A Busy Few Days

It’s been a busy few days, starting on Thursday evening in the Coach House for a drink with friends. It was a good night but I was surprised at how quiet it was in the pub. Usually Thursday nights are quite busy but even the town centre seemed quieter than usual.

On Friday Clare and I went to The Royal Spa Centre in Leamington to see The Holly & The Ivy written by Wynyard Browne and starring Stuart McGugan and Corrine Wicks.

Set in a Norfolk vicarage on Christmas Eve 1947, the vicar's family gather for the festive season. Peace and goodwill radiates from the warm-hearted elderly vicar, cared for by his young daughter. But with the arrival of two irritable aunts and an errant daughter the emotional veneer is skilfully peeled away. As skeletons tumble from closets and stones are turned over, family members are forced to confront their regrets and secret anxieties. Even the lovable vicar is not immune to the stresses and strains of a normal family life.

The play is split into 3 parts and after a slow start I found myself being drawn further and further in. The cast were superb (with the exception of one aunt’s dodgy Irish accent, which could be forgiven) and although the whole play took place in the one room the set looked fantastic!

It’s a shame that it wasn’t a full house. It deserves to be sold out each night. However, the fact that it wasn’t worked well for me as it enabled me to move seats during the first interval. Having been hemmed in for the first part we asked if we were able to move during the break and we ended up with nearly an entire row to ourselves!

One last thing, the staff, at the centre, are great, friendly, polite and willing to help. It is how a theatre should be run!

Saturday

An early start. The 8.05 to London was quite busy but I’m glad we went at the time we did as England were playing Spain at Wembley later in the day so if it was busy when we went it would have been horrendous as the day went on!

Arriving in London we headed straight for the National History Museum (having stopped on Baker Street for a sandwich and cup of coffee).

We arrived and made our way to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 exhibition. There were some fantastic photos. Favourites included Moonlight Over Aloba by Marsel Van Oosten, Polar Power by Joe Bunni, The Assassin by Steve Mills, The Coming by Sven Zacek, False Killers Disguised Dolphin by Clark Miller, Sinuousness by Macro Columbo and Trust by Klaus Echle. There were also one or two that seemed either a little clichéd or, in at least a couple of cases, it seemed to me not worthy of entry but then again what do I know!!

Having spent the best part of 2 hours in there we decided we would save the rest of the museum for another visit and headed off to Tate Modern. I was amazed at the queue to get in!!! If you are going to go then get there early!

With parts of the tube closed for Engineering Work we headed to Embankment and walked along the river towards the Tate. With the mild weather it was lovely and we browsed the books of at The South Bank Market before continuing our stroll.

We arrived and immediately headed for The Turbine Hall to see the installation by Tacita Dean. Having first viewed it from the Level 1 we headed downstairs and whilst most people kept a respectable distance Clare and I went in for a closer look. I’m not sure what I made of it to be honest. I was impressed by it’s size but can’t say it spoke to me.

Upstairs we happened to stumble on A Living Man Declared Dead And Other Chapters  I - XVIII by Taryn Simon.

This was a great exhibition, photographs of families from around the world depicting bloodlines. In some cases, blank spaces were generations have been lost, refused to participate or were banned from participating on religious grounds etc.

Not only was it interesting but also very moving. A Brazilian family torn apart be a long running feud, a Bosnian family who lost many of their men folk during the massacre at Srebrenica and children from an Ukrainian orphanage are just some of the subjects.

We left Tate Modern and headed across the bridge towards St Paul’s and the tube station. Passing the Anti-Capitalist occupation at the steps of the cathedral. We also saw a few of the floats that were used in the Lord Mayor’s Parade which had also taken place that day and had been rerouted because of the demo.

