Today, I explored the neighborhood on the other side of Regent's Canal today. There were nice parts and not so nice parts, and a few parks with lots of happy children playing. I ended up in Islington, on the High Street and on the Camden Passage. Then I walked down to the Angel tube station, cut across Pentonville Road, stopping at a charity shop (thrift shop) where I purchased two books, one of which doesn't even fit my parameters as one I can read here, because the author is from Brooklyn. The other is Pakistan born but lives in London, so that passes the criteria. I wasn't supposed to buy any books while I was here and that is all I have purchased in London (a total of four, to date). In Italy it was scarves and 2 Indian tablecloths for our outdoor table--I hope they fit.

I walked past the student residence hall on my way home.

For dinner Gord suggested that we try the Rotunda, which we can see from our balcony (across the Battlebridge Basin), on the ground floor of the Guardian building. Throughout the warm weather it has always been full of people enjoying the terrace overlooking the canal. Our landlords had said it can be very good but is inconsistent. We have said we should try it. Tonight was the night.

We found the entrance and discovered the building is actually called Kings Place (the Guardian newspaper just happens to have their offices there). What a place! In addition to the restaurant and a cafe, there are two world-class concert halls, two art galleries, and seven levels of office space, including the offices of the London Sinfonietta. We had no idea all of this was right here. The concert halls are on the lowest level, which means they are below the level of the canal. And they have quite a great selection of performances, including classical, jazz, folk, contemporary, and the spoken word. The London Guitar Festival is taking place now (Oct. 26-29) and classical guitarist David Russell is performing tomorrow. Unfortunately, we have other plans.

The dinner itself got mixed reviews. There was a problem at the beginning and I was pretty certain we wouldn't be returning in the future, but the manager handled it very professionally and I think, as a result, we might give it another go.

After dinner we walked down two levels below the ground floor to look at the artwork on the walls. It was an exhibition by an Indian (Gujarati) artist who has lived in London since 1978. Shanti Panchal: Ragas of the Dawn was very interesting. He says his influences are Indian miniature painting, Buddhist and Jain frescoes, as well as Mark Rothko and Francis Bacon. I could see the first two, although his paintings are anything but miniature, but I had difficulty seeing Rothko and Bacon's influences. He paints with watercolors, saturating handmade paper with deep reds, pinks, ochres. They really grew on me the more I looked at them, and I continued to think about them back at the flat. But there's no chance I will go back and buy one. They ranged in price from £1,250 to £45,000.

The Parting Boys

Mirror 1

The Child Bride

The Dialogue

Read: Thomas De Quincey's "Ann of Oxford Street" (1822) from London Stories