Whose Suitcase Is This?

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Jean

Wrote this early on and forgot to post it . . .

It was a long flight, well two flights – one to DC, the second to London. Over 12 hours in the air and lots of mid-America agriculture to see.

Somewhere Over America

Even with the stimulating views I only got a few catnaps.

There may be disadvantages to packing your suitcase weeks in advance. The only things I could remember that I had with me were the items I threw in at the last minute. The first morning here, I looked in the suitcase for something to wear and could not remember what was there . . . all those mesh bags so neatly packed . . . what did they hold?

But the amnesia passed and the only problem has been that I packed mostly for 80ºF+ weather the temps have been mostly in the 60’s. So I spent a lot of time in jeans that I didn’t expect to need until sometime in September.

But things have gotten a lot better . . . smiles.

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Borough Market and Much More

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Paul

Today we walked toward London Bridge and Borough Market, which we read about in one of the guide books in our apartment. It is a large public market in what appears to be an old train station.

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From the market we walked a couple of blocks to the Thames near the dry dock for The Golden Hind II, a reconstruction of Sir Francis Drake’s ship that touched the west coast of North America in northern California. From there we passed the Old and New Globe Theaters and stopped at the Bankside Gallery, home of the Royal Watercolor Society and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Their summer show was quite fun with a broad range of media and styles. We found several pieces we liked, but walked out empty handed.

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At one point we stopped for a break on a riverside bench and I counted 23 construction cranes in view. London is being rebuilt on both sides of the river. Many relatively low cost housing projects are being torn down or redeveloped for high end condos, pushing more low and middle income people out of the city and further away from jobs. We looked at listings in one realtor and found apartments renting for 2000Lbs a month for a studio and 5000Lbs for a couple of bedrooms. Our Lithuanian waitress from last night must have a difficult time finding affordable housing.

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Back home for a light dinner after feasting at the market for lunch.

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Paul

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High Society

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Paul

Yesterday we rested. I have been having extreme allergy symptoms. This seems to be caused by the air pollution. Cyclists are now buying mini-gas masks to wear for their commute. I’m doubling down on antihistamines and looking forward to France.

We ran over the The Old Vic in the morning to buy day-of-performance half price tickets for High Society. After lounging all day we went to dinner at Wahaca, a Mexican restaurant with a unique British spelling of the name. The food was terrific, reasonably priced, and served with a smile by our Lithuanian waitress. She’s in graduate school studying public policy. What a great start to the evening!

The Old Vic was built in 1818 and has been the home of the National Theater and a Shakespeare company featuring stars such as John Gielgud, Alec Guinness, Peggy Ashcroft, Richard Burton, and Judi Dench. The list goes on and on. However the theater hit some bad times in the 90’s and was saved from becoming a pub at the last minute. In 2003 it reopened with Kevin Spacey as the Artistic Director. This is his last season and last production in that role.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with High Society, it is based on the Philadelphia Story. Cole Porter’s music was added to make it a musical in 1956 starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Grace Kelly. Since then it was adapted to the stage. This production was performed in the round, which made us (the audience) part of the party. The entire story takes place over the course of less than 24 hours and involves a long wild party. The singing was fantastic, the dancing great fun, and the musicians unbelievable. Some actors took the stage and mingled as guests with audience members for 15 minutes before the show. A grand piano sat center stage. Champagne was being served, but we did not partake.

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The show began with the piano player sitting down and greeting us. Then he asked people to shout out names of songs. He made witty comments about the selections. (Jean shouted La Vie en Rose and he said something like oh, French.) After perhaps a dozen songs had been shouted he calmly said he was sorry but he didn’t know any of them. At that point he proceeded to extemporaneously play a composition including the motifs from every song requested from the Ride of the Valkyries through the Muppet Song and Moonlight Sonata to La Vie en Rose. We all laughed as he seamlessly moved through the melodies. This was the beginning to an evening of great music.

