonneau-Livran Haut Medoc, sent to me many months before and it has been patiently waiting in my improvised cellar till Christmas, in a few days time. 

Pieter joining forces with another kind of maroon beret

When not recording the history of his hometown Oss, Pieter collects old wines and describes them in parchment folios by quill. I was honoured by a long document written this way, accompanying my bottle:

 An old art, really, and great to see people still practising this (n this time of instant messaging and email)!
And this was the last "real post" for the year. I'm off to Waiheke Island, but South Pacific Berets remains open 24/7. All orders will be posted before 12 January, 2014!

Special Order Boinas Super Lujo

I thought at this time I would be posting my last post for the year on The Beret Project, but only 1 hour ago, the courier delivered the long awaited box of special order Boinas Super Lujo off!

Two models made on special request by Boinas Elosegui for South Pacific Berets (these are not standard colours!):
a 290mm boina in grey and a 300mm boina in Bordeaux (or 'granate'), both fitted with very stylish black satin lining and the Euskal herria label.

I have listed them quickly and if you order within the next 12 hours, they'll be posted before the start of my holidays!

Alternatively, place your order after and your boina(s) will be posted on 13 January (or earlier).
Have a look here for more information on these beautiful, and exclusive, berets. 

Camembert

Camembert is a soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century at Camembert, Normandy in northern France.

The first camembert was made from unpasteurized milk, and the AOC variety "Camembert de Normandie" is required by law to be made only with unpasteurized milk. Many modern cheesemakers, however, use pasteurized milk for reasons of safety, compliance with regulations, or convenience.

Camembert was reputedly first made in 1791 by Marie Harel, a farmer from Normandy, following advice from a priest who came from Brie.

However, the origin of the cheese known today as camembert is more likely to rest with the beginnings of the industrialization of the cheesemaking process at the end of the 19th century. In 1890, an engineer, M. Ridel, invented the wooden box which was used to carry the cheese and helped to send it for longer distances, in particular to America, where it became very popular. These boxes are still used today.

Before fungi were understood, the color of camembert rind was a matter of chance, most commonly blue-grey, with brown spots. From the early 20th century onwards, the rind has been more commonly pure white, but it was not until the mid-1970s that pure white became standard.

 

Random: Frenchmen

Sleep

Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than being in hibernation or a coma. 

Sleep is a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. It is observed in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, and in some form also in insects and even simpler animals such as nematodes.

The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partially clear and the subject of substantial ongoing research. Sleep is sometimes thought to help conserve energy, though this theory is not fully adequate as it only decreases metabolism by about 5–10%. 

Additionally it is observed that mammals require sleep even during the hypometabolic state of hibernation, in which circumstance it is actually a net loss of energy as the animal returns from hypothermia to euthermia in order to sleep.

An Almost Naked Lynn Collins in 'Down with Love'

Down with Love is a 2003 romantic comedy film, made as a pastiche of and homage to the early 1960s American romantic sex comedies. The story follows a woman who advocates female independence in combat with a lothario, and patriarchal, even male chauvinist, society of the 1950s and early 1960s.

Lynn Collins starred as a beatnik girl, wearing nothing more than her long hair and beret.

The film's title comes from the song "Down with Love" as sung by Judy Garland, who is seen singing it on The Ed Sullivan Show in one scene.

Petasos; an Ancient Predecessor of the Beret

A petasos or petasus is a sun hat of Thessalian origin worn by the ancient Greeks, often in combination with the chlamys cape. 

It was usually made of wool felt, leather orstraw, with a broad, floppy brim. It was worn primarily by farmers and travellers, and was considered characteristic of rural people. 

Hermes wearing a wide-brimmed petasos, ca 150 BC

As a winged hat, it became the symbol of Hermes, the Greek mythological messenger god (Roman equivalent of Mercury).

Vaqueiros, the Last Nomads of Southern Europe

The Vaqueiros d'alzada ("nomadic cowherds" in Asturian language, from their word for cow, cognate of Spanish Vaquero) are a northern Spanish nomadic people in the mountains of León and Asturias, who practice transhumance, i.e. moving seasonally with cattle.

Historically, they had been wrongly believed to be a separate ethnic group from the Spanish populace (their ancestors would have been the Moorish soldiers defeated at the Battle of Covadonga in 722). 

The group have traditionally been ostracised by the valley dwellers. They distinguished themselves by their costume and dialect. Their nomadic lifestyle placed them out of the reach of the Church and the Government.

The New DEER's - Plato Grande!

Brand new from today! Too late for Christmas deliveries, I fear, but do yourself a real favour and get one of these beauties for a late X-mas gift to yourself! 

The 'DEER Basque Beret - Plato Grande' is a custom made beret by Kongo-Shokai, specifically and only for South Pacific Berets. 

Available in two colours, black and grey, in a 30cm diameter with a one-size stretchy headband. Unbelievably comfortable, beautiful soft, light wool with the same craftsmanship and eye for detail as all DEER berets. Great wool berets for warmer weather.  

A one-off beret in limited availability. $ 76.50

Kokon To Zai

Kokon To Zai is a London shop, specializing in surprising and unique fashion. 

Many of their clothes have been made by young designers from the nearby and famous college of Art and Design Saint Martins in London. That´s the reason why you’ll often see new names here first.

They produce an interesting beret, made of leather and with a Christian religious inspired embroidery of which the meaning really is beyond me...

Michael Morpurgo, with Beret

Michael Morpurgo (1943) is an English author, poet, playwright and librettist who is known best for children's novels.

Morpurgo's first job was as a primary school teacher, in Kent. In his late twenties, while he was teaching, he discovered his talent for storytelling, of which he later said "I could see there was magic in it for them, and realized there was magic in it for me."

Michael married Clare, eldest daughter of Sir Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin Books. In 1976, Michael and Clare established the charity Farms for City Children, with the primary aim of providing children from inner city areas with experience of the countryside.

Morpurgo is probably best known for his book 'War Horse. The story recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse purchased by the Army for service in World War I France and the attempts of young Albert, his previous owner, to bring him safely home. It formed the basis of both an award winning play (2007) and an acclaimed film (2011).