It's Bloomin' Lovely Here!

It's springtime at last and I'm back in London. I left Massachusetts in late April, just days after the final remaining pile of dirty snow near my house melted away. When I arrived in London, I found the last few tulips dropping their petals, the wisteria, azaleas and rhododendrons in full bloom, and roses starting to pop. The trees and plants look and smell lovely and I'm not even complaining too much about my allergies. I blame the chestnut and plane trees, both plentiful here but somewhat rare in western Massachusetts. I learned that it's the pollen from the London Plane trees that sticks in the back of your throat and makes you cough. 

Tuesday to Friday

My first four days were spent running around from gallery to gallery, exhibition to exhibition, trying to see as many current shows as possible before they ended in early May. It really helps that I can sort my spreadsheet by date ending and then make a plan to tick them off. 

First up was Textile Art Redefined at the Saatchi Gallery in Sloane Square. The small exhibition (one room, 15 artists) featured a range of textile arts and techniques (knitting, weaving, crochet, quilting, embroidery) used to produce some amazing works. Some of my favourite pieces were made of denim, yarn and tulle.

Another of my must-see exhibitions was of two artists, Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life and Yin Xiuzhen: Heart to Heart at the Hayward Gallery in the Southbank Centre. Both used textiles -- often reclaimed and repurposed -- to evoke themes of leaving, belonging, searching and home. I had seen Chiharu Shiota's pavilion at the Biennale in Venice in 2015 and was intrigued to see how she had used the same red threads and hanging keys in a new space with a different theme. Yin Xiuzhen's luggage carousel with suitcases depicting different cities was fantastic! For the London suitcase, she had invited staff of the Hayward Gallery to contribute pieces of their own clothing, from which she crafted a cityscape of London. 

From the Hayward, a meandering walk took me past the Garden Museum, where I happened to see a sign that there was an exhibition of Jane Hammond's botanical collages and I popped in for that. Somehow this one hadn't made it to my spreadsheet and I was pleased with this serendipitous find. Jane is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and has exhibited many times in the MHC Art Museum, so I knew her work. The collages were a real treat for the eyes, and so fun to pick out wee animals and insects within the bouquets. 

Other galleries/exhibitions I visited (some good, some meh, some that enticed me to linger and others that had me quickly on my way):

• Photographs by Fosco Maraini at the Italian Cultural Institution
• Auction preview of 50 Years of Punk at Bonhams Knightsbridge
• Wartime Art in London at the Imperial War Museum
• Cecily Brown at the Serpentine Gallery South
• London Intersections at the UCL Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment
• October Gallery for a group show, some of which I'd seen before
• Road Work (photographs of American cars and trucks in the 1980s) at the Architectural Association
• Auction preview of Modern Made (mid-century modern) at the Mall Galleries
• Julian Opie at Christea Roberts -- I really enjoyed this 
• White Cube Mason's Yard exhibition by Sarah Morris
• Carrie Mae Weems at Goodman Gallery -- another good one
• Sadie Coles exhibition of paintings by Wilhelm Sasnal -- liked some of this
• Photojournalism of the past 12 months, the deadliest year for photojournalists, at ST.ART, including the famous photo of Andrew, formerly known as prince, in the back of the car after his arrest

I also saw the new Banksy statue that appeared overnight this week in Waterloo Square. I actually went twice. The first day it was surrounded by rather tall plastic barriers and tons of people. Several days later, the barriers had been reduced to shorter, less formidable ones and the crowds were a bit smaller. Everyone seems to love it and hope that Westminster Council lets it stay. Apparently Banksy and his helpers installed it in the middle of the night, lowering it into place with a crane, so surely the council must have known what he was up to.

And I went to the Handel Hendrix House for the first time, only just having learned that it's free with my Art Pass. It's actually two houses side-by-side, one owned by George Frideric Handel and, next door, one floor of the flat rented by Jimi Hendrix. Both have been recreated, with very few things actually owned by either musician. I thought the Hendrix side was much more interesting, partially because I remember the late 1960s and recognized many of the types of things in the flat (a shawl hung from the ceiling, just like the one my high school friend Judy wore daily c. 1970) and due to a very engaging bloke who was invigilating and told me many stories about Jimi's time there, how they discovered flat and meticulously put it back together. 

