Picture Diary

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Nov 12

Spectacular Beethoven concert at Surrey Quays Printworks, once home to Western Europe’s largest printing factory. With the orchestra Aurora. An immersive experience, with electronic music in-between the symphony’s movements. With this entirely memorised performance, the orchestra is split into a dozen stages or so, perhaps more, and the audience is standing. Beethoven often takes your breath away but so does this amazing staging!

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Nov 9

Homage to Van Gogh in South London … and other things by Arturo Di Stefano. His first show with Art Space Gallery in Islington. Welcome back Arturo!

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Oct 26

Wow!! Stunning.Seen at IMAX Waterloo

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Oct 26

‘Mixing it up’, the Hayward Gallery’s current show, is strong and engaging.I went along, hoping there would be a few thought-provoking London paintings. This was a reasonable assumption since out of 31 artists represented, 23 lived and worked in London and 11 were actually born here. I found one! (Denzil Forrester). Does this apparent gap between artists and their environment really exist or is it the creation of the curator?1. Lubaina Himid.2. Lisa Brice.3. Kudzamai-Violet Hwami.4. Gareth Cadwallader.5. Matthew Krishanu.6-9 Denzil Forrester

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Oct 20

Charismatic rain … ‘It rains in my heartAs it rains on the town’.Paul Verlaine (1885)… And yes, Verlaine did come to London and it ended in tears, though this poem was not written in London.Pity, so appropriate …

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Oct 11

Amazing setting for Agatha Christie’s ‘Witness for the Prosecution’. Can you guess where? Overlooking the Thames …opposite Westminster?It’s the Council Chamber at County Hall. I thought the play would be predictable and a little old-fashioned but it was well-staged and very gripping!

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Oct 5

Inspiring lecture at the Barbican Centre last night - Peter Barber, architect, on what makes him and his team come up with humane and human-led solutions to alleviate the housing crisis. Championing joyful and attractive designs for housing society’s downtrodden: shelters for the homeless, and quirky accommodation for people reliant on council housing. The last picture shows him in conversation with Ellis Woodman, Director of the Architecture Foundation. The slide shows the firm’s ‘Village in a box’.

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Sep 17

Magical visit to Ben Johnson’s amazing house studio at St Peter’s Wharf, Hammersmith. Part of ‘Artists at Home’ 17-19 Sept, this weekend. Great paintings. Beautiful part of the World. Do go if you can!

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Sep 9

Sunny day on the South Bank … and the joy of the little children!

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Aug 24

Sampling street food at Lower Marsh, Waterloo (where I’m currently living in temporary accommodation).THAI HOUSE run by Andrey, unexpectedly from Turkey, with chef Nut, from Thailand. They have been there for five years (with a second stall in Victoria), from Monday to Friday.I had a small chicken Panang which was very tasty and really copious (£5.50). There are tables in the street and a small community garden nearby.

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Aug 21

The country on London’s doorstep … in fact at the end of the Metropolitan line. Amersham! There is a 20 mn walk to the incredibly picturesque Old Amersham where every other shop is an eatery. An embarrassment of riches!My friend took me to the (Michelin) Artichoke - very special, all delicious and beautiful looking. I came out with a spring in my step and marvelled at the fairy tale ‘Remembrance Garden’ nearby.

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Aug 15

Do you think this is well away from London? It is not … It is the delightful local museum for the Borough of Barking & Dagenham at Valence House, a hidden gem, perfectly in keeping with its surroundings - the enormous Becontree cottage garden estate, built after the First World War as ‘homes for heroes’ - gardening heroes! It was ready in 1934 with all ‘mod-cons’, gardens being ranked as important as houses. A special place …

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Aug 4

So … what makes you happy? The Wellcome Institute relishes the big questions and tackles this one through a two-part show: Joy and Tranquillity.————————I’ll be honest: I came for Tranquillity but found Joy more straightforward. Tranquillity had a dig at the world of yoga; also, despite the splendid photography, it created a forest ‘experience’ which resonated a little fake to me. While Joy homed in on a marvellously direct drawing of a rat which the sewer made happy!

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Jul 25

Back at the American embassy … to look for the sky swimming pool everyone is talking about. After a minute or so, a lone swimmer appeared …

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Jul 20

A glorious day in Greenwich. Heatwave.

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Jul 11

I walked around the City of the Dead on a glorious summer day and it was uplifting…You can now go on a self-guided tour of the oldest part of Highgate cemetery (West). Its architectural heart around the Egyptian avenue is stunning.

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Jun 28

It was a magical evening at Holland Park Opera on Sunday night, despite the torrential rain as part II was getting under way … My first live event in over a year - a very emotional Traviata. Excellent performance and the joy of sharing! ——————————But here is the thing: Holland Park sits 1000 people apparently and the audience with COVID restrictions was down to 400. They’ve got to find a way of balancing the books with that number. It is sooooooo much nicer when we are not packed like sardines with queues for everything.

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Jun 25

‘Lovely bones’ - check this astonishing public sculpture in Bermondsey Street! It incorporates actual bones found in the Thames. Artist Austin Emery has pulled together 100 stones carved by members of the local community to make a striking installation piece (2020).Can you spot the bones, and also Tower Bridge …?

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Jun 20

We had fun at Thai Elephant in West Wickham. They were running a special offer on their mainly Dim Sum offerings; our copious meal was a tenner a head! We should all try London’s fringe venues more often …

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Jun 12

This is one of the earliest ‘naturalistic’ pictures of London. It is very little known, perhaps because it lost its attribution to the popular Anthony Van den Wyngaerde some time ago. It dates from around 1550 and is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum which holds so many London treasures. It will be published in our forthcoming ‘South Bank Notebook’ which will dedicate a whole chapter to Artists’ London. ————————-Old St Paul’s Cathedral lost its spire in 1561. This drawing is one of a handful which depicts the Cathedral with its spire (first detail).

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