VAN CLEEF & ARPELS FOLIE DES PRES RING

THE NEW VAN CLEEF & ARPELS FOLIE DES PRES RING IS NAMED MADNESS IN THE MEADOWS DUE TO ITS ABNORMAL SETTING. THE CENTERPIECE OF THE RING IS AN EXTREMELY RARE SIX POINT TWENTY ONE CARAT MAUVE SAPPHIRE MINED IN MADAGASCAR. THE CENTRAL MAUVE SAPPHIRE IS SURROUNDED BY SMALLER MAUVE SAPPHIRES AND DIAMONDS IN A SEMI-FLORAL PATTERN. THE STUNNING RING IS A UNIQUE ONE-OFF PIECE AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM VAN CLEEF & ARPELS PARIS.

PRINCE HARRY FALLS OFF HORSE DURING CHARITY POLO MATCH

PRINCE HARRY WAS THROWN FROM HIS MOUNT, DURING A RECENT CHARITY POLO MATCH, AS HE ATTEMPTED A SHARP TURN CLOSE TO THE GOAL MOUTH, CAUSING THE ANIMAL TO LOOSE ITS FOOTING AND SLIDE ACROSS THE GROUND OF DUST AND GRASS. FORTUNATELY THE YOUNG ROYAL MANAGED TO DIVE FORWARDS AND EXECUTE AN ATHLETIC ROLL, BREAKING THE IMPACT OF HIS FALL ON THE ROCK-HARD POLO FIELD. SECONDS LATER HE PICKED HIMSELF UP UNHARMED BUT WAS CLEARLY UPSET AT THE BLUNDER AS HE THREW HIS MALLET TO THE GROUND IN DISGUST, RIPPED OFF HIS HELMET AND PUNCHED IT. THE PONY WAS UNHURT. HARRY'S TEAM WENT ON TO WIN THE INAUGURAL SENTEBALE POLO CUP, WITH THE PRINCE SCORING ONE OF THEIR SIX GOALS. BUT THE EVOKED MEMORIES OF THE INCIDENT IN WHICH HIS FATHER, PRINCE CHARLES, WAS KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS WHILE PLAYING THE GAME AND SWALLOWED HIS TONGUE. HE WAS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL SUFFERING A CONCUSSION AFTER THE 2001 ACCIDENT. SPEAKING ABOUT THE FALL AFTERWARDS, HARRY SAID: 'I'M A BIT SORE BUT IT WAS ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE SO IT WAS WORTHWHILE IN THE END. BASICALLY THE HORSE SLIPPED FROM UNDERNEATH ME, WHICH DOES HAPPEN OCCASIONALLY AND IS UNFORTUNATE. IT PROBABLY LOOKS VERY DRAMATIC BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO THROW MYSELF CLEAR OF THE HORSE. I'M A BIT SORE BUT THE HORSE IS OK THOUGH.' THE PRINCE EXPLAINED THAT HE HADN'T THROWN DOWN HIS MALLET IN ANGER AT GETTING THROWN BUT WAS FURIOUS THAT HE MAY HAVE LOST SENTEBALE A SIZABLE DONATION. HE EXPLAINED: 'THE REASON WHY I WAS THROWING MY MALLET DOWN WAS BECAUSE I MET THIS NICE BUSINESSMAN AT DINNER LAST NIGHT WHO OFFERED ME $50,000 FOR SENTEBALE IF I FELL OFF MY HORSE TODAY. HIS WIFE TURNED ROUND AND SAID, 'THAT'S A BIT HARSH, YOU SHOULD GIVE HIM $100,000 IF HE STAYS ON.' AND HE AGREED TO SEAL THE DEAL ON THAT. SO WHEN I FELL OFF, I THREW DOWN MY MALLET AND SHOUTED: 'WHAT A WASTE OF $100,000!!' I WAS FURIOUS WITH MYSELF.' HARRY WAS PLAYING AT THE EXCLUSIVE APES HILL POLO CLUB IN BARBADOS TO RAISE MONEY FOR SENTEBALE, THE CHARITY HE CO-FOUNDED IN MEMORY OF HIS LATE MOTHER TO HELP VULNERABLE AIDS ORPHANS IN THE AFRICAN KINGDOM OF LESOTHO. THE 1,200 TICKET MATCH WAS A COMPLETE SELL OUT AND IS EXPECTED TO RAISE MORE THAN £100,000. HARRY HOPES TO MAKE SENTEBALE POLO CUP AND ANNUAL EVENT.

