London wanderings

I’ve spent the last few days adjusting to the change in time zone and trying to turn my work brain off. A mix of gardens and fine arts have certainly helped.

The Henry Moore exhibition at Kew Gardens was arresting. The placement of his massive sculptures along grand avenues and in juxtaposition with existing features enhanced the experience of both.

It was reasonably good weather, if a little windy, but a very nice way to shake off jet lag wandering a garden with Penny and two of her friends, one of whom came back with us to stay the evening. Penny made a lovely supper of summer salads and the company was a salve having found out that a dear friend had passed back in Australia (it was expected and I had said my goodbyes the day before departure). Vale Robin Klaus, a singular soul.

Wednesday took me to the V&A. I had been trying to book a ticket to the Schiapparelli exhibition but their site refused my foreign credit card or PayPal. I figured I’d try my luck. Sadly it was sold out for the day by 11am so I explained the website problem so they could hopefully fix it for others and a kind woman behind me overheard and offered to take me as her plus 1 on her membership card. Not only did I get in to the exhibition but for free! It was fabulous, kudos to the clever staff who built all the staging cabinets and lighting, it was very impressive.

I spent the rest of the day wandering around the main British collections and was most delighted at a significant display of exceptionally built and decorated locks.

I also spotted this fan favourite:

In the evening I met Henley and his friend Johnno for oysters and wine along the river in a building that had a Dalek in the window (sadly I failed to snap a pic). We also enjoyed a delicious crab and gruyere souffle – a very civilised evening indeed. Henley and I grabbed a pint at a couple of local taverns on the way home, I do love a tiny little neighbourhood pub.

Thursday started badly with Heather’s flight being cancelled. We were both gutted she wouldn’t be able to make it to the theatre that night – our only night together in London – but naught could be done. Thankfully Henley and Penny’s son was free and happy to join me instead so the ticket would not go to waste.

I met an old friend, Viv, for brunch and then we spent the rest of the day gasbagging and wandering around London. We were stuck on a bus for quite a while due to some sort of traffic snafu but it didn’t really matter where we were as there was so much to catch up on and I find her company so easy and interesting.

We went to the Wallace collection for a couple of hours. It’s a mansion turned museum housing all sorts of furniture, artworks, armour etc. Clearly one (perhaps all) of the owners had a penchant for breasts, game and dogs as they were the main object of most of the paintings and busts. For example:

Which just made me think of the scene in Scrooged when the censor is trying to disallow a costume.

I did come across this darling perpetual almanac though featuring the day/week/month along with zodiac, moon phases and saints days.

After saying farewell to Viv I went to my hotel and rested for a bit before meeting Justin for dinner. We went to a Spanish restaurant near the theatre which was great (very yummy octopus and sherry) and then off to the main event: Inter Alia.

The acting, writing and staging were sensational, it thoroughly deserves all the praise it has been getting. Absolutely worth the splurge and an unforgettable performance. Also quite a lovely theatre (Wyndham’s).