My Last Day Dawns! Revisiting the Victoria and Albert Museum, Lunch at Carluccio’s, Last-Minute Shopping in Clapham and Dinner at Caravella

Friday, September 19, 2025

Battersea, London

My Last Day Dawns! Revisiting the Victoria and Albert Museum, Lunch at Carluccio’s, Last-Minute Shopping in Clapham and Dinner at Caravella

And so it inevitably happened! My last day in London (on this trip) dawned and I recall thinking how much I wanted to cram into it before it was all behind me. I awoke at 6.00 am to the sound of the trains outside my windows. I decided to actually record the sound as it was most pleasing and I wanted to remember it when I had long left this place. Accordingly, it took a few tries before I was contented with the recorded version (video-taping) I accomplished. After I’d spent a while blogging, editing my photos and sending them off to friends, I was ready to go downstairs, greet Roz and start my day. Except that she was not at home—she had told me she had a breakfast appointment. I ate Red velvet Cake for breakfast (courtesy of Jack and Beyond’s Bottomless Cake Experience) and a small bowl of granola and then I tackled the daunting task of getting my packing done. Mind you, I still had a lot of shopping to do in the afternoon—so this bit of packing was merely to decide how to divide the weight between my two bags (a suitcase and pull-along). When I was all done, I took a shower and got dressed and awaited Roz’s arrival as it was almost 12 noon. She had told me that she would be back at noon to take me shopping, but when I checked my messages, I saw that she was running late and would not be back till 1.00 pm. So I texted her back and told her that I would carry on and see the two things I had on my agenda. I would meet her again at the house at 4.00 pm when we could go shopping.

Off to See the Argentinian Embassy:

As London Open House Festival Week is still continuing, I had allotted today to a visit to the Embassy of Argentina which is at Belgrave Square in Belgravia—a part of London with which I am unfamiliar. Apparently, the house is grand, historically important and filled with wonderful artwork. It was for this last reason that I was keen to see it.

I jumped into the 44 from Battersea Flower Station, a wonderfully named florist on Battersea High Street, and got off at Victoria. From there, I took a connecting bus in the direction of Hyde Park Corner—it was literally just two stops away, but I was glad to spare my aching feet the strain of more unnecessary walking. Alighting from the bus, I used my trusted map and found the venue only to be sorely disappointed: the place was closed and would only open again at 2.30 pm as there was a meeting inside with the “Governor”—whatever that meant. I was really irritated. Only this morning, an email from the organizers had underscored this venue as one of the Highlights of the Day. I’m sure they would be mighty irritated to know that a whole bunch of their patrons were arriving at the venue only to be turned away.

Off to the Victoria and Albert Museum:

Of course, there was nothing else to do but go on to the next item on my agenda: A visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum V and A). I would have about two and a half hours to kill there, revisiting some of my favorite items there. I have to say that it was a beautiful day—the skies were blue and the sun was shining—if a tad too much. Indeed, it was the warmest day I had encountered on this trip and people were peeling layers off their clothing as the temperature got steadily hotter. I found a C1 going along Cromwell Road from Hyde Park Corner and, passing by Harrods and the Museums, we arrived at South Kensington. There, I decided to stop for a swift bite at Carluccio’s, which is one of my favorite places to eat Italian food in London. Sadly, the chain is shrinking and many outlets across London have closed. Since the one at South Ken is still functioning (I had passed it countless times in buses), I resolved to eat there.

Lunch at Carluccio’s of South Kensington:

Not only is Carluccio’s a favorite place to eat, I happen to have two items on their menu that I truly love: their Caponata which I love eating on toast (I often ordered it as a takeaway when I have lived in London at various times through the years) and the other is their Lemon Tarts—to which I had been introduced by my former next-door neighbors at Holborn, Barbara and Tim. Hence, every time I passed by them, I would buy tarts both for them and me.

And so I took my seat ready to embark on my much-desire meal—again, only to have my hopes dashed to the ground. Somewhere along the way, both items had been taken off the menu and neither was available. I could have wept! However, since I was seated there and I am aware that most of Carluccio’s menu offerings are great, I opted for the Antipasto Platter for One which with service charge cost me about 12 pounds. I was not sure what to expect and whether or not I would like it, but hey, I would soon find out.

My platter arrived with a hunk of delicious focaccia, a long bread stick, three thin slices of mortadella, a big single slice of prosciutto, sauteed zucchini, roasted yellow pepper flavored with pesto, a small bowl of olive oil with balsamic vinegar for dipping, another little bowl of sun dried tomatoes, green and black olives, a small helping of rocket (the British word for arugula). It was appetizingly laid out in the plate and it was super scrumps. I thoroughly gave myself up to the pleasure of this palate pleaser and found it to be perfectly filling as well. When I settled my bill and left, I felt ready to take on the rest of my last day.

Off to the V and A Museum:

South Ken is just a block away from the opposite end of Albertopolis or Museum Mile—the area of London that has a big concentration of museums. I passed the Museum of Natural History—this time on foot, having passed by it several times in the bus—and paused to take pictures of the newly refurbished gardens that were inaugurated only last week by Catherine, Princess of Wales. There is a large dinosaur skeleton in the garden that forms a focal point to the huge boulders, palms and other plants that are scattered about to form an evergreen space. I took a few pictures, then crossed the street and arrived at the Victoria and Albert Museum (the V&A). I was sorely disappointed that although I had tried to get them from Bombay, all tickets to the special Cartier exhibition, going on currently, were sold out and I was unable to visit it.

However, the Museum is full of other things that I love and that I re-visit each time I am here. But first, I spent a long while browsing in the shop and found a whole section on fabrics from India—in fact, mainly from West Bengal where I spied the kind of shawls/long scarves on sale that my cousin Blossom had bought from there and gifted me less than a year ago. I also skirted around the more affordable jewelry section and ended up buying a silver-tone heavy beaded necklace that I think will be very versatile. This was part of the special Marie Antoinette Style exhibition that will be opening in a few weeks. Merchandise related to the show is already on sale.

After browsing through the shops, I went straight to the Ceramic Staircase (which is my favorite part of the museum) by cutting across the courtyard that was thick with human habitation. People were paddling, as they always do, in the round pond, while others were sun- bathing as they munched their lunch on a particularly warm day. I went on to take a look at some of the sculpture in the Sculpture Gallery, saw many of the medieval sculptures and stained glass panels en route to the Café and then paused in the café itself as I do believe it is the most stunning of museum cafes in the world. Of course, I took in the Cast Courts on the ground floor and paused again to look up at the staggering pretty Dale Chihuly chandelier in the main lobby.

On the Bus Home:

And then, it was time for me to move on. I had accomplished a visit to one more item on my agenda and decided to take the C1 bus back to Victoria Coach Station and the 44 bus from there to Battersea. In the process, we passed along Sloane Street and I was able to say a silent Goodbye to my friends, Michael and Cynthia, as well as take a ride down lovely Elizabeth Street which is full of interior design and perfume shops. These are streets that I have enjoyed browsing in, through the years, on foot.

Finally, I did arrived at Battersea and found that Roz had just returned home herself. As there was no time to lose, she hurried me off to her car so that we could begin our shopping.

Shopping at Clapham for my Favorite English Edibles:

And so, without much ado, we arrived at Asda at Clapham (a huge warehouse of a place similar to BJs or Costco) where I quickly went through my list: Packets of soup by Bachelors and Ainsley Herriot; Borders Dark Chocolate Ginger Biscuits; packets of Flake chocolate; packets of Tuc’s Cheddar Cheese Sandwich Crackers; Cadbury’s Hot Drinking Chocolate; many bars of Mr. Kipling’s Battenburg Cake; large holiday tins of Quality Street chocolate; and a bottle of Belvoir Elderflower Cordial which I was determined to buy on this trip as I love to use it in gin cocktails. We made one more stop at Waitrose for those items I could not find on my list and then we were off. I was deeply grateful to Roz who made my life so much easier by taking me shopping in her car. I could not imagine how I would manage those heavy loads, had I to do it by public transport.

Back home, I spent about half an hour putting all my shopping away and weighing my bags on Roz’s bathroom scale which left me with much peace of mind as I was underweight in both bags!

Getting Ready to Pick up Louis:

With our shopping safely stashed at home, it was time to leave again to pick up Louis, Roz’s 16-year old grandson, who arrives every weekend from Nottingham, where he lives, for Saturday lessons at the Royal College of Music where he is pursuing trumpet lessons. We drove through Chelsea and on to Pimlico to pick him up from PImclico Station. It brought to mind the time when I was a teenager and had first heard of Pimclico Road through a friend who used to send me mail franked with the stamp of a company called Casa Pupo where he used to work.

Louis arrived on schedule and we drove straight off to our next port of all, dinner at Caravella.

