Advertisement
Published: September 19th 2017
The RHS Van
... lots of plants were available for purchase...no I did not catch fleas. But early Sunday morning I treked via tube to the Flat Iron Square where every weekend a FleaMarket is set up. This weekend the Royal Horticultural Society also set up a display of workshops and plants. This happens regularly with various other community events all over the city. The RHS even has its own little legoed van.
...spoke to some very nice ladies, received a free gardening magazine and a little key chain thing consisting of two tiny green rubber boots.
While wandering around spoke to a man selling tiny bee/bug houses the size of a hard cover book with a smallish roof for 30GBP. Awoman from Amsterdam, who has a lab/business making and selling gardens in a bottle, was heard describing her craft. I have her card. I have a big bottle ... the bottom has broken out but since I was witness yesterday at the V&A as to how to mend ceramics I am ready to take on this beautifully huge bottle and set it up to be a garden. Once you put the cork in the top the "garden becomes self sufficient. This is my kind of plant collection....it take
The Shard as seen from The Tate Modern
On the tenth floor of the Tate Modern there is a total walk about outside, the view is spectacular and its FREE. care of itself!
"A Terrarium, Bottle Garden, or
Wardian Case are all essentially the same thing in that each contains and supports a miniature ecosystem of
plants. Historically they were used to transport
plants from their
native countries to other countries where ordinarily they would not be able to survive in the new conditions"... from wiki
The rest of the flea market was a collection of the usual suspects ... bags, clothes, soaps, some cups and teapots, and whatever else there was did not make an impression. One place sold old books and map prints.
From this position it was an easy walk to Tate Modern which has been set up in an old industrial site ....
"Tate Modern is housed in the former Bankside Power Station, which was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of Battersea Power Station" .... from wiki. On the tenth floor of this magnificent adaptation of an industrial brick and mortar edifice ones walks around the open air toatl surround at all times being able to look into very expensive looking apartments or condos. Contemporary Art not being my favourite I remember little. I did recognize David Hockney in a
Bengaluru Artist ...
For Behold 2009 Sheela Gowda was inspired by the humble talismans of human hair that are knotted around car bumpers to ward off bad luck. The hair comes from local temples, where it is cut off as a sacrificial offering when pilgrims fulfil sacred vows. In today’s consumer driven world, the longer lengths are sold to make wigs or supply keratin for beauty products, while the shorter sections are kept to make protective talismans, such as those used by motorists. Peter Blake and loved the L.S.Lowry that was found. OK....enough name dropping! The Ai Wei Wei film of him in his Beijing Studio and his visit into the Coachangdi neighbourhood was a pleasant surprise. The sculpture by Sheela Gowan was breathtaking especially when one thinks of the human hair that has been made into four kilometers of rope. Having walked across the millenium bridge right to the steps of St. Paul's, a quick turn to the left leads to the tube needed to get to Tate Britain.
At Tate Britain an entry fee had to be paid to view the exhibit Queer British Art.
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/queer-british-art-1861-1967.
No pics were allowed but a wonderfully long list of people and events has been made in the hope of googling to find, a) the pics or b) read up and become more aware. The Tates are so well thought of ...so visited... so stocked with treasures that it is a must to do a visit. Becuase both are big it is almost impossible to do justice to each on in one day. On a short visit one does ones best.
Am now sad to realize that Awakening Conscience is at
A Desert Town?
...no... a sculpture made totally from couscous the Tate Britain. Read about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Awakening_Conscience ...truly interesting.
As per usual time evaporated and it was time to return to Wilson House. Getting back to the residence always takes at least 3/4 of an hour. Once out of the tube food has to be found, heated, eaten and suddenly 21.15 appears on the clock face and the shower and hand washing have not even been begun.
For this evening's meal a Halal East-Asian meal was bought and thoroughly enjoyed... all that spinich....alll that lamb....alll that saffron rice ... alll that hot spice....yummyummyumm ....sorry forgot to take a pic ...am planning to eat there again, especially on my last day in London .... which will be laundry night.... cannot believe I have worn the same pants six times OMG ... still, do not smell like some of the people encountered in the tube. The undies are always fresh ... and what did I read when at V&A ... a woman's cotton chemise was an undergarment that was the only part of the wardrobe that was washed regularly and more often.
Squeeky clean now and off to sleep.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.073s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 8; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0419s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
michelle
non-member comment
BIRTHDAY GIRL
Hope you arrange a special visit and treat yourself to a great meal! HAPPY BDAY! Lots of love! Wonderdul that you had a "grTate" day!