The art gallery at POSK (the Polish Centre) often hosts exhibitions, and the current one, "Haika Prelude", featuring works by Carolina Khouri, is fascinating.
Marking the second anniversary of the Great East Tohoku Earthquake, the first impression, on entering the room and looking at the paintings from a distance, is that they are just swirls of colour - blues, pinks, reds, greens etc., set on a white background.
But look closer, and you realise that what at first looked like just swirls of colour are in fact exquisite pictures of birds in all different positions - small, medium and large. The pictures change from something a child could have produced into something which is highly complex and beautiful, quite unlike anything I have seen before.
I had never heard of Carolina Khouri before, but she is obviously an artist with a great talent for producing works that are unusual and also very beautiful.
Monday, 25 February 2013
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Musical Banquet
Another concert at St. George's Bloomsbury - with music provided this time by just three people, Malcolm Pearce on the harpisichord, Tricia McLoughlin on the viola da gamba and baroque guitar, and Adrian Bookman, a countertenor. Small numbers, however, did not detrtact from the quality of the performance.
"The Musical Banqueting Menu", an A3 sheet folded in three just like a real memu, listed the works to be savoured, starting with Henry Purcell's "If music be the food of love" at an Appetiser, followed by several short pieces under "Royal Roast", then "Puddings", "Haggis, Neeps 'n' Tatties", "Tapas" and finishing with the "Wine List".
The "Haggis, Neeps 'n' Tatties" naturally featured Scottish pieces, including "Comin' through the rye", "Ye Banks and Braes" and "A red, red rose" by Robert Burns, three dances and ending with lady Nairne's "Wi' a hundred pipers". All very jolly.
"Tapas" went Spanish, and the "Wine List" ranged from German Wine to Digestif Liqueur.
Earlier in the year, when the pavements were covered in snow and ice, the church was packed; this time, when the weather was still very cold, but there was no snow or ice, there was a reasonable audience, but when I arrived just a couple of minutes before it stated, there were still plenty of seats available, even at the front.
Malcolm Pearce is an organist and took the opportunity to plug his CD which he is selling in aid of a men's cancer charity, whose name I have forgotten. Perhaps it will come to me later.
"The Musical Banqueting Menu", an A3 sheet folded in three just like a real memu, listed the works to be savoured, starting with Henry Purcell's "If music be the food of love" at an Appetiser, followed by several short pieces under "Royal Roast", then "Puddings", "Haggis, Neeps 'n' Tatties", "Tapas" and finishing with the "Wine List".
The "Haggis, Neeps 'n' Tatties" naturally featured Scottish pieces, including "Comin' through the rye", "Ye Banks and Braes" and "A red, red rose" by Robert Burns, three dances and ending with lady Nairne's "Wi' a hundred pipers". All very jolly.
"Tapas" went Spanish, and the "Wine List" ranged from German Wine to Digestif Liqueur.
Earlier in the year, when the pavements were covered in snow and ice, the church was packed; this time, when the weather was still very cold, but there was no snow or ice, there was a reasonable audience, but when I arrived just a couple of minutes before it stated, there were still plenty of seats available, even at the front.
Malcolm Pearce is an organist and took the opportunity to plug his CD which he is selling in aid of a men's cancer charity, whose name I have forgotten. Perhaps it will come to me later.
Ice Age Art
Our ancestors 30,000 years ago may have spent most of their days hunting for food, but that didn't stop them indulging in art.
The Ice Age Art Exhibition at the British Museum, which is subtitled "Arrival of the Modern Mind", gives a fascinating glimpse of the way in which men (or perhaps women?) as long as 30,000 years ago were aware of the world around them and how to portray objects on stone, ivory, or other materials that were available at that time. Most of the drawings are not childest representations of objects, but show considerable skill and awareness of reality.
Many of the exhibits are statues, mostly small, and often of women, such as those found in the Lespugue Cave in Haut-Garonne, whihc date back 23,000 years, and are characterised by big hips and big busts. Perhaps that was what was considered beautiful in those times, or maybe it implied a mother of a large family.
The oldest ceramic figure, dating from 27,000 - 31,000 years ago, is a nude which was found at Dolni Vestonice, Moravia, in the Czech Republic. It was loaned, as were several other items, by the Moravian Museum in Brno.
The female body was a frequent subject of Ice Age art, with representations made from mammoth ivory, antler, stone or baked clay. They are found from France in the west to Eastern Siberia, and although people almost certainly wore clothes at that time, most of the figures are naked except for jewellery. They cover all stages of a woman's life - young, pregnant, giving birth and old age. The oldest known portrait of a woman, dating back to around 27,000 years ago, was found at Dolni. Another female image, carved on a mammoth tusk, was found at Predmosti, in Movavia and is atg least 27,000 years old.
The exhibition not only features images and statues of people, but also of birds and animals. Some I found of particular interest were the adult and calf aurochs, and the swimming raindeer; the raindeer in particular are extremely realistic.
The oldest item from England in the exhibition is a finely engraved drawing of a horse gallopping, which was found in Robin Hood Cave, Nottinghamshire. Wales' oldest exhibit is a horse from Kendrick's Cave, Conwy.
This exhibition demonstrates very clearly that people 30,000 years ago were intelligent and artistic, and that they obviously had the time and inclination to indulge in art. Why did they do it? Was it because they believed the images carried some special power? Were the artists commissioned to produce pieces for the more powerful members of the tribe? or did they perhspa just produce them for thier own enjoymnet?
After all these years, we will never know, but a part of the lives of these people from so long ago lives on in thier work, which we can still admore today.
The Ice Age Art Exhibition at the British Museum, which is subtitled "Arrival of the Modern Mind", gives a fascinating glimpse of the way in which men (or perhaps women?) as long as 30,000 years ago were aware of the world around them and how to portray objects on stone, ivory, or other materials that were available at that time. Most of the drawings are not childest representations of objects, but show considerable skill and awareness of reality.
Many of the exhibits are statues, mostly small, and often of women, such as those found in the Lespugue Cave in Haut-Garonne, whihc date back 23,000 years, and are characterised by big hips and big busts. Perhaps that was what was considered beautiful in those times, or maybe it implied a mother of a large family.
The oldest ceramic figure, dating from 27,000 - 31,000 years ago, is a nude which was found at Dolni Vestonice, Moravia, in the Czech Republic. It was loaned, as were several other items, by the Moravian Museum in Brno.
The female body was a frequent subject of Ice Age art, with representations made from mammoth ivory, antler, stone or baked clay. They are found from France in the west to Eastern Siberia, and although people almost certainly wore clothes at that time, most of the figures are naked except for jewellery. They cover all stages of a woman's life - young, pregnant, giving birth and old age. The oldest known portrait of a woman, dating back to around 27,000 years ago, was found at Dolni. Another female image, carved on a mammoth tusk, was found at Predmosti, in Movavia and is atg least 27,000 years old.