Last Supper at Caravella:

Roz had made a reservation for us at ‘Caravella’, the Portuguese restaurant right outside in the Square and so that’s where we went—parking our car and just walking to the eatery. The place was packed with many folks seated outside on the terrace. We found a table but had to wait forever for service. Eventually, when we did have someone come to take our order after more than half an hour, we decided to order four small plates of tapas: Fried Calamari, Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, Garlic Prawns and Sauted Potatoes. For our Main, we chose the Bacalau (Salted Cod) Au Gratin. Everything was delicious and I think we ordered very well. It was fun chatting with Louis and getting to know him a little. He is a highly talented, really handsome young man with a very bright future ahead of him as a musician. In general, I was delighted with all the dinners I’d eaten with friends in London and the manner in which I had juggled my time so beautifully to allow me to meet almost everyone I had wanted to see. All that was left was for me to clear the bill, say a huge Thank You to Roz for hosting me and making my life easier in so many small ways. For her part, she was very pleased to see me again, after two years and invited me to come back again.

And, on that happy note, my last day in London, came to an end. At home, Louis showed me how to order my Uber in advance, to take me to Heathrow airport, early tomorrow morning—at 6.30 am. I brushed and flossed my teeth, set my alarm and texted Llew to tell him to set his alarm for me too—to be doubly sure that it would go off and I would not miss awaking on time.

Conclusion:

Overall, my 10-day stay in London had been a resounding success. Despite the fact that I had worried about the deteriorating law and order situation in the capital (rumors of phone snatching, muggings, etc. are now rife), I always kept my wits about me, was careful and conscious about my movements and my surroundings and had no problems at all.

I managed to do most of the items on my agenda and then some! I did not get to Richmond, and so I did not see the Orleans Gallery but one needs to leave something for “next time”. I saw two or three completely new things—a walk in Primrose Hill, for example, as well as on the Regent’s Canal; Hatfield House and Gardens that simply oozed history from every brick and bough; William Morris’ Home at Hammersmith (and that too for free). Plus, I ticked off another item on my To Do List—a meal at Rochelle Canteen where I discovered not only a restaurant but a whole street named after me. Additionally, I managed to eat in many of the places that are favorites of mine (Bill’s, Hare and Tortoise, Carluccio’s) and I saw so many UK-based friends (Roz, Bande Hassan, Rosa Fradley, Vir, Arben, Edward, the Colcloughs, Frances, Murali and Nina, Elise). I’d eaten superlative meals with them and had many warm reunions that lifted my heart. I also had many unexpected encounters—as with our President, for instance, whose helicade I spied while on Primrose Hill. It was an encounter to remember.

I realized as I arrived at my last day in the city that I absolutely need my London Fix and that I really must try to make it at least once a year to this place that stole my heart away so many years ago. Whether or not I will be able to do this, who knows? But, I shall try…

Thanks for following me on this journey through one of my favorite places in the whole wide world. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed recounting every minute for you.

Until next time, Cheerio…

Arrival of Llew in London, Bus Ride to See the Sights, A Restful Afternoon and Evening with Sports and Music on the Telly

 Arrival of Llew in London, Bus Ride to See the Sights, Walk in Chelsea and Fulham, Restful Afternoon and Evening with Sports and Music on the Telly

London

Saturday, May 14, 2022

    Ah! The day finally dawned when I would see Llew again after five and a half months!! It was also the day I would be checking out of this hotel, the Premier Inn, where I was incredibly comfortable, and moving on to Paddington to the home of our friend Bande. I awoke at 5.00 am and spent a while blogging before I decided to get going. I had a shower, packed up most of my belongings and went down to breakfast for my last humongous buffet feast. From now on, it will be muesli with yogurt and decaff coffee--the kind of breakfast I eat at home daily. I made the most of my large offerings and started with a croissant with butter and orange marmalade, then moved on to my last full English breakfast and ended with fruit and yogurt--all washed down with a decaff coffee. Indeed, I had eaten well and have probably piled on the pounds. But with all the miles of walking I have done all day, I have no regrets.

    Back in my room, I threw in the last bits of my belongings into my case, asked for a hotel receipt and went down to the lobby. There I called for an Uber to get me to Paddington where Llew, who had texted me upon landing, let me know that he was on the Heathrow Express headed for Paddington. My Uber driver arrived just 8 minutes later and I was off and away in no time.

    Much against my expectations, Llew arrived at our friend's flat in Paddington about ten minutes before I did. It was a lovely reunion with him in the company of our friend Bande and some of his friends who happened to be at his flat too. All of them would be leaving and going out very shortly  and we would be left to our own devices. He showed us how the house keys worked, gave us a quick look around the kitchen so that we could help ourselves to anything we needed, we had another little tour of his flat and he was off. Llew assured me that he was neither sleepy nor tired and that we should, in fact, get out immediately and enjoy the beautiful day. In fact, it was such a glorious day that I could not help thinking how lucky Llew was.

Getting Oyster Cards Topped Up:

    With no real plans on our agenda today (I had wanted to give Llew a chance to ease into his new time zone in London and get over jetlag with a good long rest), we simply decided to walk down to Paddington Station and top up our Oyster cards. My unlimited week-long Travelcard had expired and Llew had no money on his card. We did a top up and discovered, to our horror, that the day pass cost 14.50 pounds! My Word! I remembered a time when I had paid 3.50 for it! But, of course, that was donkey's years ago...

    We took the Bakerloo Line and got off at Charing Cross.  From there, we took Bus 11 to do the See London route just so that Llew could orient himself to London and we could gradually get into our London time together.  All went well until we arrived towards the middle of the King's Road at Chelsea where we were so badly affected by roadworks and did not move even a few meters in half an hour. Frustrated, we hopped off near The Blue Bird and crossed to get over toward Fulham. Once there, because it was such a great day, we simply walked along the Fulham Road all the way to Bibendum at the Michelin Headquarters. I love that building with its lavish ceramic decor in the Art Deco style. Its lovely pastel green is also a treat for the eye. Just a few feet ahead of us, we began walking along Brompton Road. I expected to pass the main gate to Brompton Cemetery but instead, just ahead of us was Brompton Oratory and I knew at once that we were next door to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Lunch at the V&A:

    Llew had started to feel peckish by this time and I suggested we get to our favorite set of cafes in the V&A Museum--the Poynter, Gamble and Morris Rooms. Llew thought it was a great idea and, in a few minutes, we were at the counter. We chose a Middle Eastern Mezze wrap which was served with two salads--a Cucumber and Tomato Salad and a wonderful coleslaw.  This was more than enough for the two of us and we enjoyed it thoroughly as it was just delicious. 

Looking at a Few More Highlights at the V&A:

    As I did not have the time to show Amy a few of my highlights, the other day, I told Llew that I really did want to go and see some of my favorite items. And so, we did actually find The Age of Innocence by Alfred Drury which is a depiction of his friend's daughter, Gracie Doncaster. I also took him to the South Asian section to look at the finger ring and the wine cup in carved jade that belonged to Moghul Emperor Shah Jehan and the most famous item in the entire museum, Tipu's Tiger. This item which is almost a life-size replica of a tiger mauling a British soldier is actually a music box. When wound up, the tiger roars and the soldier screams in agony. This drama was said to be of great amusement to Tipu Sultan who had ordered the item to be especially made  for him. Because he was also known as the Tiger of Mysore, this item was doubly significant to him. How it came into the possession of the V&A is probably a result of his defeat at the Battle of Seringapatnam. Stripped of his stature and his belongings, he probably did not even know his Tiger had reached British shores.

    Next, Llew and I went in search of the incredible Ceramic Staircase that never fails to take my breath away as I am a huge fan of Ceramics. When we did find it, just behind the Buddhist Sculpture section, I simply could not stop taking pictures. Every bit of this staircase that winds to the top floor is made of ceramics. The project also includes a memorial to Henry Cole, the first Director of the Museum, who died in 1882. He had hoped to see such lavish decoration all over the museum--but, sadly, financial support ran out and this masterpiece is restricted to just one section of the museum. The entire project was executed by the Minton Pottery Company in Stoke-on-Trent. The vignettes represent Science, the Arts and a number of other disciplines. It is certainly, to my mind, a part of the museum that no one should miss and I was sorry we did not cover it when Amy took my highlights' tour.

    As we walked back, we stopped at the Cast Court to examine Michelangelo's and Donatello's Davids at closer quarters. Of course, Llew recognized the genius of Dale Chihuly immediately in the central chandelier in the lobby as we are both fans of Chihuly (as is Chriselle).

Getting Back Home for a Rest:       

    It was a sheer coincidence that Llew arrived in London on the day of the FA Finals when Chelsea Football Club (his team) were playing against Liverpool at Wembley at 4.45 pm. He had already warmed me that he hoped to get a nap before the match began because he just did not want to miss it.

    So we walked back to Gloucester Road Tube station, past the Museum of Natural History and the number of people thronging the streets and took the Circle Line back to Paddington. Back at our friends' place, we got our stuff organized in his spare room and as Llew went off for a nap, I communicated with a few friends and blogged. Both Llew and I took naps and felt deeply refreshed.

