June 2023 Archives

The Morph Scupture Trail came to London earlier this month, and I spent one day last weekend seeking them out. Unfortunately, a couple of them had to be removed from the trail already due to damage. The Morph sculptures are located along the South Bank and the City of London and are easy to walk to. They celebrate diversity and inclusion and aim to raise money for Whizz Kidz charity, which helps children with mobility needs.

Below are some of the sculptures that I saw.

Chocks Away! - Rhiannon Griffiths; Maximus Morpheus Londinium - Tim Sutcliffe

Good Vibes - Lucy Hebden

Freedom - Ruth Green; Tiger Morph - Jenny Russell

London Collage - Linda Baritski

Peace Love and Morph - Lucy Hebden; Midas Morph - David Bland

Morphlowers Please! - Marnie Maurri

Roll with It - Sarah Matthews

Morph and Friends Explore London - Elaine Gill; Tartan Trailblazer - Alison Black and Caitlyn Fulton

Make Your Mark - Sarah Emily Porter

Astromorph - Solopress

Mondrian Morph - Lynne Hollingsworth; It's Raining Morphs! Hallelujah! - Olaf Falafel

Morph Wizz-Kidz Argonaut - Jason Whilsher-Mills

The Bard - Susan Webber

On Guard - Hannah Lewin

Gingerbread Morph - Donna Newman; Mr. Create - Jenny Leonard 

Totally Morphomatic! - Glen Brooks and Jane Mota; Apart Together - Olivia Hylton

Morph into the Pinataverse - Anthony Rule

Pearly King Morph - Sandra Russell; Morph the Yeoman Guard - Amanda Quellin

Blaze a Trail - Rob Biddulph

Whizz Bang! - Jess Perrin; Gentlemorph - Tabita Harvey

Polly Morphism - Sally Guthire; Rock Star! - Tom Fletcher

The London Man - Jenny Pearce; Morph Target - Signe Tveitan 

Looking After the Ocean - Ali Elly

Swashbucker - Peter Lord

Morph, it's the Wrong Trousers! - Melissa Howe; Apples and Pears - Helen L. Smith

The Morph sculptures are in London until 20th August.

For my birthday earlier this month, I was taken to see "The Greatest Night of the Jazz Age" experience in London, which was like a theatre production but immersive. We had the expensive seats with a three course meal seated at tables. We were transported back to Manhattan in the 1930s on the opening night of Belle Livingstone's 58th Street Country Club, which is a speakeasy (selling prohibited alcohol and playing live jazz music).

Upon entering the venue, we were transported into various 1930s imagery and icons.

As we had the special package, we received a class of bubbly when we sat down. We also had popcorn at the tables to enjoy.

In keeping with the speakeasy theme, I ordered a couple of cocktails. I ordered Arizona Kid, which was a cocktail with a kick of spice and delicious. I also had the Country Club Special, but it wasn't my favourite.

I was quite hungry on arrival, so we ordered a cheese board while we were waiting. 

We watched the entertainment unfold as our starter, main, and desserts were brought out. We listened to live jazz music.

The starters came out. I had the vegan option, which was asparagus with cream cheese salad dressing. They also had smoked salmon with flatbread and a salad. 

The mains were brought out, and this included macaroni cheese (this included a shrimp option for non-vegatarians) and Astoria Waldorf Salad, which is salad with apple and grapes with nuts and celery and lettuce. For meat eaters, they had BBQ chicken and pulled beef. I had the vegan/vegetarian option, which was aubergine parmagiana and a mushroom. This is one of my favourite dishes and was very tasty. I also had the vegetarian macaroni cheese.

For dessert, there was the roast cinnamon apple pie with pecan crumble and Bourbon caramel with ice cream. There was also a vegan option of coconut and dark chocolate cremeux with chocolate sorbet. The apple crumbe was also delicious.

I drizzled the warm caramel sauce over the crumble and ice cream.

Overall, we had a nice dinner and enjoyed the music and entertainment. The dinner was very tasty. The entertainment mainly included jazz music with dancing, and there were a few jokes and audience interactions too.

