Spezzati Orchestra

Another delightful concert by the Spezzati orchestra in St. Matthew's Church in Sinclair Road.    Under their conductor, Nicholas Mumby, they played superby as usual, with a programme that included Wagner's "Siegfried idyll", Haydn's "Symphony No.92 in g Major" and Dvorak's "Serenade for Winds".   For some reason the "Serenade for Wind Instruments" reminded me somewhat of the Radetzy March, although it doesn't contain the rousing music of the latter.  Altogether a most enjoyable evening.

Wandsworth Museum

I'd often passed the Museum of Wandsworth, just opposite what used to be the Arndale Centre, which was the largest shopping centre in the country when it was opened in 1971 and was renamed the Southside Centre when it was refurbished and extended in 2004.   However, I had never been inside, so decided it was time to visit it.

However, when I got there, the Museum was nowhere to be seen; in its place was a library.   On enquiring, I discovered that the Museum had moved to a building in West Hill, about ten minutes' walk away.  So off I set, and found it housed in a very attractive building called Putney House.

To the left of the entrance is a cafe serving soup and a variety of rolls, paninis and things like spaghetti on toast; I tried the spaghetti on toast and it was delicious, with portions large enough to make it a meal rather than just a snack.   The bread was particularly good - so good I asked the waitress what it was so I could buy it myself - it turned out to be Warburtons Five Seed brown, one of their more expensive loaves.   The cafe itself is full of character, with an example of an old chemist's shop complete with dozens of bottles on shelves with little drawers in one corner, and books on local and London history for sale on ledges around the walls.

After a leisurely lunch, I went into the museum itself, which is small, but very interesting, looking at aspects of the history of Wandsworth from prehistoric times (25,000 years B.C.) to the present.  The partial skull of a wooley rhinerosis, dating from 25,000 BC, which was found in the 1920s on the site of the Battersea Power Station, shows that these large animals must have roamed in the area at that time, and a tooth from a mammoth, dated 15,000 years ago, shows that they too must have been a part of the Wandsworth scenery.

Wandsworth's more recent history is bound up with the Wandle River, a nine mile long stream which flows into the Thames, and which in the past was the source of the greatest sources of usable water in London.   Fast flowing, and with a good gradient - it drops 123 feet during its short length - it provided the power for Wandsworth's industries, and in its heyday was one of the most industrialised rivers in the world.   It is recorded in the Doomsday Book in 1086 as having 13 watermills, which had increased to 49 by Victorian times.    Until 1825, the mills on the Wandle were responsible for milling all London't flour.   Thereafter the Wandle started to dry up and and its importance declined, with the last mill, sited where the Southside Shopping Centre now stands, closing in 1928.   However, after 100 years of decline, in 1990 the Wandle started to revive and the flow of water increased, although not as yet to the previous levels.

The industries based on the Wandle covered a wide variety from the all-important flour milling to dyeing and beer making - Young's Brewery was established by Charles Allan Young in 1831, although beer had been brewed on the site since the 15th. century, and continued producing beer until its closure in 2006.   Prices's, the candlemakers, established a factory in York Road in 1843, and by 1900 cover thirteen and a half acres and employed 1400 people.

As well as being an important industrial centre, Wandsworth has another claim to fame in that the first railway terminus in South London, based at Nine Elms on the London and South West Railway route to Southamption, was opened there in 1838.  However, the line was extended ten years later to Waterloo, as Nine Elms proved too small for the amount of traffic.   Clapham Junction station opened in 1863, and soon became the busiest station in the country, a position which it probably still holds today.   Wandsworth was also the terminus for London's first electric tram route, which ran to Westminster and was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1903 and continued to run until 1951.  In 1802 the horse-drawnSurrey Iron Railway was established, running from the mouth of the Wandle to Croydon; it did not survive the coming of steam trains.

Battersea Park, created and designed by Sir James Pennethorne, was laid out in 1858 on land along the river which had previously been marshy grazing fields, and still provides a very welcome place, with its lawns, wood and lakes,  to sit or stroll in the summer today.   it was also used for events in the 1951 Festival of Britain.

