It’s been a minute since my last entry. I’ve been coping with my ‘foot issues,’ but they seem to be trending in the right direction. I’ve been taking it slow and easy but have managed to capture three recent excursions. Above is an unrelated photo of the inside of the Observatory Cafe, one of my Bloomsbury favorites that had been closed for ‘summer holidays through August.

The Esoterick Collection – Sergio Strizzi, The Perfect Moment

The Esoterick Collection of Modern Italian Art remains a favorite of mine because of its delightful and unexpected exhibitions. This exhibition of photographs by Sergio Strizzi, a still photographer, active in the last half of the 20th century through 2004 in Italy and around the world. The photos in the exhibition show both his artistry and provides us with a reminder of the stars of a golden era in films.

Dog Day Afternoon

And now for something completely different, The Brunswick Centre, Bloomsbury’s mixed-use shopping and housing monument to 1970s brutalist architecture, held a celebration of dogs on the open concourse of the shopping plaza. They hold this “dog day” each year and it is a true celebration of ‘man’s best friend.’ There are prizes awarded, dog-related products for sale and ‘celebrity dogs’ that have appeared on television and in film. This year, Paddy, the terrier who has appeared as the family pet of Inspector Barnaby on “Midsomer’s Murders” was on hand. Below are some pictures of a few of dogs of all shapes and sizes that participated in the event.

Saint Andrew Church, Holborn, London

In the middle of a busy part of London, this church stands on a place that has been used for ritual and worship since the days of Roman London. The current church is the largest of the 52 parish churches built by Sir Christophen Wren in the 17th century. Above either side of the entrance to the church are statues of a boy and girl. These are known as Bluecoat Statues and are found at places that once were “Bluecoat Schools,” established for poor children in the 16th to 18th centuries. Excuse the scaffolding in the picture below.

As I have found, so often in churches and cathedrals built on ancient sites of worship and ritual, this church is a place of peace. I felt a calmness inside it. Wren’s clean lines and simple design seems to enhance this.

Three Quick Pix of a London Tourist Mecca-Covent Garden

I paid a quick visit to Covent Garden the other day. Covent Garden is a far cry from the flower market where Eliza Doolittle worked before, she encountered Henry Higgins. Parts of the market there stay the same, and parts reinvent themselves over time.

Weather and annoying foot willing, I have some fun adventures coming up. Keep checking for new posts.

Finally, a chance to visit another Cathedral, and a great way to get there!

The Thames Link

The Thames Link is a relatively new train service that provides service between the town of Bedford, 46 miles North of London) to the seaside resort town of Brighton, 47 miles South of London. But the route the train takes through central London has provided great improvements to getting to places within London, as well. Saint Pancras International Train Station is one of its stops, so I am lucky to have easy access to it.

St. Alban’s Cathedral is located in the eponymous city, 19 miles from London and a quick and pleasant ride on the Thames Link. The city of some 86,000 is in Hertfordshire County. Two friends had separately recommended visiting St. Albans Cathedral, one an American who had lived there for two years and the other a Londoner, my friend Tom, who has recommended many of the churches I have visited.. I knew little about its history or its namesake, Alban, the first Christian martyr in England, recognized as a saint by Catholics, Anglicans and Orthodox Christians. Construction of the Cathedral began in 1077 and was eventually part of an Abbey, until the dissolution during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Four views of the exterior of St. Albans.

There is so much history associated with this place. The earliest structures were built on the spot where St. Alban was said to be martyred, and the Cathedral held relics of his body until the dissolution and further destruction during the religious unrest of the Reformation. I found the history of the cathedral’s Lady Chapel (honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus) to be quite interesting. This part of the Cathedral had been built with contributions of the city’s residents and businesses at a time when pilgrimages were an important economic driver. When King Henry’s men came to take control and pillage the buildings, the people of St. Alban’s closed off the chapel and claimed it as separate from the abbey. They turned it into a boys’ school and thus saved it from damage and destruction. The Lady Chapel today is the only Anglican place of worship in which all Christian denominations may pray and celebrate. Thus, Catholic and Orthodox services are held there, along with Anglican and other Protestant one. Below are some views of the Lady Chapel, starting with a close up of the altar.

The reliquary has been restored, though St. Alban’s relics were lost during the turbulent years. A separate shrine

The first two pictures above are the shrine of St Alban. The third, sadly, is the only picture I have for the other shrine, the Shrine of St. Amphibalus who sheltered Saint Alban from persecution.

Here are two pictures of the lovely stained glass windows in the Cathedral.

Finally, a picture of the Choir and the main altar with its beautiful painted statues of ancient and modern saints, in the style that it is believed all statuary would have been in the Middle Ages.

If you look at the arches on the left. you will notice patterns on the top. What you cannot see on the flat surface of this arch and others on that side are faded Medieval scenes from the Bible. These are being carefully restored.

A Thames Rail Journey to the Tate Modern

I was thrilled to find that Thames Rail could take me much closer to the entrance of the Tate Modern on the South Bank of the Thames than the Tube could. So, with my annoying foot forcing me to consider how many steps I might take, I hobbled (not really) up to Saint Pancras and headed to the Tate Modern. I was short on time though, so I had to choose among several interesting exhibitions. I chose, “The Expressionists: Kandinsky, Munter, and the Blue Rider”. As you will see below, the exhibition was a celebration of color and creativity during the often-bleak years of war and privation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

I am looking forward to more adventures in the coming two months and hope to share them with you.

