After a Big Build Up.....

Well after the big build up and the change of Blog title I have made approximately zero posts.  Not a good start but I have been busy nonetheless.

I've been on a guided walk, a guided tour and some rambles.  I did have the idea of making this post about the various guides that I have come to know in the last year mainly through Twitter and the many walks I have enjoyed with them.  That will be my next one and this is just a snapshot of a few busy weeks.

I went to the first day of Bailey's Stardust at The National Portrait Gallery beautiful exhibition of over 200 of David Bailey's photographs.  Normally £14.50 to enter it is only £7.25 with Art Fund.... here is my only purchase from the matching merchandise, a lovely snap of Jean Shrimpton

On a particularly rainy day .......

I went with with Miss B AKA Tina Baxter, Regents Canal, Arnold Circus and The Geffrye Museum.

On the beautiful bright Sunday a trip to Greenwich with a friend, managed to get into The Chapel as well as The Painted Hall.  We also went for another look at the fabulous new gallery at the National Maritime Museum featuring the life and death of Admiral Nelson.....Nelson Navy Nation. As we left there was the most beautiful Sunset!

 

 

On a bright Thursday morning in on February 13th, 14 London Historians Members were treated to a guided tour of The Royal Courts of Justice by Colin Davey.  We spent an hour and a half being told about the history of this amazing building and seeing some of the displays. It was also good to hear about it's various roles in our Legal Framework.  A brilliant morning and I just wish I had been able to stay for lunch in Middle Temple!  The Royal Courts are open to the public but you do need to go through airport style security.  Photography is not allowed and therefore here is a shot of St. Paul's from the bus on the way and a picture of the Royal Courts taken from the stunning Lloyds Bank opposite....

The following day saw my first visit to the brilliant Wallace Collection, so many works of art to feast your eyes on and elaborate clocks in every room.  It is situated in a square behind Selfridges and is free to enter.

That afternoon I went to the new exhibition at RIBA, The Men Who Built the Modern World.  Another free exhibition and well worth visiting. The building itself is great as well as the well stocked shop.

We were treated to yet another bright and sunny Sunday a week or so ago and another first visit, this time to the newly restored Kenwood, Hampstead.  All I can say about this house and the surrounding common land is that it is gem and I shall return. I will take a picnic next time as although the food in the Brewhouse was tasty it was very busy and a bit chaotic.  Kenwood is maintained by English Heritage but allows free entry to everyone.

 

 

Last Saturday I joined Sean Patterson's Charles Booth Walk  in Clerkenwell.  A very familiar area but with the added narrative of the Charles Booth Poverty Map it took on a very different light.  Great fun as we, the walkers joined in with some of the excerpts from different publications.  Sean also does Booth walks around Whitechapel and Deptford which I am definitely going to attend.

 



And finally, last Sunday I stayed local and drove the few miles along the North Circular to the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow.  The Gallery won The Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2013 and as part of that gained the first outing in the United Kingdom of Jeremy Deller's English Magic exhibition.  The exhibition will move on to Bristol and then Margate during the year. The Gallery is free as is the exhibition although donations are welcome.

That was quite a busy few weeks using up holiday and taking advantage of sunny Sundays.   There is a lot to do out there and a large amount of it is FREE!

Have Art Fund Pass Will Travel.....

I have just found this almost completed post from early August and added the missing link Friday.......


Monday was the first day of my holiday from work and a week opportunities in London.

This year I decided to invest in an Art Fund Pass to give me different options of places to visit... I have meant to do so for quite a while and didn't realise just what a brilliant thing it was.

I have had National Trust Membership for several years but this gives free access to some National Trust Houses, some English Heritage and a Historic Royal Palace!  The pass also gives discounted entry to a great number of exhibitions that you would normally have to pay for. My pass cost £39.95 and covers events, exhibitions and museums nationally.

MONDAY

I visited Kensington Palace free to Art Pass holders and £15.00 in the normal way....it was several years since my last visit and a lot of work had been done to make it a more interactive experience.  There is an exhibition running at the moment called Fashion Rules which is included in the cost of entry which shows various clothing items worn by The Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana.

 

 

 

TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY

 

Nothing using my pass but I had a lovely lunch at Windows on 28th Floor of the Park Lane Hilton on Wednesday...

 

 

 

 

 

 

THURSDAY

 

Another trip up town this time to The National Portrait Gallery and The National Gallery.

 

At NPG admission is free for the most part although they do run a few exhibitions a year which are chargeable as with Laura Knight Portraits.  I had seen some of her work before, mainly the ones from WW2 in factory settings  The Art Fund Pass meant this was a very affordable £3.50 with the 50% off.  The gallery is still showing this years BP Portrait Award which runs until September 15th and that is free.

 

Just next door is the big brother to the Portrait Gallery, The National Gallery which I still do a little at a time a hangover from when I used to take two small boys to see the big pictures looking at a few a visit.  I went to see  Bathers at Asnières, by Georges Seurat a favourite of mine as well as a few by Turner and Gainsborough.  On recommendation I also took a look at the Vermeer and Music exhibition that is again finishing in early September and only £4.00 with my pass (50% off)....again a great exhibition although Vermeer is not one of my favourites.

 

In the evening I managed to get to a talk at the British Postal Museum Archive in Mount Pleasant.  The 8th August was the 50th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery and the archive has various documents relating to it and the investigation afterwards.  After a visit to the archive we went next door to the Phoenix Centre for a talk by Andrew Cook relating to his book The Great Train Robbery: The Untold Story from the Closed Investigation Files. It was fascinating hearing how evidence was used 50 years ago and how it would have been a different story today.

 

FRIDAY

 

Today involved a drive but not a particularly long one out to Saffron Walden in Essex.  The weather was a bit on the rainy side as I started out but gradually improved as I reached my destination.  Another great house and garden covered by my pass....Audley End. This place was not new to me as I lived fairly close by when I was very young and remember picnics on the lawn there in my 20's but had never been inside the house.

 

It is a delight and there is amazing taxidermy for corridor after corridor.  No photography was allowed in the main house but I got some pictures in the grounds and outbuildings.  I rounded of the day with a guided walk around the gardens. Well worth another visit.