1871 saw the opening of the famous Battersea Dogs Home, which moved there from Holloway in North London, where it has initially been established in 1860.   It still cares for thousands of abandoned dogs every year and is a well-known landmark in the area.

The current Putney Bridge was opened in 1886, repacing the old wooden one which had previously spanned the river.

Wandsworth was not spared the horrors of war; in 1971 it suffered Zeppelin raids, and it received its fair share of bombs during the Second World War.   One particular tragedy occurred on 14th. October 1940, when a bomb caused a bus to crash down a hole in the road on to Balham Tube station, killing 65 people.  it was also the site of the Royal Victoria patriotic Asylum on Wandsworth Common, established to house and educate the daughters of servicemen killed in the Crimean War.

Crime also had a place in Wandsworth, and Wandsworth prison, originally called the Surrey House of Correction, was opened in 1851.   The infamous William Joyce, well-known for his broadcasts from Germany during the Second World War, was for a while one of its residents.

One of its most famous landmarks, visible for miles, is Battersea Power Station, built on the river just by Battersea Bridge, which was originally completed in 1771 and replaced in 1890.  Battersea A was constructed from 1929 to 1935, and Battersea B completed in 1955.    With its four tall chimneys reaching into the sky, Battersea Power Station is intantly recognisable; however, its days as a power station ended in 1983, and it will probably end up as yet another development of luxury flats which are springing up all along the river.

Politically Wandsworth has always been active, and was the scene of the famous radical inspired Putney Debates, which took place at St. Mary's Church just beside Putney Bridge, during the English Civil War.   Wandsworth is also noted for having the first black mayor (of Battersea), the radical politician John Archer, who was elected in 1913.    Battersea North elected the communist Indian Shapury Saklatvala as its MP in 1922, continuing a long tradition of radicalism in the area.  

One of the most interesting exhibits was the Battersea Shield, an Iron Age shield which was found in the Thames in 1857 during the construction of Battersea Bridge.   Another interesting exhibit is the large portrait, painted in 1614, of William Brodrick, embroiderer to James I, who had a penchant for fine clothes.

Although so small, Wandsworth Museum packs in a lot of information, arranged on a timeline around all four walls,  on the history of the area, with fascinating little titbits of history, such as the story of the Mayor of Gorrell, along with information on the more inportant events in the history of the borough.

It is also a very child friendly museum; there are activities for children, and something else which i have never seen in a museum before - stacks of foam bricks which children can kick or throw around without causing any damage.   Several small children were doing just that while I was there.

At the moment, the Museum also has a special exhibition of "Paintings of Wandsworth - Historic Watercolours 1770 - 1925", whcih are really worth a visit.  Although some are by unknown artists, people such as Edward Hosell, who was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists, Gideon Yates, who painted hundreds of views of London, William Fraser garden, Evacustes A.Phipson, Henry H.Bulman and John England Nicholls also feature prominently.   Many of the paintings are delightful, showing a bygone age when much of Wandsworth was open countryside, with streams and farms and quaint weatherboard houses, one of which survives today at No. 37B West Hill.   Next to some of the paintings are photographs of the same view today, with nothing remaining of the former rural idyll.   Oil paintings may be beautiful in their own way, but watercolours have a softness and gentleness about them which is especially their own, and make them ideal for hanging in small rooms where they will blend into the background, enhancing but not dominating it.   dealing exclusively with watercolour views of Wandsworth before it was developed, it is well worth a visit on its own.

Song for Marion

Off straight from work to a pre-view of "Song for Marion" at the Odeon Wimbledon, which is only a few minutes' walk from the station - quite an important point when the weather is so inclement and there is no guarantee that there won't be more snow.   In the event, the pavements in the High Street in Wimbledon had all been swept, and apart from a few little piles of snow on the edges, there was little evidence of the snow that had fallen the previous day.

The film started at 6.30 p.m. sharp, with no advertisements or previews of forthcoming events beforehand.   When I got there about 6.15 p.m., the auditorium was almsot full, with none of the seats nexgt to the aisles available - despite my preference for looking straight at the screen, I had to settle for a seat a little bit to the side, although not too far to the side to be uncomfortable.

