HIGHPOINT

 

When friends and people I know always find out I grew up by Hershey it always amazes them for some reason. I never did understand why. I will say it was nice being able to be so close to Hershey Park and getting in when it was just around like $20? Heavens know what it is now. The town of Hershey is very pretty, quaint, stately homes, smells of chocolate and what's not to love about streetlights that look like Hershey Kisses?  Many landscaping companies even use cocoa in their tan bark, and the rose gardens at the Hotel Hershey shouldn't be missed. Over the weekend my good friend the Dame Courtney invited me for a private tour of the Highpoint Mansion, which was home to Milton Hershey and his wife Kitty.

While many other big moguls and industrialist of the time in, and some after the Gilded Age, were building huge mansions, Hershey opted for a modest home is size and furnishings. With only 22 rooms and a large front porch, it features elements of both Greek revival and Colonial styles. 

I was able to snap a few pictures secretly, the slick bitch I am.... since no photos in the house were permitted, but the grand staircase features a stunning stained glass window made by the Rudy Glass Company, which is based in York. Hershey liked keeping trades local, and the Rudy Glass Company did all the stained glass not only in Highpoint Mansion, but also in the Hotel Hershey. We know the Mistress adores a good staircase.

The upstairs window in the ceiling.

The billiard room was pretty cool to see with a mural titled "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott that goes the perimeter of the room. Apparently Hershey used to read his nightly newspapers, have a sniffer, and most times, had a cigar in hand every evening in the billiards.

I know some people don't care for Milton Hershey, and would be correct as Hershey did  some things wrong,  and probably continues to, with slave labor in Cuba with processing sugar...which everyone should be entitled to fair trade pay and salaries. But he did do some commendable things. Not only did Milton Hershey want to built his factory here,  but also wanted to build a town. People thought he was nuts. He went anyhow and planned and built the town of Hershey with house for his workers, post office, churches and schools.  The company and town was a hit. Hershey was not only a candy maker and dreamer, but he was a good businessman and learned from mistakes. He was really one of the first to make a general basic chocolate bar, and sell it for a low price, one everyone could afford. He always gave back half his money to the community for upkeep, and all branches of his company were within walking distance of Highpoint in case he was needed. Hershey and his wife were not able to have children, so they donated millions to invest in a school for orphaned boys called the Hershey Industrial School. To this day,  funds and trust are still intact to keep all orphaned children clothed, fed, cared for, and have an education. When Kitty died, Milton was never the same, and spent most of his time in Cuba. When he returned 7 years later, he only lived on the second floor of Highpoint, and gave the first floor to the country club as a clubhouse. Upon his death, he wanted most of the furnishings to be sold off and money given to the boys orphan school and various other charities. The house is now the offices of the Hershey Trust, hence why most furnishings are not the original. Below is the one room Quaker school Milton Hershey attended. Also on the grounds.

To my knowledge they still give out a chocolate bar after leaving the Chocolate World attraction. But I dare say, I was never a Hershey fan. I'm more a Ghirardelli boy myself.

LITTLE LIBRARY

Something positive to take us away fOR a brief moment today. I don't know how many of you have seen these little gems or may even have one in your neighborhood. One of my neighbors, the lady with the farm, put one up a few months ago and since, the community has put up two others. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world, not to mention get and keep people interested in reading. The first Little Free Library was built in 2009 by the late Todd Bol in Hudson, Wisconsin. Bol mounted a wooden container designed to look like a one-room schoolhouse on a post on his lawn and filled it with books as a tribute to his mother, who was a book lover and school teacher and had recently died. Bol shared his idea with his partner, Rick Brooks, and together they built more of them in different areas of the Midwestern United States. After a while, the idea started to spread. Last I heard there are now over 100,000 of them world wide! Most of these can be built and put right up on your own property or in my building,  or permission required first if on public land. They can be as simple or elaborate as one wants. When I finally saw the two of ours, I thought they were so cute and do such good I think. We need to be more involved in community I think, and stop this sitting around while everything is going under.  This one in the little park where I walk Buster, reminded me of dear Debs.

Meanwhile at the other park in Doylestown, the steward of this one took into consideration the pandemic for those less fortunate. Since then after going pass, this one has stay food related, so it does even more good.

And in the new Britain Park where we sometimes go..

Here are some of my favorites from their Instagram. I even saw one that had knitting supplies in it!

Petaluma CA!

Seattle WA

Los Angeles

What a genius idea for those who couldn't find a mask. The steward of this one made mask. This one was in Anacortes WA.

Here's one in Arizona.

Denver CO

New Orleans!

San Antonio TX

Someone was looking for a book in Jackson FL.

Wyncote PA.

I have myself taken several books to two of mine, but rest assure it wasn't last night's reading material. I just love the whole idea of these and it's such a good thing. If your interested in knowing more about them, donating, how to get started, register one you already have, or how to get involved, you can go the Little Free Library website for a wealth of info. I'm off now to go walk doggies.

HENDRICKS GIN PALACE

Contrary to what you may think, this is not code word for the Casa du Borghese. With all due respect to the Queen, Buckingham isn’t the only palace in the United Kingdom the Mistress is paying attention to.

 Roughly 400 miles northwest of Westminster, in the remote seaside Scottish town of Girvan, sits the Gin Palace—an iron-and-glass temple dedicated to the production of Hendrick’s Gin And it is now on the Mistress's radar. The palace is the perfect physical realization of the charms and oddities that make Hendrick’s Gin truly Hendrick’s—it’s a mix between a mad scientist’s laboratory, your fabulous uncle’s weekend home, and a cathedral for those who worship at the altar of gin!!!!

