Hi there! Happy Monday!
It was a particularly rainy weekend here, so I finished an audiobook (The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman), watched two films (Women Talking and Belfast) and started to make plans for 2024.
I promised to tell you about London, though, so let me explain more about what you see in the mini vlog.
We flew to London on Thursday. Our departure was delayed because of foggy conditions, so we were a bit later than we had anticipated, and we could check into our hotel and drop our luggage first before heading out. Win!
Our hotel was near the Borough Market, which was extremely crowded when we had a look. Some queues went around the block!
I couldn’t get out of there fast enough, but H still wanted to try something, so he got a poké bowl.
It was a short walk to Tate Modern, and I knew from a previous visit that we would only be able to scratch the surface of what is on view. We weren’t in any hurry, though, sat down to drink tea and browsed just one part of the collection.
After that, we went to a drugstore and supermarket to grab some bits and bobs, and we turned in early because we knew our Friday schedule would be jam-packed with fun things!
The first thing on Friday was a meet-up with my dear friend Tania Ahmed (@TaniaAhmed on Instagram) at Sir John Soane’s Museum.
This museum is something else. It was the former home of architect John Soane (1753 – 1837), and it’s filled to the brim with his own drawings and architectural models, plus the paintings, sculptures, drawings, and antiquities he collected.
There’s something to see in every nook and cranny. You have to look up as well as down, and there are windows and frames and peep-through sections everywhere you go.
If you ever find yourself in the vicinity, then I recommend having a look!
After the museum, we had lunch, and then Tania headed for the tube, and we walked over to the British Museum.
This is another museum I knew we would be able to spend several days in if we weren’t careful. So we got a floor plan at the info desk, and we just tried to walk from one must-see to the next.
This generally isn’t what I like to do; however, you also can’t miss the most important pieces, so this was the best solution.
My highlight was the Benin Bronze Plaques. They are beautiful, so so detailed and, like many artefacts at the BM, make you think and wonder about how it got there and why the ‘takers’ thought it was OK to ‘take’.
Their presence at the BM is controversial because they were looted from Benin by British troops in 1897, and Nigeria (Benin is part of current Nigeria) wants them back.
Which I can totally understand. They are magnificent.
Anyway, after the British Museum, we went to a bookstore café nearby to drink tea with Iris Fritschi-Cussens (@Iris.Impressions.Art on Instagram).
I had never met Iris in real life before, even though it did not feel like that at all because we’ve been online friends and colleagues for years.
Of course, we were too busy chatting to remember to take a photo… So you’ll have to trust that I’m not making this up! 😂
In the evening, I had tickets to see the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirror Rooms at Tate Modern.
This was especially fun because the museum was also open late to celebrate Behind The Red Moon, the monumental new artwork that El Anatsui created for the Turbine Hall (the massive curtain made of recycled bottle caps and metal fragments is one part of it).
So there you go: days one and two of my celebratory London trip!
Enjoy your week!
Marsha.
London!