Valley Gardens 21 May 2017

Life is getting away from me at the moment.

At the end of July I will be moving down to Sussex. A big move involving changing job and home. I have been in Burnham for almost 2 years now.  The excitement of living in England has settled down to be my new normal and though I've met some really lovely people, I miss my family. So, what I'm getting at, it's been regular trips down to Sussex to set things up, fulltime work, trying to learn Italian - that's been going on a while, and just regular life have been filling up the time which means that the blog is the part of life that gets neglected.  It does require a commitment of time and sometimes there just isn't the energy. It is one of my favourite things to do though, so I'm not giving it up. I may just be a bit delayed in posting. Thanks for sticking with me.

So, back in May with Spring in full bloom it was back to the Windsor Great Park and the Valley Gardens. Part of the Crown Estates, they are 220 acres of botanical gardens and apparently have the largest planting of Rhododendrons - 50 acres - in the world. In 2006 there was a proposal to fence the Garden and charge entrance fees. There was outrage! King George V had granted free access to the public in 1930 - if you think back - this was between the great wars and a time of great austerity. Free entrance was a valuable gift to the man in the street. There was local, national and international protest and a petition to the Queen, whereupon the Crown Estate backed down and deferred the plans. Which probably means that sometime in the future, this will happen, but for the time being, it's still free.  For which I'm grateful.

Past the Obelisk

These dogs were having the best time.

Many routes, pick one ..

Past one of the more unusual features of the park, the Totem Pole

I had brought a book along with me, as you do, and parked off on this bench for a while.

Contemplating life for a while, it occurred to me that the rings on this bench represent an annual growing season for the tree it is made of - many, many years ..

Now for the Rhododendrons. They have such a short season, but they are spectacular. And the fragrance here was quite lovely.

 

 

 

Rhododendron Sappho - I'd never seen these before. Aren't they gorgeous?

These look like green bear claws.

  

Pheasants, you see them all over the place but they don't stay still long enough to get a decent shot .

The same goes for bees. There were lots on this bush, but elusive.

The Magic Far Away tree! Just as I'd always imagined

This is quite a strange one, I'm not sure what it is, but the flower seems to come first and then the leaves through the centre of the flower!

Red carpet.

Just as you're thinking - how far to the nearest tea room - voila! Perfect spot.

Acers, with their beautiful red foliage.

Rejuvenated - able to cope with the next week - time to head home.

Anti-Zuma march - 8 April 2017 - London version

I just noticed the date on this post - more than 2 months ago!  I really need to catch up as there will be quite a lot happening later in the year.

This whole saga with Jacob Zuma just seems to go on and on.  Quite recently I read a newspaper article by Melanie Verwoerd http://www.news24.com/Columnists/MelanieVerwoerd/could-zuma-be-planning-an-ambush-20170531 - which engages the psychology behind the man - really interesting if you're interested. He manages to hold on to power despite onslaught from all directions.

In April there was a call for South Africans in the UK to protest outside South Africa House. We heeded the call. On a lovely sunny spring day I headed into London and met up with Dayne and Tessa.

South Africa House, on the east side of Trafalgar Square, is accustomed to protest. For four years in the late 1980's there was a continous protest outside the embassy - 1408 days - calling for the downfall of apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela. In this spirit, Saffas came out to protest what is happening in their beloved land. The bokkie has seen it all.

 As has Nelson ...

 

There was a good turnout of around a couple of hundred people. You could be forgiven for thinking it was a social meetup of expats - which it was - but everyone was there for the same reason - to register their frustration at Jacob Zuma's continued abuse of South Africa. We may all live on the other side of the world, but at heart, are all still South African. Lots of laughter and singing and some very funny signs with a serious message.

It was so good to spend time with family and members of a wider family.

Tate Britain 2 April 2017

Kate & Kean left at the end of March and we all got back to our daily lives. It was a good holiday. Just as I was getting used to being around people outside of work, I was left to my own devices. What to do?

London is always a fallback position for me - there is such a lot going on all the time, just pick something. I love it - exhausting, but also exhilarating.

Tate Modern - actually it was supposed to be Tate Britain but I wasn't really paying attention so I ended up at the Tate Modern first, before realising that the Hockney exhibition was on the other side of the river (and a fair distance away), but, no worries - how British is that statement?

Lunchtime view

Then a quick look around. There is a lot to see in the new building. I'll have to come back.

And the stark reminder that I was in the wrong place! The tickets are timed so it was a matter of calculating how long I had, how long it was going to take to get there and then fitting in as much as I could in the time left over.

This exhibition looked of particular interest but I only had time for a quick look-see.

I'm still not sure what was going on outside with all the smoke and water vapour, could be fun on a hot day.

Then hop on and off 2 buses, a short walk and Bob's your uncle!

Of course, no photographs, but it was an excellent exhibition. Ann & I had been to see the Hockney Portraits exhibition at the Royal Academy last year which was great, but there was a lot more of his work on view here.  I'm a big fan.

This is definitely one of the huge positives of living here, the privilege of seeing original art.  Even if you aren't the hugest fan, just the fact that you can see and experience the work enhances your own view of the world.

 

Now, isn't this fabulous? To me it's reminiscent of making shapes with sparklers. Quite magical - this light installation is by Cerith Wyn Evans and consists of 2km of neon lighting suspended from the ceiling. 

Good cake ...

This is my first time here at Tate Britain so the building was of as much interest as the artworks.

It has a lovely open, spacious feel about it, quite different from the Tate Modern which is quite brutally industrial.

Tate Britain has the largest collection of works by Turner. They are so full of light, quite different from a lot of the old masters. 

I felt like I'd walked all over London and my feet were hurting so I just glimpsed into galleries and made my way out into the sunshine.

This part of London is new to me and there is quite a lot of interesting street art.

I was very happy to find the bus direct to Paddington, but there's lots more to explore here. I'll be back!