Rebel club

Because Lord Bassington-Bassington loves club ties. And Moomintrolls. And because this lovely coaster was a Yuletide present from Lady Mju. Thank you very much!

Perhaps it is time to finally try to join the Handlebar Club?

Casual(ty) ward

Over the years, Lord Bassington-Bassington has reached the point where he will don a tie or bow tie on practically every weekday and social occasion.

You know how it is: You feel naked without a jacket, a jacket needs a pocket handkerchief, and then it all looks wrong without an ironed shirt (which of course is no fun without cufflinks), and an ironed shirt looks sad without some neckwear, and suddenly you're dressed to the nines even if you're only popping out for a pint.

Well, possibly you don't know how it is. Because you just might be a sensible person, because most people are more sensible than Lord Bassington-Bassington. Who, in his defense, is a Hound, not a person.

So this blog post is simply a small assortment of pictures that Lord Bassington-Bassington has found himself returning to for examples of more casual looks that still cut a dash.

This picture comes straight from the Facebook page of Jeffery-West, His Lordship's favourite footwear outfitters.



Because cultures such as mod and skinhead are good places to go when you need to dress down.

This has been shamelessly lifted from the web page of esteemed milliners Lock & Co. And yes, naturally His Lordship ended up getting a hat or two from them.

While this picture of Scottish journalist Vic Galloway is ripped from the Facebook page of tweed dealers Walker Slater, another of His Lordship's favourites.

So, apparently, Lord Bassington-Bassington is now at the point where he considers a three-piece suit to be casual clothing as long as one dispenses with the tie and pocket hankie.

Could someone please refer His Lordship to some sort of dress rehab?

A dogged theology

Lord Bassington has a deep and abiding interest in various religions, ranging from Satanism to Sufism and with a special passion for various expressions of the Christian traditions, be they conventional, more novel or utterly out there.

When the push comes to shove, though, Lord Bassington-Bassington remains a Caninist of the secular variety, waddling through life without any faith in gods or an afterlife.

So finally, here is a theology that even a Caninist and Atheist can get solidly behind.

(Photo from the Interwebs, thanks to Fraulein Frost for the tip).

Yes, we know. Lord Bassington-Bassington is on a fast track to Doggy Hell.

A styling challenge

Corduroy jacket are not just hard wearing - they can also be hard to wear. This is the reason why an olive green cord jacket has been haunting the wardrobe here at Bassington Manor for a few years now. There is nothing wrong with the jacket itself, quite the opposite in fact: Its manufacture is excellent, as it was snached at a sale at a Hackett supplier in London. The problem is how to wear it. How do you accessorise a cord jacket?

As the reader can clearly see, the jacket is a bit too much "geography teacher". Now, teaching is a noble profession, and Lord Bassington-Bassington occasionally finds himself giving lectures (or at least waving his paws and going "woof woof" a lot). But on such occasions, His Lordship tends to prefer tweeds.

So what can be done to liven up this jacket? Perhaps it would be an idea to match it with a fair isle sweater (from Cordings) and a knitted tie (picked up for a couple of euros from a Swedish webshop that was changing its collection).

Ummm, what was that about "geography teacher" again?

So here's another idea: Fill the jacket's lapels with badges and other neofolk bling for a slightly post-punky look.

Again: No. The badges don't work at all. Perhaps they would work better if they advertised the Socialist Worker's Party and FNL Solidarity or something. And then we're not even in teacher territory anymore, we're in leftist teacher territory. Not to belittle the great leftist teacher Lord Bassington-Bassington was exposed to in younger years, but they werem't exactly style icons.

While there are certainly leftists that can out-dress anyone on the right, Lord Bassington-Bassington is more comfortable with a more conservative look. So perhaps the jacket can be saved by a touch of tweed - a reassuringly reactionary fashion statement?

No. Njet. Nein. Nie. The pocket hankie and bow tie don't work at all.

But there must be a simple fix, an all-round accessory that can elevate any outfit. Perhaps...

Well, there we are. Perfection! Winthrope always helps out.

Lovecraftian film favourites

There's a steady stream of Lovecraft flicks trickling out these days. Most of these are ultra-low-budget fan adaptations who actually tend to be better than the major movies, because they tend to stick more closely to Lovecraft's original stories. Still, for someone like Lord Bassington-Bassington, whose approach to Lovecraft is through an interest in the numinous they tend to leave a bit to be desired. For frankly, very few of these films manage to maintain the sense of the mystical and otherworldly that one gets from Lovecraft's best stories.

Lord Bassington-Bassington was a bit disappointed by the recent adaptation of The Whispererer in Darkness. For instead of cosmic horror, the creators seemed to want a science fiction adventure film. As an aside, Lord Bassington-Bassington has actually found that Whisperer is better on the second watching, as one won't be disappointed by what one gets. And anyway, it made His Lordship read a whole biography of Charles Fort.

