London via body snatchers through street art and on to Tibet!

 Last week hubby and I went to London for a few days.  We both love London and usually manage to see some different parts of the city to others (and the fact that my brother, sister-in-law and new baby niece live there is a bonus!).

We stayed close to the Thames as its central to a lot of areas we like and easy to get buses to most places and some lovely walks along the Thames.

This blog post if quite photo heavy-you have been warned!

After walking along the Thames path we cut up towards St Pauls towards the Salvation Army HQ and spotted this church tucked away.  If you are in the area the Sally Army has a fantastic cafe. SO cheap and a great selection, sadly we were quite late in the day so all the veggie food had sold out, but we will definitely be making a return visit.  We lunched at Mangio (in the very cool sounding Knightrider Street) a great italian, really cheap fast italian food of a box of handmade stuffed pasta, made in front of you, sauce, salad and bread for £7.50)

 The view of St Pauls always takes my breath away.  I have photographed it from SO many different viewpoints over the years.

Our next visit was to http://www.stbrides.com/ otherwise known as the Wedding Cake Church (as its spire resembles one)

 

In the Medieval Chapel this plaque commemorates the family and the staff of Associated Newspapers who lost their lives in the World Wars.

 There is also a Roman mosaic pavement and an exhibition about body snatchers

 You can see why it is called the Wedding Cake Church to many!

 On one of our walks we stumbled across this, love the old tiles on the outside of the building

 At the Museum of Film we spotted these  (we didn't go in but this was in the lobby)

We also popped into the British Library, as we often do and this time there was an exhibition of Alice in Wonderland, there was a no photography sign up so no photos of that, instead here is an advertising sign I spotted on our walk to the library (starting off in fleet street) and  this bank all painted was opposite St Pancras station

 In Westminster (New Burlington Mews) I spotted this alleyway with fabulous gates and wall paintings

 and as we cut through from Carnaby street to Soho this mosaic caught my eye

Not sure where I spotted these two (I think one was in Islington on a trip to Cass Art)

 These pigeons are by Patrick Murphy and are a response to homelessness in London (the notice about them explains they are often seen as unwanted guests-banished from centres and branded a nuisance) and helps raise money for St Barnabus on Greek Street.

 

 We also visited the British Museum.  There is SO much to see there we usually only do one exhibition on each visit, this time it was the Egyptian rooms.

 

 

 

 I couldn't resist a quick look round one of the textile exhibition there as well though!

 

 This is the body mask of the serpent demon Kaliya and was made in a monastery where Krishna's heroic life is re-enacted each year

 

 These masks also form part of a dance where the crane demon Bakasura is 

killed in the forest by Krishna.

 This is a weaving technique (Lampas) which is now extinct throughout the whole of east Asia. During 1500-1800 they produced textiles with a ground woven with one set of warp and weft threads, and a pattern woven with another set of warp and weft.

Another day I took hubby to the UCL Institute of  Neurology and Neurosurgery (I know how to treat my man!!).  This was for an exhibition in their library of Embroidered Minds a collaboration about the epilepsy of the family of William Morris.

 

 It was a thought provoking exhibition and something very different to do on holiday.

 I love the old buildings in London, there is always a photo opportunity, even if it is an old fire escape!

 Or even one of the old signs

 As we wandered around the area we stumbled across this blue plaque

Without a doubt, the Thames at night is a beautiful  sight

 They even lit up this building especially for Valentines weekend!

We also popped into Somerset House for the bigbangdata exhibition (not the best I have seen) and the Wellcome Institute for Tibet's Secret Temple exhibition (which was awe inspiring).  

So there you have it, another trip around London and some quality time spent with the family.

Always a shame when it comes to an end, especially since the buses in London are so frequent and seem to work really well-unlike Bristol!

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

A week in london, 1 library, 2 museums, 2 art exhibitions, poppies galore and some Lego!

 Hello peeps, the past couple of weeks I have been off work on annual leave.  For the first week we decorated our bedroom (big thanks to my hubby and brother in law) and spent a few days sorting stuff out.

The following week we visited my brother and sis-in-law in London staying with them in Dulwich for a few days then in a hotel in central London for a few more (we were celebrating 24 years together and 17 married).

We try to spend at least a week in London each summer.  I know it sounds a bit weird as people often go to the beach etc, but we love London and every time we find a new place to explore and there are SO many exhibitions to visit.

There are quite a few photos, so grab yourself a drink and settle down for a trip round that there London.

There is some great graffiti in most of our cities (especially in Bristol where I live, the home of Banksy) and there have been some new pieces in London recently.

I love this one on London Bridge, a bit of humour on a building site!

 Nice colourful display to keep the rain off your head in the beer garden in Borough Market

 After seeing the photos from fellow WOYWWer Helen (Stamping by H) and my friend Sam of their visits to the Tower to see the poppies I just had to go.  It was so emotional as the china poppies represent every life lost during WW1 with the last poppy being planted on 11th November.

 We went to a new artist exhibition in Somerset House and there were some lovely mixed media pieces but I especially liked this 3D embroidery piece.

 So we are always on the lookout for new areas to explore in London and this time it was St Katherines Dock.  When my brother came back from his years in Ecuador he looked for jobs back in his specialist area and his office is here!  Its just down from the tower and is a beautiful smallish dock with some very expensive boats and the Thames Hippo!!

 This vessel is truly stunning and not what we expected to find in London!!

 We did many museums and also the Gothic Literature exhibition at the British Library but in the Hornniman Museum I found this and thought of LunchLady Jan who plays one (not as big as this though I hope!!).

 Our wedding anniversary present from my brother and sister in law were tickets to the new Lego exhibition at Brick Lane.

 The swimming figure was beautifully lit.

These faces were HUGH!

 

 This is the classic shot they use in a lot of the publicity leaflets.

 I really liked the way that something as simple as Lego can convey feeling in those that were at the exhibition you can almost feel the pain in the blue figure.

 This one really made me chuckle.  3 years ago I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.  It effects my bones, joints, tendons and potentially heart, liver and lungs also.  At the moment its mainly my feet and hands and some days I struggle to make my fingers work...so I stood there laughing at this one as it made me think of all those mornings when I awake and realise my hands won't!  I must admit I did get some strange looks!

 Again, some great street art.

We also went to Disobedient Objects at the V&A Museum.  It reports objects used in civil disorder across the globe in mainly the 80's and 90's.  Everything from death row commentary played out in decorated cars through to Chilean embroidery demanding equality and education for all.

 It was a brilliant exhibition and I was so pleased I was able to get there (it even brought back some memories from the anti poll tax rallies I took part in years ago).

 This photo was taken from a great new place that my sister in law told me about where for free you can get a fantastic view of the city at night-and she was right!

 This is a fake frontage that has been made for Coven Garden where it gives the impression it has been ripped in two-it is brilliant and you can pass your hand right through!

Finally, one more amazing piece of street art.  This time from Phlegm and it is in the Royal Opera house!!

So there you have it...now its back home and the joy of catching up with the washing etc!!

Happy crafting

Kyla