LONDON 2016

This was a very full day. It began with an underground trip to High Street Kensington. I had to change trains at Edgeware Road and, after waiting 20 minutes for the connecting train (very unusual), I was beginning to wish I had taken the bus! I had allowed what I thought was ample time to get to my pre-booked reservation time at 18 Stafford Terrace, but I got there with only a minute to spare.

This was the home of Edward Linley Sambourne, illustrator for Punch magazine, but, more importantly from my perspective, illustrator for The Water-Babies, a story I remember from my childhood. This home was unique in that it was not merely a re-creation of the house as it would have been during the time he lived there, it was preserved by his descendants and kept exactly as it was. We were a group of 13 people and it was quite crowded in most of the rooms. No photos were allowed, although I managed to take this one before our guide offered that information.

From there I went to the newly opened (five days ago) Design Museum. The building was beautiful and the permanent exhibit was very interesting (I did not opt for either of the two ticketed exhibitions this time). It basically took you through the why and the how of design, from the designer to the maker to the user. It began with a timeline wall highlighting important developments in design in many forms, from fashion to technology to architecture to areas as diverse as healthcare, transport, furniture. "It is the ability of designers to understand our needs both practical and emotional, that sets them apart from other creative professionals."

A lot of the exhibits had signs that read: "This interactive is currently out of order." I believe that they just didn't have everything up and running yet. There was a £35,000 3D printer that had been working earlier this week but was not functioning today.

To illustrate the importance of design they highlighted three companies that use design as the foundation of their business. "By placing design at the heart of product development - rather than just responding to market forces - such companies are able to forge a unique identity." I don't think anyone would be surprised that one of the three companies they used as an example was Apple.

As I was walking through the museum it occurred to me that nowhere did I see any mention of who was responsible for designing their new space. If design was so important to them, why didn't they give credit where credit was due? On one wall of one level there were a series of photographs of the building and I thought, finally I will get my answer. But it was all about the photographer who was commissioned to photograph the renovation process. I asked a couple of employees who could not provide much information other than the building was from the early 1960s, but clearly someone had been responsible for changing the interior. Someone finally mentioned John Pawson. In the museum shop there was a book about the history of the Design Museum and there was a chapter at the end providing information. But it should not have been this difficult to get this information. I hope it is because they are so new and haven't finished everything. In the space between the two doors, where they have the donors, they list this company who was also involved with the interior design.

From the museum, I walked back to the underground, stopping at a charity shop where I bought two books and where they were playing the entire Abba repertoire. I was worried that I would have that music on my brain for the rest of the day, but I think it was cancelled out by the Christmas music playing at my next stop, Marks and Spencer. I was looking for a new shower curtain but the bath department was diminished by the sprawling Christmas merchandise that is taking over every store these days. I'll have to try a larger Marks and Spencer or another store.

I went home for a bit before our next agenda item. I had signed us up for a very extravagant dinner in the clock tower of St. Pancras, as a final special meal before we head home in two weeks. It was a six-course meal prepared for twelve people (only eleven tonight), and it was fantastic. The chef, Martin Milesi, is from Buenos Aires, Argentina and he is trying to make his dream of one table, twelve people work in this pop-up format. He is a nice guy and I hope it works. We met some interesting people and had some good conversation, fulfilling part of his goal--Andrew and Helen, a couple who came in from Reading, Mick, a television producer, most notably of Midsomer Murders and Black Books and his girlfriend Sue, and Leo, friend of Chef Martin, who is a chef originally from Portugal. There were two couples across the table, but we didn't get a chance to talk much with them as they were friends and kept pretty much to themselves. Mick and Gord exchanged cards; Mick is working on a project that he may discuss with Gord as it relates to music in the 1960s.