The past is another country ...

... they do things differently there.

Day out. Buckingham Palace, present from TSM as part of the amazing year of being sixty.

The exhibition of art, mainly from the levant and the Indian sub-continent, was remarkable. Beautiful documents and inlaid objects particularly from the time of the mogul emperors. The history is not so tasteful. Cultures with centuries of artistic development suddenly see the Brits turn up; in our arrogance we go in for a little battleship diplomacy, impose our coarse economic and imperial imperatives on the rest of the world. And nick the beautiful stuff.

Buckingham Palace was beautiful but The British Empire was truly evil and this man Clive of India , spotted later off Whitehall, was the embodiment of it. They should take his statue down and bury it.

I loved the picture galleries in the state rooms at Buck House. Particularly enjoyed the Dutch masters. Amazing. The architecture is overwhelming, I never realised how influential Nash was which is why the place has such a theatrical feel. At one point there was a thunderstorm outside and the whole experience suddenly felt very dramatic.

Went to Vagabond for too much wine and a few snacks at lunchtime and Wulf and Lamb to eat in the evening. Very good vegan food, then a long but happy walk from Sloane Square to Waterloo in the sunshine after a day of mostly rain.

Lovely, lovely day. And thought provoking.