To the Hayward Gallery yesterday evening and for one ten pound ticket got to see two stimulating exhibitions: Jeremy Deller - Joy in People - an overview of Deller's work from the last 20 years. I really like the spirit of his work: enquiring and politically engaged. He's interested in communities and their (often unheard) …
in a Wapping greenhouse
What a great way to end my working week. We ventured out to Wapping on Maundy Thursday evening to attend a reading in a greenhouse. A clear, cold evening, and after a couple of wrong turns we eventually arrived at our destination: The Wapping Project Bookshop - yes, a bookshop in a greenhouse, located in …
a fair fortnight
Two weeks since we returned from Melbourne, and here are a few things that have eased my adjustment back into London life: The weather. We've had a spell of glorious, almost summery weather. Clear blue skies, temperatures into the low twenties, hazy sunshine. Crisp mornings and balmy evenings. Warm enough to sit outside a pub …
not quite dispelling the blues
A brisk walk around Battersea Park. Looking for signs of spring, and for the rhyme or reason that I'm still wedded to London. I need to gaze at water but The Thames is low, the tide right out. The brightest thing in the park is an out of place wattle tree, shaking its yellow blossoms …
melbourne calling
Ten days down and six to go of our short trip to Melbourne. Ignoring the vagaries of the weather, we have packed in quite a lot, in between catching up with family and friends. Highlights so far: Cafe culture. It would be easy to believe all Melbournians spend at least a third of their time …
The Vivisector
Where to start with this towering novel by Patrick White? The fact that I finished reading it yesterday evening. That when I started reading it, a couple of months ago, the handsome hardback I bought on our short trip to Lewes, I immediately felt rejuvenated. Here was a book, a writer, I really wanted to …
playtime!
I can't resist fresh snow. I have to be out in it, scuff through it, touch it, crump it under foot, marvel at it. I love how it transforms London - ever so briefly - into a magical new place: dazzling, crisp, quiet. Hardly any traffic, and what there is slow moving and muffled. And …
art in a cold climate
'Tis bitter chill at the moment, but I've warmed myself on a couple of inspiring exhibitions this week. This lunchtime, a brisk and bracing 15 minute walk got me to The Serpentine's Centre for Possible Studies for a proper look at the Fabelist Imprint show. We'd gone to the launch the previous Friday (I'm a …
a bunch or two of cheerfulness
I'd lived in Battersea for years before I discovered there's a traditional greengrocer's just seven minutes' walk from my block. And even though I've been frequenting Thurgood's for a good few years now, I still get a tingle of anticipation each time I set off for their small but invaluable establishment. A proper greengrocer's in …
a quick (late) sketch from the rear stalls
To a seat in the rear stalls at the Royal Festival Hall last night, for the T S Eliot Prize readings. This was the hot ticket on a very cold Sunday night. Nearly 2,000 in the audience. Eight shortlisted poets reading for 10 minutes each (give or take a rambling digression or two). Compered by …