The exhibition not only features images and statues of people, but also of birds and animals. Some I found of particular interest were the adult and calf aurochs, and the swimming raindeer; the raindeer in particular are extremely realistic.
The oldest item from England in the exhibition is a finely engraved drawing of a horse gallopping, which was found in Robin Hood Cave, Nottinghamshire. Wales' oldest exhibit is a horse from Kendrick's Cave, Conwy.
This exhibition demonstrates very clearly that people 30,000 years ago were intelligent and artistic, and that they obviously had the time and inclination to indulge in art. Why did they do it? Was it because they believed the images carried some special power? Were the artists commissioned to produce pieces for the more powerful members of the tribe? or did they perhspa just produce them for thier own enjoymnet?
After all these years, we will never know, but a part of the lives of these people from so long ago lives on in thier work, which we can still admore today.
Saturday, 23 February 2013
The Back Pain Show
Armed with a complimentary ticket, this afternoon I popped along to the Back Pain Show at Olympia
Sunday, 17 February 2013
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home were having an Open Day with guided tours, aimed principally at schoolchildren, but we can all say we are young at heart.
I arrived just in time - thanks to a signal failure at Brixton which considerably delayed the Victoria Line, before they decided to suspend all trains south of Victoria. But I managed to get the 1.54 p.m. train, destined to arrive at 1.58, and a quick sprint along the road to the Home meant I was only a couple of minutes late, and the tour hadn't yet departed.
The tour lasted only about half an hour, but I learned quite a lot about the Home from it.
Battersea Dogs Home was started in Holloway in 1860 by a lady called Mary Tealby, their first Chairman, who died in 1865. It moved to Battersea in 1871, following complaints from the neighbours about the noise and the smell; they bought the current site for just £1500. Battersea Power Station, just around the corner, which is not much bigger, recently went for over £40 million - though most of that enormous increase in value has only occured in the past ten years.
They now have three Homes: the one in Battersea, and newer ones in old Windsor and Brands Hatch, which can house up to 450 dogs and 150 cats. At Battersea, a brand new cattery was opened in 2010.
Since 1860, they have cared for over 3.5 million animals. Their Lost Dogs and Cats Line has reunited over 30,000 dogs and cats with their owners since it was launched. Their volunteers spend over 50,000 hours every year socialising dogs and cats. Every year, the Homes care for an average of 20,771 dogs and cats, and they have 100,000 visitors.
On average, cats stay for 32 days before being re-homed, whilst dogs stay for 48 days. Whilst they are there, dogs cost £24 per day and cats £16.
Part of the tour included a visit to the dogs exercise room, where, amongst other things, they had the chance to jump over fences run through tunnels, and jump up on tables. The dogs giving the demonstration of tbheir prowess still had a lot to learn, but they were getting there. Unfortunately, because the girl explaining everythign had such a very strong accent - it's quite difficult to follow someone who adds a vowell at the end of every word, so that she speaks of a "Cata" and a "Doga" and a "Homa", and also holds her crib sheet in front of her face. Her enthusiasm was obvious,buyt it would have been nice to know exactly what she was saying.
After the tour finished, I wne to have a look at the places where the dogs and cats were kept. For the dogs, that involved, climbing a ramp up a couple of floors, or taking the stairs - they are housed on the upper floors, with superb views over to the river. Each entry door has the name of a street, like Fleet Street on it. The dogs themselves are not just well looked after, they are pampered. Each dog has its own light, airy room, with a proper bed to sleep in and a shelf to lie on, together with toys to play with. Everything, as one would expect, was spotlessly clean. Most of the dogs seemed to be staffies, with the odd Siberian husky and German shepherd and lurcher. There were no little dogs, and no little puppies.
The cattery was partly closed, with a small part was open on the third floor, so I climbed the stairs to have a look. No adorable little kittens, like in the Mayhew Animal Home - just large cats, one of which, a black one, kept mieowing at me when I paused by its room - I won't say cage, for that give the wrong impression of their living conditions. Their rooms are almost as big as the ones for students at Leeds University where I attended a summer school many years ago.
I arrived just in time - thanks to a signal failure at Brixton which considerably delayed the Victoria Line, before they decided to suspend all trains south of Victoria. But I managed to get the 1.54 p.m. train, destined to arrive at 1.58, and a quick sprint along the road to the Home meant I was only a couple of minutes late, and the tour hadn't yet departed.
The tour lasted only about half an hour, but I learned quite a lot about the Home from it.
Battersea Dogs Home was started in Holloway in 1860 by a lady called Mary Tealby, their first Chairman, who died in 1865. It moved to Battersea in 1871, following complaints from the neighbours about the noise and the smell; they bought the current site for just £1500. Battersea Power Station, just around the corner, which is not much bigger, recently went for over £40 million - though most of that enormous increase in value has only occured in the past ten years.
They now have three Homes: the one in Battersea, and newer ones in old Windsor and Brands Hatch, which can house up to 450 dogs and 150 cats. At Battersea, a brand new cattery was opened in 2010.
Since 1860, they have cared for over 3.5 million animals. Their Lost Dogs and Cats Line has reunited over 30,000 dogs and cats with their owners since it was launched. Their volunteers spend over 50,000 hours every year socialising dogs and cats. Every year, the Homes care for an average of 20,771 dogs and cats, and they have 100,000 visitors.
On average, cats stay for 32 days before being re-homed, whilst dogs stay for 48 days. Whilst they are there, dogs cost £24 per day and cats £16.
Part of the tour included a visit to the dogs exercise room, where, amongst other things, they had the chance to jump over fences run through tunnels, and jump up on tables. The dogs giving the demonstration of tbheir prowess still had a lot to learn, but they were getting there. Unfortunately, because the girl explaining everythign had such a very strong accent - it's quite difficult to follow someone who adds a vowell at the end of every word, so that she speaks of a "Cata" and a "Doga" and a "Homa", and also holds her crib sheet in front of her face. Her enthusiasm was obvious,buyt it would have been nice to know exactly what she was saying.
After the tour finished, I wne to have a look at the places where the dogs and cats were kept. For the dogs, that involved, climbing a ramp up a couple of floors, or taking the stairs - they are housed on the upper floors, with superb views over to the river. Each entry door has the name of a street, like Fleet Street on it. The dogs themselves are not just well looked after, they are pampered. Each dog has its own light, airy room, with a proper bed to sleep in and a shelf to lie on, together with toys to play with. Everything, as one would expect, was spotlessly clean. Most of the dogs seemed to be staffies, with the odd Siberian husky and German shepherd and lurcher. There were no little dogs, and no little puppies.
