More random pictures

cos I’m too lazy to write a proper post this week. Been slack on the blog front but finally seeing some results on the job interview front which is somewhat more important at this point in time.  I’ll try and put some longer posts together over the weekend…maybe.

Asking the important questions

I know you are, so what am I???

Ok, I won't (it's a very cute cow)

You can't trust the little critters

With thanks to the Regents Canal towpath for being both picturesque and heavily decorated.

This looks familiar

I found this little creature in the Victoria and Albert Museum but he really reminds me of the doorknockers from Labyrinth.

I can just imagine him mumbling

South Kensington Art and Design

A couple of weekends ago I rugged up for a trip to South Kensington to visit one of the excellent museums in that area. I’d been wanting to go to the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum since I’d returned so that was high on the list. The fact it was the last weekend of a small story themed design exhibition named Telling Tales just helped propel me there (as did a quick look at the queues outside the beautiful Natural History Museum).

Before I rushed into the crowded world of weekend gallery attendance I made a worthwhile stop at the South Ken outpost of the Hummingbird Bakery. I sat for a while with a coffee and red velvet cupcake and I highly recommend it. The South Ken branch is marginally quieter than the Notting Hill branch on a Sunday which means you can sit and enjoy your purchases without having queued out the door and down the street beforehand (which I noticed people doing in Notting Hill as that branch is in the market area).

The cake tasted delicious....

Just to really rub it in

I had a wander around as I used to live about 15-20 minutes walk away and spent a bit of time in the area many moons ago. There have been a few changes and Old Brompton Road now consists almost entirely of cafes and restaurants whereas I remember a few more outlet luggage stores. The area around the tube station does seem to be a good place to head if looking for places to eat. I also came across this lovely bookstore in Thurloe St.

Piles of excellent books

Although it’s a discount bookstore, the items they have in stock are top notch and it was quite an effort to leave without weighing myself down with some purchases. And finally I made it to my destination – the actual museum. The V&A is a great place to go if you’re interested in art, design, costuming, textiles, sculpture and pretty much anything else decorative that you could imagine. It’s also free – which is even better.

One of the better entrance shots - still not quite sure what I was aiming for

One of the dining rooms - fancy huh?

entrance to the dining rooms from the internal courtyard

marble initials

light sculpture in the entrance hall

Although I spent a good amount of time wandering around looking at the displays, the V&A is a huge place and I need to make a return visit when the medieval galleries reopen later this year.

Guess the tube station…

Hmmmm...I wonder

No prizes except the knowledge you know too much about pop culture archetypes.

Despair in Southwark

More East End images

I headed back to the East End for the Spitalfields Show and Green Fair a couple of weekends ago. It was a lovely little village fete and I had a quick wander around. Picturewise however, I found a few more bits of street art to photograph.

very stylish

I see you

cute mice (I think they're from an animated movie)

two for one

Spitalfields Show

Pre-Raphaelites at Millbank

Yesterday I ventured down to Pimlico and Millbank to revisit the Tate Britain. Long my favourite Tate outpost, I don’t think the Tate Modern was even open the first time I visited Millbank. I particularly like the Tate Britain because of their focus on historical British art. I have a particular fondness for the Pre-Raphaelites and Victorian Romantics and the Arts and Crafts movement with which they were closely linked. The Tate has a fantastic collection of works which are changed regularly to let all the paintings have their chance to be seen.  Although this meant I didn’t see all the paintings I remembered (as if all of them would still be up so many years later) I did manage to find a few favourites and also had a look at the William Blake exhibition recreation.

Tate Britain

It was a lazy afternoon well spent looking at fantastic paintings such as Edward Burne-Jones’ King Cophetua and the beggar maid, George Frederick Watts Hope, John Everett Millais Ophelia, and William Blake’s exhibition. I didn’t take a lot of photos because the battery in the camera was threatening to die. It’s done very well, taking hundreds of photos even though I’d only charged the battery once since buying it. It does take excellent close up photos (much better than the old camera) as seen in this picture of the beautiful flowers in the garden outside the Tate.

I just liked the colour (and there's a bee!)

And the other notable building in the area is just across the river. Home of the SIS, better known as MI6, this massive building sits not so secretly right near the Vauxhall Bridge.  It’s interesting enough as a curiousity but I do remember that someone launched a rocket at it last time I was here.

Ssssh it's a secret service

And of course seeing some ads during the trip home on the tube reminded me that I need to go visit the V & A soon. I’m keeping stuff like the Tower of London until the school holidays here are over (which is soon) in the hope there might be a couple less people there when I visit.

Caution Infernal Traffic

On Sunday I caught the tube eastwards into the Shoreditch/ Spitalfields/ Brick Lane area.  I have to admit that the most Cockney thing I found was the ATM. I’d seen a piece in the papers recently about one of the banks installing “Cockney” ATMs in a few places in the East End but didn’t realise I’d found one until I was getting money out. Sadly I didn’t get a picture because there were people waiting behind me and I didn’t want to pay more international transaction fees just for a quick snap. The markets in this area are very much about clothes and accessories.  And Spitalfields is full of the cooler than cool looking for the next hot item to wear. On Sundays huge sections of the East End are given over to markets. I wandered through at least three of four distinct ones.