 Ever since its launch in 1999, Hendrick’s Gin has delighted imbibers with the unusual and the delightfully imaginative: branding based on linotype prints reminiscent of Joseph Cornell’s surrealist collages, a dark and mysterious apothecary style bottle, and the liquid itself...like nectar of the Gods....a beautifully balanced and complex gin with the signature flavors of cucumber and rose. At the time of its creation, a gin made with flavors outside of the traditional juniper profile was practically unheard of. Every ounce of gin in every bottle has been within these walls at some point.

At first glance, the distillery is both grand and modest. The somewhat unassuming box with an atrium attached to the front of the building is built from black brick and glass, reminiscent of gothic architecture and the utilitarian warehouses of the industrial revolution. Five soaring brick arches indicate the foyer of the building, the arcade inscribed with capital H's. The soaring atrium feels open and airy while cozy and intimate. Throughout the atrium are nods to the Victorian era: greenhouses, seating areas with fringed lamps, bookcases filled with curios and Hendrick’s bottles, taxidermy peacocks, and quirky garden follies. Just behind the greenhouse foyer are three of the original distillery’s stills prominently on display: two Bennett Stills, and one Carter-Head Still, encased in glass in a large room painted inky black and topped with a stained-glass rosette window decorated with roses and cucumbers. 

Appropriately, for a place determined to subvert all expectations of what a mass-production distillery ought to look like, the inner sanctum of the Hendricks operation plays host to a highly-skilled small team of less than ten. However, what they lack in number is amply made up for in production: every single drop of Hendricks, enjoyed anywhere in the world, has been distilled within these walls.

Gracie along with Global Ambassador, Ally Martin.

Lesley Gracie is the Mistress of the Gin Palace and  is the creator behind the world-leading Hendrick’s Gin, which hasn't changed it's recipe in over 30 years, and it's expanding range,  and has been at the heart of the gin renaissance for over 40 years. She also crafted their first ultra-low alcohol, Atopia and a new absinthe, the result of years of experimentation. .Alongside their previous master distiller at the time, Lesley trialled hundreds of combinations, before settling on a complex mix of 11 botanicals and cucumber and rose essence..

And the rest, they say, is history. Two decades on and Lesley still oversees the distillation of every drop of Hendrick's, which is done in small batches of 500 litres at a time.As well as doubling capacity, The stunning Gin Palace gives Lesley the chance to exercise some major creativity and experiment with plants and flowers impossible to cultivate otherwise on Scottish soil.While the palace is only open by invitation only, and not the general public, I'm sure it will be a matter of time till I go to see this magnificent creation. I have befriended two ambassadors of the brand on Instagram, the Dying Dandy, and The Young Mr Flanagan.

I hope working through these two gents not only will I get to go see the palace one day, but Young Mr Flanagan is also filling me in on where to get Gracie's newest creation... Amazonia Gin. And leave it to Gracie to make it all worth while too.

Just don't any of you tell her just how thirsty the Mistress can get!!!!! Maybe I will go on to become the first drag Global Ambassador!!!And a HUGE thank you to Leslie Gracie for this delicious, intoxing libation. She has no idea how I enjoy it so.

MS.GUINNESS

Daphne Guinness  is an English socialite and fashion designer. She is also direct descendant of the 18th century Irish brewer Arthur Guinness. I can remember years ago I saw her at one of Amanda Lepore's cabaret shows. I was quickly mesmerized by how striking and well dressed she was....she became an instant muse and inspiration for fashion in my own work. Hell, if money were no object and I had been a woman, I would most likely be dressing just like her. And what a colorful background she has.

Her father is Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne, the eldest son of Diana Mitford and Bryan Guinness. Diana Mitford was the daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, the father of the Mitford sisters. Mitford divorced Guinness and married the leader of the British Union of Fascists, Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet. Daphne Guinness has said she did not know of Mosley's political affiliations, before she heard it in 1980 on the BBC News that he had died. 

Daphne Guinness' mother, Jonathan Guinness' second wife, was Suzanne Lisney, of Cadaques, Spain, and Paris.  As a child, she grew up in the country houses owned by her family in England and Ireland. She spent her holidays in an 18th-century former monastery in Cadaqués, Catalonia, where the neighbors included the likes of Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Dieter Roth, and Richard Hamilton. Can you even imagine having neighbors like them??? Daphne started her foray into fashion with friend, the legendary Isabella Blow. At the request of Fashion Institute of Technology director Valerie Steele, she spent two years mounting an exhibition of a hundred displays of her clothing, which was staged within the context of her other projects, film and modelling  She has worked with Karl Lagerfeld numerous times and famous milliner, Philip Treacy.  She was a good friend of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Scheduled to model for charity on the runway the day his suicide was announced, Guinness veiled herself in mourning. 

She designs fashion, jewelry, and perfume. Since 1994, she has been on the International Best Dressed List. In 2010, she was named in Tattler's top 10 best-dressed list. In 2011, she created a make-up line for MAC cosmetics. In January 2011, she was asked by Tom Ford to close his comeback womenswear show.

If that isn't enough Ms Guinness has also become a camp character, and a fixture in club scenes.  A philanthropist...In 2012, Guinness auctioned 100 items from her wardrobe to raise funds to start the Isabella Blow Foundation: a charity that provides donations for bursaries at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, and also supports various mental health charities. But it's her art and music to me that sets her apart. She is definitely memorable, and her fashion is simply stunning. But if your looking for something out there Avant gaud and something different, look no further. Please....she was doing Gaga before Gaga.