Wonderful food, and A Visit to the National Gallery

I recently had a day in London, and took the opportunity to revisit Mere, Monica Galetti's restaurant, for lunch. 

I'd been once before, with my friend A, a little over a year ago, and had been looking for an opportunity to go back! 

Starter - Asparagus and Morels - Ragout, Broad Beans, Marmite
Mushroom Puree, Madeira Sauce

It was well worth it! They've just changed to their Spring menu, which meant lots of lovely fresh flavours.  I was only there for lunch, and didn't feel I had time for the full tasting menu, but as it turned out, since I was given 2 amuse-bouches as well as the courses I actually ordered. All of which were delicious!

Main - Herdwick Lamb - Cannon, Sweetbread & Tongue,
Black Garlic, Courgette & Basil, Lemon Thyme

   
It was all glorious, and, as you can see, beautiful to look at as well! I also got to try sweetbreads for the first time (my verdict is that I like them, or at least I like them if they have been cooked by Monica Galetti.)

Dessert - Yuzu and Rhubarb
Yuzu Posset, Rhubarb Compote, Ginger Shortbread, Rhubarb Sorbet

Well worth a visit if you are in London, (and while it isn't cheap, they do do a fixed price lunch menu during the week, as well as the tasting menu and a la carte).

After lunch, I went to the theatre (to see Betrayal again), then, as I had time to kill before my train home, I went the National Gallery,  as I am always happy to spend time there.

I usually tend to head to the Sainsbury wing, where they keep one of my favourites, the Wilton Diptych, and the Uccello George and the (rather sad) Dragon,  or alternatively to the opposite end of the gallery, where they keep another of my favourites, Henri Rousseau's Surprised!  

Details from Rubens' 'The Lion Hunt' 

This time, however, I decided to give those a miss, and to spend some time with some of the other artworks. 

I rather enjoyed Rubens' sketch, ' The Lion Hunt', particularly the worried horse batting its eyelashes at us.

And this study of Saints Christina and Ottilia. 

Particularly St. Ottilia, who is carrying a tasteful , if slightly startled, pair of eyeballs. 

It turns out that St Ottilia wasn't, as you might think, martyred by having her eyes removed but rather was miraculously cured of blindness.(The label by the painting is silent on whether this was before or after she formed the habit of wandering around with her eyeballs balanced on a book..!)

 I did also make time to go and visit The Ambassadors , and Whistlejacket.

Then I took a walk back to the station, through Hyde Park, where I spotted some of the resident parakeets ( They apparently descend from a small number of pets which escaped or were released, 3 years ago or so, and now there are literally thousands of them living wild)   

I also saw a pair of jays, which made me happy. I haven't seen one for years, so it was a lovely surprise, even if they were not very cooperative about posing for photos!

Altogether an enjoyable day.

The National Gallery - a flying visit

The weekend was busy. After seeing Hir, I stayed overnight in London, due to plans on the Sunday.

A little while back, I saw that Sir Ian McKellan was doing a one-man show, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Others & You  to raise funds for the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, as the theatre wasn't given any Ats Council funding at all in the latest round of grants. 

Given that it was a fundraiser, tickets were, of course, expensive, and at first, I didn't think I could afford to go. But then, just s the tickets wet on sale, I got some money from my bank to say 'sorry we fucked up and locked you out of your account for months', so I decided that it should be spent on something frivolous and self indulgent, and booked my ticket!

I booked for the matinee, which meant I had time to visit the National Gallery - one current exhibition is The Caged Bird Sings, a tapestry triptych designed by Chris Ofili.

It's very beautiful. The gallery has displayed it in one of the side galleries and persuaded Ofili to create a mural of temple dancers to surround the tapestry. 

It is stunning, and the colours of the tapestry are incredibly effective against the greys of the mural.

I hadn't realised the exhibition was there, until I went into the Gallery, so it was a lovely surprise! It's on until 28th August, so plenty of time to see it if you wish!

I also had time to see a second small exhibit (in which photos were *not* allowed) of some of the works of Giovanni da Rimini, who created beautiful religious art work in Rimini in Italy in the early 14th century. I do have a soft spot for medieval art!

And there was just time to visit this,one of my favourites of the collection!

Then I met up with a friend for lunch. At her recommendation, we went to Yauatcha in SoHo, where we ate vast quantities of delicious dim sum (the Venison Puffs were my personal favourite), although sadly I hadn't time for dessert, so I shall be forced to return at some point...

And so, we parted, and I set off to see Sir Ian McKellan!

(For those in the UK or with access to BBC iPlayer, there is a documentary about the Ofili exhibit, on BBC2 on Saturday 15th July)

What I did for the rest of the day

My last post was about my trip to see 'The Hothouse', which was the main purpose of my day trip to London. However, that didn't take all day, I had time to take in a few other points of interest.

I started by going to The Illustration Cupboard, a small gallery/shop, which is currently showing the illustrations from David Almond / Dave McKean's new book, 'Mouse. Bird, Snake, Wolf' .

They are gorgeous (there's a full list, with images, on the gallery's site), and since I got home I have been looking down the back of the sofa in the vain hope of finding £1,500 or so, so I can go back and buy one.(I especially like 'They Made a Wolf', if anyone has a sudden urge to buy me an unbirthday present). The gallery also has lots of other nice art and prints.