Plus I attended two talks -- one on Catherine Dickens by Lillian Nayden (Bates College faculty) at the Charles Dickens Museum and The Hidden History of London's Women Detectives at the Horse Hospital. 

Weekend #1

After all that rushing around during the week, I slowed down at the weekend. On Saturday, after going as usual to the Parliament Hill Farmers' Market for my baked goods purchases, I met my mate Jane at a vintage flea market held at the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station. Had a great time mooching around and trying things on, but didn't buy anything. 

On Sunday, I did laundry, then went to Smithfield to see the Great Hall and Hogarth Stair at Bart's Hospital, which I'd seen years ago prior to a stunning restoration, followed by a bus ride to Hackney for a guided walk about the 1926 General Strike in Hackney (part of the annual Hackney History Festival -- more about that later). 

Second Week

More of the same, it seems. Galleries, exhibitions, talks, walks, building tours and more than a few charity shops. The pace was less frenetic, however, as I had fewer about-to-end exhibitions to see: 

• Wright of Derby at the National Gallery. Also saw the Portrait of a Horse by Stubbs while I was there. 

• The new Gilbert Collection Galleries at the V&A (lost of small, jeweled boxes and many mosaics made of the teeniest bits imaginable)
• Japan House: 100 Makers from Japan (lovely crafts, fantastic loo)
• Barbican Galleries: Beatriz Gonzalez and Encounters: Giacometti and Lynda Benglis. I've seen two (of four total) of the other encounters with Giacometti and liked this one the least. Oh, well. But I loved the Beatriz Gonzalez exhibition, though it contained many images drawn on Columbia's violent history that were difficult to view. She incorporates a lot of images from popular culture, newspapers, adverts, etc.

• Donald Locke at Camden Arts Centre. He's the father of Hew Locke, whose work I really like. Didn't care at all for dad's stuff, however. 
• Burgh House to see paintings by Donald Chisholm Towner, who lived and painted in Hampstead for five decades.
• The Coming of Age at the Wellcome Collection -- I breezed through but might go back later in the month
• Mr. Bingo -- met the man, bought a print

Building tours:

• St Mark's Dalston -- another site that's part of the Hackney History Festival. The vicar told us about the building and we got to look around.

• Almshouse at the Museum of the Home -- saw one room depicting c. 1780 and another c. 1880. The tour guide was great and I learned a lot of things that I'd missed (or forgotten) from when I did the tour about 15 years ago. 

Talks:

• Premises Studio (another Hackney History Festival site). Didn't see much of the building as the recording studios were in use, but heard an interesting talk about the history and stories from the bloke who owns it. 
• Tyburnia (talk by Pete Smith at the Guildhall Library)
• Kiran Mehta on Crime and Justice in 18th and 19th Century Southwark at The London Archives.

Day trip

On Thursday, I went to Chichester, about an hour and a half (if the train is on time) south of London to see an exhibition at the wonderful Pallant House Gallery (my third visit there). 

Just as last October, my train was delayed on the way down. This time, we had to get off in Barnham and wait for another train that would be stopping at Chichester (the next stop). I arrived about an hour late, qualifying me for a nice delay repay of

£4.20 from Southern Rail. 

The exhibition I came to see was an extensive retrospective featured the prints, illustrations and paintings of William Nicholson (1872 – 1949). His paintings include portraits, scenes of family life (the artist Ben Nicholson was his son), landscapes and lovely still life works (he had a knack for shiny objects with reflections). As an illustrator, he did block prints and line drawings for various publications and children's books, including The Velveteen Rabbit. As always at the Pallant, the exhibition was beautifully curated and displayed and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The day was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining, so after the gallery I walked another part of the old city wall, revisited the stunning Cathedral (spent a bit more time there than my last visit) and enjoyed a stroll through the Bishop's Palace Gardens. And once again, I ran out of time to visit the Novium Museum with displays of Roman Chichester. 