"Song for Marion" stars Terence Stamp as a grumpy old man, who just about tolerates his sick wife, played by Vanessa Redgrave, going to a local community choir called the OAPZ, run by energetic and enthuastic Gemma Arterton.   When she dies of cancer, he is gradually drawn into joining the choir himself, after the conductor gets him to sing, but is still very grumpy and hardly speaking to his son  and granddaughter.   The choir, who under their conductor have boundless enthusiasm, although not necessarily a communsurate level of talent, enter a competition, with Terence Stamp as a leading member, who is to sing a solo on the night.  

After almost withdrawing from the event, as they are so different to all the other very polished looking choirs, Terence goes on to the stage unannounced to sing his song, followed by the conductor, and then the whole choir, dressed not in the usual white tops and dark bottoms, but a variety of weird costumes, which very definitely set them apart from everyone else.

Needless to say, their somewhat unusual performance gains them first place, and they return home jubilant.    Terence Stamp comes finally to realise that life can be good and is at last reconciled with his son.

The whole film was very English and full of the "feel good" factor.    Although most of the characters, apart from the young conductor, were old, they had character and were active in mind, if not necessarily in body.  Gemma Arterton was an inspiring choir mistress, full of life and almost with a mission to bring music to the elderly, whom she loved workign with.

I tried to see where it was shot - it was obviously up North somewhere - but couldn't identify any of the places, and the credits at the end simply said "Shot on location".

Rachmaninov's Vespers

It's still snowing - we're had the heaviest fall in this area for year - but this afternoon I went to hear Rachmaninov's Vespers at St. George's Bloomsbury, which is near Tottenham Court Road and hosts regular Sunday afternoon concerts.

It was performed by the Pegasus Chamber Choir, which will be presenting it next Thursday at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square.  Uunfortunately the intended programme was a victim of the snow, but that did not detract from the performance; the important part, the choir, all managed to get there, and the church was packed.   One of the few seats still available when I arrived just before it started at 4 o'clock was right in the front, which was ideal - no large heads or hats blocking my view of the choir.

Alternatively called the "All Night Vigil", the work encompasses not just Vespers, but also Matins and Prime, and has 15 sections; there was a short interval after the first 12 to enable a representative from the choir to give a brief talk about it.

The music is haunting, with all the beauty of Russian Orthodox liturgical music mixed with more Western sounds to create something which is enchanting and never boring.

Written in 1915, it was performed in March that year in Moscow in aid of the war effort, but was banned under the communists along with other religious music - for this is, essentially, a religious work, and listenign to it, one is well aware of teh religious overtones.

Pegasus Choir put on regular concerts at various churches, often to raise money for charity.   Entry to this afternoon's performance was free, with a retiring collection for St. George's Church.

Treasures of Westminster Cathedral

Lunch again in the Cathedral cafe, followed by a visit to the current exhibition "Treasures of Westminster Cathedral", which is open from 9.30 am - 5.00 weekdays and until 6.00 pm at weekends.

Tickets (£5 for adults, £2.50 concs) have to be purchased in the shop, and a member of staff then takes you upstairs and unlocks the door to the Guild Room, where the treasures are housed.

It's only a small room, but displays a fascinating range of items, from large items such as the purple chasuble worn by Cardinal Manning at the First Vatican Council to tiny relics of the saints, including a fragment of silk from the tomb of St Edward the Confessor.

The display of vestments is small, but the embroidery on them is magnificent; one can imagine seamstresses sitting there day after day, or month after month, working every stitch by hand until the beautiful garment was finally finished and ready to wear at some great festival or event.

Most of the chalices were silver gilt, and date from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries; some are incredibly ornate, whilst other were very plain and simple and look purely functional.  

There was also a painting of St. John Bosco, whose relics are currently touring the country; they were at the Cathedral last Saturday.

On the walls of the balcony outside the Guild Room there was a brief history of the Diocese of Westminter and the building of the Cathedral; although the Diocese was created in 1850, Westminster Cathedral was not built until 1903 and not consecrated until 1910.   Before that St. Mary Moorfields in the City was the archbishop's pro-Cathedral, followed by Our Lady of Victories in Kensington, because of a shortage of churches which were large enough for a cathedral.