But some films really manage to maintain the mystical and mysterious. So without further digressions here's a few of His Lordship's favourite short Lovecraft adaptations.



Nyarlathotep was one of the first Lovecraftian amateur productions Lord Bassington-Bassington ever saw, and it still has a special place in his heart. The film is available on DVD as part of Lurker Films' Lovecraft Collection, and is an essential addition to any Lovecraftian household.



Sweden is a happening place for Lovecraftian adaptations, apparently. This production is also available on DVD, which includes some spiffy behind-the-scenes features, and has already found its way to the shelves here at Bassington Manor. Lord Bassington-Bassington would like to claim that this is part of his policy of supporting independent artists, but in reality it might be mostly due to His Lordship's sad collector's mania.

Oh, go and see the film Nightgaunts too, by the same people.



Alexander Pavlenko delivers an excellent interpretation of Lovecraft's story "The Temple", Lovecraft's treatment of the Atlantis myth. And while on the subject of lost worlds, Mr. Pavlenko's meditation on Jewish life in Russia (or is it the Ukraine?) is certainly worth seven minutes of your time. See it here.



And looking forward, Lord Bassington-Bassington suspects that the new film Miskatonic University might be worth seeing.

Perhaps it's time for another Lovecraftian film festival...

Altarior motives

Peter Horneland is a Norwegian artist based in Oslo. Mr. Horneland is not only talented, but also sports an impressive moustache - something that rarely fails to win extra points here at the Lord Bassington-Bassington Chronicles. The young artist has already created several intriguing artworks, but Lord Bassington-Bassington was particularly taken with his cycle Altarspace, which explores the sacred and sacrificial.

The altars of Mr. Horneland reminds Lord Bassington-Bassington of the ritual works of Halo Manash in that they seemingly belong to all, and none, religious traditions and esoteric currents. And His Lordship suspects that the young man might win a prominent place in that subcurrent of Scandinavian artists working in the weird and esoteric, such as Karen Nikgol, Fredrik Söderberg and Johannes Høie.

Surely there is some sort of sinister influence at work up here in the far North.

A craving for cravats

Tomorrow is cravat day in Croatia. And if you wonder why the country has a day dedicated to a piece of neckwear, it helps to know that the very word "cravat" is developed from Croat. Indeed, the custom of tying a piece of stylish cloth around one's neck spread around Europe after Croatian mercenaries were seen sporting some very stylish neckpieces.

The oldest known depiction of a cravat. Naturally, sported by a Croatian.

As such, the question isn't why Croatia has a cravat day, but why the rest of Europe doesn't celebrate this excellent piece of neckwear as well. Lord Bassington-Bassington is certainly planning to get in on the action.

But what of the cravat today? Here in Norway, the cravat has long been associated with certain insufferable upper-class types, eminently parodied by legendary comedian Trond Kirkvaag. Unfortunately, this clip only seems to be available in Norwegian, but even non-Weegies should get the point.



In many ways, the cravat has fallen from favour, a sad fact that is also reflected in contemporary style books. While perusing a rather entertaining tome known as The Chic Geek's Fashion, Grooming and Style Guide for Men, Lord Bassington-Bassington came across the following passage:

Cravats. This is a difficult one. Because the tie has become so much smaller, the big voluptuous cravat looks wrong at the moment. If you can find a way of making the cravat seem casual - and this will depend on the fabric and pattern - then try it but generally one to avoid.

Well, with His Lordship being the natural contrarian that he is, it wasn't hard to predict what would happen next.

For if there's one thing that punk rock should have taught us, it is that when dressing in the morning, one's ability to annoy boring conformists should definitely be a factor. And as today's boring conformists are people who wear jeans and t-shirts and think they are rock'n’roll rebels, or wear suits because they have to but skip the ties because they think that shows individuality, cravats are the new bondage collars.

Oh bondage up yours!

So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Lord Bassington-Bassington has amassed a small collection of cravats. And what would be the use of having one's own private Chronicles if one can't inflict one's peccadilloes on the world?

His Lordship’s cravats are, from left to right, a vintage item bought at a flea market in Lisbon, a summery cravat from Holland Esquire, a skull and paisley-patterned loveliness from Jeffery West and a nice and heavy number from New & Lingwood that is great for the current season.

Lord Bassington-Bassington's most recent acquisition on the cravat front was a vintage piece from legendary manufacturer Tootal, bought from eBay. And here modelled by the lovely Balbina Basseti, who hereby makes her debut on the fashion scene.

So cravat up! You know you want to. Unless you don’t. Which is also fine. Sort of.