Weekend #2

Saturday always starts with a walk up to Parliament Hill for the Farmers' Market. I took a different bus back to my gaff, down Kentish Town Road, in order to stop at a church book sale. They weren't doing much business (I was the only person there at the time) and I felt badly for their prospects of raising money for their building fund, so I bought four books. The asking price was a four for a quid, but I gave them two quid. By the time I got home, my laundry had finished washing. I hung it to dry and ate my black olive bread stick from the market. 

The day was getting brighter and warmer by the minute, and I decided to walk up to Hampstead (second day in a row) and onward uphill to the Hill Garden and Pergola. Clearly I wasn't the only person who had this idea, and it was a bit crowded, but what a splendid day to be there to gawp at the wisteria, azaleas and rhododendrons! It's long been a favourite spot of mine, particularly on a gorgeous day in early May. 

The Mildmay line then took me to Kensington Olympia, where I went to the Ceramic Art London show at Olympia West. The number of presenters and the array of ceramic works was overwhelming, ranging from pieces of exceptional craftpersonship (is that a word?) and creativity to the downright goofy. I didn't buy anything. 

Some time overnight an extremely cold air mass blew in from somewhere, bringing freezing temps and gusty winds. Still, I went out on Sunday -- the 85th anniversary of the end of the bombing of London -- for a guided walk in the City on Artists of the Blitz. Jonathan Wober, our excellent guide, took us to the exact spot where various artists had drawn or painted scenes of the bombing or its aftermath. 

Needing to get out of the cold and the wind, I walked a few blocks from the walk's ending point to the Guildhall Art Gallery. There I saw the exhibition Underground (and Surface) of paintings of scenes of London, particularly the Underground, by artist Jock McFadyen, accompanied by a soundscape of Underground noises by Jem Finer of the Pogues. The paintings hovered somewhere between abstraction and realism -- very evocative, especially with the oh-so familiar screeches of the Northern Line. 

I hopped a bus (too cold to walk the short distance) to Aldgate East and spent a few minutes looking at the exhibition at Stolen Space (meh; I might go back for the next show) before walking up Brick Lane. A friend in Texas of all places tipped me off to a new piece of street art that she'd seen on Instagram. It's the Wee Tiny Art Gallery, perfectly fitted into a space left by a missing brick close to the pavement in Princelet Street. Unlike at the new Banksy piece, I was the only person taking snaps of this one. 

I'm getting much better about talking with people here and there! I've discussed the diversions and closed/moved stops with ladies on the bus and had a long chat with a bloke on the delayed train to Chichester. Many people have told me that they like my purple hair -- far more compliments than I get a home in Northampton, Massachusetts, where perhaps it's not so unusual. The days are getting longer and, I hope, will be getting warmer. That means more daylight hours for me to be out exploring. There's just so much to do that I come home knackered and don't have time for writing, but I'll try to be better about blogging going forward. Stay tuned, mates. 

Stats and expenses:

Monday, 27 April:
£25 top up Oyster card
£10 one-month phone plan
€3.90 tea at Dublin airport
£19.15 groceries
£6.70 pint of London Pride

£5.50 Curious Histories
17,002 steps
6.6 miles

Tuesday, 28 April:

£5 meal deal lunch

£10.65 tofu and bottle of wine

£3.99 things for flat

20,970 steps

8.16 miles

Wednesday, 29 April:

£9.50 Hayward Gallery

£3.50 brownie

£6.50 bread

£3.25 groceries

19,086 steps

7.55 miles

Thursday, 30 April:

£11.89 groceries

£2.95 Forgotten Ends sushi cup

£13.80 Salon at the Horse Hospital

22,444 steps

8.85 miles

Friday, 1 May:

£2 beverage

£50 top up Oyster card

17,794 steps

6.87 miles

Saturday, 2 May:

£15.20 farmers' market

£2.88 flea market entry

17,085 steps

6.7 miles

Sunday, 3 May:

£2 pastel de nata

£3 General Strike walk

£2.10 beverage

16,047 steps

6.28 miles

Monday, 4 May:

£5 Wright of Derby at National Gallery

£2.54 sandwich

£2.95 banana bread

£3.50 pint of Harvey's Sussex Best

£20 dinner at The Paradise

£2.67 groceries

18,520 steps

7.25 miles

Tuesday, 5 May:

£15 Barbican Art Gallery (two exhibitions)