The first I came across by accident mostly because when you look at maps, the scale doesn’t always mean much, so you don’t realise how close everything is.  Petticoat Lane was packed full of clothing racks of cheaper than cheap remnants and bulk lots.  It wasn’t quite what I was looking for but at least I can say now that I’ve been there.  Eventually I worked my way over to Spitalfields (which isn’t far away) and had a wander through it’s hallowed halls.  Recently redone, it’s a very swish space with guidebook recommended restaurants and cafes.  There’s a lot of nice things to be bought here and if you search hard, you might still get a bargain. Vintage/retro clothes and quirky accessories are the biggest buys but there’s lots of new stuff as well.

Just round the corner is the Sunday Up Market. Housed in a less polished space, it has a real market feel to it. The outside and inside food vendors offer a wide array of delicious, multicultural food.  Although it does appear that some people have stalls at both Spitalfields and Sunday Up, the latter has a more gregarious, community feel to it.  I really enjoyed having a look around and wandering the surrounding streets which were also covered in more markets.  This pop up market lead up the road to Brick Lane, where there was yet another market in full swing. The Brick Lane market was far more diverse in its array of goods for sale, which was a relief because there’s only so many vintage dress shops even I can look at. In the end though I didn’t take many photos of the markets but I did take lots of pictures of artworks and drawings on walls.  There is a strong street art scene in the area, which can be seen in my view of the East below.

Caution Infernal Traffic

this one was hidden behind the outdoor food stalls

this one was quite striking

this figure of a man was at the bottom of the previous picture

I liked these shutters

not sure what it means but it's interesting

Weekend of markets

The weekend is the best time to enjoy some of London’s markets, so I decided to visit two different parts of London and sample their markets this weekend. This first post is about my visit on Saturday to Borough market and the Southbank.  The weather is still holding here, for the most part, but the temperature has dropped a few degrees.  Saturday was a lovely sunny day to be wandering around Borough and Southwark.  I caught the tube to London Bridge station and from there headed to Southwark Cathedral just down the street.  It is a beautiful Cathedral and although it has a long history, I know it as the starting place for the pilgrims in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. 

Southwark Cathedral

from another angle

Right next door is Borough market. It’s all about food. If you want to know where to get a an Ostrich burger – Borough market is your place.  And these trips to the markets would be cheap sightseeing days, if I didn’t buy so many snacks…(not that I eat Ostrich burgers).

Borough Market

It was actually more crowded than it looks. The market was packed full of people, many of whom brought wheelie suitcases to fill up with food.  In fact, many people here (tourists mostly I’m assuming) seem to shop with suitcases.  Doesn’t matter if it’s Piccadilly or Regent Streets, Borough or Shoreditch markets.  I don’t know why you would want to buy that much stuff (although groceries make a bit more sense) and I find them annoying because they are dragged really slowly in everyone’s (my) way.

I also visited The Clink Museum which is nearby. It’s a privately owned museum documenting life in the early prison called The Clink that existed in the area for hundreds of years.  While it was an ok way to spend half an hour, I wouldn’t recommend making a special trip. It wasn’t the best put together display I’ve seen recently and some areas had signs that were just laminated and tacked up on the wall (including a blurry picture of puppies printed off a computer entitled The Police Animal section – and that was it, just the picture). Clearly at some point there was money put it into researching and creating the displays but it’s beginning to look a little worn around the edges.

The Globe Theatre

On my way from Borough market to the Tate Modern I walked past the Globe Theatre. I wandered in to pick up some info about tours and shows (which run till early October), so will definitely be going back another day to check it out some more. And here’s the Tate Modern. I know it’s fashionable to be in love with this place but I am a much bigger fan of the Tate Britain (which is currently running a William Blake exhibition I want to go see).

Tate Modern

 

Tate Modern main hall

The Tate Modern is housed in an old electricity station and it’s a fantastic space. One of the entrances is to the top of the picture and the galleries are to the right.  Housed on multiple levels, you’d think they would be tiny considering how much open space there is here, but they’re not.  It’s room after room of modern art exhibitions. And it also has some great views across the Thames looking towards the city.  Here’s a photo I took through one of the windows of the Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s.

view from Tate

Up next is a trip to the east end to visit the Spitalfields and Brick Lane markets in Shoreditch.

Southport Images

Apologies for the late post but yesterday I was up to my ears in multitudes of boxes (mostly filled with books) and garbage bags (of clothes and various other bits and pieces) – my moving technique is classy.  I had these pictures all ready as I took them earlier in the week on what may turn out to be my last trip into Southport for a while.  It’s a little strange that I had so few pictures of somewhere I had spent so much time but here’s a little of what I found.

Electricity pole art.

Southport buildings.

Masonic Lodge

The three towers of Southport Central

Council Office

Fire Station

Random images.