Watching the FA Cup Finals and Eurovision:

    Of course, at 4.45 pm on schedule, we sat down to watch the FA Cup Finals. I made us a cup of ginger and honey tea each which we ate with chocolate eclairs from Marks and their lovely Belgian Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies and it felt great to finally have tea-time again! Somewhat disappointingly, the match went into the Penalty shoot out and with a huge number of very tense moments, Liverpool won! Poor Llew! Not too long after, I  switched to the Eurovision contest that was being televised from Turin in Italy. I was excited that after having heard about it for decades, this was the first time ever that I would actually be in England and could catch it as the rest of the country did. Sam Rider, Britain;s contestant, did well for a long time when it came to the scoring; but, as my friend Barbara rightly predicted, Ukraine did win it--in a massive show of public support. 

 Dinner In Paddington:

    Llew's lack of sleep on the red eye flight meant that he spent a good part of the afternoon catching up on some shut-eye. I was delighted to find Gavin and Stacey, one of my favorite British sitcoms on the Gold Channel--and I did dip into it quite excitedly! But by 8.45 pm, I woke Llew up so that we could both go out and get a bite to eat.

    Fountains Abbey Pub was just a block from our building and I looked forward to a Guinness and he a glass of Cab! But it was not to be as we discovered, to our disappointment, that they pub has not begun serving food yet. There went the thoughts of our pub grub!  

    Not daunted, we walked a few meters ahead and found a very modest, very nondescript eatery called La Tazza Restaurant. A brief glance at the menu outside told us we'd find something sustaining inside. Llew found his glass of Cab, but since the stout was not on tap, I preferred to avoid a canned drink. We ended up eating a Big Greek Salad (a la Elaine in Seinfeld) with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and olives and a really marvelously creamy and super scrumps Penne a la Pesto with gigantic mushrooms. Best of all was the long, non-stop chatter between us as we had so much to say to each other, so much news to convey, so many plans to make for the future. It is simply marvelous how good it is to be together again after almost 6 months.

    And then, well sated with a superb meal, we walked the block back to our building. Our friend Bande had returned home and we spent some time gabbing with him as we enjoyed a bowl of vanilla ice-cream together. And then it was time to say Good night. We are looking forward to the days ahead of us as we have plans to spend a day at Crystal Palace Park with friends, take a sailboat to the Isle of Wight for lunch with a new friend, spend two days exploring Liverpool and then returning to move on to Oxford and the Cotswolds. What a great time we expect!

    Until tomorrow, Cheerio! 

Marching Into Museums: Victoria and Albert and the Fascinating Postal Museum

Monday, August 12, 2019
London

Marching Into Museums: Victoria and Albert and the Fascinating Postal Museum

     Hiya from London!
      So the days are marching on and given my resolution of seeing something new each time I arrive in this city (while still squeezing in visits to those places I most adore), I set out to do just that. I still wake up to trains and planes at about 6.30 am...but I stay in bed and blog or read or take a look at Twitter.
     When I heard Roz below, I knew that she was getting ready for work. She had already dropped Christie to Chatham Juncton from where he takes the train to Gatwick for his flight to India. She carried her breakfast to work and after a shower left the house; while I sat down and had a more leisurely breakfast of Sainsburys muesli with yogurt and coffee while watching the BBC Breakfast Show. A little later, I showered myself, got dressed and left. Meeting Roz’s sister, Sarah, at dinner last night, she had told me not to miss the Christian Dior exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She said that the queues were unbelievable but if I went early enough, I was likely to get a ticket. She hyped the show up so much and because the V and A is really a place I never miss on every visit to London, I was happy to take her advice.

Off to the Victoria and Albert Museum:
     So in a bus I went (345) to South Kensington from where I walked briskly for just five minutes to the entrance of the V and A. To my great disappointment, I found the line for day tickets to be long (there were at least 150 people there) and wait time would be at least an hour. Now I did not have the luxury of that kind of time to waste on this visit. So I decided to drop the idea and go and see my favorite sections of the Museum. These were the Jewelry Gallery which I absolutely adore and within this gallery I have my favorite pieces such as the 18th century silver chatelaine as well as the Rene Lalique section and the ones that feature diamond-encrusted hair ornaments and something called a ‘stomacher’. I have no idea how (or where) this is worn; but the piece is so stunning that I simply cannot drag my eyes away.
     Other favorite sections that I never miss when I am here are the Proctor and Gamble Dining rooms (which are now the cafe rooms of the Museum). The ceramic work on the walls and the ceiling is so unusual that I cannot stop photographing it. I also take pictures of the lavish ceramic staircase. I never leave this Museum without strolling through the Cast Courts that are filled with plaster casts of some of the world’s most famous sculptures as well as the actual Sculpture Courtyard filled with work by masters such as Rodin. My favorite piece in this section is a bust of a gorgeous young girl just entering puberty entitled The Age of Innocence and it is by Drury. If there was one piece of sculpture I would like to own, it is this one—it evokes in me the same sort of feelings as does The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini in Rome.
     I took a turn around the shop and then my eye descended upon a superb necklace by the British designer from the 1960s called Mary Quant who capitalized on the world’s obsession at that time with Flower Power and created a fresh and unique look in fashion. I bought the necklace right away and I have to say that it is probably one of the more modern designs I own as my taste usually veers towards the traditional.
     That bit of shopping done, I walked towards the thrift shops of South Ken looking for jewelry, DVDs and vintage scarves.  I did not have much luck and I did not want to waste too much time—so I hopped into a bus I saw coming (the 19) that was headed for Russel Square which was exactly where I next wanted to go. My aim was to get to Bill’s Restaurant on Kingsway off Holborn Tube Station. I got off at the junction of Tottenham Court Road Tube Station after thoroughly enjoying the long and winding bus drive that took me through some of the most recognizable and touristy parts of Central London. After passing through some of the side streets, I found my way past Covent Garden Tube Station and Long Acre Lane and when I spied the Freemason’s Main Headquarters, I knew that I had only to pass by it and five minutes later, I would be on Kingsway. And right enough, there it was—Bill’s.

Fish Pie for Lunch at Bill’s Restaurant:
     Bill’s Restaurant did not exist in Holborn when I lived there. It seems to be a newer chain that has found sudden and huge success.  I was introduced to it by my friend Rosa Fradley who lives in Essex and who had once recommended it when I had told her that I wanted to take her and her husband Matt for dinner. Matt could not make it but Rosa and her lovely boys had accompanied me. I had ordered the Fish Pie and have never forgotten how good it was. When I found out that there was a Bill’s Restaurant at Holborn, I was simply delighted.
     I got a spot on what turned out to be a horribly wet afternoon. There was nothing I would enjoy more than a really hot pie inside me.  So you can imagine how stunned I was when my order did not get to my table for more than half an hour. I was actually polite enough to wait that long before I inquired of the ditzy waitress what the matter was. She was too embarrassed to respond and so sent a more senior waiter over to tell me that the chef had completely forgotten to put my fish pie into the oven! I was in a state of shock because by this time I was ravenous! Fortunately, he redeemed himself by telling me that the pie would be at my table in ten minutes and that it would be on the house! Now that was awfully nice of him...but I suppose, having kept me waiting for half an hour, that was the least they could do.  
     My pie was great—and made greater yet by the fact that it was free! I took my time eating it as it was piping hot but the cheesy sauce that topped it all was so nutty in flavor that I loved it. About a half hour later, I walked right out of the place feeling like royalty!
     I then walked to Theobald’s Road and picked up the 19 bus going north along Roseberry Avenue as I was headed to Phoenix Place, right next to Exmoor Market where I wanted to visit the Postal Museum and take a ride on the Mail Rail. And that was exactly where I reached in about 15 minutes as the rain continued to play steadily down on me and left me feeling very cold indeed.

