In the city

Today, I had a meeting in London, so after it had finished I took the opportunity to take a walk up the Kings Road and browse a shop or two. No sooner had I crossed over to take a closer look at a pretty dress or two, than the heavens opened and everyone took refuge inside the appropriately named Monsoon.

I caught the 11 bus to Westminster, hopping off along Victoria Street to walk the last part of the way - I had arranged to meet Edward for a drink after work before heading home. As I walked I spotted Artillery Mansions, a glimpse of "another world" in the hustle and bustle of the city. I really love coming across these places!

Walking along Victoria Street, I passed the BERR office. Would you have known what it was without following the link? I hadn't a clue! It's just one of many new names for reorganised government departments, and last week, none of my colleagues (myself included) could identify the ministry who oversee Adult Education in England and Wales - click here and see if you were correct!

Sadly, I didn't have time to attend Evensong in Westminster Abbey, so I walked around Parliament Square, past Methodist Central Hall, and a little way up Whitehall, to stop by one of my favourite memorials in the city. I like the design of this monument very much indeed and think it says a great deal about those who are commemorated there.

Having met Edward at a deserted Palace of Westminster, we took advantage of the Parliamentary recess and stopped by the House of Commons, which was still open for visitors before gathering things from his office and heading off for a drink.

I had a seat booked on the 7.48pm train, so it was a short and sweet catch up over a bottle of wine and a bit of charcuterie and soon time to head for Paddington. (As I read in the magazine on the train, it's sweet to name a station after a bear, isn't it?) I didn't mind waiting a bit longer for the slightly delayed train though, for there was entertainment in the form of the Railway Band.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet and a small Sony camera, you can be entertained too!

Out and about

Well, I know that some were dying to know about last night - so here is an unusual photograph of the Nippy. I say unusual because of course, one of the benefits of taking photographs is that one is seldom seen...

But, thanks to Marion, who took this one, you can glimpse yours truly in all her glory. As for the nails - well, that manicure was too expensive to dismiss for one evening, so this was one Nippy who got her wrists slapped!

It was a fun party and in true 1930s style, following the example set at one of their earlier parties, each guest was given a piece of cake and a potato to take home. The potato came in a paper bag, complete with black plastic sack and instructions of what to do next. Great idea...and since I've never, ever grown a potato before, something fun to do.

Today, we were in Bath for a while. We enjoyed browsing shops but most of all, being in one of our favourite cities, probably for the last time before the tourists all go home again. It's not a place to go in Summer due to the large groups of youngsters there on language courses and the like. Today they were very much in evidence but not overwhelming, thank goodness.

We ate our delicious picnic lunch sitting on the lawn with a fine view, even if we were on the wrong side of the haha.

But it wasn't really quite so deserted, for just behind us, on parle Francais.

This afternoon we made our way to Tyntesfield. Our first visit - though we've been meaning to go for ages.

As I saw this little place in the grounds, I thought it would feature well in one of those TV property programmes - anyone fancy it?

Oh, and on the way to Tyntesfield, we stopped at Get Knitted for me to buy some cotton yarn. I found a book in Bath and though I can't really crochet, I have intentions of making several projects from it.

Well, you know what I'm like from my profile!

Brum with Paulene

Earlier in the week, an email dropped into my inbox with an irresistable invitation - "I'm going to be in Birmingham on Saturday and fancy going to the Art of the Stitch Exhibition - want to come?"

You bet I did.

I met Paulene in New Street Station this morning and we spent a fun day looking at art of all kinds in the warm - no, HOT! - sunshine.

We started as planned, at the City Art Gallery with Art of the Stitch, which kept us occupied until lunchtime. Fascinating to see the trends and what's catching the selection panel's eye this year and all the better to have a like-minded friend to mutter a few thoughts and opinions to! Surprisingly, no wearable art this year with almost all of the exhibits being wall-hung. We found that machine stitched drawing is hot right now (Andrea Cryer's "Kath". Suzanne Gregg's "Vases", Rosie James "Durer Stitching" amongst others), especially with the loose ends dangling. In my (our?) opinion, Shizuko Kimura still had the edge though with her hand stitched sketches executed in the studio ("Studio View. And the cat came too!) Colour was generally subdued and restricted to neutrals (all of the above, plus Ilaria Margutti and Rosalba Pepi's "Mend of Me", Beck Knight's "Drunkard's Path" and Kyoko Nagasawa's "Search for Pouring Down", for example), although there were the exceptions of course (Eleri Mills' "Yr yr ardd" and Zara Merrick's glorious "Queen Berenice's Hair" along with a few others) - those were most noticeable when standing at the far end of the gallery and looking back - could the exhibition hanging panel have done this deliberately to conceal the colour?

Another trend seemed to be that of stitching into a digital image of stitching. It's interesting to see how technological advances create opportunities for artists to explore pathways which open up as a result - and how many similar concepts bubble up at the same time independently of one another.

Just one or two more three dimensional pieces, including one of our favourites, the stunning "Grandmother" by Gintare Pilypaite, gorgeous Ruffs by Jill Flower and the staggering "84 Hours" by Sarah Brown which revealed tenacity beyond belief.

