Getting the party started
“PERHAPS the world’s second-worst crime is boredom; the first is being a bore.” Sir Cecil Beaton took entertainment seriously, but for all the decadent delights of London it was his rented Wiltshire country house, Ashcombe, that played host to the society photographer’s most legendary parties. Even by the extravagant standards of his day, Beaton’s ‘Fête Champêtre’ in the summer of 1937 stood out, with Ashcombe transformed into