Taking a Ride on the Mail Rail:
     So when I lived in Holborn, ten years ago, the Postal Museum and the Mail Rail ride did not exist. How thrilled I am to know that there is a major museum within a few blocks of the place in which I used to live. Indeed, not too far from Charles Dickens’ home on 48 Doughty Street is Phoenix Place and it is there that you will find the Postal Museum in an area that is known as Mount Pleasant. I only got to know about this place as I had been watching this program on You Tube called Joolz Guides in Bombay. He had done a program on this Museum and I discovered that it is the latest in the vast plethora of museums that exist in London.
     So here is what happened. In about five minutes, I passed by a door with a sign that said, Mail Rail Tickets here. So in I went and 17 pounds later, I was the owner of a ticket that would give me a ride on the Mail Rail. This is a toy train that ran almost secretly under the pavements of London from 1927 when it was first created and went into operation to the year 2003 when it ceased to be used. It turns out that since there was so much traffic congestion on the streets of London from dodging horse-drawn carriages and omnibuses, it was thought wise to create an underground system (aside from the Tube) exclusively for transporting mail around the city, around the country and overseas. Hence, this tiny toy train system was created. It ran from Whitechapel in the east to Kensington in the West and it had regular platforms like a Tube train. The train stopped for exactly one minute at each station—during which time the loading and  unloading of dozens of bags filled with mail was accomplished. Work went on 24/7 with employees working in shifts.
     Once we got on to the train, we had a commentary that kept us informed about how the mail traveled. It told us about the sorting rooms that were attached to each station and of the frenetic activity that occurred there. Men sometimes collapsed from physical exhaustion. But they were very proud of their contribution to keeping the mail moving at a time when it was the only form of communication. About 4 millions pieces of mail were sorted and transported every single day in London. The train had no drivers as they were powered by electricity. But by 2003, it was found that gas was more efficient and economical than electricity and so the Mail Rail was suspended and postal vans were introduced. It lay unused until 2017 when the Mail Rail ride was opened to the public at the same time as the Postal Museum was created.
     The ride is a great hit with children, naturally, and no doubt  I would have enjoyed it much more had I some company. Still, I was fascinated from  the get go and I still remain in awe of what was accomplished and at how successfully Britain managed to transfer its genius at transporting mail to every one of its colonies. In India, I grew up with such an efficient postal service that it was our pride and joy. Now, 70 years after Independence, the  service is so lousy that no one uses it any more.  It is so tragic that all the institutions that the British put into place are fast disintegrating in India.
     All that said, I loved  the Postal Museum too which took me back to the time of Henry VIII who initiated the message delivery service by insisting that men stayed at the ready at fixed 'posts' to deliver messages when he needed their services—hence the word ‘post’ came to be used  for the service and phrases like 'posting' a letter or sending it 'by post' came into being. Henry VIII is responsible for far more than we give him credit for!!!
      It was still raining by the time I finished seeing the museum and made my way towards the Tube station. I called my friend Sushil who lived close by to find out if he would be interested in meeting briefly but he was not up to it. I then saw a No. 19 bus coming along and headed straight for Battersea Bridge—it was a no brainer. I jumped in and thought I would take another bus at the bridge (which I did). This long bus ride gave me another wonderful tour of the city and the parts of it that I most love.
     At Battersea Bridge, I jumped into a bus that took me to Roz’ place. She had not yet come back home and I was quite ready for a cup of hot tea which I had with chocolate eclairs. A little later, Roz arrived from work, I had a shower and we got ready to go to her sister Sarah’s place as she had invited us for dinner.

Dinner at Sarah’s Place:
     Sarah is as good if not better a chef than Roz and her home, just a few blocks away from Roz’ place is also a typically English home with its cozy interior, tons of paintings on the wall, and on the turntable (yes, she still plays vinyl) was a record—an LP—featuring Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck! Wow! That took all of us back somewhat!
    Sarah served me a long gin and tonic which I gratefully accepted after my long and very wet day and with her nibbles of hummus and crisp wafers, we enjoyed a natter before it was time to have dinner—a delicious salad and a main called Persiana Chicken which was a well sautéed chicken flavored well with saffron and tinged with turmeric. She served fresh ciabatta with smoked haddock spread and pate with caramelized onions for a starter. And for desert, they was ice-cream—Magnum double chocolate for me (magnum Minis!) I did not even know you get those (probably not in the US!).
     It was about two hours later that Roz and I returned home to her place where we were so exhausted that we simply crashed.
     Until tomorrow...

A Super Saturday with Former Students in Former Byculla Haunts

Saturday, July 6, 2019
Bombay

A Super Saturday with Former Students in Former Byculla Haunts
 
     Namaste from Bombay!
     After a really hum-drum week, thanks to the conclusion of my field-research and the soggy weather, I had a really terrific day. From start to finish, it was superb.
     I awoke at 5.30am and began reading, then blogging, then downloading my Times of London on my Ipad and browsing through it. I also reviewed important newspaper articles on Twitter. My breakfast of raisin-walnut bread with spreads and an open sandwich made with cold roasted tongue (trying to finish up bits and bobs in my freezer) got me off to an excellent day's eating. It was raining, but it wasn't really awful and by 10.15 am, I had finished showering, dressing and was calling for an Uber to take me to Byculla for my lunch date with my former students of Jai Hind College's English Department. One of them, Rashida, decided to host a luncheon for a few of us...and that was what took me to my former haunts in Byculla. We were expected at 12.45-1.00 pm, but since Rashida lives right outside the former Victoria Gardens and Zoo (now called Jijamata Gardens), I decided to leave early, take a turn about the gardens (a really splendid example of British Victorian garden design and landscaping in India) and to re-visit the excellent museum that is also in the zoo grounds. I checked the museum website and found that there was a guided tour in English at the museum at 11.30 am and I aimed to get there in time for that tour.
     My Uber arrived on schedule and, in about 40 minutes, I was at the entrance of the museum. I paid Rs. 50 to get inside and although I am visiting the museum for the third time, I gasped anew as I entered for it is little short of stunning and I keep forgetting how gorgeous it is. So here is a long overdue post on this fabulous space which I keep telling all my American friends who visit Bombay that they should see (that and St. Thomas' Anglican Cathedral in Fort).

My Third Visit to The Bhau Daji Lad Museum (But First On This Stay In Bombay):
     Here is a brief history of this museum. It is the first and oldest museum in Bombay and was created as a direct outcome of the Great Exhibition of 1851 held in London under the enthusiastic patronage of Prince Albert. Albert, who was devoted to Science and the Arts, decided to hold a huge international exhibition to showcase the grand arts and crafts of the British colonies. Although the Industrial Revolution had put paid to manual craftsmanship in Britain (it promoted its exact opposite--the machine and its possibilities for mankind), Albert knew that in the colonies, age-old techniques of craftsmanship continued to prevail--and he was keen to exhibit them. Hence, each one of the colonies was given a 'pavilion' which they were instructed to fill with those items that bore witness to the genius of the native people. The Exhibition was a huge success and led, just a few years later, to another great global exhibition in Paris (in 1855). Indian artisans were finally receiving the global recognition that had long eluded them.
     It was soon after these two great European exhibitions, that British colonists in India, decided to found a museum in which the works of these very same artisans could be displayed. Bombay was chosen for this honor and a Palladian-style building, that was meant to be an offshoot of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, came into being.  It was actually also given the same name.  Construction was spearheaded by George Birdwood and George Buist was selected as the chief curator by Lord Elphinstone (after whom my college is named). Replicas of the kind of items that were exhibited in the European exhibitions made up the bulk of the collection.  The interiors were splendidly appointed, thanks to David Sassoon, a Baghdadi Jew, who was then the leading industrialist and richest man in Bombay. He donated a massive sum of money for the construction of the building and commissioned a grand full-size marble standing sculpture of Prince Albert, flanked on two sides by the Muse of Art and the Music of Science. That sculpture is the focal point of the museum today and because it was funded by a Jew (at a time when Jews were numerous and thriving in Bombay). the inscription on the base of the sculpture's pedestal is in English and Hebrew. There are also marble busts of Queen Victoria (Albert's consort), Mountstuart Elphinstone and David Sassoon clustered in the same space.
     I do not remember being taken to this museum as a child at all--although I have vivid memories of going to the Prince of Wales Museum very frequently with my parents who also took my brothers and me regularly to the Bombay Zoo (which we used to call the Victoria Gardens).
     The interior of the museum is so grand and so lavishly gilded that it leaves one open-mouthed. The sage green walls reflect the exact color that was originally on the walls when the museum was built and first opened to the public in 1857 (at the same time that the Sepoy Mutiny was raging in Northern India). There are beautiful Minton tiles on the stairs leading to the top floor as the museum is double-storied. It has a second-floor gallery space exactly in keeping with the Victorian museum design that you see at the Victoria and Albert Museum and and the Museum of Natural History in Kensington and the Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green in London. Seriously...to walk into this museum is to walk into any of the grand museums of London. There are Stars of David all over the ceiling--a nod, once again, to Sassoon and his Jewish heritage. Also remarkable and in superb shape are the dozens of upright glass vitrines in teak wood that hold the vast collections of contemporary artifacts dating from the Victorian Age such as ivory carvings, hammered silverware, huge ceramic pots with Indian iconography such as elephants and peacocks made in the pottery kilns of the Sir J.J. School of Arts (which was also created as a result of the need to train Indian artisans in the traditional arts and crafts of their heritage). One of the early Principals of this Art School was John Lockwood Kipling, father of the poet-novelist Rudyard Kipling, who was actually born in the Principal's house (still standing) on the grounds of this school.
     The Museum flourished through the Victorian, Edwardian and early Post-Colonial periods. By 1975, it had been re-named for Dr. Bhau Daji Lal, another leading light of the city and one who, with Juggernat Sunkersett, raised funds for the museum. However, by the late 1980s, it badly needed refurbishment as it was in a very run-down state--and eventually it was closed down. A complete restoration was undertaken in the 1990s with the help of corporate financing. The financial involvement of multi-national corporations brought about the refurbishment which now makes the museum one of the jewels of the city of Bombay. I love the fact that the old fitments have been retained such as the wrought iron turnstile with the brass plaque attributed to a foundry in Southwark in London, the very unusual teakwood umbrella stand with rounded slots for each umbrella at the entrance (no longer in use and merely retained as a relic of a bygone age) and, of course, the gorgeous glass vitrines themselves of which the ones on the top floor are both upright and horizontal--allowing for the spread of old maps and three-dimensional models. 
     I spent the first ten minutes alone, going from one vitrine to the next on the ground floor until it was 11.30 am when a guide named Snehal then began the tour by telling us about the history of the museum and pointing out a few highlights in some of the cases. She was very  knowledgable, but I wish that she would have stuck to the time-limit of one hour for the entire tour (as we docents do at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York). That way, patrons know exactly when they will be finished and do not need to leave a tour half way through it. As it turned out, we were only 3 people on the tour--apart from me, there was a white man (probably from New Zealand, going by his accent) with his Chinese wife. We asked Snehal many questions and she could answer all of them with no difficulty at all. One of the items that really struck me (after she pointed it out) was a wooden sculpture (table-top size) of Parvati (wife of Lord Shiva) with her son, Ganesh, held in her arms (exactly as Mary carries the child Jesus in Western depictions of the Madonna and Child). I thought this was really remarkable as this was a direct result of the East-West cross-fertilization of ideas that became possible only after the Great Exhibition and thanks to Albert's vision.
     After she pointed out a small part of the vast collection of Indian textiles that are also in the collection of the Museum, she took us upstairs to the second floor gallery which is devoted to the history of the city of Bombay from the 1600s onwards. She went through the period of reclamation that joined seven islands and made them one island (the city of Bombay). She also showed us a number of dioramas that were commissioned by the British founding fathers of the museum, complete with terracotta figures, to showcase the traditional ways of life of the people of Bombay.  There are also a whole lot of terracotta figures depicting the various ethnicities that made up the populations of Bombay in in the late Victorian Age and the kind of traditional clothing and headgear that distinguished one segment of the population from the next.
     This museum is simply fascinating and one can easily spend an entire day (if one has the time) seeing and taking in all the exhibits. I simply cannot say enough great things about this museum. My friend Laureen and her late husband Anup, when they asked me what they should see in Bombay, never stopped thanking me, after a visit, for the manner in which they were completely mesmerized by this museum. I have lovely memories of taking my niece and nephew Anaya and Arav to the museum (about 6 years ago) when they were very young and telling them about the wonderful love story of Victoria and Albert. What a gem of Victoriana resides in the heart of former colonial Bombay!

