London III

In what was arguably my most organised campaign on London yet, I pre-empted my arrival on Friday evening with a salutory email to prospective co-conspirators regarding initiation of the weekends proceedings at Tate Modern. The stalwarts heeded the bugle call and marched forth, perhaps a touch later than anticipated, but armed with sufficient enthusiasm to make it through an entire floor before the twin calls of dinner and drinks drew us away.

We strolled along the Thames,

past the London Eye to Waterloo.

After a rejuvenatingburger, it was on to a bar called Inigo (presumably after Inigo Jones, a key architect in London in the 1600s) to see some Perth expats who are also eking out a living in London (a rare sight indeed).

Caught a taxi home - superduper exciting as first time for me in a London cab

(apparently when i took this shot, the driver thought he'd been done by a red-light camera). Quietly discussed a range of issues over a small glass of Bacardi. MJs housemates came home and were duly bored into submission (she had given up hours earlier) by my incessant yapping.

Saturday was a new day, laden with promise and providence. After obligatory Sainsbury's brunch (= ibuprofen + salted peanuts), I sallied forth on the Tube towards Somerset House, and in it the Courtald Institute.

Really cool - an absolute gem of an art gallery. Highlights for me were Cranach's Adam and Eve, the series of Cezannes and works of der Blau Reiter including the room of Kandinskys.

Maintained the art momentum at the National Gallery. The systematic approach Kylie and i adopted a fortnight prior was abandoned for wandering randomly, gaping. I like to model my art gallery technique on the Marquis in Russian Ark who strolls past each painting with a flourish proffering "Magnificent"s and "Wonderful"s at frequent intervals.

Except i say "fully sick" and "grouse".

I particularly enjoyed: Cezanne 'The Bathers'

Gallen-Kallela 'Lake Keitele'

Seurat 'Bathers at Asnières' (having seen a number of studies for this in an exhibition centred on the relatively similar styled Afternoon on La Grand Jatte at the Art Institute of Chicago last year)

Van Gogh 'Crabs' (a certain aquatic theme developing...)

Jan Gossaert's 'Adoration of the Magi'

and Da Vinci's 'The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist' (a print of this still resides on the wall of my childhood memories, and indeed also at Mum's house)

So there you go.

Ventured north via Baker St, inspiration for the great saxaphone classic of the same name and presently home to no less than 542 shops/cafes/pubs alluding to Sherlock Holmes,

to Regents Park. There i chanced upon MJ et al, who were enjoying the laidback music and long foodstall queues of the Fruitstock festival.

The evening concluded with several Kronenbourg 1664s with K&A, a systematic walkover by Neil in the movie quiz board game, and some witty banter, the highlights of which temporarily escape me but i guarantee were devastatingly amusing.

Bade K & A farewell the next morning and made my way towards Kings X, via the National Portrait Gallery...

and had a bit of a lookee at Covent Garden and Russell Square.

Then headed back to C for an early night in anticipation of the arrival of my learned colleague, Grant.