Fancy dress has been practised for over hundreds of years, tracing its origins as far back as Roman times but it is generally accepted that the present day of notion of a fancy dress party has evolved from the Italian Masquerade balls of the 15th century. These were truly grand and opulent occasions and were almost exclusively attended by the aristocracy and wealthy. These festivities were for the upper classes, and were closely associated with the traditional Venetian Carnival and the use of masks over the face to be unrecognisable.

J. Corsentino’s long awaited new book Afterlight: End of the World is now out. Set in a post-apocalyptic future where humans are being hunted to extinction by angels, while a long group of shape-shifting male faerie called Phelans struggle to protect the last few survivors. It is the first in an epic four part graphic novel series which covers past, present and future, and explains the faeries’ origins, why they left us, and what happens when they are suddenly forced back into our modern world.

J. Corsentino’s long awaited new book Afterlight: End of the World is now out. Set in a post-apocalyptic future where humans are being hunted to extinction by angels, while a long group of shape-shifting male faerie called Phelans struggle to protect the last few survivors. It is the first in an epic four part graphic novel series which covers past, present and future, and explains the faeries’ origins, why they left us, and what happens when they are suddenly forced back into our modern world.

Millefiori Murano glass pendants were first introduced sometime during the 19th century, but they draw their origins from a technique that was available long before this period. The staple technology of creating concentric circle patterns had been around ever since ancient times, with the credit for inventing it being attributed to the Romans.

The appeal of old pewter lies in its unusual shapes and mellow tints and above all in its rarity. At the point of origin antique pewter normally had low value and our ancestors could have had little notion, as they drank their ale from pewter tankards or ate their meals from pewter plate, of the prominence that these household goods would one day acquire or the prices that it might command. Although the metal itself has little intrinsic value - as an alloy of lead and tin with a soupcon of antimony, bismuth or copper - it has grown in...