Weekend Conversation Starters

[Messy Nessy Chic]   Ready for a new storyteller challenge? This time, a fantastic photograph taken in Paris in 1945, of an unknown woman carrying six bottles of wine (naturally) and a baguette almost as tall as she is. [Image] What kind of Parisian table awaits her impressive delivery? She has the suspicious eyes of a knowing messenger. But who is she? The story behind the shot is yours to tell. Become the storyteller! If you or someone you know might be interested, maybe this writing prompt is the reminder to unplug and let your/ their imagination stretch its muscles this weekend. Short stories (around 700 words or less) & poems alike are welcome. You know where to reach me (contact@messynessychic.com) just use “MNC Storyteller” in the subject line. We’ll feature our favourites at the beginning of next month on MessyNessyChic.com. PS. This photograph has possibly been miscredited to a Branson Decou, but since he died in 1941, it’s more likely it was taken by his wife, a Madame Decou, who was also a photographer according to records. But that’s about as much as we know. I’m looking forward to reading the submissions! In the meantime, your weekend conversation starters await… Stay curious, [Nessy] PPS. Thanks to our keyholders who joined our Zoom event with the Marchioness of Gossip this afternoon. Catch the link for the replay in our [Video library]( in the next newsletter.   [Forget Count Dracula, Meet History’s Most Prolific Female Serial Killer](  [image-10]( Every year, nearly a million people flock to Romania’s famous Bran Castle, a medieval fortress in Transylvania often referred to as the home of Dracula. Us mere mortals have a morbid fascination with the seductively taboo tales of vampires from deepest Transylvania and the immortal be-fanged and be-cloaked Count Dracula – but what of the Countess Dracula?…  [Continue Reading](   [There was No Business like Show Business in Ye Olde English Royal Court](  [inigostage]( With the lights of Broadway and the West End lit once again, live theatre fans are dazzled anew by crashing chandeliers, green-skinned witches and rapping revolutionaries. But for all their glitter and grandeur, no modern musical can approach the absolute spectacle of the royal costume parties that played out on stage during the English Renaissance.…  [Continue Reading](   [Postcards from the Last Windmill in Paris](  [moulin-de-la-galette-in-montmartre-mary-evans-picture-library]( In the dappled light coming through the trees, a jovial bohemian crowd have gathered to dance and dally at the Moulin de la Galette, one of the many windmills that originally stood at the northern tip of Paris. By the time Renoir’s famous painting had captured the scene in 1876, the unlikely venue was already…  [Continue Reading](   [A Brief Exploration of Male Objectification Through The Ages](  [1843_20210226_FITNESSINFLUENCERS_001]( ‘Objectification’ simply doesn’t sit well with our emancipated, liberal 21st century selves; in its simplest form it suggests the degrading of someone to the status of a mere object. Throughout history, the objectification of women, going hand in hand with gender discrimination, body dysmorphic disorders and sexual violence, is a familiar problem we know all…  [Continue Reading](   [13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DLXXIII)](  [Sarah_Goodridge_Beauty_Revealed_The_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art (1)]( [Continue Reading](  Interested in Becoming a MessyNessy Keyholder? [Apply now to unlock the Vault!](    [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [Blog]( [To read more from MessyNessyChic visit the Blog]( and make sure you keep getting these email by adding contact@messynessychic.com to your address book or whitelist us. Our postal address: In a Café, Paris 75001 Want out of the loop? [Unsubscribe](.