We went to Waitrose three days in a row--Friday we did a major food shopping, Saturday we had to exchange the Brita filters for the correct size and replace the red wine vinegar that had a mishap on the kitchen floor moments after getting it home on Friday. Sunday we had to buy some cooking spray because the one in our pantry had gone rancid. I took advantage of their free tea or coffee with my Waitrose membership card, and we also got our free paper (we chose The Times on Saturday and The Observer on Sunday). Now if I only had the time to finish reading them....
At Granary Square there was a classic car show on all weekend. Unfortunately there was a period of heavy rain on Saturday when we walked past, so attendance was low, but Sunday was much nicer and crowded. We didn't look around too much, but there were a lot of interesting cars and I'm sure an enthusiast would have loved it.
Sunday morning we met our Manchester friends Jo and Mark for brunch at the Riding House Cafe, and had a nice, but short visit. They were off to the Barbican Conservatory and we were off to get cooking spray and then prepare dinner for my niece Brea and Marty. I'll try to get to the Conservatory another time. For dinner, I tried to recreate an Italian meal similar to those Molly and I had on our recent trip. We offered a choice of an Aperol spritz or beer to go along with the antipasti that included anchovies with salsa verde, prosciutto, salame, olives, hazelnuts, and grissini. Then we had tortellini en brodo, followed by rosemary chicken and potatoes, and then my first attempt at panna cotta (and it had the quiver like those in Italy!). It was good to see Brea and Marty and to reciprocate after the lovely dinner they made for us way back in August.
Today, Gord and I left early to top up our SIM cards after which he went off to school and I walked to the Harold Pinter Theatre to get tickets to see Mark Rylance in Nice Fish. We tried to see it at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn last winter, but it was sold out by the time I made the attempt. That nearly happened today--the first date that had two seats together was the night before we leave.
I then walked over to the National Gallery, stopping at the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square to see the newly installed David Shrigley sculpture, "Really Good", the bronze 7-metre-high hand giving the thumbs up sign.
The Fourth Plinth was supposed to have a statue of William IV on horseback when it was built in 1841, but lack of funds prevented it. But for the last dozen or more years, the Mayor of London has commissioned various artworks for the plinth. Shrigley's is the latest. My photo doesn't do it justice, but I did like the Canadian flag flying behind it from Canada House, home of the High Commission of Canada.
At the National Gallery I inquired about the free tours that I remember from my last visit in 2007. I had 40 minutes to browse several galleries before the tour. This photo by Frans Hals reminded me that I haven't been back to the Wallace Collection to see his Laughing Cavalier. I must get there soon.
I also decided I needed to find out more about Judith Leyster who painted A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel, in about 1635. She is one of the few women painters of the Dutch Golden Age who studied with Frans Hals.
She was married to Jan Miense Molenaer, who painted Two Boys and a Girl making Music.
And this painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder, A Sea Storm, struck me as very different from his other paintings.
The docent was great, as all of them were in 2007. They must have a wonderful docent training program. She had a talent for talking about an artist and their background, providing little anecdotes that were a nice touch. I even got a better appreciation for J.M.W. Turner from her description of his painting The Fighting Temeraire. I learned about another female painter, Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, who painted this self-portrait in 1782.
Tonight we went to a Secret Theatre Project event to which I had purchased tickets a while ago. The price included dinner and a theatre ticket at a location undisclosed until after you bought the ticket. So at 5:15 we headed off to Bethnal Green to the Town Hall Hotel & Apartments, an architectural gem. We started off in their little restaurant, the Corner Room, and had a lovely meal.
Then at 7:45 we were all led into the Council Chamber, a room that was like a court of law. We, the audience, acted as the jurors in a murder trial that was pretending to be broadcast as a television show (with a host and a camerawoman). The judge laid out the ground rules, the prosecuting and defense lawyers gave their opening statements, and then we were all escorted down to the de Montfort Suite of the hotel where we watched two reenactments of the crime, one for the prosecution and one for the defense.
We went back to the Council Chamber to hear witness testimony, three for each side. After a break where we could go back to the crime scene to investigate, we reconvened to present any evidence discovered in our investigation and to discuss the findings. It was an interesting process as it literally became part of the play. Of course, some audience members monopolized the discussion, and one actor had to keep bringing us back on track. (It made me realize how unpleasant it would be to be a juror. There would always be that one annoying person who tries to wear you down to see their opinion.) In the end we had to vote on the defendant's innocence or guilt. I voted innocent and Gord voted guilty. Luckily a simple majority would seal the fate. In the end, at least at this performance, he was found innocent. It was an interesting way to spend the evening, most of the acting was pretty good, I thought. There were flaws with the script and it certainly wasn't a West End production, but on the whole it was enjoyable.
Observation: Why do judges and lawyers still wear wigs in the courtroom in the UK? It's such an odd thing to carry forward from the 17th century. It's not even like they fit their heads well, they're just slapped on and look rather sloppy, with no attempt made to hide their real hair. Very odd.
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