The MAG weekly Blog by Lydia, every Friday at 1700 hrs. Nr 123 25th October 2024
Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.
This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, this week's subjects: Latest News: Harrolds Bankrupt, The Spectacular Sensations of the 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, LVMH boss Bernard Arnault and the French Mafia, Breast Cancer Month again, and Salmon again
Latest News: Harrolds Bankrupt.
But the good news is that this is the Australian luxury fashion retailer Harrolds, not the world-famous London Harrods at Bompton Road, London which was bought by Mohammed Al-Fayed, the father of Dodi Fayed who pinched Princess Diana from Prince Charles. (now King Charles) and they both died in what became maybe the most famous car crash ever, in Paris.
The Spectacular Sensations of the 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
Welcome, fashion aficionados, to the ethereal world of the 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where glamour meets innovation and beauty embraces diversity like never before. This year, the runway is set to be a mesmerizing fusion of avant-garde designs, groundbreaking performances, and a celebration of individuality that promises to redefine the very essence of luxury fashion. As the curtains rise, prepare to be transported into a realm where fantasy and reality intertwine, creating a visual symphony that is as breathtaking as it is empowering.
Against a backdrop of shimmering lights and pulsating music, the angels of Victoria's Secret graced the stage with confidence and grace, showcasing the latest trends in lingerie and fashion. From delicate lace to bold colors, each ensemble is a masterpiece in its own right, designed to inspire, captivate, and empower.
But the magic of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show extends far beyond the glittering garments. It is a celebration of diversity, inclusion, and body positivity, where models of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds come together to redefine beauty standards and challenge norms. In a world that is constantly evolving, the 2024 show served as a beacon of progress and a testament to the power of representation in the fashion industry.
As the audience looked on in awe, they were not just witnessing a fashion show. They were experiencing a cultural revolution, a movement that transcends the confines of the runway and inspires change on a global scale. With each strut and pose, the angels of Victoria's Secret paved way for a more inclusive and accepting world, one where beauty knows no bounds and confidence reigns supreme. And as usual, our favourite angels were back to serve us beauty, skin and glam. Our current South African superstar Artist Tyla performing live while embodying one of the brand's latest lingerie set.
This year's show was played too safe due to the controversial backlash of lack of diversity in the brand's marketing campaign in the past.
LVMH boss Bernard Arnault and the French Mafia. Arnault became one of the richest persons in the world by amassing luxury brands under his umbrella and making them successful. How did he get to control all these companies? There are procedures to follow when you want to take over a stock market quoted company, you build up your shareholding to a certain level and then have to declare that and try to get a seat on their board. If you go above a certain percentage, you may be asked to make an offer for the entire company (all the publicly held shares), and often such a deal is concluded with borrowed money or payment in other shares. Quite a craft, some call it company raiders and there are romanticized films about this, but it is all legal. Despite all that Arnault felt the need for an armoured car, to protect himself against bullets and explosives, so he must have made a few enemies along the way, or maybe the French Connection in fashion country? Don't be surprised, we hear more about the Italian Mafia than about the French one, but the French one is definitely there. And in order not to draw attention he had his armoured car look very simple. It's up for sale now, 65,000 $.
Breast Cancer Month again: 40 % of post-menopausal women who get breast cancer (after the climax) are overweight. (Spanish Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, and copied by the British Medical Journal). As you too will one day reach that age you might as well start controlling your weight now and get a healthy BMI of between 18,5 and 25.
Salmon, again. The most common salmon we see here in restaurants is farmed smoked salmon,
and what we buy at the market is in fact not salmon but mackerel.
The salmon admirer will go for wild salmon, smoked, which is much more tasty than the soupy structureless farmed salmon. Smoked what? The farmed salmon is often not even smoked but injected with preservatives, flavour enhancers and colourants, and smoke flavourings are used, but for wild salmon, more sophisticated methods are used, and each comes at its price. Smoked in oak wood smoke, mixtures of oak and beech, or maple, birch, beech, alder and hickory wood mixtures, even shavings from aged malt whisky casks, or the new Zealand Manuka wood which also produces manuka honey, currently in vogue and retailing at an easy 1000 GHC/kg. Or you can go for raw wild salmon for sushi, but because of a possible Anisakis parasite, the salmon then normally is frozen at -20C for at least 7 days, which of course does not do its flavour any good. Anisakiasis is mainly an intestine infection that can be treated by deworming, but some react rather severely and can be really sick. Flavour? Buttery sweet with a bit of an umami taste, and much more tasty than the ordinary sushi we see here which mainly uses mackerel and yellowtail.
And bears seem to be real epicures, gourmets, apart from stealing honey
they also like fresh salmon.
