As London continues to sink under its festive consumption, I stumbled across a lovely little find in Chelsea called The Good Place. And as redemption against some of the excesses, or just a relaxing, friendly place to shop, TGP is well worth a visit. Through careful selection of suppliers, The Good Place is a champion for fair and ethical trading. I feel I shall be a frequent visitor as I work my way through the scented candle range and the socks. The socks are an excellent initiative by a company called Jollie’s; for each pair of socks purchased, the company gives one pair of socks to a local homeless charity. So someone’s in for a Christmas treat with the whackily interesting, snuggly, softie socks I’ve purchased for them. @MisterMac, if you’re reading this, don’t worry – they’re not for you!
In the absence of finding an operatic track about socks, I’ve chosen the wonderful duet from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro that symbolises hope and redemption. Such symbolism is not found within the context of the opera, however, but from within the film that made Sull’aria che soave zeffiretto one of the most famous duets ever. Tonight’s video clip is therefore brought to you not from La Scala, Covent Garden or the Met, but from Shawshank State Penitentiary.
Credits: Edith Mathis and Gundula Janowitz singing, Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin and Karl Böhm conducting.