Walking (and running) around London

Ok, so thees ees goeeng to bee fun. The 'eye' key on my lap top ees not workeeng. ( thees ees heestereecal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) As the well known SA sayeeng goes "n boer maak n plan".

We were very fortunate that whaal we where een London, the Thames festeeval was on. There were hoards of foreners around....hardly a seengle Breet to be seen......but eet was so festeev. We watched a laav producton, and lots of ferry's and boats gong up and down the reever. (are you takeeng me sereeously here?)



Nor and took a treep on toureesty boat down the Thames. No great wow except perhaps that the London breedge had to open...apparently not often seen.





This is the 'court-yard' of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, next door to the Brompton Oratory where I had my first exhibition. The wonderful thing about this museum, is that entrance is absolutely free, so whole families get to enjoy the art on display.
Its HUGE and although I have now been to see it twice, there is always something new to see and appreciate....I think more so each time one goes!



I loved this so much! Its a sculpture
of the artists daughter. Perfection!











This is a sculpture done in alabaster. I would suggest you enlarge the picture. You need to appreciate the fine carving of the feathers and lace. This work was remarkable in every way. Its place of exhibition was perfect too, as the sun coming through the window mad this sculpture almost opaque.
What manner of man does such beautiful work. The mind that created this must be a mind indeed!



Horsing around....the Victoria and Albert museum has thousands of sculptures. Trying to absorb it all in a day is impossible. Noreen relayed a story of a friend of hers and her husband who sat in front of an art piece for hours, trying to get into the mind of the artist.

Personally, I'd prefer to read an autobiography.








This pub, called "The Anchor", (no, we didn't go in) on the banks of the Thames, was built in the late 1500's, and is the site of the original Shakespeare theater. Romeo and Juliette was performed on this spot, for the very first time.
The famous diarist, Samuel Pepys, witnessed the burning of London from this very site:
"The great fire swept through the central parts of London, gutting the medieval city and destroying the majority of London's homes".
William Shakespeare was an irritating oddball who couldn't speak English...or so I thought while young. When I went nursing, I spent most of my meager salary on books (and pot plants...I needed a machete to get to my bed)....and William Shakespeare was one author and play-write who I grew to love. Strangely(or not), I didn't enjoy Romeo and Juliette, the ending is not fairy-tale enough. My favorite was Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew and the Merry Wives of Windsor...I loved the subtle, almost -hidden humor.



This is one of the more recent sculptures to be seen in London, done by Paul Day. Its called "The Battle of Britain" and is to be found on the opposite bank of the Thames. It's so beautifully done, you can see the terror, you can feel the panic and you can hear the bombs fall.





The part miniature of this particular sculpture ("Mini Scramble"), is for sale at the "Plus One Gallery", as well as others he's done in resin and terracotta. He is one of the best modern-day sculptors I've seen in a while. Looking at this piece, I felt almost, that I was looking at the work of a re-incarnated Michelangelo or Rafael ...using classical style to produce an emotive and empathetic and timeless visual of one of the greatest tragedies of our modern times.


Looking pensive but was really just thinking of my family here. There was a scotsman at the bottom of St Paul's steps, playing the bagpipes. It reminded of my 16 year old son who plays very well. It was while traveling through Scotland with him, that he was so inspired to start playing.






I suppose this is a rather cliche photo...fortunately just before the 'royal wave' I gave Nor. I took the usual touristy pictured, but if you want those...well then you'll find better ones on 'Google'.