Westminster Cathedral is huge and distinctive, and is set back from Victoria Street, with a large piazza in front which enables anyone walking along Victoria Street to appreciate its size and importance.   Rather than Gothic, which was extremely popular at the time, it is in Byzantine style, with four huge domes and a tower which,at 273 feet, can be seen for miles.   There is a viewing tower, open to the public, at 210 feet.

It was the brainchild of Cardinal Manning, who followed Cardinal Wiseman as Archbishop of Westminster, but he did not live to see it completed, dying in 1892.   Although the land had been acquired by Carindal manning in 1884, it was left to his successor, Cardinal Vaughan, to commission the architect John Francis Bentley in 1895 and see the project through to completion.

Journeys East

It was the last day of the exhibition at the Wallace Collection, entitled "Journeys East", which consisted of works of art produced by 60 Asian girls and women aged from 3 to 80+ from East Ham, Peckham, West Hampstead and West Ealing.

Funded by the Lottery Heritage Fund, the exhibition, which was in the basement, was quite small, but very interesting.   A video explained the origins of the project, which was set up to celebrate the refurbishment of the Wallace Collection's East Gallery, which features works by Dutch artists, including  Rembrandt's "Self Portrait in a Black Cap", Jan Steen's "Celebrating the Birth" and Caspar Netscher's "The Lace Maker".

The project lasted from january 2011 until October 2012, and involved many people seeing the Wallace Collection for the first time - some participants never even knew it existed, and were enchanted by the paintings when they came to visit and learn more about it.   During this period, they explored the history of Holland's involved with the East, and the legacies which they and the Dutch East India Company left behind.

Working with the themes of "Spice", "Journeys", "Treasures", "Identity" and "Inside/Out", they created some beautiful works of art, especially the pottery, with its very Dutch blue and white designs.

After spending some time at the fascinating "Journey's East" exhibtiion, I wandered upstairs and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Wallace Collection, which I had not visited for quite some time. 

Based in Hertford House, a townhouse in Manchester Square, just north of Exford Street, the Wallace Collection displays the large number of works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess; Sir Richard's widow bequeathed it to the nation in 1897.

Each room has a different colour scheme, which is reflected in the sumptious wallpaper and curtains on the huge windows in the high-ceilinged rooms.    Some were too bright for my liking, but one could not help but admire the thought that had gone into the designs.

It is not really possible to appreciate the beauty of all the paintings in a single afternoon visit; one could easily spend several days there, particularly n the company of an enthusiastic guide with an interest in passing on all their knowledge of the various works.

LKH Indian Restaurant

Lunch at LHK Indian Restaurant, upstairs on the first floor of the Precinct (or, as it has been re-named W12 Centre), next to Wetherspoons large but invariably crowded pub.

The site now occupied by LKH has had other tenants in the past, but the new owners seem to be making a real effort to build up their number of diners, with a special offer, valid until 14th. January, of a meat or vegetable curry, with either rice or naan bread, for £2.99.   It seemed unbelievably good value, so I decided to try it.

The restaurant was virtually empty when we arrived at one o'clock, so we had an almost unlimited choice of seats, and decided to sit next to the wall so that we could watch the latest news on large high up television screen being broadcast by Al Jazeera - in English, obviously, though it seemed strange to see their weather reports of what was expected to happen in India and China.   The sound was turned down, so it wasn't intrusive, but the headlines could easily be read.

There was quite a wide choice of both meat and vegetarian dishes, and they were accompanied by a reasonably sized plate of very tasty rice.   We were also presented with poppadoms, a plate of salad, and little bowls of sour cream (ideal for tasking away the slightly hot curry) and mango sauce (absolutely delicious with the poppadoms).   We also had a glas of water included in the deal.

The waiters were very attentive and everything was beautifully served.   The quantities of curry and rice were sufficient for a reasonably sized meal - about the same amount that you often get in rather expensive places with pretentions, who seem to think no-one is actually hungry (No names mentioned!)   My lentil curry was just very slightly hot for my very delicate taste, but some water and sour cream soon sorted that out.