It's not very often, but I sometimes see a really nice piece of artwork painted on a wall in London and do not know who the artist is. I discovered this artwork earlier this year. It is a portrait of a young woman, and it is not signed by a street artist. Sadly, the work has been tagged over. If you know who the artist is, please drop be a message.

During the Chelsea Flower Show this year, I bought a special Chelsea Flower Show Gin and Tonic that I saw in the shop Partidges at Sloane Square. The gin and tonic is made from botanicals, and I really enjoyed the light and refreshing flavour. I wish they sold this all the time. I also shared with my friend, and she enjoyed it as well.

While I was in Camden this spring, I discovered a colourful street art mural of the Queen as a young woman. I am not sure who created the artwork as it was not signed. It was also very tricky to photograph as it was located in front of a staircase. If you do know who created this street art of the Queen in Camden, let me know.

Uppark House dates from the 17th century, and it was remodelled in the 1750s with items that the family purchased from abroad on tours of Europe. It was an inspiration to H.G. Wells, whose mother worked as a maid at the house and where she met Wells' father. Wells witnessed the divisions of classes of society and read books at the house as well as used the telescope in the attic while there. All of these inspired his stories, such as "The Time Machine" and "War of the Worlds". 

Before the house was built, the land that it is situated on was a hunting ground. The house was given to the National Trust in the 1950s. It also survived a fire, but it had to be partially rebuilt.

Visitors can see the grander rooms of the house and then go to view the servants' areas.

There's some views out of the back of the house.

There's not really much in the way of formal gardens at Uppark. It is a relatively small property to explore.

There is a few acres of sculptued land and a mound with a sculpture on top. I visited on a sunny day, although most of what there is to see at Uppark is the house itself.

Woolbeding Gardens, located in Sussex near Midhurst, can be enjoyed in the spring and summer months. I visited it in the middle of June on a beautiful sunny and warm day. The gardens have been in design for over fifty years. Visitors can explore many garden rooms, the Woolbeding Glasshouse and Silk Route garden, sculptures, ruined abbey, and pleasure grounds to explore. Simon Sainsbury and Stewart Grimshaw were those responsible for making the property what it is today after its occupation from the Lascelles family. The estate came to be under National Trust in 1957. 

Upon arriving, I joined a tour group to understand the history of the gardens. 

The William Pye Fountain is a modern fountain and work of art that marks the spot of a huge cedar tree, which came down in a storm.

The gardens were alive with late spring and early summer displays.

The Glasshouse is one of the attractions, and as I was visiting there early, I got to watch it open up. I got to look inside it too.

It fully opens, and the way that it is done is really a work of art and architecture.

Afterwards, I went to explore the abbey, which was a walk of a few minutes through the field into a wooded treeline. The abbey marks the spot where pleasure gardens begin.

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There are several little areas to see with little buildings and sculptures, include the sculptures dedicated to the four seasons.

A Chinese-style bridge looked attractive over the lake in the pleasure gardens.

Afterwards, I had a wander around the garden rooms.

Woolbeding Garfens is worth a visit in late spring or early summer and is a perfect activity for a warm day, particularly watching the Glasshouse open.

In the middle of February through early March, I had to spend some time in Munich for work. While in Munich, I had some of the weekends to do a little bit of exploring the city. Below are some of the photographs that I took. While in Munich, I visited the following: Munich City Museum, Munich Science and Technology Museum, Pancake Day in Munich, and Munich Residenz Museum. Below are more photographs of places that I visited.

The main square in Munich contains a clocktower that chimes on the hour with figurines that come out and move.

Easter was approaching when I was in Munich, and the main market had several Easter-themed decorations and coloured Easter eggs. 

The market was selling all sorts of food, vegetables, fruits, crafts, and other items. 

One day, I went to English Garden and had a wander around and climbed the little mound with the temple on it.

On the last day, I enjoyed a hot chocolate (proper Italian) and a pistachio croissant from Eataly.

This concludes my tour of Munich.

At the end of February, I travelled by train from Munich, Germany to Salzburg in Austria. I had to spend a few weeks in Munich for work, and I had some time one Sunday to do some sight-seeing. I chose to get the train to Salzburg. My previous post describes some of what I saw in Salzburg (A Visit to Salzburg from Munich), but this describes my visit to Salzburg Castle (known as Hohensalzburg Fortress), which was the main attraction that I saw. The castle dates from 1077 and is on of the best-preserved castles in the middle of Europe.

