A breezy, summer's-last-hurrah day. A rare lie in, cups of tea, Radio 3. Late breakfast: wilted spinach and poached eggs on toast, to set us up nicely for the day's cultural exertions. First stop, the Free Verse Poetry Book Fair at Exmouth Market, organised by the excellent CB editions. An inspiring, if slightly overwhelming, event …
Category: London
cultural pick-me-up
Headed to the British Museum after work on Friday to check out a couple of their Australian Season offerings. Out of Australia featured prints and drawings by Australian artists from the 1940s to the present day, and was an absorbing and varied show. Amongst my favourites were Sidney Nolan's powerful felt-tipped pen drawings of drought-struck …
three good things I did this week
1. Wednesday evening to Loose Muse at the Poetry Café, for some stimulating and varied readings from women writers. A mixture of open mic spots and longer readings from the two featured poets, Karen Head and Katrina Naomi. I was particularly taken by the poems Katrina Naomi read, which were quirky, a bit edgy, perfectly pitched. …
London peloton
This is one of the things I love about London - setting off on my bike on a summer morning, a cloudless blue sky above and the tall plane trees resplendent in the sunshine, vivid green against the blue; the air almost fresh (for London), already a sense that the temperature is rising; catching a …
avian des res
At the end of a long week, on a day of high wind and changeable skies, we refreshed our somewhat battered souls by wandering over the river to seek out the Chelsea half of Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven, a sculptural installation by London Fieldworks. The site: Cremorne Gardens, tucked away between the …
much better chop
To the Susan Hiller retrospective at Tate Britain on Good Friday afternoon. In contrast to the previous Friday's art fix, I was pretty impressed by this show, which presents a body of work produced over 40 years. Some of Hiller's recurrent themes include language, the subconscious, the hidden meanings and value of ephemera (the Rough …
not much chop
Late Friday afternoon we finally made it along to the Hayward Gallery on the Southbank to see British Art Show 7, subtitled rather meaninglessly, as far as I could make out anyway, 'In the Days of the Comet'. Billed as "the most ambitious and influential exhibition of contemporary British art", the experience, for me, was …
vernal pleasures
Blue skies over London. Trees coming into leaf, each day a brighter green. Blossom everywhere - a plethora of white and pink froth, shimmering yellow. Bare legs. Toenails painted deep red. Making salads - Greek salad, beetroot salad with garlic yoghurt. Fresh, sharp tastes. Eating Greek salad listening to Greek music with the windows open, …
journeys of a randonneur
This week's cultural highlight was the private view of Journeys of a Randonneur - cycling themed prints by the very talented Andrew Pavitt. Currently showing at London's pre-eminent cycling café Look Mum No Hands! until 3rd April, these linocut prints are both striking and stylish - a cool mix of nostalgia, dynamism and just a …
double dose
Two literary evenings on the trot. First up, on Tuesday, to the London Review Bookshop to hear Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts read from and discuss their new book Edgelands: Journeys into England's True Wilderness. In the spirit of their collaborative approach to writing the book, they took turns reading passages from the chapter …
Hilaire 