To go with the meal we also had coffee, and a sweet - we fancied gulab jaman, but as neither of us really knew what it tasted like, the waiter brought along a sample for us to try before ordering.   It was delicious, so we had it with icecream; there should have been a choice of cream or icecream, but for some reason there was no cream available.

Altogether an excellent meal, coming to approximately £16 for two altogether, and definitely a place worth a second visit.

Somersaults

After a morning's shopping, I popped into Westminster Cathedral for lunch - they have a very nice little cafe in the crypt, which serves delicious food at very reasonable prices.   The menu is fairly limited, with today the only substantial meal with roast turkey and vegetables for £5.95, but they do excellent sandwiches, cakes, jacket potatoes, and various things on toast - I had my usual scrambled egg and a cup of tea, which is quite sufficient for lunch.   

As I came up the stairs and into the Cathedral, I saw they were just starting a special Mass connected with the display of the relics of St. John Bosco; the Cathedral was packed, and the music beforehand was wonderful.   I would have like to have stayed, but I was going to see a play, called "Somersaults", at the Finborough Theatre in Finborough Road,  Chelsea.

The Finborough Theatre used to be above a pub, but this was changed to a cafe and wine bar which has now gone into administration, although they hope that someone will come forward to take it over.   So they only thing on the ground floor at the moment is the booking office for the theatre, standing lonely in the middle of what used to be the bar.

"Somersaults", by Scottish Gaelic playwright Iain Finlay Macleod, was first produced by the National Theatre of Scotland, and was having its English debut under director Russell Bolam, who has previously directed plays at the Finborough.

It tells the story of James, a young man from Stornoway who has made his fortune in London, acquiring a huge house in Hampstead and numerous possessions which he has bought because he has the money and can afford to buy them.   He is very much the materialistic man, with a wild lifestyle to go with his extravagant tastes.

All this comes to an end when he is made bankrupt; his wife, whom he met at university, leaves him, and all his possessions have to be sold to pay his debts.   He is left with almost literally nothing in the way of possession.

In this depleted state, he turns to his past, as a child growing up in a Gaelic speaking household in Stornoway, a past from which he had moved away as he became wealthy.   His father is dying of cancer, and he goes to see him, so try and find his identify in his past, rather than in money.

He latches on to the fact that his mother tongue, Gaelic, is an important aspect of who he is, and the title of the play, "Somersaults", refers to his obsession with trying to remember what the Gaelic for the word somersaults is.  

All the characters  have some connection with the Gaelic, although all are totally Anglicised, and the the play raises the question of what part language plays in a person's identify, particularly if it is a minority language which hardly anyone speaks.   Is it important to keep minotiry languages alive, when fluent English will enable one to survive anywhere in the world, whereas Gaelic is only useful within a small area of Scotland, and even there one can mange quite well with just English.

"Somersaults" is quite short, only an hour and a quarter, but it packs a lot into that time, and the final scene, where all the characters line up and put their view on the qustion of whether people should keep minority languages alive, leaves the audience with something important to think about.   James's father, for instance, had a completely different view to his son, seeing the large sums spent on Gaelic television programmes being a waste of money.

However, I'm not sure that they were correct in saying that Gaelic speakers are looked down on and told to speak in English if they speak Gaelic in pubs etc, whereas speakers of other languages, such as Welsh (or, perhaps more relevant, Polish?) aren't.   That may have been the case in the distant past, when it was forbidden to speak Gaelic in schools, but I doubt if it is true today, although it may well be the case that, since Gaelic is almost entirely spoken in the western highlands, people who speak it are regarded as less sophisticated than those from places like Edinburgh, who are English speaking.

One other point which I felt added nothing to the ideas being put before the audience was the had language and the sex scene.   Although the obscene language used might be typical of wealthy young City types, some of the lines were unnecessary and the sex scene could have been cut completely without losing anything from the plot.

Making Sense of Scents

The Society of Chemistry is based in Piccadilly, in the same courtyard as the Royal Acadamy, and every month, they put on a public lecture which is normally free, although you do have to book.  