The cattery was partly closed, with a small part was open on the third floor, so I climbed the stairs to have a look. No adorable little kittens, like in the Mayhew Animal Home - just large cats, one of which, a black one, kept mieowing at me when I paused by its room - I won't say cage, for that give the wrong impression of their living conditions. Their rooms are almost as big as the ones for students at Leeds University where I attended a summer school many years ago.
Saturday, 16 February 2013
Greenwich
There was a series of lectures scheduled for today about Nicholas Hawkesmoor, the well-known church architect, in the Painted Hall in Greenwich, so I decided to go along and learn more about him.
The talk was given by a character actor dressed in the clothes of the period, and pretending to be Mr. Hawksmoor, an architect who was much involved in building churches etc at the time, but always had to play second fiddle to people like Sir Christopher Wren, which he rathe resented.
The Painted Hall, designed in 1698 by Sir Christopher Wren, (with a little help from Nicholas Hawkesmoor) was originally intended as a dining room for the invalid veterans, known as the Greenwich Pensioners, who lived in the Royal Hospital for Seamen. As far as possible in concept from the sheltered housing and old people's homes of today, the Painted Hall is a magnificent building, built on a huge scale, with enormously high ceilings which would not look out of place in a palace.
Almost the entire west wall was taken up by a painting, the work of Sir James Thornhill, who called it his "great laborous undertaking" - not an inapt description, considering it took him 19 years to complete. At present, the original painting is hidden behind a screen, as it undergoes extensive restoration work, the first for fifty years, but a copy is on display, which gives a very good indication of the amount of work involved in producing it.
Chosen because, as an Englishman, he was cheaper than well-know Continental painters, James Thornhill was told to include as many references as possible of the importance of the Navy to Britain's position in the world. The painting also portrayed the succession from William and Mary to George I, who had recently arrived from Hanover. Above them, and painted just a little larger than the Royals, are figures representing the benefits that George, as King, would bring to life in Britain - peace, plenty, justice and stability. Thornhill himself also appears in the painting, a large figure on the bottom right hand corner, with an open hand behind his bank, perhaps indicating that he felt he should have been paid more - not only was his fee lower than it should have been, but he was also paid late.
However, there were some compensations - he was the first British painter to be knighted.
The talk by Nicholas Hawkesmoor's representative started at 12 o'clock and only lasted about twenty minutes, but I had noticed that there was a guided tour of Greenwich at 2.00 p.m., so decided to get some lunch and then go on that.
Greenwich is an unusual place. Famous for the Cutty Sark and Gypsy Moth, it still retains its ancient character, with narrow streets and individual shops - no soulless shopping malls here, although I'm sure there are people eying up the possibilities. One of its main attractions is the covered market, where you will find stalls selling everything from books, picture frames, souvenirs, shoes, health foods, etchings, jewellery, ceremic pots, vintage clothes, textiles, carvings, leather goods - in fact, you name it, and there's probably a stall selling it. But the most memorable stalls are all the food stalls, selling takeaway food - the choice is endless, and half the people there seemed to be eating. out of paper cones or plastic or polystyrene pots. The atmosphere is different to that of a market anywhere else. There is also a much smaller outdoor market in Greenwich selling antiques and collectables, but that is pretty much the same as another other market selling that sort of thing.
I had lunch in a rather nice cafe cum restaurant called the Cutty Sark; they have a downstairs seating area, but also an upstairs one which you reach via a rather steep winding staircase. I, of course, went upstairs - the view was better, and it had more character. The Spanish omelette I ordered came with quite a nice salad, and was one of the best I have had for a long time, and the mug of tea was a good size - in fact I went back there late afternoon for another cup of tea and baklava with iceceam, which was delicious - the baklava was so sweet and full of honey.
The hour-long tour left from the Discover Greenwich Centre, and the first stop was facing Queen Anne's House, where a group was filming for a new film on a chap called Chavez - not the Venezuelan leader, but an American union representative in California. Two policeman stood idly by, their hands in the pockets - I can't imagine their being needed in such a peaceful setting. And of course, this being a film set, there were the usual provisions for refreshments - who ever saw a film set without a tea bar?
The original palace on the site had been badly damaged by Cromwell, and when King Charles returned, it was in a dreadful state. He started re-building, but didn't finish. William and Mary wanted to build a hospital for the navy, and they got Sir Christopher Wren to design it. He wanted to build a huge edifice around a courtyard, but was not allowed, as demolishing the old buildings has lead to there being an uninterupted view from the Queen's House (built by Queen Anne of Denmark) down to the river, whch William and Mary insisted had to stay. So even today, if you stand on the embankment you can look directly up at the Queen's House, with the view only interupted by a statue, covered in winter in plastic to protect it from the elements, of George II. Sculpted by Michael Rysbrack in 1735 from a single piece of stone taken from a French ship, it had originally been intended for a statue of Louis XIV.
From there we proceeded to the Painted Hall, which I had visited previously on my own. Looking up at the dome at the entrance one can see the lists of names of people who contributed to the cost of building - not all out of their own pockets, it must be said, as some came from robbery and piracy. John Evelyn acted as an unpaid treasurer of the building until he died. Another benefactor was one Patience Ward, so named because, with six boys already, his father wanted a girl and decided the child would be called Patience, whatever it was. It was another boy, but Patience as a name stayed in the family for several generations.
Looking up at the ceiling, one is struck by the magnificance of the painting, the central oval of which is usually called "The Triumph of Peace and Liberty over Tyranny" - one is left in no doubt where the peace and liberty lie and where there was tyranny, with the central figures of William and Mary, with Louis Xiv lying under William's foot. But it also includes ancient greek heroes such as Apollo and his chariot, and the signs of the zodias around the edges. Although the hall was designed as an eating space for disabled sailors, it was felt it was too grand for that, although the sailors could take visitors around, for a fee,
Next stop was the chapel, another magnificent piece of architecture, although of a later date, as the original was burned down in 1789 apart from the outside, beign rebuilt in neo-classical style instead of English Baroque. It was noticeably cold in the entrance to the chapel - apparently it cna be freexing in winter.
The chapel was rebuilt by a man called James Stuart, who was called the Athenian because of his passion for all things Greek. The high ceiling is in blue and gold, with classical patterns, and reminds many people of wedgewood. The baroque organ was made by Samuel Green and is flanked on either side by pillars which look like marble, but are actually scagliolo. Relief statues of apostles and evanglists look down from high up on the walls between the windows. The pulpit came from Athens, and the pictures on its sides are of artificial stone made by Eleanor Code. The picture above the altar is of Saint Paul in Milta, with the intended message of "Be grateful". The font is a tiny one - not unsurprising, considering almost the entire congregation would have been elderly, disabled men.