Bad Traffic, Bad Foot

It has been a tough couple of weeks, as my plantar fasciitis has continued to slow me down. In aid of saving steps, I decided to take a Black Cab down to the Tate Britain. I’m always amused at the discussions I have with London cabbies. This fellow wanted to make sure I knew where I wanted to go. “Now you do want to go to the ‘Tate Britain,’ not the ‘Tate Modern?’ He explained that many visitors confuse the two. I assured him that I wanted to go to the one on Millbank and our adventure began. A big portion of central London was under construction that morning. While I was in no rush and enjoyed people watching out the windows of the cab, as the meter and clock ticked, the cabbie became more and more agitated. When we eventually reached the gallery, he very graciously reduced the fare and urged me to “take the Tube home” (advice I followed).

Alvaro Barrington had a colorful display that evoked both his Caribbean family connections and the spirit of Carnival (being celebrated with the Notting Hill Carnival in London).

The colors were vibrant and there was movement and music in each piece.

There was also an exhibition, “Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain, 1520 to 1920.” An exhibit covering 400 years is ambitious and this one certainly covered plenty of ‘artistic ground. Here are a few of the highlights.

And finally, upon my return to Bloomsbury, I noticed these lovely yellow roses growing in a walking path behind the Brunswick Centre, the local shopping center.

Over the course of two days, I visited two exhibits, “Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music,” at the British Library and “Tropical Modernism” at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). The following day “my theatre season opened with “Skeleton Crew.”

The British Library

The British Library is a wonderful place to visit. Its special exhibits, speakers, workspaces, along with its collections make me happy to have it as a neighbor during my stays in London. This exhibit on Black British Music starts with the surprising depiction of a Black musician in the court of the King Henry VIII.

Much of the exhibit, though, focused on the period when Black migration from British colonies brought new sounds, new instruments and new excitement to the music in Great Britain. This led to the Caribbean style carnivals that are now a part of British culture, the success of internationally famous artists like Dame Shirley Bassey (of the “Goldfinger” movie theme fame), and the explosion of Reggae music.

The exhibit also contained many filmed interviews with early Windrush immigrants who were part of the music scene. These were people who considered themselves British, having lived under British rule and law for centuries. Yet, upon arrival in Britain, they were asked if they had been naked before they came and were complimented on how well they spoke English. Music, though, the international language has demonstrated how this migration and immigration has helped diversify the British music world.

The Victoria and Albert

The second exhibit called “Tropical Modernism” was at the V&A. It looks at how British colonialism in Africa and the early years of Ghana’s (formerly known as the British colony of “Gold Coast”) had defined a new kind of architecture that was informed by the climate of West Africa and the traditions of building in the pre-existing culture. The centerpiece of the exhibit was a film about how British architects designed colonial era buildings with an eye toward airflow, screening the sun and heat through lattice-like brick work, and the use of open spaces. As Ghana became the first British African colony to gain independence under revolutionary leader Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), as Prime Minister and later, President, new ideas were introduced into Tropical Modernism, largely because of Nkrumah’s insistance that Ghanaian architects lead or have major roles in the design and construction of post-colonial buildings. The end products were exciting and beautiful buildings that often-included elements of well-known western architects like Buckminster Fuller, along with the ideas from Ghanaian architects who introduced local materials and traditional design elements. After Nkrumah’s forced removal from power, a period of turmoil took place, but today Accra, the capital of Ghana, remains an exciting and visually interesting city.

More From the V&A

Also, at the V&A was an exhibit of photography called “Fragile Beauty,” from the private collection of Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish. The exhibit included beautiful and iconic photos of famous actors and musicians, as well as photos of political figures and events, interspersed with sections of homoerotic photography. I’ve included some highlights from the first two categories. It is particularly amazing that one collection contained the final two pictures below.

I found the Malcolm X photograph intriguing. As is the case with RFK, one can only wonder how different our world might have been if these two, and Dr. Martin Luther King, who was also included, but whose photo my phone seems to have missed, would have lived. For me, the Kent State picture takes me back to that terrible day in May of 1970 and again, one can only wonder how that event changed America.

I know I shall be returning to the V&A during my 2024 sojourn so there may be more from this great institution.

Skeleton Crew

I love the Donmar Warehouse, a theatre in the Covent Garden neighborhood of London. The theatre is intimate, four rows of seating surround three sides of the stage, with a similar number and configuration of balcony seats. As a venue for new and often “edgy” productions, its staff tends to be young and filled with energy. The plays and actors are usually first rate. “Skeleton Crew” by Dominique Morisseau tells the story of four people working at an unnamed automotive factory at the turn of the second Millenium, a period when the implosion of that industry in and near the city of Detroit, Michigan, was taking place.

The four British actors were amazing and word perfect on the American accents that never missed a beat. Music including, “I Say a Little Prayer for You,” “Angel,” and “Get Dis Money,” added to the atmosphere. The story was a sad and dramatic one with some signs of hope for the characters in their journeys through life. We are now far enough removed from those tragic days of rattling “K Cars” and the near collapse of the cities like Detroit and Dearborn, that this reminder of how corporate greed and union denial destroyed the futures of thousands of Americans. Bravo to the cast and crew of this production.