The hall opens at 6.00 p.m., with tea, coffee and biscuits, which is rather nice, since a lot of people will have rushed there straight from work, and a chance to relax and chat beforehand with fellow enthusiasts adds to the enjoyment of the evening.

The topics they cover are varied, although always related to chemistry, and normally take the form of a lecture, with an opportunity to ask questions of the expert speakers - they get some very high profile speakers, many of whom are world expects in their field.

This evening, however, the programme had a different format.    Entitled "Making Sense of Scents, it was organised in conjunction with the British Society of Perfumers, and instead of a lecture, there was a panel of six leading figures in the world of perfumes, who answered questions from the audience.   The panel, under the chairmanship of John Bailey, President of the British Society of Perfumers, included Steve pearce, CEO and Founder of Omega Ingredients ltd and Maverick Innovations Ltd., Penny Williams, Perfumer, Development and Training Dorector of Orchadia, Grant Osborne, Founder of Basenotes, Lisa Hipgrove, Director of IFRA UK, Ruth Mastenbroek, former President of the British Society of Perfumers and now marketing a range of designer perfumers and Will Andrews, Fragrance Scientist, Gragrance Design Team, P&G Prestige.    Quite a line-up of experts, and one was pleased to see that 50% of them were women - so often there is a dearth of women on panels, despite the number of able women out there.

The questions were many and varied, as were the answers, with some being addressed to individuals whilst others were directed more generally.     At the end of the session, which lasted for an hour and a half, I felt I knew just slightly more about perfumes than I did earlier in the evening - and was also more aware of just what an amazing and fascinating subject it is.   Never will I look at a bottle of perfume in the same way again.

Afterwards there were more refreshments, this time wine and nibbles, and a further chance to chat to people both about the event and a wide variety of other topics.   The people who tend to go to these sort of events also tend to be very interesting to talk to, whatever their daytime occupation, and it's always a pleasure to stay and chat to everyone.

Quartet

This evening I went to see a new film, which is on general release, called "Quartet".   More often than not I go and see foreign films, or else old films like the Ealing comedies, but this looked as if it might have something in common with both genres.

Rather than go to one of the big cinemas, I went to see if at the Coronet in Notting Hill Gate, especially as they only charge £3.50 all day on Tuesdays.   The Coronet is  a small independent cinema, with just two screens, but it is very comfortable, and at least one screen also has a gallery, although I've always sat in the stalls, preferably right in the centre facing the screen, and no more than about six rows back.    Actually, the auditorium at the Coronet is so small that even the back row isn't far away.

The film itself lived up to expectations.    Set in a home for retired musicians called Beecham House, which is rather luxurious and surrounded by beautiful countryside, it follows them as, under the leadership of Tom Courtney and Billy Connolly, they organise a concert to raise funds to keep the home open.   All is going reasonably well, until the arrival of Maggie Smith, former wife of Tom Courtney, who marriage many years before had lasted all of nine hours.    Neither is pleased to see the other, and Maggie Smith is determined never to sing again, despite all their efforts to make the concert a sell-out by joining  them in singing their famous Quarter from Rigoletto.    All ends well, however, both in respect of the concert, and also Maggie Smith and Tom Courtney's relationship.

The music throughout was delightful with, as one would expect from a home for retired musicians and singers, plenty of songs and choruses; the film ends with a picture of the house from which  the rousing sound of the concert continue to flow.

But it was not only the music which made the film so enjoyable; the humour and the brilliant acting also played their part.    Films about the very elderly can be sad or boring, but the people in this home were obviously full of life, even if, as in the case of Pauline Collins, they were becoming slightly senile.

National Gallery Talks

This afternoon I went to  talk, which they have at 2.30 p.m. every Sunday afternoon, at the National Gallery.  

Everyone meets by the entrance to the shop in the Sainsbury Wing, and an art expect takes the group to see just three or four pictures which they talk about in detail.

