Early Autumn is a great time in London. The weather is still warm. The crush of summer visitors has ended, and students have returned to school in the UK. Still, it is vacation/holiday time for Italians and Spanish and the fairly constant flow of the French via the Eurostar continues. University students from the UK and the world populate my Bloomsbury neighborhood. My daily travels on foot, Tube and bus are filled with bits of overheard conversation in the languages of the world. Long late afternoon chats with friends bring afternoons to a happy close.

The Wigmore Hall Concert Series Begins

Each year, I look forward to the return of the Wigmore Hall concerts on Sunday mornings and Monday afternoon. The matching bouquets on each side of the stage always set a mood of peace for the concerts. In the Spring, I choose the ones I will attend and by September, I am completely surprised by each concert that I attend. The first one was a wonderful trio of musicians called “Trio Zadig.”

Their selections included works by Lili Boulanger, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn. They also gave, an encore from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.”

A Return Visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum

My first visit to the V&A in South Kensington had been a brief one and there were several exhibits I wanted to see. The one at the top of my list was closed for the day, but trying to find the room where it was held turned into one of my typical “it’s got to be here challenges that left me questioning my sanity until a kind docent explained the unanticipated closure. I’ll return to see that exhibit later.

Along the Way at the V&A

As I sought out the exhibits I had come to see, as always at the V&A, I came across some interesting things.

The lions came from Denmark where I will be next month. I was quite surprised to see them. Aren’t the stained glass windows lovely. They preceded a gallery of religious objects I’ll discuss shortly. Finally, two shots of the Cast Galleries, which are my favorites.

As I mentioned, I stumbled on a gallery of religious objects.

They went from the sublime to the downright strange. The first photo were some stunning examples of items described as “Modern Judaica in Britain. The Second was a depiction of a Christian cross made from Coca Cola cans. The question was whether it could be considered a religious object. To be clear, there were many other beautiful Christian and other religions.

Lasting Impressions-Women Print Makers 1900-Now

Finally found one of the exhibitions I was looking for.

What an interesting selection of prints made by women from the pre-suffrage era through recent times.

Views of Glasgow

If you have never visited Glasgow, put it on your list. It is a vibrant, interesting city with museums, architecture, universities and centuries of Glaswegian culture.  These few examples from the exhibition were not what I expected  but did put me in mind of the city and makes me eager to return.

Saint Pancras Crypt

Saint Pancras New Church is a Greek Revival style building. It can be seen throughout the venerable building. No better example can be observed than the statuary above the entrance to the Crypt.

The statues, when they arrived on site were found to be too large to fit into the space. So, a bit was trimmed from their middles, making some believe that these ladies looked a bit dowdy. They are impressive.

The accessible part of the crypt is empty. Local artists are permitted to display their works in the crypt. Deeper inside the crypt, remains from long ago are left undisturbed in an inaccessible part of the underground facility.

Prior to the crypt tour, another of the wonderful bi-weekly concerts was held.

And An Autumn Week Ends

Just a note, I am having a bit of trouble with the transfer of photos on my computer, so much of this blog had to be written on my Android phone. So, I may take a bit extra time to get these next blogs out.

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