Strolling Through The Victoria Gardens:
              Just as I was ready to exit the museum, it started raining again. But I called Rashida and asked her for directions on how to get to the back exit of the gardens which are right in front of her building. I followed her directions and walked right through the gardens. The statue of Queen Victoria which was the central point of the gardens in colonial times, has been replaced by one of Shivaji with his mother Jijabai after whom the gardens are now named.
     Everything was lushly green and damp as I walked on red soil pathways to get to the Childrens' Park with its swings and sliders, all freshly painted, colorful and vibrant, and arrived at the exit leading to Masina Hospital. I would definitely have liked to have spent more time in the gardens exploring the animal enclosures (many of which, I understand, are now empty as refurbishment of the zoo is under way), but it was coming down pretty hard and I did not fancy walking in the rain. I was at Rashida's place about ten minutes later.

Lunch at Rashida's:
     Rashida hosted Soniya, Priti and myself in her home for lunch. The three of them were students in one of my most memorable batches--in the late 1980s. They were the students with whom I had traveled in North India and they were present with me when we had run into Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones and his brother, Christopher, in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. I had stayed in close touch with Soniya through the years, but, thanks to social media, have only very recently made contact with Rashida and Priti (who is a published novelist). 
     Soniya followed swiftly on my heels but Priti really dragged her feet. We ended up having a helping of sheer korma (vermicelli payasam) which Rashida had made especially for me as I had told her that I really enjoyed it; and by the time we exclaimed over it, Priti arrived.
     Lunch was plentiful and royal--we had an absolutely delicious chicken soup, rotis with a chicken curry made with crushed cashewnuts, cream and yogurt, pullao with mutton curry, potato vegetable with greens, salad of tomatoes and onions (kachumber). Everything was delectable and we could not stop eating. There was more sheer korma for dessert.
     Needless to say, we talked our mouths off. All our conversation circled around those blissful days when they were undergrads and I, fresh out of grad school and still working on my doctorate, had some of the best years of my teaching career in Bombay with their class. We were very happy when Rashida's husband Khozem joined us towards the end of the afternoon. We stayed a little while longer to enjoy his company and then it was time for us to leave.
   
Visiting the Hospital In Which I Was Born:
     Rashida came downstairs to see us off. Priti had her car and would be giving Rashida a ride to the place she needed to reach, while Soniya and I would be taking an Uber and I would drop Soniya off en route home.
     However, before we called for the Uber, I decided to visit the premises next door--which happened to be the hospital in which I was born--Eugene Maternity Home. There was a wrought-iron arch above the entrance to the hospital that announced its past antecedents. I ventured inside the compound and discovered that it is what we would call a double-storied British colonial-era mansion. When I told the gatekeeper that I was born in this building, he broke into a huge grin, He then told me that the obstetrician who had delivered me, Dr. Eustace Seqeuira, is no more, and the hospital was closed down as a maternity home after he passed away, a few years ago. His son, Denzil Seqeuira, a well-known fashion photographer now continues to live in the building which has been converted into a private home.
     I went through the horse-carriage porch (all mansions had this feature in old days to shelter from the sun and rain) and found myself on the main porch. I peered through the double glass doors--Palladian-style with fan-shaped ventilator window--and looked down a long marble-floored corridor with a staircase that I could see opening up to get to the upper floor.
          The building is set in a lush garden that is filled with banyan and bamboo trees. Of course, the mansion could do with a good lick of paint and the garden could do with some pruning--but, by and large, I was happy to see that the building in which my life's journey began, was still standing and has not been demolished to make way for some high-rise eye sore. It made me wonder if my unabashed Anglophilia stemmed from being born in this colonial-era building.
       Across the street is Masina Hospital, run by a Parsi Trust. It used to the personal private mansion of the same Baghdadi Jew, David Sassoon, who besides being the richest man in Bombay in the late 19th century, also owned acres of prime real estate in the area. When he was cured of a hernia by a Parsi doctor, he sold him the mansion and the gardens surrounding it for just Rs. 25,000. The doctor converted the mansion and the grounds into a hospital complex.  I strayed into the grounds with Soniya and took pictures of the mansion (now hospital). This neck of the Bombay woods--the area around Byculla and Mazagoan (once upon a time my own stomping grounds in my infancy, childhood and teenage years) is so packed with history that we have decided to make another date and take a stroll through his area.
   
An Evening with Azra:
      The Uber driver dropped Soniya off along the way and took me on to Bandra where I went straight to Dad's place to spend some time with him and Russel and to report on my afternoon with my former students (now friends). I told Dad about my stepping into Eugenie Maternity Home and I am sure I evoked memories of my Mum for him too because the entire visit was extremely poignant for me as I kept thinking of all the things my Mum had told me about my birth in this hospital and her stay there.
     Dad left for the 7.00 pm Mass and I stayed on with Russel to keep him company. Then, when he returned at 8.00 pm, I got a text from my friend Shahnaz's daughter Azra to find out if I was free and if we could do a movie at my place. I was happy to accommodate her need for company in her mother's absence (Shahnaz is on a cruise with her school batch mates). I called Bandra Gym and ordered a Chicken Tikka Pizza and went straight from Dad's place to pick it up. I texted Azra and told her to meet me there. Ten minutes later, she arrived there, I picked up the pizza and we strolled over to my studio.
     We sprawled around eating pizza and looking for a movie on Netflix--she chose The Whole Nine Yards which was a cheesy comedy with Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis--which had a lot of laughs as the entire plot was so hilarious. It was wonderful to have a visitor in my house--a really unusual experience--and one who was so casual and made herself so much at home. Pizza consumed, we finished off with chocolate ice-cream. It was a really fun evening and I am glad I made the time for her,
       I walked Azra down to a rickshaw and then got home to merely brush and floss my teeth and get to bed.
   What a fantastic day it turned out to be! What a nostalgic walk down Infancy Lane for me!
      Until tomorrow...
        
     
 

Perusing Favorite Bits and Bobs at the V&A Museum and Afternoon Tea at Home with Friends

Saturday, October 29, 2016
London

Morning Preparation for the Rest of the Day:
      Saturday morning, while the rest of London has a much-deserved lie-in, is a good time to catch up on all things lap-topy: such as writing a blog post, responding to email, reviewing plans for the week, etc. After breakfast (which will be bagels with cream cheese and croissants with peanut butter and Nutella for the next few days as I have run out of muesli and do not wish to buy any more as I will be traveling again soon), I had a quick shower.
     I then stepped out to Morrisons to buy some goodies for Afternoon Tea as I have a few friends coming over this evening. I bought a Black Forest Cake, some cheese sandwich biscuits from Tucs (as I needed something savory), croissants and bagels for myself and some single cream for my coffee. I returned home, stashed away my eats and cleaned up my kitchen area in readiness for my guests.
     I then decided to go out to the Victoria and Albert Museum and see those bits of it that are my favorites as well as the Costume Department for which I lacked time on the last occasion I was there.