Tate Britain houses a work by Constable that both Clare and I wanted to see. It is a picture of the deer park at Malvern Hall or as we know it now, Solihull Nature Reserve. We headed over to Pimlico and to Tate Britain. We wandered the galleries dismissing most of the other works and eventually found the Constable collection but unfortunately the canvas did not seem to be on display. A quick look at Henry Wallis’ The Death of Chatterton (a larger version than the one in Birmingham) and then we were off again. Walking back along the river, up through Westminster, along The Strand and then to Convent Garden and Piccadilly Circus before finding some place to eat.

Afterwards we walked up to Leicester Square and then jumped on the tube back to Marylebone but not before Clare had got herself an ice cream!

We hung around the Departures board, waiting for a platform number to show next to our train and hurried through the turnstiles when the number 2 appeared, in an effort to get a decent seat.

It was a lovely day out and having spent the best part of 12 hours traipsing around London it wasn’t long after arriving home that I headed to bed!!

Sunday

The Rum Diary, written by Hunter S Thompson, is a fictional account of his time working for the San Juan Star. Johnny Depp has now made it into a film.

Although I could have done with something a little more quick paced on a grey Sunday afternoon it wasn’t too long before I settled into the film. It is slick, stylish and looks great. You really do get a sense of the humidity, the hot sticky nights and the rum soaked haze in which the lead characters see it.

A great story (although not much actually happens), superbly acted and beautifully filmed. Not for everyone I should imagine but I really enjoyed it.

Big City

Saturday 8.05am and I found myself on the train to London. The weather looked promising and despite the train heading to Paddington, rather than Marylebone, and putting 20 minutes on the journey all seemed set for a good day.

Once in London we headed over to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery.  I'd not been there before but I'll definitely be heading back at some point.  There are some fantastic paintings here, some well known and some not.  Big draws include Van Gough's Sunflowers, Monet's Japanese Bridge, Constable's The Hay Wain and works by Canaletto, Turner, Rembrandt, Degas and so on.

There were so many highlights but favourites included Canaletto's Basin Of San Marco on Ascension Day and Regatta On The Grand Canal.  The detail and vibrancy of these pictures is amazing.  I also really liked Guardi's pictures of Venice.

Boilly's A Girl At A Window (looks like a black and white photograph). Freidrich's Winter Landscape, Zund's Storm Study and various landscapes by Calame also grabbed my attention.

Another highlight was Hoogstraten's Peepshow (circa. 1655).  A wooden box with a hole at either end.  Look through the hole and you can see the inside of a house.  The way it is painted on the inside gives it a 3D effect. 

Having spent a few hours there we headed to the cafe and after something to eat and drink we left.  We walked along the river and eventually came to St Paul's Cathedral.  Again I'd not been there before, I've walked past many a time but never ventured inside. 

We spent a couple of hours wandering around. Looking up at the ceiling.  We went down to the crypt and saw both The Duke of Wellington and Nelson's tombs.  We also saw Christopher Wren's final resting place.

Once back above ground we headed up the The Whispering Gallery and then up again to the Stone Gallery and finally up again until we reached The Golden Gallery.  As you step outside onto the small ledge above the dome the views across London are fantastic.  There is also a sense of relief having just climbed the 528 steps to reach the top! 

After St Paul's we headed over to Oxford Street and then onto Soho before heading back to Embankment and back along the river to The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey and then back onto Paddington before catching the train home.

It was back at the station that I checked my phone and found a text with the sad news about Amy Whitehouse's demise.  I was shocked but not surprised.  Although not one of my favourite artists she was still a real talent and will be missed in the world of music.

Sunday.  A proper summer's day at last!  We decided to head to Earlswood Lakes.  We've been there quite a bit this year but with the water and woods it's a nice place to wander around and explore. One thing that was noticeable was how the water level has fallen compared to the last time we were there.


Bird wise it was quiet but it was quite a good day for butterflies with Peacock, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown as well a quite a few Whites.

We spent a few hours there and then popped along tho The Manor Tea Rooms for something to eat and drink.  It was great being out and about in the sunshine. I just hope there are a few more days like that before the summer ends!