When the story began the jokes, pratfalls, singing and dancing swept us into their party. The characters freely entered and exited through the audience and the jazz band played from the center balconies. It was thrilling and the end brought a rousing and well-deserved ovation from the audience.

Today we are going to visit a big public market in Southwarks.

Paul

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From Cricket to the Elgin Marbles . . .

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Jean

This trip to London has involved a lot of new experiences for us, mixed in with some old favourites. Paul has faithfully recorded our daily adventures and I’ll try not to duplicate anything.

Some of the things that stand out for me from our first week include unexpected new offerings at each of our favourite museums; expanding my horizons with more modern artists and getting to know some locals as we wonder around; new museums; and learning, always learning more about the world we live in; and of course, revisiting some of my favourites.

Cricket has always been a mystery to me. We’ve seen it on TV and played informally on other trips, but it never made any sense. A ball gets hit into left field, the only movement is between the wickets (stumps) and suddenly someone has scored 4 points or 6 points. Huh?

Enter Alex, a charming grad student we met in a local park. We had stopped to watch an informal game, he stopped by, and in response to my questions gave us a delightful summary of the basics of the game.

Lots of similarity to baseball: batsman/batter; bowler/pitcher; a ball caught on the fly is an out. Then there are the stumps (I had always called the wickets). Knock them over the batsman is out. There are boundaries and getting a ball past the boundaries without it being a fly-out and you score – four runs if it’s a grounder, six runs if it flies over the boundary before it hits the ground.

I must admit I still don’t understand this score – England 156/3 (39.3 over) that appeared after today’s first game of the fourth test, but I do know that The Ashes which are being contested now refers to actual ashes in an urn, the Stumps burned and delivered to England the first time Australia actually beat England and which are now contested on a regular basis.

And I believe that even though the test isn’t over, the contest has been won by the English who are quiet giddy with their success . . . smiles.

If you want to know a bit more about cricket and why it is such an obsession here, read this (and I now get the joke in the title of the article which, without Alex’s help I wouldn’t have):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11782887/Stumped-by-cricket-Dont-worry-youre-not-the-only-one.html

AlexAlec

We not been to The British Museum before and whilst talking to Alex, who is studying ancient history and spends a lot of time there doing research, we asked what he would recommend. His immediate response was the Elgin Marbles, and so that was our first stop the day we visited there.

Being an avid reader of British fiction I’d seen the term Elgin Marbles long before I had any idea what they were. You might imagine what was conjured in my mind by that name. But I had long since learned that the marbles were panels and statues brought to England by Lord Elgin from Greece. I even probably knew they were mostly from the Parthenon.

I had hoped to see and compare the artistry of the Roman and Greek statues, but alas, most of the Greek statues were not on offer. The history and description of the panels from the Parthenon was still fascinating and the panels give much insight into what the full blown statues would be like. Did you know that the marble panels were originally painted, so that the figures stood out against colored backgrounds, emphasizing the exquisite forms that marched across the length and breadth of the building.

As we see it now:A Typical Row of Horsemen - Today

As it may have been:Horsemen as Originally Presented

 

Thanks for reading.  More posts to come . . .

Jean

 

 

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The Tate

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Paul

Yesterday we went to the Tate. There is so much to see there that I cannot begin to summarize in one post. The collection is stunning and changes each time we visit because they own so much art and it rotates constantly. That means we didn’t get to see some old favorites, but we did get to see lots of paintings we have not seen before.

Here are a couple of highlights from the collection as seen yesterday.

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Of course one of the great attractions at the Tate is the Turner Collection. JMW Turner bequeathed his works to the Tate and it represents a sizable number. We have seen this collection on three different trips and each time the paintings are different. This year they are featuring unfinished paintings and plein air works in addition to some finished pieces. As artists we love to see Turner’s work in progress. It is fascinating to observe how he sketched, toned the canvas, blocked in the large forms, and then finished.

