Frida

I saw the film Frida tonight, about the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It was a great film, beautifully made in every respect. Even better, I watched it in an Elizabethan mansion.

Athelhampton House is showing a season of films with connections to the house. The connection with Frida is slightly complicated: before Diego Rivera married her he had a daughter by the Russian artist Marevna, who often visited Athelhampton over many years. Their daughter Marika lived there. The current owner of the house has collected works by Marevna and has a gallery to show them in. This painting, Friends of Montparnasse, feaures many of Rivera and Marenka's friends. Diego Rivera is top left, Marenka underneath him, Marika the girl with the cat. The central figure is Modigliani.

In my lunch break I visited the Somerset levels , which were flooded and frozen. Impressive numbers of ducks were gathered in the free areas of water. This large area, often identified with the Avalon of Arthurian legend, is very flat apart from a few isolated hills such as Glstonbury Tor and Burrow Mump. This is thought to have been the site of an important battle in which King Alfred stood firm against the Danish army.

Further blip potential presented itself in the form of a starling roost outside the office.

Spoilt for choice today!