DISNEY DREAM CRUISE SHP

THE DISNEY CRUISE LINE HAS RECENTLY UNVEILED STUNNING NEW IMAGES OF ITS NEW FORTHCOMING LUXURY LINER CALLED THE DISNEY DREAM. THE NEW VESSEL IS SCHEDULED TO BE LAUNCHED ON 26.JANUARY.2011, THE DREAM IS THE FIRST OF TWO NEW CRUISE LINERS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT THE MEYER WERFT SHIPYARD IN PAPENBURG, GERMANY. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW DREAM WILL INCLUDE THE AQUADUCK THE FIRST EVER WATER COASTER ABOARD ANY SAILING VESSEL AND THE ENCHANTED GARDEN RESTAURANT WHICH FEATURES AN ARTIFICIAL SKY THAT TRANSFORMS INTO SUNSET, WITH COLOURS THAT CHANGE INTO A TWINKLING FIELD OF STARS. AT THE HELM WILL BE CAPTAIN TOM FORBERG, WITH BOOKINGS BEING AVAILABLE BEGINNING 9.NOVEMBER.2010.

NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART TO PRESENT WORKS BY BOTERO

NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART, ROSLYN, NY, WILL PRESENT A MAJOR EXHIBITION THAT SHOWCASES THE WORK BY ONE OF THE MOST HONOURED LATIN AMERICAN ARTISTS WORKING TODAY. FERNANDO BOTERO INCLUDES A RANGE OF PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS AND MONUMENTAL SCULPTURE THAT EXEMPLIFY BOTERO'S MOST FAMILIAR THEMES: COMMONPLACE SCENES OF EVERYDAY LIFE, LIFE IN THE BEDROOM, LIFE OF THE STREETS AND PEOPLE RAPT IN THE EXCITEMENT OF MUSIC OR FAMILY ACTIVITIES. THROUGHOUT, BOTERO'S CHARACTERS ARE SEEN IN THEIR 'BOTERO-ESQUE' GIRTH AND GRANDEUR. WORKS BY THIS FAMED ARTIST WERE PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT THE MUSEUM IN A MAJOR 2005 EXHIBITION. FERNANDO BOTERO OPENS AT NCMA ON 31.MARCH AND RUNS THROUGH TO 24.MAY.
A NATIVE OF COLOMBIA, BOTERO HAS RESIDED IN NEW YORK, PARIS AND TUSCANY. IN THE 1960s, HE BEGAN TO ACHIEVE ACCLAIM FOR HIS SATIRICAL PAINTINGS OF OVER SIZED, FLESH FIGURES WITH LARGE LIMBS AND SMALL BODIES. IN 1971 HE BEGAN MAKING SCULPTURES AS WELL, AN EXAMPLE OF WHICH IS 'MAN ON HORSEBACK', A SELF ASSURED GENTLEMAN IN A SUIT AND A BOWLER HAT, HIS LEGS AS LARGE AS THOSE OF THE HORSE. THE WORK GREETS VISITORS ALONG A WOODEN PATH LEADING TO THE MUSEUM AND IS A PERMANENT PART OF NCMA'S SCULPTURE PARK. BOTERO'S SMOOTH ROUNDED DEPICTIONS OF PEOPLE AND ANIMALS EXHIBIT A COMIC DISREGARD FOR CORRECT PROPORTIONS. THIS SKEWING OF FORM IS CENTRAL TO WORKS BY BOTERO. HE HAS SAID: 'IN ART, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE IDEAS AND THINK, YOU ARE BOUND TO DEFORM NATURE. ART IS DEFORMATION.' BOTERO IS ONE OF THE MOST WELL-KNOWN AND RESPECTED OF THE LATE 20th CENTURY STILL-LIFE PAINTERS. HIS REPRESENTATIONS OF FRUITS, FLOWERS, VEGETABLES, SWEETS, MEATS AND CHEESES EMBODY MANY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT ARE OBSERVED IN HIS OTHER SUBJECTS. THEY DISPLAY A MARKED ENGAGEMENT WITH SENSUALITY. THERE IS A SENSE OF THE SACRAMENTAL OR THE RITUAL IN MANY OF THE PAINTINGS. A NUMBER OF BOTERO'S STILL LIFES HAVE PARTICULAR RESONANCE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF COLOMBIA, OFTEN DISPLAYING DISTINCTIVELY COLOMBIAN MEALS, BIRTHDAY TABLES OR REFERENCES TO OTHER OCCASIONS CELEBRATED IN THAT COUNTRY.

