I saw a werewolf

with a Chinese menu in his hand
walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
he was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook
to get a big dish of beef chow mein

ah-OOOOO!
werewolves of London
ah-OOOOO!

.

.
It's just possible that that werewolf did as I did on Friday last, visiting the

to see

for

before going to

for

If he has any style at all, that is ;)

Winter Activities

Despite some very cold weather, I've been out and about quite a lot this winter... a few selected highlights, in no particular order or anyfing:

.

Mary Stuart at the Apollo in Shaftesbury Avenue (Piccadilly)

This Schiller play was getting rave reviews, so when Rachel phoned and asked if I wanted to go, of course I said yes... we booked for that same evening, and were truly up in the gods - we had to go up about five flights of stairs, and were in seats with such a steep gradient down to the stage that if we sat back in them we could see nothing at all... in the end I spent most of the evening sitting on the edge of my folded up seat, and leaning on the gallery railing in front, to see the action from above... a very powerful play, and well worth it.

.

.

Piaggi at the Tate and a Wander Up Through Knightsbridge to Harrods

.

One sullen Wednesday afternoon I met up with Anita, Eddie and Renata, who was visiting from Australia, at the V&A. We went to the members' advanced showing for the Anna Piaggi exhibition, then spent time in the caf (where that photo of me in a previous post was taken) and then walked up the Cromwell Road, through Knightsbridge and past Harrods... Renata had never been to Harrods before so we just had to show her its excesses.

.

That's Renata and I over on the left! anyone notice?

.

Sleeping Beauty at the Coliseum (Charing Cross)

I caught up with some friends in early January, and they invited me out to lunch and the ballet after; I had SUCH a lovely day. The ballet is a real Christmas favourite, but not seen as often as Nutcracker, so it was particularly special to see it.

.

.

.

A Walk Around London

During the most recent half-term I had a lovely day out with Anita and Eddie, and some friends of theirs who were visiting from Australia - Rachel and Lily. We met at the Tate, and spent about an hour seeing some of the best of the collection - this has long been one of my favourites:

.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent

.

We then walked up along the river, past Westminster and up to Trafalgar Square,

stopping for lunch in the crypt in St Martin's-in-the-Fields,

.

and then walking down through St James' Park, past Buckingham Palace and into Green Park for a perfect winter sunset. After making our way back up past Green Park tube station and the Ritz Hotel, we met up with Sharon in Fortnum and Mason, then the others left to walk back to Baker Street and Sharon and I went on for dinner in the Japan Centre. Sushi - nothing like it in this world...

.

.

Seven Seconds of Love at the Oxford Street Metro

.

Liz, who lives around the corner and with whom I went to work most mornings last year, invited me to this fantastic gig... her two boys started the band and she often goes to see them play. The Metro could probably be classified as a smoky dive, located under Oxford Street near the Tottenham Court Road, and there were a few bands on the line-up... none as good as these guys though. They're hilarious and absurd and SO much fun; I guess they could be described as punk meets ska meets Edward Lear.

.

.

.

Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris (Tate Modern)

I'm a member of the Tate now, so ended up going to this exhibition twice - I didn't know much about Rousseau before, but liked it a lot. Great use of colours and shapes, and a fascinating and slightly dreamlike take on jungles, and a contrasting very prosaic view of urban Paris. Sharon came with me once, and the other time I went alone - wandered about the white boxes that time too.

.

.

Portobello Road and Notting Hill

One Sunday Sharon and I met at Notting Hill Gate tube station, and spent a lovely day wandering down the Portobello Road... we chose one thing in every shop we went into, though we didn't spend any money, and ended up at a great place right down the end, drinking cocktails and eating lamb kebabs... we made it back up to the other end in time to go and see Brokeback Mountain in the Coronet; a great film in a wonderful space.

.

China: The Three Emperors (Royal Academy of Arts)

I'm a member at the RA (I'm a member EVERYWHERE, man ;)), so this was another exhibition I went to more than once... three times in total, as it happens; once alone, once with Anita and Eddie (who LOVED the big quiet echoey spaces to shout in :D) and once with Sharon, before our sushi dinner... this is an absolutely incredible exhibition; paintings and artefacts and all sorts of amazing items. My favourites were a series of massive paintings on silk, six from a set of twelve, depicting the Emperor enjoying himself throughout the lunar year. The level of detail was extraordinary, and I could have spent an hour in front of each one and still found more to look at and enjoy.

.

Tower of St Augustine Refurbishment (Hackney)

This was something I just got lucky with... I was walking through Hackney churchyard, on another errand entirely, and saw that the hoardings, which had been around the base of the tower for a few weeks, were open. I've wondered ever since I came to live here what's inside the tower, and it's not open to the public, so I wasn't going to lose such an opportunity, and I wandered over to have a sticky-nose. There were three workmen in there, doing some paving at the entrance, and they seemed quite happy to stop work for a little while and have a chat... it ended up with me being allowed inside, to see the nameless crypt, the clock workings, the rope that spiralled dizzily up into the tower, serving as a handrail for those fortunate enough to be climbing up there, and hearing tales about digging and bones and other discoveries... it was SO interesting, and I was so glad I'd gone across to have a look.