£2.95 Forgotten Ends

£20.79 groceries and wine

18,682 steps

7.39 miles

Wednesday, 6 May:

£7.05 groceries

£5 talk at London Archives

19,271 steps

7.36 miles

Thursday, 7 May:

£13.60 train ticket -£4.20 delay repay

£3 pain au raisins at train station

£7.50 Pallant House Gallery

£3.25 apple cake

16,740 steps

6.48 miles

Friday, 8 May:

£1.45 pastel de nata

£4 beer

££ print from Mr. Bingo

£7.50 linen shirt from charity shop

18,575 steps

7.27 miles

Saturday, 9 May:

£14.70 farmers' market

£2 used books

£16.52 Ceramic Art London

£9.47 groceries

25,440 steps

10.01 miles

Sunday, 10 May:

£17 Art of the Blitz walk

£3.30 banana bread

17,549 steps

6.93 miles

Old and New (Week 4)

My four weeks in London have flown by. Looking over my spreadsheet, it seems that I worked in a lot of exhibitions, small galleries and (despite the rubbish weather) guided walks. But because of said rubbish weather, I didn't go for any long rambles on my own to explore new-to-me areas and I didn't do a day trip to a seaside town. But I did get out of London on three days and used my new senior railcard on two of those. 

As the days passed, I became much more comfortable in my digs and with my host family in Tufnell Park, but the area never grew on me or warmed my heart the way Belsize Park/Primrose Hill does. The sense of community in Tufnell Park, to the extent that it exists, seems to revolve around kids (hundreds of them, judging by the number of doorbell rings on Halloween evening), families and yuppies who hang out at the Tufnell Tavern. There's not much in the way of inviting green spaces (Islington has the smallest amount of green space of all the London boroughs; I would have gone up to Waterlow Park or spent more time on the Heath had the weather been better), no library (it's up at the Archway), and I didn't find any community events pertaining to local history, arts or culture. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places. So, I returned to Belsize Park for some of those touch points that I needed and I ate a lot of my favourite comfort foods.

The final week was full of catching up with friends, old and new, who I hadn't seen in earlier weeks. And I visited some new venues as well as revisited old favourites.

Monday started with coffee with Nigel, one of my newest mates. Several of my London friends have visited Massachusetts, but Nigel is the only one who has actually been to Northampton! He's a Clerkenwell & Islington guide who leads walks on local history and on his specialty subject, which is cinema history. I'm afraid I rather bent his ear with updates on my various London activities and projects at my volunteer gig with Historic Northampton. I really appreciate his willingness to listen to me bang on about all of this and to give me helpful advice on my ongoing project (it's been taking forever) to develop a virtual walking tour of the commercial and business district of Florence, a village of Northampton. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to work one of Nigel's walks or tours into my itinerary during this trip, but I will do when I return in the spring. I'm totally jealous that Nigel saw Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings on their recent UK tour. 

This day I was faced with a double dilemma: the usual Monday closings plus the start of half-term week (semester break) for the school kiddies. Careful planning would be needed to avoide crowds. I opted for the newly-opened exhibition Secret Maps at the the British Library. The number 17 bus took me from outside the caff down to King's Cross, where I mooched around for a little while before heading to the BL. 

As with other exhibitions at the British Library, this one was extensive ... almost overly so. My friend Simon had advised me not to spend too much time in the initial parts of the exhibition, tempting though it may be, as there would be much, much more to see. I tried to heed this advice, but didn't do a very good job of it. A shedload of maps showed places that were hidden or obfuscated in the interest of power, military secrecy, or marginalizing different populations. Fascinating, but rather more than my wee brain could take in. 

During my visit, I was not aware that the staff of the British Library were planning an imminent strike action over wages. No picket line was in evidence when I was there on Monday, but when I subsequently read about the strike I cancelled plans to attend a talk at the library later in the week. No way would I cross a picket line. 

Continuing my ramble around Bloomsbury, I stopped at Waitrose in the Brunswick Centre to purchase what turned out to be my last Forgotten Ends of this visit, which I ate while sat on a bench in Brunswick Square. 

