Drawn A Blank

Been to Earlswood Lakes again this morning.  Just like last week we walked there and then got a taxi back.  It was raining when we set out about 8.30 this morning but by 9 it had stopped and the sun had come out.  There was a fairly strong wind which helped dry us out.

The reason we chose to do it again was because last week, although we didn't now it at the time, a Night Heron had been spotted.  A rare migrant bird that was still present up until last night. 

The lakes seemed quiet compared to last week. No boats on the water and less anglers.  There were more birders though.  We saw two groups of men in camouflage whilst out walking. I asked the second group if they had seen the Heron but they were not of the friendly type and all I got was a no. 

We hadn't been at there that long when we did spot a Heron flying over the smallest of the lakes.  It didn't look like a Grey Heron but I couldn't say that it was definitely the Night Heron.  If it was then it was our only sighting.  We did see a juvenile Cormorant and other birds including Arctic Tern, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull, Nuthatch, Chaffinch and Blue Tit.

A quick drink at The Reservoir and then a taxi back home in readiness for the football.  The last game of the season and as I write all eyes are on the bottom of the League.  With West Ham already relegated there are two relegation spots left and 5 clubs trying not to be in that position.  Wolves, Wigan, Blackpool, Blackburn and Birmingham could possibly go down today. Obviously I'm hoping Birmingham can survive but it's a tall order as they are away at Tottenham who are currently in fifth spot and playing to keep Liverpool from taking it.

They walk around the lakes is in stark contrast to yesterday's trip to Birmingham.  It was very busy in town but we managed to find a bit of peace and quiet at Ikon. 

We wandered around the exhibitions.  First up was Tadasu Takamine's Too Far To See.  A collection of videos that we were warned contained sexual imagery.  I have to say I never really got it but the 2 that stood out were Inertia (1998) involves the uneasy combination of a young woman and a bullet train. She is shown close-up and feet first on top of a carriage while the rest of the world flashes past. A powerful electric hum dramatises her fruitless attempts to push her dress down over her legs against the force of the wind.  I'm not sure of the title of the other film but it involves a naked girl swimming.  The images projected through a fish tank onto the front of the glass. 

The next exhibition was by John Salt.  His paintings are basically of dumped American cars or run down trailer homes.  Despite it being very American I like his work.  1986's Trailer House being my favourite. It really drew me in.

Finally we saw Kristoffer Myskja's Machine That Uses A Thousand Years To Shut Down. It is a machine that runs for no reason except that, after one thousand years, it will turn itself off. Powered by light, a sequence of geared wheels rotate increasingly slowly, so that the movement of the last one is imperceptible.  It's an odd little thing but I was fascinated by it.

Afterwards we spent some time shopping and I popped to Swordfish and bought a couple of CDs (Sergeant Buzfuz, Barth & Flamingoes) before catching the train home.

A quick update with the football.  Half time and Blues are still 0-0 with Spurs. Elsewhere Wolves are losing at Blackburn and Wigan are drawing with Stoke meaning that both Wigan and Wolves are in the dropzone but as we are all on 40 points, along with Blackpool, it is only goal difference that seperates us. One goal changes everything. Fingers crossed no one scores in the second half!  We will know in just under an hours time.

Chairs, Erotic Art and Fireworks

A Good Chair Is A Good Chair is an Ikon exhibition of Donald Judd's work. He is widely regarded as one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. A key exponent of minimalism, Judd (1928–1994) worked across art, furniture and architecture.

With sketches and early pieces by Judd the exhibition shows pieces which are rarely seen outside his home town of Martha, Texas.

I really liked the simple designs and the practicality of the furniture.

On the floor below is an exhibition of Kitagawa Utamaro's wood block prints. The 18th Century Japanese prints are part of the British Museum's collection and focus on the images of women, in particular the courtesans of Yoshiwara, the regulated brothel district in Edo (now Tokyo).

