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  1. My pillow will certainly be damp this evening if I don’t post Little Anthony and the Imperials.

    And of course, there’s this one.

    Ta brioche est elle bien beurrée?
    As tu besoin de quelqu’un pour te beurrer la brioche?

  10. Almohada is Spanish for pillow and the name of this passionate salsa ballad by Tito Nieves.

    In Portuguese the word is travesserio. The title of this song is Coração de travesseiro: Pillow Heart. Time for a visit to the local bed store with Braziian Pagoda star, Thiago Soares.

  11. Sensual Swedo-Finnish siren, Lill Lindfors doesn’t beat about the bush or the bed!

    Jag vill blir di mjuka kudde (I want to be your soft pillow!)

    PS

    YouTube’s algorithm decided I must be in a romantic mood and treated me to Sade at Live Aid.

    I’d never see that before. Quite stupendous!

  17. This thread will prove invaluable for globe-trotting insomniacs! In a hotel and need another pillow? Here are all the words you need.

    Kopfkissen – the German word for pillow

    Kodda – Icelandic. Koddahjal is pillowtalk.

    Cuscino – Italian.

    Let’ go back to the San Remo Song Festival in 1956 where Ugo Molinari sang about “Two heads on the same pillow” (Due teste sul coscino). A gorgeous tune!

  21. This has been a peaceful, almost soporific thread so far. But thanks to that King of the Calypso, Lord Kitchener, things are about to get rowdy!

    Stephin Merritt and The Sixths are more than keen to retaliate,¨

  25. Some stupendous blanket and pillow tracks there, @Mike_H. What superb variety we’re discovering!

    The wikipedia page on the history of pillows is a great read. Very informative, with all kinds of fascinating morsels.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillow

    Not least of these was learning about a bolster pillow which is very common in Indonesia, known as bantal guling or the “Dutch wife”.

    Here’s a little historical background.

    https://voi.id/en/amp/7100

    “Once upon a time, the bolster was a product that came from the habit of celibacy for soldiers and Dutch officials in the Dutch East Indies. The absence of European women is the cause. As a strategy to channel their libido, they tried a variety of ways.”

    “But the Dutch are known to be very stingy. They want to return to their country as wealthy people. So many also do not want to be concubine. As a substitute for their concubines, they made bolsters who couldn’t fart. ”

    Wan to buy one of these invaluable bedroom items?

    https://shop.waroeng.nl/en/household/bantal-guling

    IKEA in Indonesia of course has a guling among it selection of pillows.

    https://www.ikea.co.id/in/produk/duvet-bantal-dan-pelindung-kasur/bantal

    Finally, here’s Lady Ross with a song about the delight of the bantal guling.

  27. Reading further, I’ve discovered that bolster pillows of various kinds are popular throughout Asia.

    In the Philipines they are known as tadayan or hot-dog pillow. In China: bàozhěn. In India and Pakistan: gao-takkiya, masnad or masland.

    In Korea they are called jukbuin or “bamboo wife” and they date back many centuries.

    https://www.goodnights.rest/about-pillows-bolsters-cushions/bamboo-wife/

    Here’s a quote from that article which explains rather well.

    “A bamboo wife is a long, hollow and handwoven bolster that is often comparable to the human body in size.

    True to its name, it’s almost always made out of thinly cut bamboo strands. If not, it’s usually another material that’s easy to weave, like rattan.

    There are several bamboo wife variants, ranging in length and circumference. Why? Sleepers come in all sizes! It is supposed to be roughly the same size as the person using it, so children and adults will have different needs.”

    “Typically it is embraced in a side sleeping position. The open wooden structure helps regulate body temperature and eases usual aches and pains from side sleeping without a bolster.

    In East Asia and Southeast Asia, summers are often hot and humid! This makes sleeping with fabric pillows or bedding more than a little uncomfortable. Without proper ventilation or temperature control, heat and moisture can build up.

    The bamboo wife solves this problem by allowing airflow to reach more parts of the body. At first glance, a bamboo wife may look like a basket or an ornamental piece, but it is a very useful bedtime companion. Though inflexible and hard, its dimensions are close to the more familiar orthopedic body pillow or bolster.”

    As a special Monday morning treat, let’s pay a visit to the bamboo forest of Damyang.

    At 3.19, you’ll see lady examining a bamboo wife.

    The Nipponphiles among you may know that in Japan bolster pillows are known as dakimakura and are extremely popular, particularly these days among anime fans.

    Once again, wiki come up trumps:

    “A dakimakura (抱き枕; from daki 抱き “embrace” and makura 枕 “pillow”) is a type of large pillow from Japan which are usually coupled with pillow covers depicting anime characters.[1] The word is often translated to English as body pillow, waifu pillow, or husbando pillow. In Japan, dakimakura are similar to Western orthopedic body pillows, and are commonly used by Japanese youth as “comfort objects”.”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakimakura

    Here’s a Japanese TV clip where they talk about the dakimakura. I don’t understand a word but it’s very entertaining anyway.

    Here’s a review in English of an anime dakimura.

