Rainy Bicycles

It rained much of today. These bicycles are at the top of Haymarket in central London; Picadilly Circus is about 75 meters to the left at the top of the street, well out of the frame.  (I've added this to my reflection series--the last one included a single bicycle, in a shop window :) Do view it large--lots of London details, including a palace guard at the extreme right.

Our first stop had been the National Portrait Gallery, where we saw "BP Portrait Award 2015", the annual selection of the best painted portraits from all over the world; there were several dozen works, and many were stunning. Then we went to the National Gallery around the corner, and discovered that at least half of the rooms were closed, due to a strike by gallery workers; apparently their operations are being farmed out to a private company and they are apprehensive of the consequences. This has apparently been going on since August.Then we headed up Haymarket (passing these bicycles on the way) to the Royal Academy, for a wonderful exhibition of works by  Joseph Cornell (1903-72), the American artist best known for his imaginative boxes.    In the evening we had  dinner with our friend Liz at a Lebanese restaurant.