Whenever my friends Nigel and Gwynne come up to visit London, I know I am in for a good time and so it was when they and Gwynne’s brother Mike spent a delightful afternoon with me. But. there were more adventures this week.
The Esoterik Collection
Nigel, who I mentioned above, introduced me to the Esoterik Collection several years ago. It is dedicated to modern Italian Art. Today’s visit was to view an exhibition of the work of Claudio Parmiggiani, an artist whose career spans over 50 years of Italian modern art. In some works he used smoke and soot creating etherial images. After the exhibition, I climbed the (many) stairs to view the permanent collection.
Parmiggiani
Esoterik Permanent Collection
This outstanding collection of modern Italian art includes these thought provoking works.
Good Times on the Canal
My friends Nigel and Gwynne, and Gwynne’s brother Mike joined me for a day of fun along one of London’s canals. The visit included the Canal Museum, lunch at a great little cafe and a walk along the canal where we observed numerous long boats that folks live or holiday on.
The Blue River Cafe
We stopped at the Blue River Cafe on Northdown Street in Kings Cross. Great food, great service and a pleasant atmosphere. Here are my friends enjoying the cafe.
Mike, Nigel and Gwynne. Some of the best people I know.
The Canal Museum
Small museums are like little gems. The Canal Museum could be easily overlooked. I’m glad we visited. In this case, we sometimes forget how important canals were in the period before rails linked rural and urban locations. The museum contains a replica of a canal boat showing cargo and living space.
This picture above shows the colorful pots and cans that canal boats are known for.
Working on the Canal
We saw an ice pit where canal workers would load huge blocks of ice to be delivered to resaurants and homes with ice boxes, the precursor of refrigerators and freezers.
After we left the museum, we took a stroll up the canal path back towards Saint Pancras International where my friends were getting their trains home. Here are a picture of canal boats and the path.
My next blog will include a visit to another favorite museum. Here are a few late August roses from the front of that museum.
The flight from Miami was pretty smooth and arrival was timely. It’s funny how quickly you get over the annoyance and inconvenience associated with a long trip. My case the fact that my flat was ready and I could immediately collapse into a nap probably helped.
What’s Taken So Long?
So here I am two weeks in to the journey, and this is my first post. It has been a great two weeks, but I just got a bit complacent.
Also, I had a hard time figuring out how to upload photos to my new tablet. I decided to start things off on a slow and easy pace. Above are a few pictures of the magnificent old trees in Brunswick Garden which is just a short walk from my flat. These large urban green spaces are one of my favorite things about London.
While having brunch on my first morning I noticed this peculiar renovation technique. I assume its done to save as much as possible of the original exterior features of an older building but it struck me as odd to look up at this grand old building and see that the top story and roof were gone.
Dylan in London
On a sunny afternoon, I ventured south of the river to the Old Vic Theatre to see “The Girl from the North Country,” a musical drama featuring the songs of Bob Dylan. Hearing Dylan’s lyrics and music in this format was stunning and a reminder of what a brilliant body of work he has created.
Here are photos of Ryan Heenan and Rebecca Thornhill (left) and Justine Kehinde. The story takes place during the Great Depression and demonstrates the universality of the themes Dylan has written about.
Gardening Through History
My next adventure took me back to the British National Library, once again, my nearby neighbor in Bloomsbury/Kings Cross, and always the home of wonderful things.
The exhibit is called “Unearthed,” and it tells the story of gardening in the UK and its former colonies. It tellsl us too, of how diverse plants and methods passed among the places the British came in contact with over the centuries.
The entrance to the exhibit.
The MultiMedia screens made this into a virtual experience.
Plants that are great food sources. The library’s extensive book collection enhanced the exhibit.
Making the point of the importance of community
This box allowed plants from the other side of the earth to be maintained alive on the long sea journey to England.
Til The Stars Come Down
This was a well-acted drama centered, apparently, on the marriage of a young woman from the North of England in the former mining country and a Polish immigrant. Her family is mildly racist and has festering woumds from Margaret Thatcher’s mine closings. Underneath it there is boiling cauldron of family secrets involving sexual relationships among the family. It was staged well with seats for audience members on three sides of the stage. They became extras during some scenes. For me, the themes in this play have become too common in the West End, sort of like “the Troubles” define much Irish theatre for the last several decades.
Funny Sidelight to this Theatre Visit
I had dressed in black trousers and a dark blue button up shirt and had a seat on the aisle. As I do when I sit in the aisle seat, I will stand against the wall to allow the rest of the row easier access in the minutes before the show begins. Unbeknownst to me, I was dressed exactly like the ushers and other front of the house staff, so I kept getting asked if I sold programs or where seats were. The young usher near me and I had some good laughs about it.
A Visit to Queens Park
One of the things I love about London are the small and large parks that let the city breathe. One of these is Queens Park where I noticed these two statues.
The first is of Queen Charlotte and the second is to honorwomen and children who have been to the local children’s hospital.
The Tate Modern Takes Me Back to Australia
The Tate Modern is exhibiting the works of artist Emily Kame Kingawarray who lived in the ancesteral land Alhakar in Australia. Her work reflects the region, its land, plants, animals and ecosystems. Upon seeing the first of her works, I felt transported back to Australia. Here are a few examples of her incredible work.