Next stop was the Skittles Alley, which was reached though two locked doors - it is not open to the general public. It was provided to occupy the minds and time of the men, who tended to get into mischief if they had nothing to do all day, and provded very popular. All of us in the tour had a chance to try out hand at skittles - I'm afraid my skittle wandered off into the channel at the side at a very early stage. A neat innovation was a mechanism for returning the used skittles - a gently sloping trough, which ran the whoel length of the alley. The skittles alley was only used for its original purpose for a few years, as the Greenwich Hospital closed in 1869, but the Royal Naval College, who took over the buildings, made use of it from 1873 until 1997/
The tour ended, I returned to the Discover Greenwich Centre, to spend a pleasanthalf hour or so looking around the museum, which contains a fascinating collection of items from the town's history. I also tried on the Admiral's hat - apart from being rather on the large side, it definitely didn't suit me anyway. Just as well I never joined the Navy!
The talk was given by a character actor dressed in the clothes of the period, and pretending to be Mr. Hawksmoor, an architect who was much involved in building churches etc at the time, but always had to play second fiddle to people like Sir Christopher Wren, which he rathe resented.
The Painted Hall, designed in 1698 by Sir Christopher Wren, (with a little help from Nicholas Hawkesmoor) was originally intended as a dining room for the invalid veterans, known as the Greenwich Pensioners, who lived in the Royal Hospital for Seamen. As far as possible in concept from the sheltered housing and old people's homes of today, the Painted Hall is a magnificent building, built on a huge scale, with enormously high ceilings which would not look out of place in a palace.
Almost the entire west wall was taken up by a painting, the work of Sir James Thornhill, who called it his "great laborous undertaking" - not an inapt description, considering it took him 19 years to complete. At present, the original painting is hidden behind a screen, as it undergoes extensive restoration work, the first for fifty years, but a copy is on display, which gives a very good indication of the amount of work involved in producing it.
Chosen because, as an Englishman, he was cheaper than well-know Continental painters, James Thornhill was told to include as many references as possible of the importance of the Navy to Britain's position in the world. The painting also portrayed the succession from William and Mary to George I, who had recently arrived from Hanover. Above them, and painted just a little larger than the Royals, are figures representing the benefits that George, as King, would bring to life in Britain - peace, plenty, justice and stability. Thornhill himself also appears in the painting, a large figure on the bottom right hand corner, with an open hand behind his bank, perhaps indicating that he felt he should have been paid more - not only was his fee lower than it should have been, but he was also paid late.
However, there were some compensations - he was the first British painter to be knighted.
The talk by Nicholas Hawkesmoor's representative started at 12 o'clock and only lasted about twenty minutes, but I had noticed that there was a guided tour of Greenwich at 2.00 p.m., so decided to get some lunch and then go on that.
Greenwich is an unusual place. Famous for the Cutty Sark and Gypsy Moth, it still retains its ancient character, with narrow streets and individual shops - no soulless shopping malls here, although I'm sure there are people eying up the possibilities. One of its main attractions is the covered market, where you will find stalls selling everything from books, picture frames, souvenirs, shoes, health foods, etchings, jewellery, ceremic pots, vintage clothes, textiles, carvings, leather goods - in fact, you name it, and there's probably a stall selling it. But the most memorable stalls are all the food stalls, selling takeaway food - the choice is endless, and half the people there seemed to be eating. out of paper cones or plastic or polystyrene pots. The atmosphere is different to that of a market anywhere else. There is also a much smaller outdoor market in Greenwich selling antiques and collectables, but that is pretty much the same as another other market selling that sort of thing.
I had lunch in a rather nice cafe cum restaurant called the Cutty Sark; they have a downstairs seating area, but also an upstairs one which you reach via a rather steep winding staircase. I, of course, went upstairs - the view was better, and it had more character. The Spanish omelette I ordered came with quite a nice salad, and was one of the best I have had for a long time, and the mug of tea was a good size - in fact I went back there late afternoon for another cup of tea and baklava with iceceam, which was delicious - the baklava was so sweet and full of honey.
The hour-long tour left from the Discover Greenwich Centre, and the first stop was facing Queen Anne's House, where a group was filming for a new film on a chap called Chavez - not the Venezuelan leader, but an American union representative in California. Two policeman stood idly by, their hands in the pockets - I can't imagine their being needed in such a peaceful setting. And of course, this being a film set, there were the usual provisions for refreshments - who ever saw a film set without a tea bar?
The original palace on the site had been badly damaged by Cromwell, and when King Charles returned, it was in a dreadful state. He started re-building, but didn't finish. William and Mary wanted to build a hospital for the navy, and they got Sir Christopher Wren to design it. He wanted to build a huge edifice around a courtyard, but was not allowed, as demolishing the old buildings has lead to there being an uninterupted view from the Queen's House (built by Queen Anne of Denmark) down to the river, whch William and Mary insisted had to stay. So even today, if you stand on the embankment you can look directly up at the Queen's House, with the view only interupted by a statue, covered in winter in plastic to protect it from the elements, of George II. Sculpted by Michael Rysbrack in 1735 from a single piece of stone taken from a French ship, it had originally been intended for a statue of Louis XIV.
From there we proceeded to the Painted Hall, which I had visited previously on my own. Looking up at the dome at the entrance one can see the lists of names of people who contributed to the cost of building - not all out of their own pockets, it must be said, as some came from robbery and piracy. John Evelyn acted as an unpaid treasurer of the building until he died. Another benefactor was one Patience Ward, so named because, with six boys already, his father wanted a girl and decided the child would be called Patience, whatever it was. It was another boy, but Patience as a name stayed in the family for several generations.
Looking up at the ceiling, one is struck by the magnificance of the painting, the central oval of which is usually called "The Triumph of Peace and Liberty over Tyranny" - one is left in no doubt where the peace and liberty lie and where there was tyranny, with the central figures of William and Mary, with Louis Xiv lying under William's foot. But it also includes ancient greek heroes such as Apollo and his chariot, and the signs of the zodias around the edges. Although the hall was designed as an eating space for disabled sailors, it was felt it was too grand for that, although the sailors could take visitors around, for a fee,
Next stop was the chapel, another magnificent piece of architecture, although of a later date, as the original was burned down in 1789 apart from the outside, beign rebuilt in neo-classical style instead of English Baroque. It was noticeably cold in the entrance to the chapel - apparently it cna be freexing in winter.