On the Tube to and At the V&A:
     The V&A is nicely located for where I am now living in Ealing--a single Tube ride (District) takes me there in about twenty minutes. I love the underground tunnel that links the Tube station directly with the Museums at "South Ken". This time, however, instead of emerging at the Sculpture Gallery, I made a detour to the right and found myself in a part of the museum that I do not think I have ever seen: the French Gallery with its Baroque Over-The-Top extravagance of decorative objects--quite seimiar to the ones in the Wallace Collection.
     A tour was just winding down in the gallery and I was pleased to catch the last bit of it: a woman in a markedly French accent spoke very competently about the last days of Napoleon and his entanglement with Josephine and later with the Hapsburgs through his marriage with Marie Louise. But from what I could see, there was much more about the history than about the art works--for apart from pointing to a small sculpted bust of Josephine, she showed nothing. Oh, she did point out to a fabulous silver dinner service gifted to Arthur, Duke of Wellington, by the Portuguese government, in gratitude for his victory over Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo.  Marvelously displayed, it is really stops you in your tracks. Clearly, the Portuguese used their slave labor thoroughly in their African silver mines for I recalled a magnificent center piece that arrests the visitor at Apsley House at No. 1 London, a mansion that was gifted by a grateful nation to its then favorite son--it runs the length of an extraordinarily long formal table and is stunning for its size and its craftsmanship.
     For the rest of my time in the same gallery, I feasted on eye candy available in the form of a German ivory and walnut table top sculpture depicting the Wisdom of Solomon from the Bible, an occasional table made from mother-of-pearl, a marvelous Sevres porcelain dinner service made for royalty and several gorgeous pieces of furniture that vied for attention with tapestries and other decorative objects. This gallery alone deserves a visit to the V&A and I am glad I spent time in it. The 'discovery' as it were of this gallery made me convinced that no matter how often one goes to such museums, there is still always something new to savor.
     I got the news of the passing away of my Dad's second cousin Clifford in Arizona while in this gallery. The wooden benches inside a very intriguing sculpted wooden "globe" made by a co-operative of carpenters in South America provided a handy perch as I digested the news by phone delivered by my cousin Cheryl in Kent. It was sad indeed but merciful and I paused for a few minutes to utter a prayer for him as I moved on.
     The next gallery that grabbed my attention was the Costume Department which I had specially arrived to see. It is marvelous how well the V&A documents Western fashion from the 18th century to contemporary times--all the way to the 1980s. There are spectacularly large mantuas which make you wonder how women ever moved in them, cage crinolines from the Victorian Age which make it clear how women wore skirts with so much girth and on to the 20th century with fashion icons such as Mary Quant popularizing the decidedly minimalist mini dress--such a contrast to the abundance of fabric used by women in previous centuries.
     From there, I went upstairs to one of my favorite sections: Jewelry. There I found that cameras are no longer allowed--I was glad I took pictures of the lovely silver 'chatelain' which is my favorite piece in this section, a while ago. After Jewelry, I moved into the Silver section (also a favorite) where I viewed, once again the three Rosenborg silver lions in silver electroplate: the originals are in the Throne Room at Rosenborg Palace in Copenhagen where I had seen them with Llew, a couple of years ago. I also moved further into the gallery to see the Jerningham Wine Cooler: a gigantic one that can accommodate up to 117 bottles of wine.
    Down the gorgeous ceramic staircase I went--it is also one of my favorites--to have lunch in the most gorgeous café in the entire world: the Poynter and Gamble Rooms on the ground floor. I ordered a coffee and had it with my sandwiches before I walked through the Courtyard with its fountain and its strange sculpture and returned to the tunnel to go back home.
           
Preparing for Afternoon Tea Chez Moi:
     I was all set and ready by 4. 30 for my guests who arrived at 5. 15 pm--Cynthia and Michael followed by Raquel. I had invited several others but travel and Diwali came in their way and they could not make it. We had a lovely two hours together as we tucked into cake and biscuits and the brownies and bakhlava that Cynthia bought. Raquel brought me a fabulous gift: a book on Caravaggio which would not just immortalize the visit we made to the exhibition at the National Gallery but will give me intense pleasure as he really is my favorite artist of all time.
    Time flew as we nattered on. My guests loved my place and told me how lucky I was indeed to have found it--and at the price I am paying too (which is really reasonable for what it offers). Indeed, I do wish I had been staying here right from the very beginning, but I know that I have made the most of my time here. 
    After my guests left at about 7. 30 pm, I cleared and cleaned up and then had a long Face time conversation with Chriselle which allowed us to catch up on so much. The evening arrived and because I had eaten so much for Tea, I skipped dinner. All I had was a cup of soup. It was when I opened my fridge again that I made the late discovery that I had completely forgotten to serve my guests the Lamb Samosas that I had bought specially for them from Southall! That was a very serious Senior Moment for me!
     After a bit of TV, I switched the light off and went to bed.
     Until tomorrow, cheerio...     

Mass at Brompton Oratory, Museum-Hopping and Drink with a Colleague

Sunday, August 28, 2016
London
     Unbelievable that tomorrow will make a month since I arrived in this city! But then I think of how much I have covered, how much has been accomplished and I feel as if I have been here forever. Awaking at 6.30 am, I had the time to write a blog post before having a full English brekkie, making myself a blue cheese sandwich and heading out the door.

Off to the Brompton Oratory for Mass:
    Having checked the website last night, I found out that Mass at the Catholic Brompton Oratory in Kensington was at 10.00 am. So at 9.15 am, I stepped out. Bethnal Green had stirred by this time and there were a few people going about their business on the road. I hopped into a District Line train (which has to be the slowest line on the entire Tube system as the train makes its way sluggishly through the tunnels no matter what time of day unlike the other Lines that hurtle through them). At 9. 50, I arrived at South Kensington Station and a few minutes later, after a brisk five minute walk towards Cromwell Road, I arrived at the church.

Mass at the Brompton Oratory:
     The Brompton Oratory is Catholic London's response to the Anglican St. Paul's Cathedral.  I love this church. It is a grand affair, both inside and out. Multi-domed, it has commanding Neo-Classical pillars that draw you inside to a wide, high porch and then into a gorgeous church built in the grand Italian high Baroque style with more cupolas, domes and gilded pillars, a wealth of sculptural saints, numerous side chapels and a High Altar that remains in the pre-Vatican II position, i.e. up against a wall so that a priest turns his back to the congregation as he celebrates Mass. One Easter, a few years ago, Llew and I had attended the 11.00 am service which is still in High Latin with a full choir, incense, the whole shebang! This time, there were about 200 people in the church many of whom were French Catholics  (as I could tell from their conversation at the end of Mass)--which is understandable as 'South Ken' is Little Paris (for some reason, French expatriates in London have congregated in this vicinity). Hence, their patronage of this church.
      The priest was rather uptight, I thought, for being so young. But then it is probably the solemnity of his surroundings that affect his demeanor. His sermon was very good though, I have to say. You kneel at the rails to receive Communion, so it is all very old-fashioned. Sadly, there was no music as the full choir makes an appearance at the following Mass.
    When I emerged from the church about an hour later, it was drizzling--typical English weather--fair one minute, foul the other. Luckily, the porch provided wide shelter and encouraged socializing--which was when I heard all the French around me. But in five minutes, the shower passed and I pushed on ahead with my plan for the day--which was to attend the special exhibition entitled 'Curtains Up' that will be closing shortly, at the next-door Victoria and Albert Museum--so five minutes later, in I was.

'Curtains Up' at the V and A Museum:
     As its name suggests, 'Curtains Up' is a special exhibition on show biz created to celebrate the entertainment traditions of London's West End and New York's Broadway. It is on the second floor of the museum, past one of my favorite sections in the museum--the Jewelry collection. Inside, the space is transformed into a dark theater--you are supposed to imagine that you are inside it throughout the exhibition. And it was wonderful! Through costumes, playbills, real awards (Oscar, Emmy, Tony and BAFTA), posters, photographs, letters and recordings, we were taken through the glitz and glitter of that dramatic world. I saw original costumes worn by the likes of Michael Crawford (in the original Phantom of the Opera both at the West End and on Broadway), by Elton John, by Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier. There were video snippets from some plays that you could watch, recordings to which you could listen with accompanying ear-phones, a whole cubical section reproducing the set of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, loads of props from varied shows, operas, musicals-- including The Lion King. For any aficionado of the stage or screen, this is heaven.
     I spent about an hour and a half at this special exhibit, then at 12. 30 pm, I made my way back downstairs to the lobby to await the guide for the Introductory Tour. There, since I was a few minutes early, I began chatting with an Indian couple from Northampton--he, Sachin, turned out to be a museum aficionado with memberships at many London museums, and she, Rukmini, turned out to have Plantar Fasciitis when she was visiting New York, a few years ago. She fully understood my need to find a stool that would accompany me on the tour.

