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 …
Category: London
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 …
a smattering of culture, a modicum of nature
Finally got around to seeing (just about) Anish Kapoor's outdoor sculptures, Turning the World Upside Down, in Kensington Gardens late afternoon on Wednesday, only a few days before the show ends. It was overcast and already heading towards dusk, and then thanks to my excellent map reading skills we wandered quite a way along the …
Continue reading a smattering of culture, a modicum of nature
call me pretentious
Now, I'm not an academic, nor an intellectual, but I do enjoy the occasional stimulating if brain-fogging encounter with that side of life. So, as soon as I saw last night's lecture at the British Museum advertised (part of the London Review of Books' Winter Lectures series), I knew I had to go: Cervantes, Balzac …
the harmonious songsmith
The Australian composer and eccentric Percy Grainger died 50 years ago this coming Sunday, on 20th February 1961. Last night we attended the opening concert in the short Celebrating Grainger 2011 season at London's Kings Place, and what a joyous and oft-times moving event it was. The concert, entitled The Harmonious Songsmith, featured a selection …
sanguine citrus
Hooray! Blood oranges are back in my local greengrocer's - a sure sign that spring is on its way. The blood orange is one of my favourite fruits, with a wonderful raspberry-ish flavour (mm, I love raspberries too...), and it looks as delicious as it tastes. Its short season (my greengrocer tends to have them …
guantanamo via waterloo
Last Thursday evening, along with a few other hardy souls, we braved the bitter weather to listen to a reading of Poems from Guantanamo at the Calder Bookshop, near Waterloo. The book consists of twenty-two poems, written by detainees in Guanatanmo Bay, most of whom are still held there, uncharged yet with little prospect of …
evolving english
Ventured up to the British Library yesterday, to see the latest of their wonderful (and, amazingly, free) exhibitions, Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices. The exhibition explores the development and spread of the English language, in all its rich variety, covering aspects such as slang and dialect, and how the language has absorbed influences from …