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His plein air works in both watercolor and oil are wonderfully spontaneous with lots of energy despite being simple in design.

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Finally I can’t resist including some beautiful pencil (graphite) and ink drawings from the pre-Raphaelites. This is for Howard Hansen and all my drawing pals in his class. Wish you could have been here to see these.

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Today we are resting. Tonight we are going to The Old Vic to see Cole Porter’s High Society produced by Kevin Spacey.

Paul

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The British Museum

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Paul

Today we made our first visit ever to The British Museum. It’s less than a two mile walk from our apartment.

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Museums such as this give me very mixed feelings. I remember as a child spending days roaming the halls of the Field Museum in Chicago looking at the detritus of fallen civilizations. Then I had the child’s fascination with dead bodies (mummies), oddities from foreign cultures, and the desire to understand time as referenced by these things that seemed too old for comprehension. Visiting such museums now I am struck by a collection that appears to pay tribute to one society conquering another, destroying or stripping it of its cultural and religious icons, and creating a new society in the ashes. Will human beings ever overcome the desire to have more…land, wealth, resources…and learn to live in harmony with neighbors who are different? A special exhibit about the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte as shown in the French and British political art of the time had one piece that summarizes my feelings about the history represented in the British Museum.

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Napoleon wanted to slice Europe off the world roast and was forestalled in that effort by Britain and Russia. At the same time William Pitt wanted at least half of the rest of the world for Britain. Neither was satisfied with what they had.

Seeing the artifacts of Greek, Turkish, and other middle eastern cultures piled on top of one another demonstrated beyond a doubt that the Taliban are following a very long tradition when they destroy ancient monuments in Afghanistan. Perhaps one culture replacing another is a natural phenomenon. The Elgin Marbles are said to be an example of trying to salvage artifacts before they were destroyed by the following culture. (Most of the grand sculptures from the Elgin Marbles weren’t on display at this time.) Were they worth the effort to incur the enmity of the Greeks who have wanted them back since they were taken? Neither Elgin nor the Greeks thought to save the artifacts of the Turks, Persians and others who had built upon and used the Parthenon in intervening centuries. Those cultural icons were destroyed without a thought.

Here are few images of other things seen in the museum.

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Dinner at one of our favorite London eateries: Bella Italia and then a walk home.

Peace,

Paul

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Night Along The Thames

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Paul

Last evening after dinner we decided to take a walk to watch the sun set over Parliament. (Literally, not figuratively!) Every city looks different after dark. We enjoyed the winding down of activities along the south bank of the Thames.

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Today we went to the National Gallery. I didn’t take photos of paintings, but couldn’t resist taking a shot of a common visitor site…people checking messages on their phones.

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The National Gallery provides free wifi, so what else is a person to do? Anyone can see Vermeer, Turner, Constable, Gainsborough and all those other dead artists on the internet! Perhaps my most humorous site today was a fellow walking through the rooms with his iPhone held high over his head, recording a video of his passage. He never looked at the paintings.

We enjoyed seeing some old favorites (some were not up at present), some of the collection that hasn’t been up on previous visits, and were surprised by a few new acquisitions. It’s sort of like catching up with an old friend to see what’s changed and enjoying what hasn’t.

Paul

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Exploring the Hood

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Paul

This afternoon we explored our own neighborhood. A nearby park surrounds the Imperial War Museum and we wanted to find William Bligh’s house.

The park had beautiful gardens. Flowers have always been among my favorite subjects for photography. Here are just a few from today.

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Ironically the park also contains a Tibetan Peace Garden opened by the Dalai Lama in 1999. What a contrast to the war museum.

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“We human beings are passing through a crucial period in our development. Conflict and mistrust have plagued the past century, which has brought immeasurable human suffering and environmental destruction. It is in the interests of all of us on this planet that we make a joint effort to turn the next century into an era of peace and harmony. May this Peace Garden become a monument to the courage of the Tibetan people and their commitment to peace. May it remain as a symbol to remind us that human survival depends on living in harmony & on always choosing the path of non-violence in resolving our differences.” – The XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet, 13 May, 1999

We chose not to visit the museum, but found ample interesting things in the park. We stopped on a bench for some drawing and painting and found other memorials.