THE MEMORIAL ART GALLERY PRESENTS 'FASHIONING KIMONO: ART DECO AND MODERNISM IN JAPAN'

WELL INTO THE LAST CENTURY, JAPAN'S TRADITIONAL NATIONAL DRESS, THE KIMONO, WAS WORN BY MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF ALL SOCIAL CLASSES. DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE IN CONCEPT, A ONE-PIECE, FRONT WRAP GARMENT WITH A STRAIGHT SILHOUETTE, THE KIMONO LENT ITSELF TO ENDLESS VARIATIONS IN COLOUR, PATTERN AND DESIGN THAT SIGNALED AGE, GENDER, STATUS, OCCASION, EVEN THE CHANGE OF SEASONS. A NATIONALLY TOURING EXHIBITION THAT RECENTLY OPENED AT THE MEMORIAL ART GALLERY, ROCHESTER, NY, SHOWCASES NEARLY 100 EXTRAORDINARY EXAMPLES FROM THE FAMED MONTGOMERY COLLECTION IN LUGANO, SWITZERLAND. FASHIONING KIMONO: ART DECO AND MODERNISM IN JAPAN BRINGS TOGETHER EVERYDAY GARMENTS; INTRICATELY EMBROIDERED CEREMONIAL ROBES; BOYS' KIMONO STENCILED WITH CARS, AIRPLANES AND BATTLESHIPS; AND COLOURFUL ART DECO PATTERNS HERALDING THE EMERGENCE OF JAPAN'S 'NEW WOMAN'. ALL WERE CREATED BETWEEN THE 1890s AND THE 1950s, A DYNAMIC PERIOD WHEN TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN SILK MAKING AND THE INFLUENCE OF WESTERN STYLES RESULTED IN AN EXPLOSION OF BOLD AND VIBRANT DESIGNS. THIS PERIOD WAS ALSO TO BE THE LAST ERA OF THE 'LIVING KIMONO'. AFTER WORLD WAR II, MORE AFFORDABLE WESTERN CLOTHING BECAME THE NORM, THOUGH THE KIMONO CONTINUES TO BE WORN FOR FORMAL EVENTS SUCH AS WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS, AND INCREASINGLY AS A FASHION STATEMENT.