My second non-theatre-y indulgence, after the play finished,  before I caught my train home, was more art, at the National Gallery, which has the advantage of being close to the theatre, and of being free, so its possible to call in and spend a little time visiting a few highlights, without feeling that you've wasted the visit.

I spent most of the time I had looking at some of the galleries earliest works, among them one of my personal favourites, the  Wilton Diptych, which was made for King Richard II, at the end of the 14th Century.

I love the way that the angels all wear Richard's badge (even if some of them look pretty bored).  I particularly like the white stag on the back of the diptych.

I also enjoy the other early works - the gallery has a couple of Uccellos (including a delightful St George and the Dragon (which seems to show that the dragon was in the RAF, so it seems a little unpatriotic to have killed it...)

Leaving the Gallery I found that Trafalgar Square was full of many competeing groups of Morris Dancers. Which was unexpected. I'd noticed that the pub I ate lunch in seemed to have an unusually high number of men in white with bells round their knees, but I just put it down to the local clientele!

'The Hothouse'

A few months ago I saw that John Simm was going to be appearing in a play in London, and as I still haven't really got over the fact that I missed seeing his Hamlet when that was on, I decided that this time, I'd make it to see him.

He is appearing in The Hothouse, and as I realised after booking, not only does it feature Simm, but also Simon Russell Beale (who I last saw in the cinema broadcast of the National Theatre's Timon of Athens). The rest of the cast is equally impressive:
Harry Melling (best know as Dudley Dursley, but unrecognisable)
Christopher Timothy (who has got somewhat older since playing James Herriott),
Clive Rowe (among other things, he was in the Voyage of the Damned episode of Doctor Who),
Indira Varma (Suzie Costello of Torchwood) and
John Heffernan (I don't think I've seen him before, but I think he is going to be one to watch)

I haven't seen the play before, and decided not to read any reviews before seeing it, so as to see it fresh.

The play is set in an Institution. It's never explained what  kind of institution, whether it is a rest home, a psychiatric hospital, or something more sinister - we never see any of the inmates (patients?), although we hear wails and screams, and learn that they are known by numbers, not names, and that they are locked into their rooms., and everything is run under the distant control of The Ministry

Simon Russell Beale is Roote, the director of the institution, initially merely ineffectual, but as the play proceeds, increasingly, frighteningly unhinged and unpredictable. Simm's Gibbs is coldly efficient, the perfect 'company man', apparently more in control of himself than the other staff members, (and perhaps therefore more culpable) .

As the play unfolds, we learn that one inmate has died, another has given birth, probably as a result of rape by one of the members of staff. We see the hapless Lamb (Harry Melling) subjected to mental and physical abuse in the name of experimentation, and things do not end well.

Despite the nature of the setting and subject matter of the play, it is full of very funny moments - as long as you don't think too closely about what you are laughing at. It's a very strong cast, and well worth seeing.

(oh, and I'm even more disappointed I didn't get to see Simm as Hamlet)

In Which There Are Friends, Art and Food

(Photo from Cathedrals Express website)

I'm home now, having had a great couple of days in London.

I travelled up by train, which was a a smooth journey, through mainly rain-washed ladscape, and which included a somewhat surreal encounter as, on pulling in to Basingstoke staition, I saw a rather beautiful Steam-Engine - 'Tangmere', complete with vintage carriages., and diners sitting a little lamp-lit tables.

A little research tells me that this is a locomotive operated by a company called 'The Cathedrals Express', and that it is a post-war, Battle-of-britain class loco.  It looked very sleek and glossy, and all of the people on board looked as though they were enjoying themselves.

I got to Waterloo just in time for the really heavy rainstorm, and rushed up the Strand to our hotel, where I met up with my sister, who was not only providing me with accommodation (dur to haveing enough reward points for a free night's stay) but also brought lunch enough for two with her, so we were able to eat before venturing out for the afternoon.

We went to the National Portrait Gallery first, where we inspected a lot of Tudor and Stuart monarchs, and sir Francis Drake's choice of (pink) doublet  and hose, besides speculating on who it was who first  thought that huge ruffs were a good fashion choiuce, before meeting up with my friend E, and her friend A, at which point we adjourned to the cafe for tea and conversation, before popping round the corner to  The National Gallery where we dicussed our qualifications to write an art guide (Sample entry "Rubens - good at bums, a bit weak on boobs.".) Doctor Who (we checked Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers', just in case it mentioned Amy) and admired lots of pictures. I found time to check on Henri Rousseau's  Surprised, which is one of my favourites, and then we exited via the gift shop, and had a look at the giant  ship-in-a-bottle they've currently got opn the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square, then went back to the hotel for a quick cuppa, before heading out for supper.

We'd booked at a restaurant called Arbutus, which my sister (the other one) recommended. It's nice. It has a Michelin star, but they do a fixed price pre-theatre meal which made it do-able for us.

And it was yummy.I picked the Salt cod brandade, then what the menu described as a 'pork and spinach meat ball' but was really a faggot - I liked it, it was very meaty, with a real punch to it,and just a touch of offal, although I suspect it wouldn't be to everyone's taste. We had some rather nice white rioja to go with it.In fact, the only disappointment was the cheese - it was very nice, but being given two small slices when you are expecting a choice of cheeses from the tantalising cheese-board you've passed on your way in is - well, a bit of a let down.

but apart from that, it was great. And it carried us nicely through til it was time to head down Charing Cross Road to Whyndhams Theatre, ready to see Mr Tennant and Ms Tate...

(in the next post...)