20-JUN-2013
If you are interested in flowers and in London , one really good place to visit on a Sunday Morning is the Columbia Road flower market out in the East End. Old Street and Hoxton are the nearest tube stations.
Good value for money , plenty choice but you have to carry home what you buy so don't "over do it"
This was one of the vendors in Borough Market.
20-JUN-2013
After the market we jumped on the DLR with a view to having a look around the Olympic Park...lack of research here as it is closed to the Public whilst it is being regenerated
Part of it is due to open in July on the anniversary of the games...oh well a meander thru Westfield was the back stop!
20-JUN-2013
As a railway fan it was good to be able to sit "in the cab" of the DLR trains.
......in this case the back
Out by Stratford the DLR runs alongside the "heavy rail" lines and you get a good view of the passing trains as they overtake...in this case a Greater Anglia Class 315 I think....little things please little minds and mine's small!
Lunch option....over priced food in Westfield or Pie and Mash
No contest Pie and Mash with Parsley liquor in Maureen's world renowned Pie and Mash outlet.
DLR to All Saints station, cross the road, walk thru the Chrisp Street Market to find Maureen's establishment.
Pie and Mash twice was 1/15th the price of lunch in Paris...bargain! One pleased grumpy Yorkie!
Lovely friendly place.....a firm recommendation
20-JUN-2013
After lunch back into the City and a visit to Aspley house on Hyde Park Corner.
Once the home of the Duke of Wellington it houses many paintings , china abnd other memorabilia relating to the Great Duke...including his Wellington Boots.
The Duke of Wellington regiment has strong associations with Halifax my birthplace from Wellesley barracks to the now defunct "Dukes" speedway team. Long since demised but the days of Tommy Roper, Eric Boothroyd, Eric Boocock and Dave Younghusband bring back memories of my youth sheltering behind the clip board from the shale and sniffing the dope in the fuel.....happy days.
20-JUN-2013
A walk in the park thru the formal borders
It showed that the southern climate is more condusive to early flowering than that of the upland north where little is in flower yet.
More like April than June up at 650 ft above sea level in Yorkshire.
Roses and other herbaceous plants in full bloom, if not beyond their best.
Lots of dead heading needed by the local residents.....Liz and Phil busy?
Finished the day with a ride out to Morden
...a place often visited on work trips but never made it to the National Trust's property, Morden Hall Park
An old deer park right in the middle of suburbia....an oasis of peace and quiet apart from the squawking of the green parrots in the trees.
20-JUN-2013
The Marigold Pub.....
Not quite the nearest to our apartment but it felt like our local.
Friendly staff and clients. Quiet apart from when the racing is on the box and the final furlong looms.
Doom Bar Bitter on draught from Cornwall was excellent. 2 pints finished off the day nicely.
Named after a sand bar off the Atlantic coast of Cornwall apparently.
Again I recommend if in the area. 244 Bermondsey Street....seems some call it The Hand and Marigold ...for those that do dishes and want soft hands?
21-JUN-2013
The morning started Ok with a trip round the Bermondsey Square Antiques market.
A little disappointing in both scale and content , and it was cold!
Nothing to our fancy but at least there were some paintings of artistic merit on display!
The last full day continued with a trip to the Tate Modern.
I need to be fresh when I write this bit up so it will have to wait till tomorrow but just to give you a steer.....I have never, in my very humble opinion, seen so much total and utter dross as what was displayed as art in this place.
For something to be worthy of admiration it requires a certain skill input.....so how does an 8 foot square (approx.) plain grey canvas, with nothing that any painter or DIY fanatic bwith a tin of paint and a roller couldn't do, consider itself ART. Follow the link for a view.
It makes a good 18% grey card for photographers.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/richter-grey-l01682
I don't buy the "returning to plain roots from a colourful period" as even coming close to justifying this pretentious waste of space...I would rather look at the white painted walls
The Emperor's new clothes..................
Its been on loan for over 21 years so its not particularly loved by its real owners!
21-JUN-2013
A nice wide view to give to you the full effect of the "skill set" used in producing ART
1. A piece of cloth arranged round a plastic cylinder....I have seen my bed look more artistic before its made in a morning
2. Some sheets of felt that has been cut and allowed to fall into a random arrangement takes skill beyond my comprehension.
3 An arrangement of stones tied together and supported off concrete blocks....can be seen on any building site... but they use wooden scaffold planks. Multi-media I think its called :-)
4. Some wood that would appear the have been cut by a machine.....B&Q offer this service for free on the purchase of wood at their stores.
Unbelievable that there are people there discussing the merits of the felt arrangement!
21-JUN-2013
If I saw this on a pre-school classroom wall I would take the youngster to one side and give them some guidance on how to prevent runs and drips when painting.
Works, I used the term with caution, give Graffiti a good name.
In my very humble philistine opinion, this has only one place in life....a skip.
