Culture Break

Last weekend we went back to the UK to see old 'Aunty' Betty who is 91 and has some heart problems.  The journey didn't start too well as, on the way to the airport, we clipped a deer which ran across the road in front of us ....damage to the front 'bumper' (estimate some 600+ euros!).  We were able to continue and so we braved Stansted Airport and the M25 to go and see her.  She was very pleased to see us but the trip made us realise that we've grown comfortable in our home here in rural France and we struggle a little with the constant traffic.  However it does us good to broaden our horizons and we enjoy the opportunity to experience the buzz of a big city.

So we went up to the City on Saturday and went to a few exhibitions.

We started in a small gallery to see the works of Kurt Jackson, who is considered to be one of Britain's leading contemporary landscape painters.  He is a bit of a renaissance man; a painter, a poet, and very concerned with the environment and the natural world.
We then popped around the corner to the Royal Academy for an exhibition of Anselm Kiefer, a German painter who works on a monumental scale, but very dark!  His work deals with History, the futility of the human race, alchemy and the German psyche.
We revived our spirits with an Italian meal before braving the National Portrait gallery to see the exhibition by Grayson Perry tied in with the series he did on the tele, exploring the construct of identity.  I have to admit that I was a little underwhelmed by his pieces, and if we hadn't seen the tv programs, they would not have meant much.  However, the gallery seemed packed with people wanting to find and see his pieces.  It all left us wondering how many of them would have gone to the gallery if his work had not been on show there .... the workings of the cult of celebrity?  But, if they were there as a result of him, at least he got them through the doors!

Our return journey home proved to be astonishingly easy.  Not knowing how much time to allow on the M25, we met almost no traffic and hence arrived at the airport early, no problems going through Security (in fact they were all very helpful) and we enjoyed an excellent coffee and croissant in an airport-side Wetherspoons which employed cheerful, helpful and efficient staff.

But now it is back to the grindstone.