Herbert SmithFreehill Kramer Portrait Award
These are three of the finalists.
Some Random Photos from the First Weeks
These were taken at various locations including the Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Portrait Gallery and outs the British Library.
This ends the first blog of this year’s sojourn. I apologize for any glitches. I am still fighting with my Galaxy Pad and trying to understand the new editing and other tools in WordPress. I hope you enjoy this scatter shot offering.
Four radically different art exhibits in London are the subject of today’s installment.
The Tate Modern
The Tate Modern Gallery can always be counted on for unusual displays of art. Mire Lee envisioned the vast cavern that is the Turbine Hall of the museum as an “Open Wound.”
One of the major exhibits on at the Tate Modern is “Mike Kelley Ghost and Spirit.” This is a hard one for me to explain. Remember that guy in college who you were never sure if he was an Yippie, a stoner, or just a weird Art student? Well, this is his ouvre. Personally, I found some of it interesting, but quite a bit of it seemed sort of dated and “70’s not very successful experimentation.” I must not have been in the right mood for it, though, because it is a very important exhibition.
After Mike Kelley, I treated myself to a “visit with old friends,” favorite works from the Tate Modern permanent collection.
Art in the Park
As part of a project to put more public art in its parks, Camden Council, the local government responsible for maintaining the park at Russell Square in Bloomsbury erected this piece, Echo 2024 by Joe Duggan.
Finally, just across the road from Russell Square is the Weiner Holocaust Library. Its current exhibit, to quote the library’s description, “surveys the life and career of Jewish émigré sculptor Fred Kormis and reunites some of the most important of his diverse works, from the woodcut prints he produced in a Prisoner of War camp, to the medallions he made of leading figures in British life, and the first memorial in Britain to the victims of Nazi concentration camps.” At this particularly difficult moment in the history of the world and of the Middle East, the exhibit is particularly important in reminding us of why Israel was created as a homeland for the Jews who survived the Holocaust. Mr. Kormis, a veteran of the Austrian army from World War I, was lucky to escape from Nazi occupied Europe and find a new home in the United Kingdom.
The figure at the far right is the King of NorwayMemorial plaques
The five figures above were created for a Holocaust memorial.
I hope you’ve found this walk with me through various exhibits and gallery spaces enjoyable.
Throughout my life, I have felt like a late bloomer. Like the tortoise in the old story, I usually get where I am going, but it may take a while. That describes this year’s sojourn to London. My recalcitrant foot slowed me down some and made me modify plans, but as the weeks have gone by, I have regained my poise and my equanimity. So, it is in this spirit that I present some of the last blooms of the season from Brunswick Square and Russell Square Parks.
Fear and Lehman’s
In the course of one week, I went to two outstanding theatre productions, “Fear of 13” and “The Lehman Trilogy.”
Adrien Brody and Nana Mensah led the cast in “Fear of 13,” the story of man unjustly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Brody inhabited the role of Nick Yaris, the unjustly convicted man and Mensah, the woman who believed in him. The supporting cast playing prisoners and guards were all more than up to the task. Brody’s youthful looks bely his age (51) and he was believable as he recreated vignettes from Yaris’s life. Mensah was amazing as a smart, sensible woman whose heart leads her as much as her head. The story had highs and lows and the audience loved it. It was perfect for the more intimate venue of the Donmar Warehouse.
Adrien BrodyNana Mensah
“The Lehman Trilogy” tells the history of Lehman Brothers, from three immigrant brothers from Germany who moved to America through the end of Lehman Brothers Bank in 2008. The story is told in three acts with three actors playing the three Lehman Brothers and all other major characters, male, female, adult and child. John Heffernan, Howard W. Overshown, and Aaron Krohn are the principal actors who start out playing the immigrant brothers, but with a change of accent, a mannerism, a raising or lowering of the register of their voices, they created a myriad of believable characters. How the Lehman Brothers empire rose and fell was a tale of the changes in American business and banking, mores and morals.
Aaron KrohnHoward W. OvershownJohn Heffernan
Many of us will remember the tragic deaths of many Lehman Brothers Bank associates in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (an event not discussed in the play) and shocking end of Lehman Brothers Bank when we saw pictures of Lehman staff leaving their jobs for the final time. It is a remarkable American tale.
A Visit to Richmond and ‘Lasso Land’
Several friends have recommended that I visit Richmond, one of the outer boroughs of London. It was put on the map of many Americans by the television show “Ted Lasso.” Animal lovers may also have seen the lovely town on “Vet on the Hill,” Veterinarian Scott Miller’s successful series, seen now on YouTube. I took the London Underground to the stop after Kew Gardens and found myself on a pleasant high street. I made my way to Richmond Park, a wonderful green space near the city center and then wandered through streets and alleyways filled with charming shops and pubs. Among the interesting shops was one dedicated to the Ted Lasso TV show.
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, above is a peaceful place, with dog walkers, joggers and residents using the paths to enjoy the outdoors.
Above, streets and alleys of Richmond. One of the gorilla statues around town. This one is titled “Noah, Nest Building.”
And. of course, Ted Lasso!
If I hadn’t already had plans to spend stupid money at the Fulham FC store, I would have come out of here with my credit card smoking. I’ll be back, Richmond, BELIEVE!
