And so, I have returned to London. My first week has been one of slowly working on getting my legs and feet back in shape. An early spring strain of my calf muscles which led to a flare up of plantar fasciitis has meant that I needed to ramp up my London walking life carefully. Even so, one of my first stops was a health walk to my favorite stomping ground, “Caffe Tropea,” in Russell Square Park. I was pleased to find almost my whole

gang of coffee drinking friends sitting at an outside table on a beautiful sunny afternoon. There was plenty of catching up and friendly banter. Needless to say, the American Presidential elections were of great interest. Paulo Tropea and his staff greeted me warmly too, really making me feel at home.

I spent a few days getting past the jet lag by simply enjoying Bloomsbury. Here are a few photos of some of the things I saw.

Now was the time for the adventures to begin. I decided that my first stop had to be the National Portrait Gallery where I have been asking them for a decade or more when they were going to have an image of Queen Consort Camilla. I don’t know why I got such a burr under my saddle about this, but I felt like she deserved to be there. Her predecessor was and still is represented and remains very popular. But the Queen Consort has become more popular and is quite a remarkable “royal.” Well, my regular notes and emails must have worked. Because on this visit, I saw this:

Good things come to those who wait!

While visiting, I was also happy to see this portrait of novelist A.S. Byatt by one of my favorite artists, Patrick Heron, was back on display.

There was also an interesting exhibit at the gallery, “Silent Testimony,” by Belfast artist Colin Davidson. This is a series of paintings of people connected by having suffered loss during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. Here are some of those portraits.

The faces seem to tell a story of sorrow, stoicism, and loss. Quite a moving experience.

• Uncategorized