'I HAD NO CHOICE' & 'RENDEZVOUS TO LEIGHTON HOUSE - IN HOLLAND PARK, LONDON W14'

'I HAD NO CHOICE'
*It's 1992
*It's 10:30PM After Night School
*You're On A Train-Platform
*A Man From Your Course Calls Out Your Name For Help!
*He Is Being Harassed By A Group Of Men
*You Are Several Meters Down The Platform From Him
*You Are A Woman Alone
*Mobile Phones Are Not Ubiquitous, You Can't Phone For Support
*The Only Route To The Station Office Is To Pass The Group Of Men!
*And......The Station Office Staff Have Clocked Off For The Night
*What Do You Do?
One Of Us Recounts This Chilling Moment. And What She Did.

*Would You Have Done The Same?

'RENDEZVOUS TO LEIGHTON HOUSE - HOLLAND PARK, LONDON W14'
Victorian Painter Frederick Leighton (b.1830-1896), Famous For His Painting Of 'FLAMING JUNE.' Commissioned Architect George Aitchison To Construct A Studio Home. It Was Completed Between 1866-1895.
Throughout His Childhood, Leighton Travelled Extensively With His Family, And Lived In Germany. Later He Developed A Passion For Moor Architecture Found In The Countries He Visited And Resided In - Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, Syria, Spain, Italy And Greece.
Though Leighton Enjoyed Throwing Social Gatherings And Kept A Coterie Of Artist Friends, Some Of Whom Were Pre-Raphaelite Painters Who Lived Close By. He Was Largely A Private Person, And Speculation Thrived About His Orientation. None Of His Personal Journals Indicated Or Mentioned Anyone Romantically Significant To Him Either. Rumours Abound That He And Dorothy Dene, His Favourite Model Who Sat For Flaming June, Were Lovers. A Beautiful Painting He Created Of Her Hangs On His Bedroom Wall, As Do Other Portraits Of People Close To Him. His Single Bed In His Sparsely Decorated Bedroom Doesn't Indicate Anything More Than A Place For Slumber......And Nothing More. His Easel Filled Studio, And The Arab Hall, Are Redolent Of His Emotions, Focus And Meditation.
Like Many Historical Figures Of Note, Their Family Backgrounds, Activities, Patterns And Alliances, Offer A Great Deal Of Information That Is Useful To Understand Their Positioning, The Sequence Of Events In Which They Lived, That Surrounded Them, And That Followed After Their Lifetime. None Of Them Were Just Born And Became Handy With A Brush, Or Whatever Tool They Employed To Form Expression. And Then They Just.....Expired. So, Further Reading Is Recommended To Gradually Unravel Their Hidden Mysteries. Some Are Easily Perceived, Whilst Others Are Cloaked. But Once Fully Revealed, They Offer A Tapestry That Weaves Further Into....
This Is One Of A Number Of Rendezvous To Leighton House That We Hope You Enjoy.
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