This exhibition is co-curated by acclaimed British artist Julian Opie and Timothy Clark, Head of the Japanese Section, British Museum.

The detail in the prints are fantastic but be warned some of the prints are of a sexual nature.

After lunch at The Green Rooms (the busiest I've seen for ages) it was off to the Custard Factory for a rummage around the vintage clothes shops before heading home.

As the evening approached and the temperature dropped we headed to St Margaret's School in Olton for their firework display.  It's only small but the display itself is fantastic, well worth the £5 entrance fee.  Afterwards we headed to my parents house for baked potatoes and Scrabble. 

All Quiet

It's been a quiet week so far.  Nothing wrong with that after the stress of moving over the last couple of weeks!  I haven't really done much at all which means I haven't got much to write about.  Therefore I have decided to share this with you.

I mentioned French Windows by Ian Emes in my last post.  You can currently see it at the Ikon Gallery complete with cells from the video.

Finally!

A week and a day after moving out I have an internet connection again.  It's weird not being able to log on as and when I like but now I'm back and can catch up on things.

The move went well and the cats (Sooty and Sweep who I've yet to mention) have finally settled into their new surroundings having spent the majority of the week hiding behind the sofa.  They are now back to their old selves.

Last weekend was spent sorting through everything, labelling up boxes and storing away. Books have been taken to charity shops and other bits n pieces thrown away. 

After the move the next few days were quiet and it wasn't until Thursday that I actually did anything of note.

Thursday evening was a Bat Walk around Brueton Park.  Meeting at 8pm you spend 2 hours walking around the park with a bat detector.  There was quiet a few people there and after a lengthy but informative talk about bats the detectors were passed around and off we went.  We saw 3 species of bat. 2 types of Pipistrelle and also Daubentons feeding just above the lake.  It was a really pleasant way to spend an evening.

A quiet night in on Friday (pizza and Big Brother) and then into Birmingham on Saturday for the This Could Happen To You exhibition at the Ikon gallery.  The works on display were first exhibited back in the 70s. There are some great pieces.  The first being David Medella's A Stitch In Time.  A long piece of fabric is stretched across the gallery and you are invited to sew something to it.  It can be anything you like.  Some people have stitched their names but I also saw train tickets, football tickets (Villa and Walsall) and a Motorhead ticket. The most impressive thing was a bra with the words unstretched canvas sewn across the cups.  Having rummaged through my wallet I found an old permit to travel from Olton Station to Birmingham and just about managed to sew it on.  Clare stitched in an old library receipt for a book she had borrowed.

Other highlights for me included Peter Sedgley's Corona (1970), Roger Westwood's Train Window (1972), Harry Holland's Boarding The Plane (71-73) and Ian Emes' video French Window (the video for Pink Floyd's One of These Days).

After the gallery we headed home.  As we were passing Centenary Square a demonstration was under way.  It wasn't big but there was a heavy police presence.  President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan was in Birmingham to make a speech. The protesters were angry about the visit as they think he should have stayed at home as there is a massive natural disaster in Pakistan.  Floods have claimed over 1000 lives and rather than be there to lead his people he has taken off for Europe.  Apparently during the speech one man threw his shoes at him!

On the periphery of the demonstration we bumped into an old friend selling the Socialist Resistance magazine.  He was hungover and had not sold a copy. The asking price was 2 pounds but I bought a copy for a pound..  I haven't read it yet. 

Today we headed to Solihull Nature Reserve again. Clare and I took my parents as they had not been there before.  The weather was lovely and we spent a good couple of hours walking around and picked balckberries. Whilst on the bat walk the other night the Park Ranger told us that the reserve used to be a deer park and was part of Malvern Hall. He said that John Constable had visited and painted the park.  Having googled it it turns out it is in Tate Britain! Next time I'm in London I will check it out.

That's about it.  We got home early evening and despite my broadband being scheduled to go live tomorrow it has already been activated. Since getting in I have spent the rest of the evening messing about on here. It's good to be back!