From Brunswick Square, I walked over to the British Museum (third visit!), using the back entrance in Montague Place and making a beeline to Room 2 in order to see the Tutor Heart Pendant, discovered in 2019 by a metal detectorist and currently on display while the BM tries to raise the funds to purchase it for the nation. Despite the BM being heaving with people, only two others were looking at this remarkable pendant. I later made an online donation to the Tudor Heart appeal. 

I then popped into a fabulous stationery store in nearby Bury Street before heading down Theobald's Road to the Holborn Library. Inside the library is the Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre, which had a nice display about the rookery of St Giles. I hadn't been in the library for donkey's years, so I was reminded of what a great resource this is. Lovely to hear a woman playing the piano in the foyer on my way out. 

For my last stop of the day, I took the number 1 bus from Russell Square to Belsize Park in order to return my library book to the Belsize Community Library. It's such a friendly place and I will definitely be back during future visits to check out books, attend talks, and maybe even to do Qi Gong. 

Tuesday started out with blue skies and sunshine. Hooray! This was the day for my customary ramble with my friend Malcolm. We often meet up somewhere in the Holland Park/Notting Hill area, where Malcolm, and his parents before him, has lived his entire life. We began at Holland Park station and walked the short distance to the Piano Nobile Gallery to see an exhibition of prints, drawings and paintings by Walter Sickert. It was fascinating to see how Sickert made multiple iterations of a scene, starting with sketches before culminating in the finished product of a print or painting (or a series with variations). The vast majority of works on display were from the private collection of Herbert and Ann Lucas, and Piano Nobile was authorized to sell them all. It's a shame that the various pieces will go to different homes or museums, never to be seen together like this again. We were really lucky to have had that opportunity. Here's a short video about the exhibition and its significance. 

As we strolled northward, Malcolm pointed out to me numerous places of interest -- some sites of family history, such as where his parents had been married and lived, and others of local history. "That used to be a pub", he sadly said half a dozen times or more. When we reached Barlby Road (near which his parents had lived when his dad returned from WW2), in front of us was the massive former Clément-Talbot Limited automobile factory, built in 1903. Grade II listed and now known as Labroke Hall, the building is a stunning example of Beaux Arts-inspired industrial architecture, full of wonderful iron, stone and woodwork. Malcolm had done his first apprenticeship in auto mechanics here in the 1970s but hadn't been inside for yonks. 

We had a butcher's at the bar and event space before heading into the east wing to see the sculptural furniture (metal, wood, antlers!) and jewelry in the Carpenters' Workshop Gallery. The current exhibition in the gallery was Rust Never Sleeps by Rick Owens Furniture. The hard metal surfaces, embellished with antlers, didn't look very comfortable (and there were "Do Not Sit" signs everywhere so we couldn't even try) but I reckon they are more statement pieces than functional furnishings, with the possible exception of a massive bed. 

In a smaller upstairs gallery, as well as outside in the courtyard, were pieces comprising the exhibition Bad Ideas for Good Living by Atelier Van Lieshout. These sculptural pieces were a bit more accessible and I could imagine some them in the home or garden of a person with the means to purchase one. (No price list was visible and we didn't ask.)

When we emerged from the gallery, the skies had clouded over and it was getting chilly, but as there was no rain we pushed on to Kensal Green Cemetery, stopping first at Sainsbury's to get sandwiches to eat amongst the dead. Opening in 1833, this was the first commercial (i.e. not owned by a church) cemetery in London and is counted as one of the Magnificent Seven. There are some spectacular Victorian tombs along the Central Avenue. 

I hadn't been here in many years and was surprised to see how it had changed from what I remembered. Malcolm said that several years ago the cemetery underwent a massive tidy-up, with a lot of the overgrown vines and trees that made it so atmospheric and spooky being cut back and trimmed up. It is still receiving burials and we noticed that some of the new tombs, made of shiny black granite and looking like posh garden sheds, were rather over-the-top. An ostentatious display of wealth, perhaps? Or, in the case of the many tombs of families with names from around the Mediterranean, maybe a cultural expression? I'm not posting any photos of these tombs as I assume there are living relatives and so it would be disrespectful. 