The guide today was a very enthusiastic lady called Rebecca Drew, who took us first to see a large Leonardo da Vinci cartoon, with one would normally miss, as it is hidden away in a small darkened room.   The cartoon is of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus and St. Anne and John the Baptist, and is a delightful picture, not completely finished, from approximately 1499.   It was never actually painted, or we would not have the cartoon.

From there we moved on to The Toilet of Venus, by Diego Valazquez, whcih is is supposed to depict the ideal female figure; personally I wasn't terriby impressed, but it is supposed to be wonderful.   Again, as our guide pointed out, it is unfinished, with things like the feet not completed.   It was presented to the National Gallery from one of her ancestors in 1906 - previously it had been in Rokeby Hall in Durham, where it was hung high up on the wall and hidden from general view by a green baize curtain.   In 1913, it was very badly damaged with an axe by Mary Richardson, protesting against the imprisonment of Emily Pankhurst, but it has been expertly restored, and no-one would notice the damage until it was pointed out - even close up, the cuts in it are barely visible.  

From there we moved on to Rembrandt's painting of his mistress, Hendrickje Stoffels.    Rembrandt's wife died leaving him with a small child, and in her will left him a  sum of money on condition that he did not remarry.     Hendrickje became his long-term mistress, bearing him a daughter, but in seventeenth century Netherlands, such behaviour was not tolerated, and both of them were completely ostracised.   Non-one would give him any commissions, and he eventually died a pauper.
Henrieckje died before him from the plague, which she was deliberately given by someone kissing her in the street.   The painting is a haunting one of a women sitting on a bed, with tears in her eyes, which no doubt reflected the life she lead - it must have been a real love match for them to have endured the complete disapproval of the community.  

Lastly, we looked at Van Gogh's Sunflowers.   I'm not a fan of Van Gogh, and somehow this painting, although it is so highly regarded, does nothing for me.    Rather, it reminds me of a painting by a child - big, bold and with lots of colour, but no real beauty.   It's not something I would hang on the living room wall.   But the talk about it was interesting, as we learned how other people see it.

The NationlalGallery have a number of different experts who lead these one hour tours, and even if they are talking about the same picture, they all give a different take on it.    But one thing they all seem to have in common is an enthusiasm for art and a large amount of knowledge about the various paintings.

Oxford Spezzati Carol Concert

This evening I attended a delightful Carol Concert cum Carol Service at St. Matthew's Church, Kensington Olympia, with music provided by the Oxford Spezzati & Orchestra under its conductor Nicholas Mumby.

The church looked wonderful, with candles everywhere, and an elaborate crib between two huge Christmas trees decorated with hundreds of small red and white lights.

The choir and orchestra, rather than being in the sanctuary, were in a side aisle, largely hidden by the pulpit, but that did not detract from the sound they made.

Nearly all trained singers and musicians, they provided a wide variety of music, from the well known carols with congregational participation to lesser known works such as Bethlehem Down.  

The concert started in darkness, with the lights being switched on as the congregation joined in their first carol, but the lighting was kept just bright enough to see the words, without destroying the atmospher which goes with semi-darkness lit by candlelight in a church.

The reading were both religious and secular, but only formed a small part of the evening - the music predominated.

The evening finished with the refreshments, as all good concerts should.

Olympic Park

Today I thought I would go and have a look at the Olympic Park (or the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, as it is now called), having only seen it previously when passing on a train while it was bieng built.   Took the overground to Stratford, and after wandering through Westfield Stratford City - which, incidentally is not nearly as upmarket as the one in Shepherds Bush, and has large areas open to the elements, making it far from an ideal place to shop in our current winter weather - I found myself facing the park.   . 

Not that it is much to look at.   Just a rather muddy looking building site, surrounded by a 12ft. high fence, with some drab looking buildings in the middle.   I walked around until I came to a gate guarded by a very pleasant lady, who was informing prospective visitors - I wasn't the only one - that the park was closed until July.   She did, however, allow people to take photographs from the gate, which gave an interupted view of the buildings, including the famous Orbit.   And she also mentioned that there were free bus tours of the site, which we could find by googling Olympic Bus Tours, although we wouldn't be able to get out and have a look around, as it was currently a building site being prepared for its opening in July as a public park.   

