Red eyes

Thank you for all your kind comments and congratulations on yesterday's milestone. It was a fine way to start the year.

I had a mammoth tidying up session again today and even managed to get my passport photo taken (horrible) and posted off to the passport guys. I'm a little nervous about the amount of time it may take, but that's just my travel anxiety showing. It's January, so not the height of tourist season and the passport office might not be that busy (paws crossed).

About 8.30pm, I realized that time was running out for a late-night visit to the Tate. Fred and I had made noises about seeing the Alexander Calder exhibition before going back to work and the late night openings are by far the best times to see such exhibitions. We hopped on the Tulse Hill train and were at Blackfriars in 20 minutes. The Shard was a striking white point in the night sky, the clouds around its tip illuminated by the skyscraper's lights. I tried a few shots of which this is the best, but the actual sight was much more mysterious. 

In the Tate, we did indeed have the exhibition almost to ourselves, which was absolutely fantastic. It''s one of the best art shows I've seen there as it really appeals to me. I love a mobile, and to think he invented them. Imagine a world growing up without mobiles! The first room, his sculptures in wire, was particularly striking – I love the Medusa. 

Then, the bright colours, the bold lines, the mobiles that make sounds and "A Universe" – the mobile that had Einstein transfixed. It's a great story and I was in awe of watching something that had captivated Einstein's attention so completely for 40 minutes.

We had a quick look at The World Goes Pop, too, but our brains weren't as engaged. One big exhibition was enough for tonight.