    I the clip, he mentions a NY Times article about the man with a pillow as a girlfriend. Here’s an extract.

    https://boingboing.net/2009/07/23/love-in-2d.html

    This thread is certainly taking us down some dark and mysterious rabbit holes!

    If we are talking abut comfort pillows, we culd have quite a picnic talking about teddy bears.

  34. Hey hey it’s an AI cushion song.

    Verse 1:
    A cushion in the corner, just sittin’ there alone
    Been so many nights, since it had someone to hold
    But it don’t mind, it don’t complain
    It just waits and waits, for someone to ease their pain

    Chorus:
    Oh cushion, oh cushion, so soft and so true
    You’ve seen so much, but stayed brand new
    You’ll never leave me, no matter what I do
    Oh cushion, oh cushion, I’m in love with you

    Verse 2:
    It’s been there for me, through thick and thin
    When my heart was broken, it held me in
    It’s seen my tears, it’s heard my sobs
    But it’s never judged me, it’s never been a snob

    Chorus:
    Oh cushion, oh cushion, so soft and so true
    You’ve seen so much, but stayed brand new
    You’ll never leave me, no matter what I do
    Oh cushion, oh cushion, I’m in love with you

    Verse 3:
    We’ve had our share of ups and downs
    But we always find our way back around
    From movie marathons, to lazy days
    The cushion and I, we’ve found our own special ways

    Chorus:
    Oh cushion, oh cushion, so soft and so true
    You’ve seen so much, but stayed brand new
    You’ll never leave me, no matter what I do
    Oh cushion, oh cushion, I’m in love with you

    Outro:
    Oh cushion, oh cushion, my faithful friend
    I’ll always be here, until the very end.

  35. I suddenly got to wondering about the delightful cushions and pillows we might get to see if we paid a visit chez Saucecraft.

    No need for IKEA there. Thailand has a long tradition of making their own.

    https://mythailand.blog/2016/09/13/thai-pillow-information/#A_Brief_History_of_Thai_Pillo

    Those gorgeus triangular cushions are available i the UK

    The 1898, b and w photo in the blog article from Lampang is a doozy.

    The lady masseuse looks very strict. I suspect it was a case of Lamphang- Thankyou-Ma’am!

  36. AI says it’s story time.

    The cushion lay still on the faded armchair, its once vibrant hues now faded with the passing of time. It had been a gift, given on a bright summer’s day, when the world seemed full of possibility. But now, it was merely a reminder of days long gone, a symbol of a life that had slipped away. Yet, as James looked at the cushion, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia, a sense of longing for a time when everything seemed within reach.

  37. Space age stories and robo-poems by AI? The future just arrived.

    The cushion song was fascinating but it’s not really in the same league as Wet Leg’s Chaise Longue.

    I cannot imagine AI managing to be quirky. Not surprising! No robot has ever sat backstage in his underwear drinking warm beer on a chaise longue.

  39. Forgetting the pillows for a moment, what else will we find in a bedroom?

    An alarm clock. They’ve been around a while. If you couldn’t afford one, you could employ a knocker upper up until the 1920s.

    https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-2000year-history-of-alarm-clocks

    Posters on the wall, especially so if it’s a teenager’s room.

    Suzanne Vega wrote a magnificent song about a poster of Marlene Dietrich.

    “Marlene watches from the wall
    Her mocking smile says it all
    She records the rise and fall
    Of every soldier passing”

    Do any of you remember the posters on your wall back in the day?

    Zappa on the bog? That tennis girl scratching her bottom? Something else tasteful from Athena?

    https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/jul/01/why-athena-was-more-than-just-a-naff-purveyor-of-mild-erotica

    Interesting article about how Athena boosted the popularity of man artists, I too had The Kiss by Gustav Klimt on my wall.

      • What a classic! Dusty doing an ad for Mother’s Pride. That made my day! @Sniffity.

        You are on a roll. Actually, it would be more accurate to say you are on a loaf!

        You were certainly using your loaf when you discovered that gem.

        Here’s Joe Brown, another 60s icon, earning some extra bread.

  40. Wanting to record your thoughts at the end of the day? You might like to start your own pillow book…

    “The Pillow Book (枕草子, Makura no Sōshi) is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002.”

    The very wonderful Eleanor Bron published one in 1985.

    • Brilliant suggestion, @Sniffity. What bedroom is complete without one?

      Just for fun I copied the Japanese text and pasted it into YouTube. I got these clips.

      Very soothing!

      I then discovered that the legendary Peter Greenaway (Draftman’s Contract etc,) had made a film inspired by the bedside diary.

      IMDB describe it thus:

      “A woman with a body-writing fetish seeks to find a combined lover and calligrapher.”

      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114134/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

      They offer this piece of trivia.

      “Ewan McGregor was uncomfortable about his parents watching the film, as he spends much of it being in the nude. His father took it well, and after seeing the film, responded to his son, via fax: “I’m glad you inherited one of my greatest attributes.”