She also mentioned that there was a good view from the top floor of John Lewis, so I made my way up there, where John Lewis had kindly provided a viewing platform, complete with seating and a map showing the various buildings.  Not that there was a great deal to see - just four items, all looking so drab they could ahve been designed to match the weather.   No doubt it will be very nice in July when it is all finished, but at the moment it is rather uninspiring.

As it was still early afternoon, I decided to get the train into Romford for lunch - I didn't really fancy any of the restaurants I'd passed walking through Westfield and Romford is only half a dozen stops, and I knew they had a museum there which I had not yet visited.     The station is conveniently right on the High Street, rather than the miles away that they so often are, and the service from Stratford is quite frequent.

There are a lot of small shops., and also a big shopping centre called The Liberty, which I later wandered through just to see what was there.   It's just like most town centre shopping centres, with all the usual multiples, and I later saw notices saying they had over 100 top name shops.

I had lunch at a little cafe called Godfreys Bakery, where they have a limited menu of foods cooked on the premises.   I had scrambled eggs on toast with a cup of tea, and the bread looked as if they might have baked it as well - thick chunky slices, so unlike the thin ones most places serve up.   I had asked for two slices, but one would have been enough.  

I wanted to have a look at the Havering Museum, which had been one of the main reasons for going to Romford, but I didn't get there will twenty past three and it closes at four.   As there is an entrance charge, it wasn't really worth it for the short time I would have, and the girl on the desk agreed that one needed a lot longer than forty minutes to see everything.    So that is something for another day.

But while I was there, I had a good look around the town, taking photos of St. Edward the Confessor Church, which was firmly locked, and also The Golden Lion, which is the oldest pub in Romford - it looks Tudor, but it may be mock.    I also wandered through the Romford Shopping Hall, which is much older (and smaller) than the Liberty, and has no big names, just small individual shops selling various things, with the bookshop being one of the largest.   It also has a number of cafes, including McDowells Pie Shop and Restaurant, which has a butchers (McDowells, of course) attached.   It's on two floors, and the whole place has a rather old fashioned atmosphere about it.

Geffrye Museum

Wednesday 2nd. January 2013

This afternoon I went to the Geffrye Museum in Kingsland Road, getting the Overground from Shepherds Bush to Dalston Kingsland and then walking down Kingsland Road to the Museum.   It doesn't look far on the A-Z, but took quite a while in reality - about half an hour, I think.

The Geffrye Museum is housed in some old almshouses built in 1715 for the Ironmongers.   It is quite large and is arranged around three sides of a large square, although only one side houses the Museum - the other two sides, presumably, are occupied by offices.  

The Museum aims to show changing fashions from the 16th century in living room furniture in London, with rooms furnished to show what a typical living room/parlour looked like at various periods of history - the furniture, the furnishings, the wall coverings, etc.   At the moment, they are concentrating on Christmas, with rooms set up for the family to enjoy Christmas festivities or to entertain guests.  

It only deals with the "middling classes" - those who were not aristocracy, but comfortably off merchants, tradesmen, professionals, etc.    The sort of people who could afford to live quite well and to occupy a whole house themselves.    In the sixteenth and seventeen centuries, the ground floor was usually occupied by the husband's business, with the upper floors used as living accommodation, but as it became the custom for the men to work outside the home, this changed, so that the whole house was used as a residence, with the living room transferring from the first to the ground floor.

There were crowds of people there, in a Museum where all rooms are viewed from a long, narrow corrideor which runs the whole length of the building.   There are plenty of explanations, and in addition boards which give details of individual items of furtniture or furnishings.    In the centre of the building is the chapel, where the residents gathered for worship at 11.00 am and 3.00 pm every Sunday.

There is also a herb garden, although there did not seem to be a great deal to see there at the moment.

The Geffrye Museum is free, although they do have provision for donations.   They also have a small shop, and a small exhibtiion of some modern furniture.   And, of course, a cafe, which seemed to be quite busy.

They are run a lot of projects for children. today, there were quite a number of children with their notes and workbooks, and they often put on special events aimed specifically at children, especially during school holidays.