The chapel was rebuilt by a man called James Stuart, who was called the Athenian because of his passion for all things Greek. The high ceiling is in blue and gold, with classical patterns, and reminds many people of wedgewood. The baroque organ was made by Samuel Green and is flanked on either side by pillars which look like marble, but are actually scagliolo. Relief statues of apostles and evanglists look down from high up on the walls between the windows. The pulpit came from Athens, and the pictures on its sides are of artificial stone made by Eleanor Code. The picture above the altar is of Saint Paul in Milta, with the intended message of "Be grateful". The font is a tiny one - not unsurprising, considering almost the entire congregation would have been elderly, disabled men.
Next stop was the Skittles Alley, which was reached though two locked doors - it is not open to the general public. It was provided to occupy the minds and time of the men, who tended to get into mischief if they had nothing to do all day, and provded very popular. All of us in the tour had a chance to try out hand at skittles - I'm afraid my skittle wandered off into the channel at the side at a very early stage. A neat innovation was a mechanism for returning the used skittles - a gently sloping trough, which ran the whoel length of the alley. The skittles alley was only used for its original purpose for a few years, as the Greenwich Hospital closed in 1869, but the Royal Naval College, who took over the buildings, made use of it from 1873 until 1997/
The tour ended, I returned to the Discover Greenwich Centre, to spend a pleasanthalf hour or so looking around the museum, which contains a fascinating collection of items from the town's history. I also tried on the Admiral's hat - apart from being rather on the large side, it definitely didn't suit me anyway. Just as well I never joined the Navy!
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Heartbreak in the Collection
Off this evening to a lecture at the National Portrait Gallery on "Heartbreak in the Collection - The Non-Valentine's Day Tour" given by Lucinda Hawkesley, a descendant of Charles Dickens, and a well-known writer herself, with several thick biographies to her credit already. She's a brilliant speaker - clear voice, lots of funny anecdotes and an obvious interest in her subjects - you have only to look at her face as she talks to see she is passionate about everything she lectures on.
We started off with Katherine of Aragon, and went through various people who had unhappy, tragic - and sometimes very complicated - love lives, including Katherine of Aragon and henry VIII, Princess Louise and her sculpter friend, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Queen Anne and Sarah Duchess of Marlborough, Lord Nelson and Emma Hamilton, and her ancestor Charles Dickens himself, whose first love he was unable to marry because her family did not consider him a suitable match - she wasn't in love with him either, so she certainly wasn't bothered that her family didn't approve of him. He, however, was smitten and never forgot the way she dismissed him as just "a boy" - she was two years older than him.
After the lecture finished I took advantage of the fact that the gallery is open until nine o'clock on Thursdays to have a look at the painting and photographic exhibtion entitled camden Town and Beyond - interesting, but not nearly so interesting as the lecture.
We started off with Katherine of Aragon, and went through various people who had unhappy, tragic - and sometimes very complicated - love lives, including Katherine of Aragon and henry VIII, Princess Louise and her sculpter friend, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Queen Anne and Sarah Duchess of Marlborough, Lord Nelson and Emma Hamilton, and her ancestor Charles Dickens himself, whose first love he was unable to marry because her family did not consider him a suitable match - she wasn't in love with him either, so she certainly wasn't bothered that her family didn't approve of him. He, however, was smitten and never forgot the way she dismissed him as just "a boy" - she was two years older than him.
After the lecture finished I took advantage of the fact that the gallery is open until nine o'clock on Thursdays to have a look at the painting and photographic exhibtion entitled camden Town and Beyond - interesting, but not nearly so interesting as the lecture.
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is an annual event in London and one which I've been to before, but this year was supposed to be bigger and better than the previous ones.
It started at 10.00 a.m. in the morning with a parade, but I couldn't get there until about 1.30 p.m., by which time the opening ceremony with all the dignatories was long over and the entertainment in Trafalgar Square was in full swing. There were also events in Shaftesbury Avenue, Leicester Square and Charing Cross Road.
Fortunately for all the singers and dancers, they were performing on a covered stage, but the audience was not so lucky. Normally, Trafalgar Square would have been packed, with thousands of people sitting and standing all afternoon, and the crowds carefully controlled by the stewards. Today, however, the stewards were largely unemployed; the crowds were small, and there was absolutely no need for any control.
And what was to blame for this? Nothing except the weather! From early morning until late evening, it rained. Not heavy rain driven by strong winds, but rain nevertheless; light, but constant. I had taken a plastic mac, which kept me dry, apart from my feet; there was nothing I could do about the pools of water on the pavements. But everywhere you looked all you could see were brollys.
I watched the performance on the stage for a while, before going to get some lunch; it was impossible to get into a Chinese restaurant, as there seemed to be queues outside all of them, but I found a very nice little Italian cafe in Moor Street which served delicious food.
Back to Trafalgar Square to watch some more of the entertainment and to visit all the stalls around the edges, and learn more about the Chinese community in London - it goes back a long way, but it is only recently that the Chinese have come here in any significant numbers.
The day ended in Trafalgar Square with a fireworks display, with lasers lighting up Nelson's column. It was such a pity the weather was so unkind, because such a lot of effort had obviously gone into making it a real day out for all the family - there was entertainment in Leicester Square as well and street entertainment.
Whilst there, I took the opportunity not only to get warm - it was quite cold standing outside - but also to visit an exhibition in the National Gallery entitled "Through American Eyes: Frederick Church and the Landscape Oil Sketch", which consisted of 25 small paintings he made, not only in America, for instance of his house Olana, but also in the countries he visited - Jamaica, Germany, Austria, Canada, to name but a few. Frederick Church was born in Hartford, Connetticut, and lived from 1826 - 1900. During a trip to England, he studied the works of J.M.Turner in the National gallery and this influenced his later work. Some of the paintings were not particularly inspiring, but others, such as his painting of the Niagara Falls, stood out, as did one of the coastline of Jamaica, Salzburg in Austria and Konigsee in Bavaria. He was obviously a very talented artist, and in some of his paintings one could see the influence of Turner in the way he used his colours.
It started at 10.00 a.m. in the morning with a parade, but I couldn't get there until about 1.30 p.m., by which time the opening ceremony with all the dignatories was long over and the entertainment in Trafalgar Square was in full swing. There were also events in Shaftesbury Avenue, Leicester Square and Charing Cross Road.
Fortunately for all the singers and dancers, they were performing on a covered stage, but the audience was not so lucky. Normally, Trafalgar Square would have been packed, with thousands of people sitting and standing all afternoon, and the crowds carefully controlled by the stewards. Today, however, the stewards were largely unemployed; the crowds were small, and there was absolutely no need for any control.
And what was to blame for this? Nothing except the weather! From early morning until late evening, it rained. Not heavy rain driven by strong winds, but rain nevertheless; light, but constant. I had taken a plastic mac, which kept me dry, apart from my feet; there was nothing I could do about the pools of water on the pavements. But everywhere you looked all you could see were brollys.