An Introductory Tour of the V and A Museum:
     I have taken this tour so often over the years that I am now pretty sure I can give it myself! Still, there are always new things to see because new objects are always added to the collection--so I hoped to be introduced to something quite spectacular on this tour. About twenty people had gathered for it and we made a jolly lot as we took off. During the course of her tour, the guide Marilyn Larsen, took us to the following objects:

1. The Raphael Cartoon Room: Every HL Tour covers this room as it is truly a treasure. Seven full-length paintings or 'cartoons' (two of which are done entirely by Raphael and five by his assistants) cover the walls of a large dimly-lit gallery. They were meant to be the models from which tapestry-weavers would create tapestries of the same size--based on the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul.  Six tapestries  are in the Vatican Museum (Llew and I had seen them when we were there, a few years ago), one is actually on the wall in this gallery, exactly opposite its mirror image in the painting. Marilyn informed us that a few years ago when Pope John Paul II had visited the Museum, the tapestries were moved from the Vatican to the V&A temporarily--it was the only time the entire set of cartoons  and tapestries were ever united and she is sure it will never happen again.
2. Chinese Vase: This is neither old nor perfect--so visitors are encouraged to touch it to feel the imperfections.
3. Porcelain Tea Cups by Philip Lin: I am not sure I got his name right but this is a modern Chinese-British ceramist whose tea cups feature tiny hands creating a mudra or gesture that stands for good luck. The work is so fine and so delicate that Queen Elizabeth is reputed to have given entire tea sets as diplomatic gifts to visiting dignitaries.
4. Bodhisatva Guanyin: A massive wooden seated figure from China, once fully gilded.
5. The Garden: She took us out into the garden at precisely the point where it started drizzling again--so in we came! There is a large sculptural pavilion in the garden right now--an installation from engineers in Stuttgart in Germany. Called the Elythra Pavillion Installation, it is reminiscent of beetles and is made entirely by robots. However, we merely looked at it and had to leave as a result of the rain--which was gone five minutes later. Like I said, typical English weather today!
6. 'Scandal' Sculpture by Charles Sargent Jagger:  Commissioned by Henry Mond for his London home . It is meant to be placed above a fireplace in Art Nouveau style. It features a nude man and woman and supposedly caused a  scandal when it was revealed. It is accompanied by a fire basket--all made of pewter.
7. Sculptures by Rodin and Painting of the Sculptor: We walked through the Sculpture Gallery where she pointed out two pieces by Rodin--John the Baptist Preaching and One of the male characters on the Gates of Hell. Accompanying  that section is a painting of Rodin by the English portraitist, John Lavery. Since Rodin gave many of this works to the museum, this painting represents Anglo-French artistic collaboration.
8. Central Chandelier by Dale Chihuly: The tour ended in the main lobby with an examination of the lovely chameuse and lemon chandelier by Chihuly, my favorite glass artist of all time and a fellow-American based in Takoma, Washington, outside of Seattle. What she didn't tell us is that Chihuly chose the colors based on the Victorian window panes that were made in the same pastel colors (I had learned this from another guide on another tour). She did tell us that the dome is inspected regularly to make sure it can still bear the weight, that it is cleaned once a year when the entire lobby is kept out of bounds for a couple of days and that it is on long-term loan from Chihuly. She also said that his work is so valuable that if one of the prongs should ever fall off, the museum will manually break it to pieces to ensure that no one person can make a lot of money from it!
9. Victorian Wedding Dress: In the Costume section (which I really do want to go back to see in detail), Marilyn took us to see a Victorian wedding dress. I learned that it was not until the wedding of Queen Victoria that brides wore white. She, being short, decided to wear a white dress at her wedding to Prince Albert--and ever since then she set the trend for bridal white. So it has nothing to do with purity or chastity or virginity. White dresses are worn just because Victoria was too small-made and thought that she would stand out better in a white dress when surrounded by all those male courtiers. Because she also worn an orange blossom wreath, brides have worn wreaths and veils since then!
10. Tipu's Tiger: No HL tour at the V&A is ever complete without this item. It is a wooden music box in the form of a tiger leaning over a British soldier and mauling him to death. When the handle on the box is turned (now much too fragile to be used), the tiger roars and the soldier shrieks. It was said to be made for Mysore's Tipu Sultan in the last years of the 1700s just before Tipu was vanquished by the British in the Battle of Seringapatnam.  It is the most popular item in the museum--for obvious reasons.

And that, as I can remember the tour, was it. Did I see anything new? Yes, the tea cups and the wedding dress. But it is always fun to take a guided tour in a museum as I like to see if I can get any tips on how to make my tours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art any better. And, of course, there is always something new to learn and appreciate on a tour with a new guide.
     When the tour was done, I took my stool with me and went off to the Gamble Dining Room to eat my sandwich and have a cup of coffee.  While there, I was joined at my table by another single female museum visitor called Suzanne which whom I had a lovely chat. We talked about our fondness for museums, for visiting them alone (so that we can see what we like and stay as long or as little as we want) and about some venues that I can explore (and of which I have never heard) such as the William Morris Gallery on the East Side where I live.
   While I was chatting with Suzanne, I received a call from my NYU colleague Brendan wondering if we could meet for a drink. He was headed to the National Gallery to see the Painter's Paintings exhibition and I wanted to continue my tour of the National Portrait Gallery. I told him we could meet for a drink at 6.00 pm. which would work perfectly for me as I could run one more errand in Hammersmith.

On the Bus to Hammersmith for Bus Route Maps:
     So, ten minutes later, I was on a bus to Hammersmith Bus Depot because I needed to pick up bus maps for Central, East and West London. The ones I have are so well used that they are breaking apart and I need to keep some for my London file. After I obtained them from the Information Kiosk, I sat on a return bus only hopping off for half an hour at Kensington High Street to browse through the thrift stores there. And I found the DVDs of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, both Parts 1 and 2 in an Octavia shop! I was thrilled. Now my Harry Potter series of DVDs is complete and I am learning that if it is British films I want to add to my collection at home, London's thrift stores is what I should be scouring. Across the street was Geranium, a place with wonderful vintage jewelry in the window...but as it was near closing time, I did not have much of a chance to browse.
     On the Bus again to the National Portrait Gallery, I got off at Trafalgar Square and walked along. I got myself a stool and returned to Gallery 18 and for the next hour, I completed my tour of the second floor. When next I get there, I shall start the Twentieth Century. I believe it will take me roughly two sessions to go over that museum and then turn to the Tates--London and Modern.

 A Drink with an NYU Colleague:
     Meanwhile, as the hands on the clock at St. Martin's In the Field Church crept to 6.00 pm, I made my way to the entrance of the National Gallery to meet Brendan.  It was so great to see him again. He will be spending this coming academic year teaching at London--a position I once held a few years ago. We decided to go and get a beer and as we walked towards Leicester Square on an evening that was teeming with tourists enjoying the lovely coolness of a summer's evening after intermittent spells of rain, we found a pub called The Porcupine on Shaftesbury Road. In no time at all, I was nursing my Guinness and exchanging news and views with m'coll--and about 7. 30 pm, we thought it was time to depart. We walked to the Tube station together and made plans to meet next week during Orientation at NYU.

Dinner and TV and Bed:
     I reached home at 8.00 pm, had a shower, put my dinner together and sat down to watch Making a Murderer--next episode.  Thankfully, I still have some entertainment at my finger tips, due to my laptop computer. And by 10.30 pm, with a very brief conversation with Llew (as I was both sleepy and tired), I fell asleep.
     Until tomorrow, cheerio... 

Ambling in Albertopolis

Monday, July 29, 2013

Battersea, London

            Waking up to the sound of trains is a novel experience but a nice romantic one. There is a railroad line that runs just outside my window here in Battersea and planes on the Heathrow Path, not to mention helicopters ascending and descending over the helipad poised over the Thames where river boats ply all day long—all these journeys, these to-ings and fro-ings are deeply romantic to me.

            I worked for three steady hours after a muesli brekkie. Waking early provides me with the opportunity to do focussed editing work and to redraft my proposal to the publishers. I also had a request letter for a transcript to draft and sundry other email correspondence items to complete. Before I knew it, it was 11.30 am—where does the time go? It was great to have Alexander, Roz’s son, for company as he pottered around on the lower level having come in after 2.00 am last night. He leaves for Oxford (where he lives) later today. As I worked on my laptop, I watched birds—a variety and a great multitude of them in Roz’s garden—Alexander informed me that the small yellow ones are probably blue tits—go figure! There were also large strange ones I’d never seen before—wood pigeons, he said. Llew would have loved it.

            At 11. 30 am, I was at the bus stop intending to get to Vauxhall to take the Tube to start my ambles around Albertopolis as the area around the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum is called. But I have become strangely proficient in the use of the red buses and when one came along proclaiming “South Kensington” as its destination, I was on it like a bonnet! It was a lovely ride—through Chelsea (I love the King’s Road and Fulham Road and could dally on them forever) and the Bluebird Cafe where I have been intending to eat for ages and into “South Ken” which is Little Paris, really, what with the plethora of French shops that have cluttered the area.