I walked up part of the hill to get to the funicular railway.

The sun was shining on the snow, and I watched as we scaled the hillside to Salzburg Castle.

The views over the castle hill were impressive and even more beautiful in the snow.

One of the attractions in Salzburg Castle is a puppet museum.

I walked up the stairs into the castle itself.

The iron soldier below dates to World War I. The public could hammer a nail into the sculpture and pay a donation to help widows and orphans.

There was also a military museum in the castle.

There were also state rooms to see. The Golden Hall was a ballroom, and this is the largest of the state rooms. It contains designs of German coats of arms. The state rooms date from the 1500s and are good examples of the late Middle Ages.

The Golden Chamber, which contains a tiled furnance. The tiled furnace is a rare example of Late Gothic ceramics. Off of this room is a library. None of the furniture exists in these three different state rooms, but they contain all of the original design.

This is the Bedchamber, off the Golden Chamber.

Below is the cook's room.

There were some museum items on site, such as suits of armour and gold coins.

And a chapel, dedicated to Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach.

And some of the old architecture in the museum...

Gold coins were found stashed into the castle's walls.

A chapel in the castle grounds...

I had a walk around the castle grounds.

I admired the views over snowy Salzburg. I even got snowed on.

That concludes my visit of Salzburg Castle.

At the end of February, I had a day trip to Salzburg in Austria from Munich on one weekend while I was in Munich for work. I got the train from the central of Munich to Salzburg, which was a two hour journey. When I woke up in Munich, there was snow on the ground, and it was very cold. As the train went along, I glimpsed through landscapes of snow. I wanted to explore as much as I could while I was in the area.

Some of the scenes were quite pretty with snow-covered trees, churches, and fields. I saw some children playing in the snow. I watched the snowy landscape outside the train windows.

The skies were grey when I got to Salzburg. I had never been to the city before so did not know what to explore, but I knew that there was a castle on a hill to see. I headed in the direction of the old town, and I passed a cathedral. Being a Sunday, shops were shut. In Germany and Austria, shops shut on Sundays. Unfortunately, I was not able to get out the day before.

There were some pleasant parks to see.

The other side of the river is where the old town of Salzburg and castle are located, and there are some nice views of the castle on the hill.

I did not visit Mozart's Birthplace, but Salzburg is famous for being the birthplace of the famous composer. Tourists can visit the building. Salzburg is also famous for chocolate, and I bought some to take away with me.

The old town of Salzburg had narrow alleyways and some hidden shops. I wish I had visited it on a Sunday, but a few shops did open up later in the day.

Easter was not far away, and I saw decorated Easter eggs in some shop windows.

There is also Salzburg Cathedral here near the castle, but I did not visit it.

I found a hidden cemetary in the shadow of the castle at the foot of the hill; it was St Peter's Abbey.

There was a sculpture in a square Kapitelschwemme near the castle.

A bridge across the river had many locks installed on the chain-link fence.

I wanted to go into Mirabell palace, but it appeared to be shut. The grounds are probably amazing in the summer with flowers and the sculptures, but they were covered with snow. 

There are also views of the castle from the grounds of Mirabell palace.

I visited the castle at Salzburg, but I will cover the castle in the next post. Overall, I spent about four hours in Salzburg; I explored the old town, went up the funicular to the castle to explore it, and ate a lovely Italian meal before heading back to Munich. 

June is my birthday month, and it has come around really quickly this year. I did not have a large celebration, but I did go out with a couple of friends for bottomless brunch at the same venue that I went to last year. The actual day was extremely hot and one of the hottest days of the year, which does not work well with drinking bottomless Prosecco. This year has been particularly stressful for me. I have been very busy with work, and some personal situations have not been the best for me. This little celebration helped to make everything a little bearable. 

I did get a small Victoria sponge cake with fresh strawberries and raspberries to help celebrate.

