I am quite a Britophile, I realized some time ago. I have a fondness for the British quaint countryside & haunted castles, revolutionary music, gritty, socially realistic cinema & blunt humor. For amateur detectives (hello Miss Marple!) and haunted passionate heroines who roam the world of British literature. But, more than anything, I like all things batty and potty. All things quirky and Monty Pythonesque. And there is no one who is better at being odd and eccentric than the British. To be more specific, the British Aristocracy.
To quote Christopher Hitchens (who is charmingly annoying but so clever and witty): "There are various forms of English mania and oddity, and they tend to be more notorious among the upper classes, if only because true eccentricity requires some leisure time, and some money, for its cultivation."
So, when my husband starts telling me to stop acting so eccentric (instead of telling me to stop acting crazy), I will know that we have crossed that line into the land of riches. Ah, the freedom of expression that will bring!
Some of my favorite eccentrics...
Nomadic Jaguars in the Cheviot Walk, Northumberland
Charlie the penguin among portraits of the Marquis of Bath
The queen of eccentricity, Vivienne Westwood
Photos by Tim Walker via Vanity Fair
xoxoxo
