The Gallery and the Museum

Yesterday, 2 September, we took ourselves off to the National Gallery to see some works that we’ve not looked at before. They ended up all being Italian masters of the 16th century with a bit of Constable and the odd Turner thrown in. I’m not going to write a commentary on each, just to say that the Gallery has an extensive collection of these 16th and 17th century works that is simply amazing. I saw another Ecce Homo and have included the pic here.

In the evening, we met up with friend James Moloney in Farringdon for dinner. James has just been in Paris and is spending a short time in London before he goes off to Brighton for a rest. All these major cities take it out of you when you’re seeing something each day, as the three of us could attest. Anyway, it was lovely to chat with James about his travels and life back home in Australia.

Today, 3 September, we took ourselves off to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V&A is vast, and there is no way Chris and I could last to see the whole thing, so we chose carefully a number of exhibits that we wanted to see and stuck with them. The building itself is impressive. It was always supposed to be. And it has an incredible collection. There were lots of people of course, but there was no crowd crush, and the plaques beside each exhibit were easy to see and read. The shop had lots of rather feminine accoutrements, scarves and jewellery, but not a lot that arrested either of us, so we didn’t end up buying anything at all, which is rare for us and a gift shop.

A rest this afternoon, and then dinner at an Italian place down the road. Chris continues to slowly get better, but when his energy is ultimately used up, he is ready to stop. So, we do.Read more