Great Love

A feast of a day to make up for a dearth of blips during the week.
I met Arachne at Paddington Station and we went for a coffee on a barge decorated with an exuberance of brightly coloured plastic flowers moored on the canal.
From there we bimbled along the canal, walked over the rolling bridge which remained stubbornly unfurled and watched a pair of Coots in disagreement about the purpose of Spring.
Then on to Hyde Park and along the side of the Long Water to the Serpentine Sackler Gallery (closed) and a quick squizz at Zaha Hadid's Gaudiesque extension.
Over the bridge and on to the Serpentine Gallery where we enjoyed looking at the work of Emma Kunz, discussed its similarities with the work of Blousey Brown, but decided it was better not to read the written bits.
Back out and into the sunshine of the Park we spotted the unmistakable top of the tower above the Albert Memorial glinting above the trees and so went for closer inspection. I am very fond of Gothic Revival and always have time to linger over the works of Gilbert Scott, Burges and Pugin. This time around I was drawn to the Venetian mosaics of the muses and the large sculptures representing the Continents.
We continued along South Carriage Drive, were bemused by a naked Huntress statue, clearly NOT labelled “Diana” and then into the sanctuary of the Wellington Memorial where we took a close look at the New Zealand War Memorial which I have only ever seen from a bus before. Close up it is a wonderful piece, and had obviously been the focus of an outpouring of grief and solidarity following the terrible recent events in Christchurch.
Through Green Park, admiring trees, and then into St James's Park to witness an angry dispute between two male Canada Geese before discovering John Nash's shrubberies and the audacious floral displays of the Royal Parks' gardeners.
We simply had to go and poke fun at the Household Cavalry. Astonishingly silly marching and stamping from over-dressed youngsters who cannot see forwards because of the ridiculous low peaks of their shiny helmets but who instead focus on the reflection of what is taking place behind their backs.
And then on to the National Gallery to admire Rembrandt's skill with a paintbrush. I must go there again, what a feast for the eyes it is! There were a couple of portraits of elderly women I could happily have taken off the walls and brought home with me; Margaretha de Geer, strong and determined, and Aechje Claesdr, sad and reflective.
I was also totally captivated by van der Helst's “Portrait of a Lady in Black Satin with a Fan”. Perfect!
And then the gallery was closing and so we were herded out into Trafalgar Square where the good people of Sunderland were happily gathered to celebrate their team's achievement in getting into the League Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
As if that wasn't enough fun for one day, we then joined up with my mum, nephew and niece for a really good Italian meal before heading off home in four separate directions.