My friends wanted to go to Prime Steak and Grill in Beaconsfield again. I had pancakes, which was not really enough to eat, and I had a creme brulee for dessert. Happy birthday to me.

While I was in Munich in February this year, I visited a few museums and attractions. One of the museums that I visited was the Munich City Museum, which contains a lot of information about the city of Munich and temporary exhibitions. Unfortunately, the Munich City Museum does not contain information boards in English, and being a non-German speaker, I did not get a lot out of the museum except in one or two areas that did have English translations. However, I have attached a few of the exhibits. 

Outside the museum are some old stonework.

This is a model of the old city of Munich.

There was a display on puppets.

Some of the below was in English, and it mentioned the multicultural city of Munich and how immigrants received weekly food allowances. The food was described as to what was in the weekly offer, but it would not suit vegetarians and non-pork eaters.

I thoght this tea set was pretty.

While in Munich in Februrary earlier this year, I visited Deutsches Museum. The museum is a wealth of knowledge and contains many different exhibitions relating to science and technology. I explored the museum but focused on certain topics that interested me more than others. There were the following areas: space, bridge architecture, chips, cameras and optics, crypto, code breaking, press and printing, airplanes, robotics, agriculture, medical fields, chemistry, trains, and more. I spent a lot of time learning about the code breaking and printing, airplanes (which was over multiple floors), and agriculture.

I found that someone could easily spend the whole day here and still not see everything, and museum fatigue is real. My suggestion is to focus on the areas that you are most interested in and do make time for a break.

A few years ago, I discovered some street art in east Lodon that appeared to be doll heads painted different colours and pasted up on walls. These look to be from a mould and either resin or some plaster material. The work was unsigned, so I am not sure who the street artist is. Anyone who knows can leave a message.

This post contains some street art that I have captured over the past several months. Street artists Jim Vision and This One have collaborated on a wall near Old Street, and I also captured various other murals of both artists' works. Both This One and Jim Vision are London-based artists. This One seems to have started painting on London's walls in 2016. Jim Vision's work uses elements of fantasy. This One usually creates illustrative artwork in black and white paint. The first piece is a collaboration on a wall.

I also captured some murals by Jim Vision around east London.

Including this one at Old Street, which has been there for years.

This One also painted many walls and shutters around east London.

This is a collaboration with Nush Poke.

Below is some street art by This One that I have captured over the past several years.

Street Art Collaboration: This One and Nush Poke
Street Art: HNRX and This One
ThisOne and Koctel Collaborate on Street Art in Shoreditch
Street Art: This One
Street Art Round-Up January, 2018
Manchester Street Art Update 2019
Street Art Murals in east London by ThisOne
Street Art from HNRX, Frankie Strand, ThisOne

Below are some of the street art murals by Jim Vision that I have spotted over the past several years.

Jim Vision Street Art in East London
Jim Vision's Street Art Tribute to Stan Lee
Street Art: 2Square, CodeFC, Jim Vision, Mr. Cenz, Peter Drew, Zadok
Jim Vision "Battlechasers" Street Art
Jim Vision "Lost Paradise" and Other Street Art
Jim Vision Adds to Tagged ROA Hedgehog and New Work
HumanNature Endangered13 Street Art Paint Jam, Day 2
New 'Star Wars' Street Art in Shoreditch

Pablo Fiasco is a London-based street artist who creats stencil artwork and often uses the tag of a spray paint cap. The artist often paints comical work with focus on political and social events. His work was spread across Brick Lane, Sclater Street, and off Great Eastrn Street.

Last weekend, I went to Chelsea in Bloom to see the floral displays with a friend. We ended up in Peggy Porschen's cafe, admiring the beautiful cakes and trying some of their special creations for the Chelsea Flower Show. One was a blueberry-inspired cupcake with lemon, and the other was a raspberry and strawberry one. We had a glass of rose petal prosecco to wash it down with.

To see what we got up to and got to see at the Chelsea in Bloom, this year, see Chealsea in Bloom: Flowers in Film. 

Peggy Porschen cafe can be found on King's Road, about a fifteen minute walk from Sloane Square. There is another one on Elizabeth Street roughly a fifteen minute walk in the other direction toward Victoria Station.