PRINCE HARRY PROMOTES CHARITY IN BARBADOS

PRINCE HARRY RECENTLY ARRIVED IN BARBADOS FOR A THREE-DAY VISIT THAT WILL SEE THE ROYAL LAUNCH AN ANNUAL FUND RAISING POLO MATCH. THE 25 YEAR OLD PRINCE WAS GREETED BY PAUL BRUMMELL, THE BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER, AS HE STEPPED FROM A SCHEDULED BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT FOR HIS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE COUNTRY. DRESSED IN A DARK SUIT AND RED TIE, HE LOOKED RELAXED AS HE MET OFFICIALS IN THE DIPLOMATIC LOUNGE AT THE GRANTLEY ADAMS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. HE JOKED WITH THE DIGNITARIES ASKING BERTIE HINDS, THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF POLICE: 'AN I ALLOWED IN THE COUNTRY, DO YOU NEED MY PAPERS?' THE PRINCE WILL TAKE PART IN THE INAUGURAL SENTEBALE POLO CUP AT THE EXCLUSIVE APES HILL POLO CLUB ON SUNDAY TO RAISE MONEY FOR HIS CHARITY SENTEBALE WHICH HELPS ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN THE LAND-LOCKED KINGDOM OF LESOTHO. DURING HIS TIME ON THE CARIBBEAN, THE YOUNG ROYAL WILL ALSO ATTEND A FUND RAISING CONCERT AND A SEPARATE DINNER IN AID OF THE HUMANITARIAN EFFORT IN HAITI. THE PRINCE HAS DESCRIBED THE FUTURE OF LESOTHO'S YOUNGSTERS, MANY OF WHOM HAVE LOST THEIR PARENTS TO HIV OR AIDS, AS 'VERY BLEAK' IN A YOUTUBE VIDEO MESSAGE POSTED LAST MONTH. IN THE BROADCAST POSTED ON THE YOUTUBE-HOSTED ROYAL CHANNEL, HARRY SAID HE WAS PROUD OF THE WORK HIS ORGANIZATION HAD ACHIEVED SINCE BEING SET UP FOUR YEARS AGO. HE ADDED: 'WITHOUT HELP, THE FUTURE OF THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY AND ITS UNIQUE PEOPLE IS VERY BLEAK. WE BELIEVE SENTEBALE CAN CHANGE THIS.' HARRY FOUNDED SENTEBALE IN 2006 WITH LESOTHO'S PRINCE SEEISO AFTER SPENDING PART OF HIS GAP YEAR IN THE KINGDOM WHICH IS LOCATED WITHIN SOUTH AFRICA. MORE THAN 3,000 OF LESOTHO'S ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE YOUNGSTERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN HELPED BY SENTEBALE.

QUEEN'S GALLERY, BUCKINGHAM PALACE, TO PRESENT 'VICTORIA & ALBERT: ART & LOVE'

THE ROYAL FAMILY, AN UNPOSED PAINTING BY FRANZ XAVER WINTERHALTER FROM 1846 WHICH DEPICTS VICTORIA AS BOTH QUEEN AND MOTHER WITH HER CHILDREN GATHERED AROUND HER, HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM ITS BERTH IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE'S EAST GALLERY. THE OIL ON CANVAS WORK, COMMISSIONED BY VICTORIA, IS ONE OF THE PRIME EXHIBITS IN THE FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION VICTORIA & ALBERT: ART & LOVE AT THE QUEEN'S GALLERY, BUCKINGHAM PALACE. THE EXHIBITION, INCLUDING MORE THAN 400 ITEMS FROM THE ROYAL COLLECTION, AIMS TO CHALLENGE THE IMAGE OF VICTORIA AS A MELANCHOLY WIDOW, REVEALING HER AS A PASSIONATE YOUNG WOMAN. THE EXHIBITION WILL CELEBRATE 'ONE OF HISTORY'S GREAT LOVE STORIES' AND REFLECT THE ROYAL COUPLE'S MUTUAL DELIGHT IN COLLECTING AND SHOWING OFF ARTWORKS. AROUND A THIRD OF THE OBJECTS IN THE EXHIBITION WERE EXCHANGED AS GIFTS BETWEEN THE PAIR. THEY WERE REGULAR VISITORS TO THE ANNUL ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITION AND FREQUENTLY MADE PURCHASES. VICTORIA AND ALBERT WERE ALSO IMPORTANT PATRONS AND COLLECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND LENT THEIR SUPPORT TO THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1853. THEY COMMISSIONED HUNDREDS OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF THEIR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND HOUSEHOLD, AS WELL AS CAPTURING PLACES THEY HAD VISITED TOGETHER. WINTERHALTER'S PAINTING WAS INTENDED TO HANG AT THE FAMILY RETREAT OF OSBORNE HOUSE ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT. IT WAS EXHIBITED IN 1847 AT ST JAMES'S PALACE, WHERE IT WAS SEEN BY 100,000 PEOPLE. HOWEVER, THE PICTURE WAS NOT WELL RECEIVED BY SOME OF THE PRESS, WHO CRITICIZED ITS 'SENSUOUS AND FLESHY' CHARACTER. VICTORIA & ALBERT: ART & LOVE OPENS ON 19.MARCH AND RUNS UNTIL 31.OCTOBER AT THE QUEEN'S GALLERY, BUCKINGHAM PALACE. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.royalcollection.org.uk.