We parted ways on the Harrow Road -- Malcolm heading back to Sainsbury's to do his shopping and me to get the Lioness Line (another first) to Euston and then the Northern Line (running a good service finally) back to my gaff. After an early dinner, I met my friend Jen at the Lord Palmerston in Dartmouth Park Road (roughly half way between hers and mine) for a pint. It's a cosy neighbourhood boozer with comfy chairs. We both had pints of Proper Job. 

The torrential rain on Wednesday brought an additional dilemma. When the weather is truly dreadful, as it was on this day, my long-standing plan is to go to the V&A, where I can wander for as little or as much time as I want through various galleries, often discovering new treasures. But, this being half-term, museumland along the Cromwell Road was sure to be heaving, so perhaps best be avoided. I threw caution to the wind, however, and took the tube to South Kensington. The pedestrian subway that runs between the station and the west side of the Cromwell Road (where the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A are located) resembled a throng heading to football, except that these were mums with prams rather than lads with cans. Fortunately for me, most of the families were destined for museums other than the V&A. 

At the V&A, I wove my way around all the people in the gift shop, up the stairs, through the jewelry gallery and past the Leighton Frescoes to a small exhibition called Lasting Impressions: Women Printmakers 1900-Now. Showcasing the work of 25 printmakers with a variety of subjects and techniques, this wee exhibition was well worth seeing. It's free and on until February 2026. (It was hard to get any decent photos because of the reflections on the glass, but this article has a few shots and some more info.)

Realizing that I was right next to the Photography Centre, and remembering reading something about a display of American Photographs, I turned into the gallery to have a look. It turned out to be two rooms full of fascinating photos, most of which I'd never seen before. The V&A holds one of the largest collections of American photographs outside North America! I didn't have enough time to do it justice, but fortunately it's on until May 2027 so I'll have plenty of time to revisit it on a future trip. 

I scurried out through the rain, back down into the subway to South Kensington station to grab the tube for London Bridge via Westminster. Managing to take the correct exit from London Bridge station for once, I continued my mad dash down Bermondsey Street to the White Cube Bermondsey where I was due to meet my friends Kathy and Allan. They had never been to this gallery and were very impressed by the vast, tall spaces -- it's the largest commercial gallery in Europe. The exhibition we had come to see was Gunpowder and Abstraction by Cai Guo-Qiang, who none of us knew anything about. Fortunately, there was a great video in which he talked about his work and technique. He comes across as such a lovely bloke! (I can't find a link to the exact video we saw, but there's a different one on the bottom of the exhibition webpage linked above.) He uses gunpowder in all his artwork, either big pyrotechnical displays or two-dimensional pieces in which pigment is dispersed on canvas, metal or glass by means of little explosions. When he does large pyrotechnic installations, he often works with members of the local community to develop a display that is meaningful and connected to people and place. In this gallery show, he exhibits large paintings that fill the rooms with explosions of colour. Many of these works are abstract landscapaes or flowers and one -- my favourite -- is of pink bats hanging upside down. 

On Thursday I began attending to things I needed to do in preparation for my departure in two days. My day started with a bus ride over to Belsize Park, toting my yoga mat and bundle of freshly-laundered charity shop clothing, which I was returning for storage to my AirBnB hosts there. I'm planning to be back with them in the spring and they have been lovely about letting me stash these things on top of the wardrobe in "my" bedroom there. 

I decided to spend the day gallery hopping until I ran out of steam, so my next bus ride took me to the Ben Uri Gallery just off the northernmost end of Abbey Road, roughly where Kilburn meets St John's Wood. The gallery had been on my spreadsheet for years, but this was my first visit. This gallery specializes in works of immigrants to the UK, primarily from the late 19th century to the present, with an emphasis on Jewish and Eastern European artists. Although they hold a collection of over 1000 works, the current space is too small to put much of it on display, so they are in the process of seeking a new, larger, more centrally-located space. The tiny exhibition that I saw was Born in the USA: American Immigrant Artists' Contribution to British Visual Culture since 1900. 

Another bus got me down Abbey Road, past all the tourists outside Abbey Road Studios, to Lisson Grove. After mooching around in Alfie's Antique Market, a huge multi-vendor indoor market, I walked through the outdoor Church Street Market before getting a sandwich at Tesco and eating in a nearby garden. 