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After finding William Bligh’s grave yesterday, we learned that his residence was just up the street. That was our last stop on the way home.

IMG_0436Dinner coming up.

Paul

 

 

 

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Lazy Day Along The Thames

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Paul

Today we got a late start and wandered to a neighborhood garden. We watched a pickup cricket game and received valuable instruction from Alex, a classics student and avid cricket fan. With remarkably little explanation he got us to understand the game. The flowers in the park were very nice as well.

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Next we found the Museum of Gardening, purportedly the first such in the world. It is under development and soon to close for two years while executing a major building project. Presently they have little room to display the items and art related to gardening. The museum is housed in a decommissioned church. When remodeled they will have most of their collected art works and historical items displayed. The graveyard has been turned into a very nice small garden. London is full of historical surprises and this garden was no exception. It contained the grave of Admiral William Bligh, better known to some of us as Captain Bligh of the HMS Bounty!

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Finally we met the river and a demonstration for the rights of African peoples. This colorful long parade came down the street and across the Lambeth Bridge singing, chanting, and beating drums. It was all quite orderly and well done. As we turned to walk along the river we heard them on the other side as they marched to Parliament and staged a rally in front of that building. Since Parliament is is session I assume the MP’s got an earful.

Along the river we stopped on some benches for a little afternoon snack and to do some drawing and painting. As you can see in the photo, Big Ben hit 5 o’clock as we passed by.

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I didn’t feel like cooking, so we stopped at a Fullers pub for fish and chips and pints of Fullers ESB.

Paul

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The Tate Modern

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Paul

Today we walked to the Tate Modern. It is so nice to be on the south bank of The Thames in downtown London. Most things we like are within 2 miles from the apartment. It appears as if we will only use the tube a few times.

The Tate Modern is not my favorite art museum. Okay, I really have felt no compunction to return there since our inaugural visit in 2011. However, the current special exhibit is Sonia Delaunay and that was enough to visit the Tate Modern again. If you aren’t familiar with her work, look it up. She and her husband, Robert, were early abstractionists who invented a style they called simultanism. Their distinct use of colors and dynamic shapes in juxtaposition was meant to capture the energy of the 20th century. Robert died during WWII, but Sonia continued painting until her death in 1979 at the age of 94. They did not allow photos in the exhibit, but here are a few I snapped from the brochure.

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There were a few other works worth mentioning.

I was quite intrigued by Dorothea Tanning’s painting. This is a surrealism I can live with! She was able to communicate so much with gray. I think Howard Hansen, my drawing teacher, would like Zhang Enli’s series of bucket paintings. Simple portraits of common objects, but luscious in execution. Picasso is always interesting to me. His drawing is superb and figures are proportional even in abstract. Andre Masson took a Cezanne-like still life and added a surreal twist. I included the Miro because I liked it when I first saw it…pleasing colors and shapes. Very pleasant. However, when I read his detailed explanation of the meaning of each color and shape he lost me entirely. In my humble opinion a piece of art should not require a thesis to explain it. The piece either speaks to the viewer, or not. The artist should accept that and keep painting.

Finally we finished with refreshments on the patio.

IMG_0321Tomorrow is the Prudential Ride London. Much of downtown is closed to auto and bus traffic for the weekend. There are free cycle rides along the usually congested streets and a series of professional criterium races in central London tomorrow. On Sunday the London-Surrey 100 features an amateur race/ride 100 miles from downtown into the Surrey countryside and back. Also on Sunday some of the best professional riders in the world will compete in the London-Surrey Classic, a 200 kilometer route. For us this means a crowded weekend downtown, but no vehicles. We intend to do some drawing and painting.

Paul

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