Peake-o-matic

 

I started playing with my camera on the coach home to see what I could do with the 'firework display' setting and the city lights. They are a bit gimmicky, but some of these photos seem to work quite well. 

There were several stencilled signs like this on the walls of the Tate Modern. I don't know whose words they are. I doubt that they have a career in politics, though. 

Yesterday I went to London. It's not that far, really, but I am reluctant to go there without a good reason. This time I was helping to accompany a coach full of teenage art students. First port of call (an hour late due to the gridlocked traffic) was the National Gallery (above). It's holding a major exhibition of Velazquez paintings. I would have loved to have seen them, but we only had an hour or so there and I would rather return when I have time to take some of it in.
I did get to see one of the most breathtaking paintings in the world, though - to me, at least. Rembrandt's A Woman Bathing in a Stream is not a highly finished piece of work. It is not very large and it doesn't involve cleverly worked out compositions. It is, however, the most moving and beautiful painting that I have ever seen.


Later we moved on to the Tate Modern. This is a particularly ugly old power station which has been converted into a major art gallery. Those silver tubes are slides which you can pay to descend, all in the name of art. The ultimate dumbing down of culture has arrived.


Of course, no major art gallery would be complete without several coffee slurperies. this one does have a great view of St. Paul's Cathedral. The photo below was taken from the balcony.