Rain and food and more rain

Sorry to keep whinging about the weather, but it's really been dreadful. I've never seen it like this in all the time I've been coming here this time of year. And Tuesday was the worst of the worst — several absolutely torrential downpours of Biblical proportions, flooding streets and pavement. I waited out one stonking shower inside the Tufnell Park station, but didn't get the brunt of it. My host, however, did and came home soaked to the skin. 

It was a pretty low-key day for me, after all the adventures of my two day trips. I took the tube to South Ken and walked up to the V&A, which is my usual go-to place when the weather looks foul. I saw a large exhibition called FOOD: Bigger than the Plate, all about where our food comes from, who produces it and how it's produced, food waste, human waste, as well as innovative products that are being made with waste. I learned a lot and am never, ever going back to eating meat. 

Not knowing what my next destination would be or what the weather had in store for me, I ate lunch in the bright, cheery caff by the new entrance on Exhibition Road. 

Sandwich consumed and still no rain, so I took the tube to Green Park, still not certain if I was going to the Royal Academy for the Gormley exhibition or if I'd potter around a bit. I consulted the Art Rabbit app and saw that there were two interesting gallery exhibitions in easy walking distance: Shiny Colourful Amusements for the Walls of the Bourgeoisie (Robert Montgomery, at the JD Malat gallery in Davies Street) and Super Rich Interior Decoration (new works by Grayson Perry at the Victoria Miro Mayfair in St George's Street). I enjoyed both a lot. This was the third time I'd seen an exhibition of Grayson Perry (the huge retrospective at the British Museum several years ago and his 2017 show at the Serpentine Gallery). I must say that the Mayfair crowd was a humourless lot — not much talking amongst the punters about the work, few smiles and no chuckles. Perhaps they realized how much the work was poking fun at them, their greed, conspicuous consumption and Tory politics and they were not amused. But I certainly was. 

Back home mid-afternoon to Tufnell Park to start packing for my trip to Arundel. In the evening, I dodged the puddles, caught the 390 bus and headed to the British Library to meet up with Judy for an evening about Asylum: Fact, Fiction, Truth, curated by Juliet Stevenson and featuring four women who incorporate stories of asylum and refugee experiences in their fiction, poetry and music. The panel was a bit uneven, with the women who spoke from their own experiences the most interesting and compelling. I'd like to read Dina Nayeri's book, The Ungrateful Refugee.

I'll be down in Arundel with friends David and Janie from Wednesday to Friday morning, so no blog post until I return. It looks like there's no rain in the forecast.

Stats:
£5 to top up Oyster for my upcoming journey into zone 3
£8.50 Food exhibition at the V&A (half price with my Art Pass)
£6.25 for lunch
£14 for Asylum at the British Library
£2.58 yogurt and ginger nuts from the convenience store in Tufnell Park
16,803 steps
7.14 miles