      This review of the Bron Pillow Book contains a wonderful quote about working with the Beatles.

      https://kalaity.com/2011/04/01/fridays-forgotten-books-the-pillow-book-of-eleanor-bron/

      “I was not prepared for the noise when we walked out onto the tarmac. It was Trafalgar Square with the volume up, beyond imagination — the sound of millions of starlings startled into the air, But the starlings were girls, when I looked back, very very young ones, who covered the airport buildings. Wherever you could see, wherever they could see, wherever they were allowed, and elsewhere, oozing and easing themselves in where they were not; waving banners and arms, pushing and heaving, in great danger I imagine of falling over edges, wriggling and ceaselessly squealing — a high sighing hopeless poignant sound, unrequitable.”

      And an interview with the iconic Ms Bron is never wrong.

      https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/23/eleanor-bron-i-didnt-want-to-be-like-other-little-girls-interview

  42. As far as I know, there is no Bed Museum, Bedroom Museum or Museum of Sleep. But there is a short atmospheric track by the late, great Ryuichi Sakamoto.

    If there was such a museum, I would ask the curator why there are so many plaques throughout the UK commemorating places where famous people (almost always a monarch) stayed the night.

    “Elizabeth 1 slept here” etc.

    Why was it such a big deal?

    I suppose that, back in the day, it was a major event that a small town had a royal visit.

    While Googling to find an answer, I came across this eye-opening article about how people used to sleep twice every day.

    https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220107-the-lost-medieval-habit-of-biphasic-sleep

    So much that is odd to us:

    “In the Middle Ages, communal sleeping was entirely normal – travellers who had just met would share the same bed, as would masters and their servants.”

    There may not be a Museum of Sleep but there are many small museums which are the former
    homes of famous people. Here we can even visit their bedrooms.

    Willy Wordsworth, Charles Dickens, Anne Hathaway, Jane Austen…

    It’s quite an industry,

    At Jane’s house you can do an early morning breakfast tour which includes a slice of toast.

    https://janeaustens.house/

    Do you get to see Jane Austen’s jim jams? Think what they would get at an auction!

    Most ingenious of all is the Handel & Hendrix Museum in London which I’m told is superb.

    https://handelhendrix.org/

    Two geniuses who were unexpected “flatmates.”

    Anyone interested in the history of pyjamas?

    https://fashiontextilemuseumblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/13/the-evolution-of-pyjamas/#:~:text=The%20word%20pyjama%20originated%20during,paired%20with%20a%20belted%20jacket.

    Bryan Ferry probably is..

  43. Hollywood has a long-running love affair with sleepwear and pyjamas.

    In 1957 Doris Day starred in romantic musical The Pyjama Game.

    In 1964 Anette Funicello had them flocking to Pajama Party which was basically Bikini Beach Party very cynically remade with jim jams. Crazy teenagers and their wild music!

    And on the topic of film fashion, where would Hammer have been without white nighties!

    • Bean bag on-the-go is ingenious and quite bonkers. What a find!

      Back to the Pillow Book,@Sniffity.

      This was unexpected,

      “The Pillow Book is also the name of a series of radio thrillers written by Robert Forrest and broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour Drama. These are detective stories with Sei Shōnagon as a principal character and feature many of her lists.”

      Here is the first episode. It is rather good. The narrator is Benedict Cumberbatch.

  45. Our bedroom is the Doorway to Dreams. Or indeed nightmares.

    Once we arrive in Bedfordshire, anything can happen.

    For example, for Jamie and his dog Wordsworth, who after lights out entered a topsy-turvy dream world, by means of his magic torch.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ntylpZWn_M

    Our choice of bedroom furniture can be life-changing. Who knows what is inside that wardrobe?

    And while we are in Narnia with Mitchell and Webb….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDx9nYRn3Hk

  46. You opened an interesting door there, @Sniffity.

    Here’s a detective novel, The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria, by Laura Joh Rowland, one of a series set in ancient Japan,

    https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780312282622

    “In The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria, Laura Joh Rowland once again has written a book in which “an exotic setting, seventeenth-century Japan, and a splendid mystery…make for grand entertainment” (New York Daily News).

    In the carefully ordered world of seventeenth-century Japan, the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter is a place where men of all classes can drink, revel, and enjoy the favors of beautiful courtesans. But on a cold winter’s dawn, Sano Ichiro–the shogun’s Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People–must visit Yoshiwara on a most unpleasant mission.”

    Laura Joh Rowland has written a whole series of books about Sano Ichirō (佐野 一郎).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Joh_Rowland

    She’s even written two detective novels where Charlotte Bronte is the protagonist!

  47. All Our Yesterbeds!

    What else would be find in the bedrooms of our youth?

    One very popular appliance in the 60s and 70s was a Goblin Teasmade which enabled you to be woken and then enjoy a cuppa in bed.

    Here’s an excellent article from the Science Museum about the long quest for a device that was a combined alarm clock and teamaker.

    https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/everyday-wonders/teasmade-smart-home

    How about the 1902 “Clock that makes Tea”? It was commercially rather successful.

    https://www.teasmade.uk/richardson-clock-that-makes-tea/

    It looks like something Aardman would come up with.

    “I think you’ll find this a valuable addition to our modern lifestyle, Gromit”

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