I watched the performance on the stage for a while, before going to get some lunch; it was impossible to get into a Chinese restaurant, as there seemed to be queues outside all of them, but I found a very nice little Italian cafe in Moor Street which served delicious food.
Back to Trafalgar Square to watch some more of the entertainment and to visit all the stalls around the edges, and learn more about the Chinese community in London - it goes back a long way, but it is only recently that the Chinese have come here in any significant numbers.
The day ended in Trafalgar Square with a fireworks display, with lasers lighting up Nelson's column. It was such a pity the weather was so unkind, because such a lot of effort had obviously gone into making it a real day out for all the family - there was entertainment in Leicester Square as well and street entertainment.
Whilst there, I took the opportunity not only to get warm - it was quite cold standing outside - but also to visit an exhibition in the National Gallery entitled "Through American Eyes: Frederick Church and the Landscape Oil Sketch", which consisted of 25 small paintings he made, not only in America, for instance of his house Olana, but also in the countries he visited - Jamaica, Germany, Austria, Canada, to name but a few. Frederick Church was born in Hartford, Connetticut, and lived from 1826 - 1900. During a trip to England, he studied the works of J.M.Turner in the National gallery and this influenced his later work. Some of the paintings were not particularly inspiring, but others, such as his painting of the Niagara Falls, stood out, as did one of the coastline of Jamaica, Salzburg in Austria and Konigsee in Bavaria. He was obviously a very talented artist, and in some of his paintings one could see the influence of Turner in the way he used his colours.
Saturday, 9 February 2013
Stone and Lichfield
London Midland Railways are doing a special offer from 9th. to 24th February - go anywhere for a day on their routes for just £15 - or, even better, just £9.90 if you have a Railcard (I have). So I went on the Internet to reserve a ticket; the only Saturday available was the 9th., so I booked it, and on the day was at Euston by a quarter past eight to pay for my ticket and catch the train.
The first one to leave after I got my ticket was going to Crewe, which everyone has been through, but few people have actually been to. Apparently there's nothing much there anyway - it's main function is as a railway junction, and the station is quite a way from the town itself.
After a very pleasant journey, I got off at Stone, which is an interesting place. There is no ticket office - the station building, with its own distinctive architectural style to the design of Sir Henry Arthur Hunt, was opened on 1st. May 1849 by the North Staffordshire Railway Company and was refurbished in 2003 with money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Railway Heritage Trust and the Onyx Environmetal Trust and turned into a community centre. The timetable on the notice-board is six months out of date, and all the train times have been changed, so that they now run half an hour later than the times advertised. So it's got a character all of its own even before you leave the station.
The town is about ten minutes' walk from the station, and is quite pretty, with lots of little shops, including rather a lot of charity shops - the usual British Heart Foundationand Cancer Research, and also a couple of local ones, like Katharine House Hospice - for such a small place. There is a small market selling a very limited range of items, and a large Co-op on the High Street and a Morrisons set back from it on the other side. It looks as if they have two Post Offices, one in the Co-op and another on the opposite side of the road, but in fact the one on the opposite side of the road is closing and moving into the Co-op next week.
The church is dedicated to St. Michael and St. Wulfan, and is set on a small hill away from the High Street, with several acres of land around it. It's quite imposing, and there has been a church there for centuries, but unfortunately it was locked, so i couldn't go inside. However, I did go to the Craft Fair which they were having in their hall, which is on the High Street. Most of the things on sale were new and being sold by small businesses. But there was an interesting selection.
Just away from the high Street there were obviously some nice walks along the canal, but I was starting to feel hungry by then, and as there didn't seem to be any really nice places to eat, I went back to the station - which is when I discovered that the timetables were out of date. I had to wait absolutely ages, as a train was just pulling out as I arrived.
Eventually the next one arrived, going back to Lichfield, which was where I had decided to go next. It's not far, but the London idland Station, Lichfield Trent Valley, is over a mile from the town, so I had quite a long walk. It was worth it, though.
Lichfield is a very attractive place, with everything you need in a town - piles of nice shops and restaurants, a market, a museum, several churches, a lake, and of course a cathedral. It has the honour of being the first place in England to have a proper water supply, which dates back to the 13th century.
I found a very nice little cafe to have lunch in - by then it was after three o'clock and I was starving! The staff were very attentive and the food was excellent - and very reasonably priced as well.
Then, having eaten it was time to explore the town. They still have some houses dating back to the sixteenth century, when Lichfield was an important coaching stop. St. Mary's Church has been turned into a museum, with a cafe attached, but I decided not to go to the museum - there was an entrance charge, and I really didn't have time to see more than a small proportion of what was there. So that is a stop for the next time I'm up there.
The cathedral is a bit outside the town centre, and is quite large; you have to walk right around it before you come to the entrance. Lichfield Cathedral was very much involved in the Civil War, changing hands more than once, and losing most of its treasures during a period when the Roundheads were in charge - they are reputed to have taken everything and sold them. Roundheads tended to be like that!
One of the unusual features is the Stations of the Cross by Ghislaine Howard, which are large and rather strange - without the explanation no-one would know what they were supposed to represent. They are propped up all around the church so no-one can miss them
A new Diocesan Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor were being licensed at Evensong that evening at 5.30 p.m., so there were plenty of clergy running around getting ready for the big service. I had a quick look at the order of service, and one thing that struck me forcibly was that their ordained surrogates were all male - there was just one lonely lay lady among the long list. Rather unusual outside London; in the country almost every church seems to have a female priest on the staff, even if she's only part-time. I was thinking of staying for Evensong, as it would usually be over in three quarters of an hour at the very most, but changed my mind when I saw it was likely to be rather lengthy - I didn't want to leave too late, as it was quite a walk back to the station, and one is never sure how well lit streets are going to be outside London. I remember having to find my way in almost pitch darkness in Yelverton in Devon many years ago.
Lichfield is definitely a place for a second visit, not just to see the museum, but also to spend more time in the Cathedral, whcih has been there - well, some of it, anyway - for 1300 years.
The first one to leave after I got my ticket was going to Crewe, which everyone has been through, but few people have actually been to. Apparently there's nothing much there anyway - it's main function is as a railway junction, and the station is quite a way from the town itself.
After a very pleasant journey, I got off at Stone, which is an interesting place. There is no ticket office - the station building, with its own distinctive architectural style to the design of Sir Henry Arthur Hunt, was opened on 1st. May 1849 by the North Staffordshire Railway Company and was refurbished in 2003 with money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Railway Heritage Trust and the Onyx Environmetal Trust and turned into a community centre. The timetable on the notice-board is six months out of date, and all the train times have been changed, so that they now run half an hour later than the times advertised. So it's got a character all of its own even before you leave the station.