Of course, no photographs, so you'll have to make do with the links and the gorgeous tiles in the lobby.

..and another wall poem. Seems to be quite a trend for those this week.

We headed off towards Brindley Place in search of lunch but were distracted by several large groups of ladies wearing uniforms of some kind - they were heading for the UK Womens Barbershop competition and oh my goodness, some of their uniforms were.....well, striking!

We admired the matching manicures sported by this group and wondered if the Stuart Singers might be tempted by this idea? Jade green nails might be just the thing in Minchinhampton next year!

Lunch was delicious. We sat outside the Ikon Gallery and enjoyed a cool glass of sangria and some tapas nibbles whilst our paella was prepared. The 50 minutes needed for that soon passed since we had plenty to chat about, of course.

A second jug of sangria was called for...

and sadly the paella didn't last long enough to be photographed, but it was delicious!

Inside the gallery, there were exhibitions by Jürgen Partenheimer and Ruth Claxton. I didn't quite "get" Partenheimer's work so was glad to have Fine Art student Paulene with me to discuss it with. I was rather more taken by Ruth Claxton's "Lands End" and enjoyed the dynamism of circles and mirrors, especially the last room which contained a huge number of densely packed spirals, circles and mirrors creating a wondrous view of pattern and shape whichever way one looked at it - great energy and flow and a superb installation with which to finish our visit.

On the way downstairs, we got another view of the IKON gallery window, which I thought rather fun.

A walk along the canal, by the Gas Street Basin and a few photos of reflections inspired by Sue's photographs of Clevedon this week.

Through the Mailbox via another gallery and along a busy road ( amongst traffic for the first time today) to get a glimpse of the new Bullring.

I hadn't noticed these bricks in the wall before.

We ended our afternoon in Selfridges, having ogled the dotty exterior first. Inside, we had time for a quick view of Dale's new E-PC too - though they didn't have pink ones there! As always I looked up in slight dismay, for though I love the exterior of the building, I question some aspects of the interior - the ceiling in particular.

Finally, back to New Street Station, across the road, from where our trains were leaving in ten minutes.

Thanks Paulene, for a great day! We must do it again sometime...

An Extraordinary Evening

We knew when we booked tickets for last night's performance at Symphony Hall, that it was going to be memorable. But would it be memorably good or memorably bad?

The performance was of the classic silent film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, starring Rudolf Valentino as Julio Desnoyers. The CBSO provided the accompaniment - composed and conducted by Carl Davies. Symphony Hall was turned into a theatre, with the orchestra in a pit beneath the screen - this is such a versatile venue.

Only a few empty seats remained as the opening credits played, and from that moment on, we knew we were in for a real treat.

The passion, the drama, the surprising humour and the tragically sad ending; all were so beautifully conveyed by both film and music. Though it was a lengthy performance, it never palled and the quality of the remastered film was incredible.

The score was haunting and fitted the action so perfectly that from time to time it was easy to forget that there was a real, live orchestra there - until the final climax, when with all stops pulled out one could have no doubts that this was no recording.

So, did we see a film with live accompaniment, or did we hear an orchestral concert with a silent film showing? We felt we did both - and more. The atmosphere was electric, the acting simply amazing and the performance outstanding.

Oh, and did I mention how beautiful the leading lady Alice Terry was as Marguerite, remark on the mischief of Rudolph Valentino as he invited her to his studio and promised "to behave", with a wink, or comment on the anti-German sentiments throughout? Don't you agree, the handwritten captions are simply amazing? And I failed to mention Julio's pet monkey, who went with him to war wearing matching uniform, right down to his tin helmet. Oh, and that haunting close up shot of Marguerite's face - those silent movie star eyes and tortured expression, especially when she put on her Red Cross uniform...I could go on.

I think you might say, we enjoyed our evening!

And this, view from the balcony during the interval, is especially for Sue.

We are in Brighton

We drove to Brighton yesterday, for a couple of relaxing days before I begin my Textile Treasures responsibilities again on Wednesday. We stopped for lunch in King Alfred's city of Winchester, which was fascinating if bitterly cold. I especially loved the medieval tiles in the cathedral and took many, many photographs of them, of course. A guide was happy to chat about the memorial to Jane Austen and the magnificently reconstructed west window
and we were more than happy to stand and learn more.

We arrived at our hotel in Brighton to find the heating in our room had broken, so we tried our best to keep warm with a fan heater and electric radiator. The wind whistled and the shutters rattled however...Brighton seafront in February is a bleak place, believe me.

We wrapped up and went for a walk to get our bearings before snuggling in for the night after dinner and a mojito or two.

This morning, we had blue sky so went out along the prom first thing. Not many people about but some great rusty railings!

This afternoon, we really enjoyed a visit to The Royal Pavilion and had planned to take in the Art Gallery too - but sadly, it was closed for a refurb. Bad timing. Never mind. Lunch at Bills was fun though, and since the sun had shone for most of the day, we counted ourselves lucky and came back to face the toughest challenge of the day...where to eat dinner.