I then walked to the Lisson Gallery (actually two galleries, a block apart) to see their current exhibitions, Hugh Hayden: Hughmanity, which I enjoyed:

and Ding Yi: The Road to Heaven, which really didn't move me. 

After a very brief shower, the skies improved and so I walked on, zigzagging south and east, then down Marylebone Lane. I'd read about a gallery in a mews just off the lane, and again this was one I hadn't yet visited. The Brown Collection houses paintings by the artist Glenn Brown alongside pieces from his personal collection of works by other artists. This struck me as a vanity project and Brown's own paintings did nothing for me. Some of the drawings from his collection were lovely, however. But the best part is seeing the interior of the building. And they have a nice loo. 

Finally, I walked eastward to Mortimer Street to visit the newly-opened Ibrazz, a cultural center aiming to promote an exchange of art and ideas from the global majority. The building used to be a private members' club and has been refurbed beautifully, with a bookstore, caff, library, exhibition and function spaces. The caff was buzzing and every seat in the library was occupied -- I hope this bodes well for Ibrazz. The inaugural exhibition/installation was Parliament of Ghosts by the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama. 

I had a quick dinner back in Tufnell Park before heading out the door to catch yet another bus, this time to take me to Clerkenwell. I had a ticket to see a magic lantern show, put on by Carolyn and Jeremy Booker, at the London Archives. I'd never seen a magic lantern and, in order to maintain the mystery, I opted not to join the people huddled around the triunial (or triple) machine after the show in order to learn how it works. It was really good fun to watch the slides change and move, accompanied by silent film pianist Stephen Horne. Let the mystery be. 

Last day! On Friday, I met my friend Judy at Autograph, a gallery in Rivington Street, a small street that is full of street art and street art tours. 

This gallery features photography that explores issues of race, representation, human rights and social justice. We saw the exhibition I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies, collages --90 works by 13 contemporary artists,  including some using AI -- that look at erasure and political dissent. The collages were colourful, thought-provoking and lovely. 

We then scurried through torrential downpours to a nearby caff (a proper one, not overly yuppie) for lunch. I had been planning to spend an hour or so mooching around Shoreditch afterwards, but the rain kept pouring down. So I headed back to pack my stuff and tidy the flat. 

Saturday saw me up at stupid o'clock (4:15 am), out the door at 6:15, at Heathrow by 7:30 and on my way back across the pond. I walked in my own door in Florence, Massachusetts at 6:30 pm, utterly exhausted and chuffed with all I'd seen and done in Blighty. My London mates are the best!

Here's my round-up of the "Bests" of my October 2025 visit:

• Best guided tour or walk: Highgate Mausolea
• Best new museum or gallery: V&A Storehouse
• Best exhibitions: Lee Miller, Seeing Each Other, Kerry James Marshall
• Best house tour: Farleys House
• Best pint: Cator Park Fresh Hop (Southey Brewing Co.)
• Best live performance: Magic Lantern Show
• Most useful clothing item I packed: Patagonia Capeline base layer bottoms (thin, warm, silky, can wear under trousers or leggings). These from Lands End are good, too, and cheaper. 
• Most useful new gear: Modl Infinity Tool (I have the half-and-half pack in glow-in-the-dark glacier blue)

That's a wrap. I'll be back in spring 2026 for more adventures. Don't forget to subscribe (you have to click "View web version" below in order to see the "Subscribe" box) so that you get email notifications whenever I post new content!

... The Shipping Forecast is oddly comforting.

... I still haven't done the Parkland Walk.

Stats:

Monday:
£9 British Library (50% off with Art Pass)
£1 pastel de nata

£2.95 Forgotten Ends
£2.49 groceries
17,867 steps
7.35 miles

Tuesday:
£3.95 meal deal lunch (sandwich, drink, snack)
£3.67 groceries
£6.55 pint
22,398 steps
9.2 miles

Wednesday:
V&A free
White Cube Bermondsey free
12,849 steps
5.34 miles

Thursday:
£2.25 sandwich
£10 Magic lantern show
£4 wine at show
23,270 steps
9.55 miles

Friday:
£10 top up Oyster card
£10 top up mobile phone
12,858 steps
5.32 miles