.

Borough Market

Sharon and I went through Borough Market on the same day we went to see Rousseau... it was a freezing sunny day just before Christmas, and we had a wonderful time looking at all the Christmas fare; pheasants and rabbits hanging, mustards, pates and sauces, seafood, jams and chocolates and everything else you can think of... it was bustling, of course, but we found a place called S&M (Sausages & Mash), and had exactly that (superior versions, of course; venison and wild boar and similar). And it was outstanding.

.

Tom Hunter: Living in Hell and Other Stories (National Gallery)

Something else I did with Sharon! And fairly recently... we met outside the National Gallery a couple of Sundays ago, and went in just to spend an hour so... and we stumbled upon this exhibition. Tom Hunter is a Hackney artist and photographer, and this is his first exhibition at the National Gallery, as far as I know. He uses the composition of classical paintings as inspiration for many of his photographs, which are in turn inspired by the often-lurid headlines of the Hackney Gazette.

Left: Woman Reading a Possession Order, by Tom Hunter

Right: Girl Reading a Letter By an Open Window, by Vermeer

Top: The Way Home, by Tom Hunter

Bottom: Ophelia, by John Everett Millais

Please note: very few of these photos were actually taken by me :(

Sorry :(

Thank you, however, to Anita, who always sends on the lovely photos she takes when we're out together :D xx

Christmas at the Shepherd's House

Yeah, I know; it's been a while... been busy... but the natives are restless, so here's some bloggage to tide you over ;) More soon...

Christmas Eve saw us adding to the congestion on Britain's motorways and whizzing Cambridgewards in the dusky evening, car packed to the gills... not QUITE as impressive a sight as last year, as we were sans wheelbarrow, and we didn't get to stop at the King's College porter's lodge and ask for a budgie, but some things should only be done once...

Anyway, despite some hellish fog just as we reached the turnoff to the Wilbrahams (Great and Little) which forced us to slow to a crawl, we made it ok, and were soon crunching over the frosty gravel outside the Shepherd's House and being regaled with food and drink.

Before I go any further, let's take a smalle toure of the Shepherd's House, shall we? it's well worth it...

The Shepherd's House is actually The Shepherd's Houses, as it used to be two cottages which backed onto one another. The two have been knocked together for some time, however; things made extraneous (like the second staircase) were removed, and things which would be jolly handy (like a bathroom or two) were added... there is still some evidence of the original state of things, however, like the two enormous fireplaces back to back in the middle of the house (see if you can spot the one with the Baron's Nook, Andy ;)). Juliet's parents have been gradually restoring things to as close to the orginal state as possible, whilst keeping comfort and beauty a priority, and the result is a fabulous old place spread over three floors, with many bedrooms, loads of space, lots of comfortable nooks in which to curl up with a book, an amazing kitchen, and a gorgeous garden...

After feasting and laughing and talking for some hours, Juliet, Jenny and I decided to attend Midnight Mass at the church in Great Wilbraham, so we piled into the car and drove the couple of miles, parking in a little churchyard amongst trees, SO atmospheric in the freezing misty moonlight that it would bring you out in goosebumps, were you fortunate enough to see it. Everything seemed a little too quiet as we approached the heavy door, and we asked Jenny in whispers if she was SURE it started at midnight? as it was one minute to... Juliet had to wrestle with the massive doorknob and it made a clanging sound inside as someone came to our assistance, and we entered the church... to find the congregation, who had been there since the service began, at 11.30pm, staring at us... we scampered over to where there were some empty places and tried to stifle our giggles as we sat and listened. Unfortunately, even though the ancient church, with its massive pillars and lofty ceiling and medieval statues, was well able to inspire us with awe, the (woman) priest was having trouble with her microphone, so that things would proceed normally for a time, and then some interference would start in the speakers, and her voice would turn robotic and metallic for a phrase or two, and soon the stifled giggles started all over again...

Thankfully, none of the above detracted from the real reason for being there - to think a little about what Christmas is really about, and to SING! The three of us together made about as much (harmonic) noise as the rest of the place put together, and that's saying something, as it was rather full. But there was something very right and correct about standing in a medieval English village church at half past midnight on Christmas Day, singing 'Yea, Lord, we greet thee; born this happy morning' with our breath steaming in the coldness and the old organ carrying the tune...

The next morning started late, as there were no children to consider, and we gathered in the old kitchen as people woke. After a leisurely breakfast, the pink champagne was poured, and the gift-giving began...

And of course, after that, the only thing to do was sit down to a proper English Christmas dinner, with turkey and ham, baked vegetables, pigs-in-blankets, gravy and cranberry sauce in a plenty, wine, and of course a brandy-flaming pudding topped with a sprig of holly, and the choice (or not ;)) of custard, cream or brandy butter.

And after THAT, just as of course, the only thing to do was to find somewhere to sleep it all off...