           

Revisiting the V&A:    

           It wasn’t long before I entered the V&A that looked very different from what I remembered. It didn’t take me long to realize that a whole new wing had been added to it on the right—a wing that was under renovation while I had lived in London—it turned out to be the new Medieval and Renaissance Wing that was opened soon in late 2009, soon after I left. Naturally, I had to take a tour of it and to my good luck, there was one beginning in just two minutes: a special tour of the Medieval and Renaissance Wing. It wound around the Museum’s treasures—from the court on the ground floor where the guide pointed out the Italian medieval stone wells, the stema (signature stone) of Pope Leo X and Giamdebologna’s Samson Wrestling the Philistine—which is one of the museum’s treasures. (Indeed, it did not take me long to discover a wonderful leaflet entitled ”Twenty Treasures of the V&A” that points visitors in the direction of its most notable items in a collections whose number is staggering. And naturally, I resolved that I would return tomorrow to do a self-guided tour of them as instructions and directions are very clearly marked on the leaflet. However, one does now have to pay one pound for the Floor Plan (as also in the National Gallery)—so it is now worth holding on to these after one’s visit instead of consigning them to the trash bins.  

            Upstairs, our tour took us to a stone Gothic Altar, to the Gloucester Candlestick (made of gilded base metal using the lost wax technique), to the stained glass window panels from La Chapelle in Paris (not clear how they got to the V&A), to completely different stained glass panels from the Church of the Stained Blood in Bruges in Belgium (also not clear how they got to the V&A), to the massive tapestry entitled The Boar Hunt—one of a series of four that details all kinds of medieval hunting (bear, boar, deer) among lords and ladies dressed to kill (pun intended), a most unusual marble bas relief of the Ascension of Christ by Donatello in a space devoted exclusively to his work (as the V&A has the most works by him outside of Italy) and finally a studiola with very interesting ceramic ceiling rondels by Lucca della Robbia that portrays the 12 months of the agricultural year.

            By then, it was nearly 12. 30 pm and I rushed downstairs to the Information Desk to join the Introductory Tour which is what the Museum’s Highlights Tour is called. This docent, named Deborah, was simply amazing—passionate and energetic and so knowledgeable. She started with the Ardabil Carpet which is dimly lit for just 10 minutes on the hour and the half hour—it is indeed the largest carpet of its quality in the world and arrived in the V&A via Persia and Los Angeles (having fallen temporarily in the possession of J. Paul Getty). Upstairs, we paused at the terracotta Bust of Henry Tudor that remained in the possession of his son Henry VIII and stopped at the Hereford Altar Panel—a confection of Victorian design in multi-media: metal, studded semi-precious stones, marble, gilded wood, terracotta (figures of Christ and the angels) meant for the church and designed by the great Sir George Gilbert Scott but never installed there. This vantage point gave us an opportunity to gaze upon one of my favorite works in the Museum—the softly colored Chandelier by Dale Chihuly that cascades over the Main Information Desk echoing the soft colors on the Victorian stained glass window panes from where Chihuly took his inspiration when commissioned the work.

            In the Renaissance and Medieval Galleries (constructed in imitation of the Millennium Dome installed in the British Museum), she pointed out the New Court (with its fountains and its sculpture), we skimmed past the Casts Court that was temporarily closed (the casts are taken from the world’s greatest sculpture so that the V&A has plaster casts of Rome’s Trajan Column and Florence’s David, both by Michaelangelo and by Donatello and loads of Gothic altars from French cathedrals including the famous entrance to Chartres Cathedral. We saw the side of a timber building from Bishop’s Gate in London that was left untouched by the Great Fire of 1666 and then went on to the Back courtyard where we saw a new bronze sculptural installation named The Three Graces by a contemporary sculptor Georg Baeslitz—a truly ugly installation that the guide said was “like Marmite—you either love it or hate it”. And I hated it!

            From there, we moved on to the Indian Wing where she led us to Tipu’s Tiger (of course!)—maybe the museum’s best-known object: a music box that when wound plays the sounds of a tiger’s roars and the screams of the Englishman who he is mauling to death--really gruesome but a good indication of the hatred with which the English were held in Mysore where Tipu Sultan fought hard to keep them at bay. The large wooden music box is entirely Indian made and very impressive indeed. She also pointed out Shah Jehan’s nephrite Jade drinking cup exquisitely carved with a lotus base and the detailed head of a ram on the handle. And finally our tour ended at the Raphael Cartoons on long-term loan from the Queen to whom they belong. Commissioned by the same Leo X who built the Sistine Chapel, they are colored drawings in tempura by Raphael for the tapestry weavers who ultimately wove the masterpieces that hang in the Vatican. The V&A has one of the tapestries and it is hung right opposite its Cartoon illustrating the manner in which the finished tapestry was a mirror image of its cartoon.

            I cannot leave the V&A without visiting its splendid cafeteria which is probably the best in the world. It is composed of what is known as the Morris, Poynter and Gamble Rooms, each of which has been designed and decorated by one of the great Arts and Crafts practitioners of the day. I particularly loved the ceramic walls and the stained glass windows and I settled down with a cheddar, celery and apple scone served with butter and a lovely pot of Darjeeling—which served as my lunch, to enable me to take in the grandeur of my surroundings. How much I love the V&A, I realized, and what a treat it is to return to this place, time after time.

           

Off to Pick up my Suitcase:

            Leaving the museum unwillingly behind me, I arrived at South Ken Tube station (using the useful underground passage way that links the V&A with the station) in order to get to Abbey Road to pick up my suitcase from Raquel’s place. I was there in 20 minutes and was disappointed not to find anyone at home. I cleared out my case and the fridge that had a few of my food items in it and was on my way walking towards the Tube station in order to get my case to my new digs in Battersea when along Grove End Road came Raquel with son Jonas and a huge shopping trolley in tow—she had just gone to the supermarket. We had a long and affectionate reunion on the street but because my case was heavy, I did not return to her place. Instead, I carried on to Battersea and was amazed to reach there in about half an hour.

            A rest and a nap was called for after hauling my 20 kg case across London (although I have to say, given the lifts and escalator everywhere, I did not have a hard time of it at all) and curled up on my bed on the top level of the house for my 20 minutes shut-eye.

           

A Walking Tour of  Alberotopolis:

At 5. 15pm, I left the house with camera, map and Oyster card in my pocket and on the bus I went back to South Ken to start my Walking Tour of Albertopolis—as the area is known. It was the brain child of Prince Albert (Victoria’s beloved husband), a German who brought with him all the culture and polish of the German court to an England that was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. Marrying England’s manufacturing genius with Europe’s artistry seemed like a no-brainer for Albert who came up with the idea of the Great Exhibition (of 1851) to showcase the amazing wonders that man was capable of creating. He was also a dedicated lover of architecture and in founding the Royal Academies of Music and Art and Geography and Organists and Science, what he created was a miniature town—full of wondrous red brick buildings with elaborate black wrought-iron balconies (slightly imitating the French windows of neighbors across the Channel), fancy stucco embellishments and often exuberant carvings. And that is Albertopolis. I thought so much of Chriselle, because on her last trip to London when she had visited the area with me, she had simply fallen in love with it and with its architecture and couldn’t get enough of it.  

Everyone knows the story of how heart-broken Victoria was when she lost Albert to typhoid when he was merely 41 and how determined she was to create a memorial to him that would stun the viewer. Well, my walk wound me around the spherical Royal Albert Hall where there was a serpentine queue waiting for Standing Room to see the BBC Prom concerts that occur throughout the month of July and into August. I was sorely tempted to stand in it myself because for a mere five pounds, I could have listened to a world-class orchestra—but I had told my friend Roz I would be home with her for dinner.

So instead I took pictures of the wonderful sculpture of Albert at the back of the Hall and made my way to Kensington Gore—the road in front which is dominated by George Gilbert Scott’s brilliant Albert Memorial designed to look like a medieval market cross—but lavishly gilded. Albert who has recentlty been re-gilded sits there in larger-than-life mode with the catalogue of the great Exhibition on his knee (brilliant idea!) on a dais surrounded by at least 200 personages from the past that represent art and science and learning and flanked on four sides by marble sculpture that represents Asia (elephant), Africa (camel), Europe (bull) and America (bison). It is a truly an extraordinary piece of work and I felt the same kind of awe that I feel at the Taj Mahal as I circumnavigated its splendor. Many many pictures later, I was finally ready to leave and take the bus back to Battersea where I reached at almost 7.00 pm.

Roz helped me throw in a load of laundry and then I was ready to go on a long walk again, at her suggestion, along the Thames Path. What a great suggestion it was! We strolled, on a perfect summer’s evening with only the slightest hint of rain in the air, to the waterfront, past the helipad to arrive at the lovely Georgian church of St. Mary where William Blake had married and on to her ‘local’, The Woodman of Battersea, where I had “a swift half” pint of Guinness and she sipped a Sauvignon Blanc and we gabbed non-stop as we tried to catch up on all that has happened in our respective lives since the last time we chatted. It was a simply fabulous evening with a dear friend of whom I am really fond.

          Back home, where Oscar, Roz's beautiful Burmese cat is making himself very much at home on my lap, at nearly 10.00 pm, we had a very light but very delicious dinner: smoked salmon with buttered bread and salad with ice-cream for dessert. What a great day! At close to midnight, I reviewed and responded to email and fell asleep.