The town is about ten minutes' walk from the station, and is quite pretty, with lots of little shops, including rather a lot of charity shops - the usual British Heart Foundationand Cancer Research, and also a couple of local ones, like Katharine House Hospice - for such a small place. There is a small market selling a very limited range of items, and a large Co-op on the High Street and a Morrisons set back from it on the other side. It looks as if they have two Post Offices, one in the Co-op and another on the opposite side of the road, but in fact the one on the opposite side of the road is closing and moving into the Co-op next week.
The church is dedicated to St. Michael and St. Wulfan, and is set on a small hill away from the High Street, with several acres of land around it. It's quite imposing, and there has been a church there for centuries, but unfortunately it was locked, so i couldn't go inside. However, I did go to the Craft Fair which they were having in their hall, which is on the High Street. Most of the things on sale were new and being sold by small businesses. But there was an interesting selection.
Just away from the high Street there were obviously some nice walks along the canal, but I was starting to feel hungry by then, and as there didn't seem to be any really nice places to eat, I went back to the station - which is when I discovered that the timetables were out of date. I had to wait absolutely ages, as a train was just pulling out as I arrived.
Eventually the next one arrived, going back to Lichfield, which was where I had decided to go next. It's not far, but the London idland Station, Lichfield Trent Valley, is over a mile from the town, so I had quite a long walk. It was worth it, though.
Lichfield is a very attractive place, with everything you need in a town - piles of nice shops and restaurants, a market, a museum, several churches, a lake, and of course a cathedral. It has the honour of being the first place in England to have a proper water supply, which dates back to the 13th century.
I found a very nice little cafe to have lunch in - by then it was after three o'clock and I was starving! The staff were very attentive and the food was excellent - and very reasonably priced as well.
Then, having eaten it was time to explore the town. They still have some houses dating back to the sixteenth century, when Lichfield was an important coaching stop. St. Mary's Church has been turned into a museum, with a cafe attached, but I decided not to go to the museum - there was an entrance charge, and I really didn't have time to see more than a small proportion of what was there. So that is a stop for the next time I'm up there.
The cathedral is a bit outside the town centre, and is quite large; you have to walk right around it before you come to the entrance. Lichfield Cathedral was very much involved in the Civil War, changing hands more than once, and losing most of its treasures during a period when the Roundheads were in charge - they are reputed to have taken everything and sold them. Roundheads tended to be like that!
One of the unusual features is the Stations of the Cross by Ghislaine Howard, which are large and rather strange - without the explanation no-one would know what they were supposed to represent. They are propped up all around the church so no-one can miss them
A new Diocesan Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor were being licensed at Evensong that evening at 5.30 p.m., so there were plenty of clergy running around getting ready for the big service. I had a quick look at the order of service, and one thing that struck me forcibly was that their ordained surrogates were all male - there was just one lonely lay lady among the long list. Rather unusual outside London; in the country almost every church seems to have a female priest on the staff, even if she's only part-time. I was thinking of staying for Evensong, as it would usually be over in three quarters of an hour at the very most, but changed my mind when I saw it was likely to be rather lengthy - I didn't want to leave too late, as it was quite a walk back to the station, and one is never sure how well lit streets are going to be outside London. I remember having to find my way in almost pitch darkness in Yelverton in Devon many years ago.
Lichfield is definitely a place for a second visit, not just to see the museum, but also to spend more time in the Cathedral, whcih has been there - well, some of it, anyway - for 1300 years.
Thursday, 7 February 2013
Skin Problems
Another fascinating lecture at the Chemistry Society, this time on "Skin Health for All - Confronting the Silent Tragedy of Skin Disease".
For a problem which affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, it receives virtually nothing for research; 42% of the money spent on research goes on AIDS/HIV, and only 0.5% goes mon trying to find cures and treatments for skin complaints. And yet the affects of skin complaints can be devastating.
The lecturer, Paul Matts, showed pictures of East Africans affected by podoconiosis, which is caused by dry skin cracking and absorbing the kaolin from the soil as they walk around barefoot. Their feet and legs swell up to giant proportions, they can't walk, can't work and their lives become hopeless. And yet, they can be cured very simply, through washing with clean water, applying moisturiser to the dry skin, and then wearing shoes so the kaolin doesn't get under their skin.
Skin diseases account for approximately half of the diseases of the developing world, but in most cases do not kill - they just incapacitate and ruin lives.
One particular problem, of which I was completely unaware, is that of the African albinos. In Europe, albinos occur one in every 20,000 births; in Tanzania, it is once in every 1400 births, and in that country they are not only ostracised, but cannot hide - in Europe, an albino is not nearly so noticeable and may be taken for someone who is just naturally very fair. Research need to be carried out to find out how best they can cope in the hot African climate, which their melanin lacking skin is not designed for.
For a problem which affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, it receives virtually nothing for research; 42% of the money spent on research goes on AIDS/HIV, and only 0.5% goes mon trying to find cures and treatments for skin complaints. And yet the affects of skin complaints can be devastating.
The lecturer, Paul Matts, showed pictures of East Africans affected by podoconiosis, which is caused by dry skin cracking and absorbing the kaolin from the soil as they walk around barefoot. Their feet and legs swell up to giant proportions, they can't walk, can't work and their lives become hopeless. And yet, they can be cured very simply, through washing with clean water, applying moisturiser to the dry skin, and then wearing shoes so the kaolin doesn't get under their skin.
Skin diseases account for approximately half of the diseases of the developing world, but in most cases do not kill - they just incapacitate and ruin lives.
One particular problem, of which I was completely unaware, is that of the African albinos. In Europe, albinos occur one in every 20,000 births; in Tanzania, it is once in every 1400 births, and in that country they are not only ostracised, but cannot hide - in Europe, an albino is not nearly so noticeable and may be taken for someone who is just naturally very fair. Research need to be carried out to find out how best they can cope in the hot African climate, which their melanin lacking skin is not designed for.
Saturday, 2 February 2013
The Winter Operatic Concert
After spending the afternoon at Destinations, in the evening I went to a concert at. St. Matthew's Church, It was put on by Jenny Hill, who after a distinguished singing career now concentrates on teaching. The concert featured a number of her students, all of whom are of a professional standard.
The concert featured a wide variety of pieces from well-known operas, and was a very informal affair; the singers sat in the pews around the church until the time came for them to sing.
