Animals, Nice Fish and Angels - 19 November 2016

"The very earliest cave paintings reveal that humans have cohabitated with animals for millennia. Yet the relationship is fraught and contradictory: we simultaneously mythologize, venerate, sacrifice, and exploit those who are not of our species. This paradox suggests that our connection with animals might be more complicated, and far richer, than commonly thought, and that the distinction between human and animal is not at all clear-cut."

 

The opening paragraph of the press release to the wonderful Animality exhibition at the Marian Goodman Gallery and this picture seems quite appropriate. 

My life here is lived without animals at present and it is seriously lacking for that reality.

 

 This exhibition was wonderfully curated in this light airy space with room to stop and contemplate. 

 

And be amused - by a ring of cats ..

And an interview with a cat by Marcel Broodthaers. Apparently it didn't go that well. As you would expect.

Back out and a meander through colourful, cheerful, busy Carnaby Street,

This random shot really caught the spirit of the street and how are those cheekbones!

This mural is called The Spirit of Soho and is dedicated to the people of Soho. It shows St Anne presiding over local dignitaries. Her skirt depicts the map of Soho with other London landmarks. It's quite recent - 1991 and restored in 2006.  I didn't know this but as the clock strikes the hour the actress winks at Casanova, Casanova responds by blowing kisses back to the acress and Karl Marx sips Coca Cola!  I'll have to go back to see that.

Then the main reason for the day out - A theatre production of Nice Fish with Mark Rylance at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

 

This is a very strange play - but hilariously funny. Not very long, it revolves around a pair of ice fishermen in Minnesota and a few other strange characters. It's charming.  Even sitting up in the gods, it was charming.

That's how close I was to the ceiling and there are the gods.

The days are so short now that after a matinée you come out to total darkness and there were angels everywhere! Just beautiful.

London was heaving as usual on a Saturday night and the new night service doesn't extend to the Bakerloo line yet, so I hopped the tube and headed on home. A good day out.

Autumn walk Maidenhead / Cookham 13 November 2016

On a gorgeous autumn day I joined the Ramblers for a walk from Maidenhead up through Widbrook Common and Cliveden Reach to Cookham. 

This a lovely part of the world and the weather played along with full, though not particularly warm, sunshine.   The footpaths in the countryside are a  legacy in which the Ramblers Association played a major part and to whom I mentally say thanks every time I walk out. Even now one of their roles is the protection and preservation of pathways throughout the United Kingdom.  This small island is so crowded with people but you can still manage to get out in to great open spaces because of this network.

Widbrook Common, cows, the Thames (hidden in the trees) and historic Cliveden on the opposite bank.

Slanting light and the contrails of ubiquitous airplanes.

 
It had rained for a couple of days beforehand so there was mud. The mud in England is a bit like the South Easter in Cape Town. I know, how is that possible?  You forget... the part of the brain that endures the discomfort forgets! And then, it's back and you're thinking "how is it even possible to forget the awfulness of this?" By the time you get home, your boots weigh more than twice what they started out as.  And the cleaning of them!  The best you can hope for is a couple of puddles before the end of the walk and a good swish around. You don't even want to think about slipping and falling!  Too awful to contemplate.  Remember, there are cows in this field.

So, step carefully, but take the time to see the beauty.

Then into the pretty little village of Cookham and time for a banana (or preferably chocolate) break at the War Memorial.

We didn't actually walk through the village so I'll save that for another post, but headed back to the path alongside the Thames and down to Maidenhead. Not so much mud here, but watch out for the leaves, after rain they can be slippery.

Opposite is Cliveden Reach which is National Trust and where you can hire boats to hang out on the river.

I don't know if this island does have a name but it should probably be called Duck Island.

The wooden statue of Richard Dimbleby outside his house catches you unawares - he's quite creepy actually.  I wonder what he would think of it?

Then we were done.

Windsor Great Park 6 November 2016

The days are so short in the UK now that during the week it's hard to believe there is a world out there, so on weekends it's absolutely necessary to get outside. Today started off quite sunny and quite chilly - no frost yet, but you still need warm gear.  I wanted to see some autumn colour so I thought I'd head out to Windsor Great Park.  Parking at the Cranbourne Gate I walked into the park. On a slight rise you look down to Windsor Castle dominating the landscape.

Bonfires gently smoking brought such a strong sense of the season. That and the slanting light are so evocative.

There are quite a few people around but nothing like the hurly-burly of summer. Plenty of space to breathe.

 
Horses, of course, and you may even see the Queen.

But not today  ..

Just a younger version at the end of Queen Anne's Ride on the Jubilee Statue.

The Park is an interesting place in that as well as a major tourist attraction, it is a working estate with a farm and a small village. People, besides the royal family, live and work here. There is no entrance fee to the park, except for the Savill Garden, though from 1 December to 28 February, even that is waived.

I had intended to walk to Virginia Water but found that was a bit ambitious. It's a couple of hours walk, probably around 7 miles - one way!

I'd seen the leaves and the weather was closing in so I admitted defeat  and headed back to the village.

Passing the Copper Horse in the distance.

I stopped for coffee at the Post Office and Village Shop but there were no cream scones on offer at this time of the year, I had to make do with shortbread - good enough though.

The birds had to make do with a few apples left in a tree rapidly divesting itself of leaves and fruit.
Do squirrels eat apples I wonder?

The coffee hit the spot but it took a swift walk back to the car before the rains came down. Just made it!