But if the format was informal, the singing was anything but. , as their voices filled the church with a wide variety of different pieces, some happy, some sad, some dramatic. Of particular note was Dorinel Bastide, a young French singer with a remarkable soprano voice; look away and you would swear that it was a woman singing. There is nothing falsetto about it - he is not remotely like Tiny Tim - he simply has a natural soprano singing voice
The concert featured a wide variety of pieces from well-known operas, and was a very informal affair; the singers sat in the pews around the church until the time came for them to sing.
But if the format was informal, the singing was anything but. , as their voices filled the church with a wide variety of different pieces, some happy, some sad, some dramatic. Of particular note was Dorinel Bastide, a young French singer with a remarkable soprano voice; look away and you would swear that it was a woman singing. There is nothing falsetto about it - he is not remotely like Tiny Tim - he simply has a natural soprano singing voice
Destinations Holiday & Travel Show
Havng a couple of complementary tickets, this afternoon I went to the The Times "Destinations Holiday & Travel Show" at Earls Court - its usual venue. The first time I went, several years ago, it was an enormous event, packed with crowds of people, all eager to find out about exotic holiday destinations - and some not so exotic, like the Lake District and the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man. There was a whole section at that time on UK destinations, as well as African safaris, walking the Great Wall of China and exploring the Antarctic. And then, of course, there were all the lectures and non-stop entertainment on the stage.
Destinations today is a much smaller event; gone are all the fully equipped camper vans where you could live for weeks as you explored the African bush; gone are most of the elaborate displays and huge number of stands, all vying for your next holiday booking. Last year it was a fairly small events, compared to its heyday, and this year I think it was even smaller.
That is not to say there weren't some interesting things there, because there were - plenty of them. The Tibetan yurt was an interesting example of how some other people live, and the film show portrayed a fascinating country with great contrasts from one part to another and one season to another. The Serbian food, samples of which they pressed on to everyone who came to their stand, were absolutely delicious. I did ask if one could buy the cheeses in this country, but the answer was no - you have to go to Serbia. The Korean hand acupuncture was certainly different to anything I had experienced - you put your hands into a machine, and they turn it on, either low, medium or high and for five minutes air takes the place of acupuncture needles. I went for the medium setting, but had to ask the girl to turn it down to low, as the pressure on my hands was too great. Nearby was a chart, showing which parts of the body may have have something wrong with them, depending on where you feel any pain in your hands. When it is finished, your hands are covered with hundreds of tiny spots, which fade in about twenty minutes.
There were the usual series of lectures in two theatres - one for inspiration and the other for practical advice. It was a toss-up which one to go for - the one on Travel Writing Tips at 2.45 p.m., or the one on Serbia - Year of Culture 2013 at 2.30 p.m. I opted for the one on Serbia, which was extremely interesting, and featured the well-known Valerie Singleton as one of the speakers. The lectures are invariably worthwhile attending - the speakers seem to be chosen for their knowledge of the subject and also their ability to enthuse about the topic they are covering. Other inspiration lectures on the Sunday covered destinations are varied as Alaska, Spitzenbergen, Afghanistan and Jordan, while the practical advice series covered, amongst many other things, topics such as politically sensitive destinations, travel photography and choosing the ultimate honeymoon. Quite a variety, and something for everyone.
The World Entertainment this year seemed to focus mainly on dancing; I would have liked to have seen the Uzbek "Orzu Arts", but was too busy looking at other things when they were on.
I also went and looked at the shortlisted photographs in the Wanderlust Travel Photography competition. Some of them were outstanding, and very unusual - they very much depended on the photographer being in the right place at the right time and having his camera ready. I voted for the one I finally decided I liked best in the hope of winning a very impressive camera, with rather more gadgetry than my present one - or I assume it would have, since it was more than twice the price. Afterwards I went to the Wanderlust stand to ask how one entered the competition - apparently all the details are put online in the summer. I must make a note to look at their website nearer the time.
One great thing about Destinations this year was that you could actually get to the stands and talk to the people. When there are queues everywhere, it's not so easy, and it's trustrating to wait for ages just to get to the head of the queue. But with only a pleasant number of people there, getting round all the stands was easy.
Destinations today is a much smaller event; gone are all the fully equipped camper vans where you could live for weeks as you explored the African bush; gone are most of the elaborate displays and huge number of stands, all vying for your next holiday booking. Last year it was a fairly small events, compared to its heyday, and this year I think it was even smaller.
That is not to say there weren't some interesting things there, because there were - plenty of them. The Tibetan yurt was an interesting example of how some other people live, and the film show portrayed a fascinating country with great contrasts from one part to another and one season to another. The Serbian food, samples of which they pressed on to everyone who came to their stand, were absolutely delicious. I did ask if one could buy the cheeses in this country, but the answer was no - you have to go to Serbia. The Korean hand acupuncture was certainly different to anything I had experienced - you put your hands into a machine, and they turn it on, either low, medium or high and for five minutes air takes the place of acupuncture needles. I went for the medium setting, but had to ask the girl to turn it down to low, as the pressure on my hands was too great. Nearby was a chart, showing which parts of the body may have have something wrong with them, depending on where you feel any pain in your hands. When it is finished, your hands are covered with hundreds of tiny spots, which fade in about twenty minutes.
There were the usual series of lectures in two theatres - one for inspiration and the other for practical advice. It was a toss-up which one to go for - the one on Travel Writing Tips at 2.45 p.m., or the one on Serbia - Year of Culture 2013 at 2.30 p.m. I opted for the one on Serbia, which was extremely interesting, and featured the well-known Valerie Singleton as one of the speakers. The lectures are invariably worthwhile attending - the speakers seem to be chosen for their knowledge of the subject and also their ability to enthuse about the topic they are covering. Other inspiration lectures on the Sunday covered destinations are varied as Alaska, Spitzenbergen, Afghanistan and Jordan, while the practical advice series covered, amongst many other things, topics such as politically sensitive destinations, travel photography and choosing the ultimate honeymoon. Quite a variety, and something for everyone.
The World Entertainment this year seemed to focus mainly on dancing; I would have liked to have seen the Uzbek "Orzu Arts", but was too busy looking at other things when they were on.
I also went and looked at the shortlisted photographs in the Wanderlust Travel Photography competition. Some of them were outstanding, and very unusual - they very much depended on the photographer being in the right place at the right time and having his camera ready. I voted for the one I finally decided I liked best in the hope of winning a very impressive camera, with rather more gadgetry than my present one - or I assume it would have, since it was more than twice the price. Afterwards I went to the Wanderlust stand to ask how one entered the competition - apparently all the details are put online in the summer. I must make a note to look at their website nearer the time.
One great thing about Destinations this year was that you could actually get to the stands and talk to the people. When there are queues everywhere, it's not so easy, and it's trustrating to wait for ages just to get to the head of the queue. But with only a pleasant number of people there, getting round all the stands was easy.
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