When we set out this morning, the weather was cloudy with a threat of rain. We dressed accordingly, that is, with enough garments to fit whichever way the weather decided to turn.

Cloudy and threatening to rain

We strolled round Myddelton Square, making our way in leisurely fashion to the deli.

The sun came out… briefly

By the time we reached the deli, in one of those turn-abouts typical of our beloved British weather, the sun came out. It was a brief respite, though, and for the rest of our outing cloudy spells alternated with sunny intervals and the occasional spattering of rain. Don’t you just love it? 🙂

Aboard a number 30

After our coffee break, we returned uphill to the main road and caught a number 30 bus which started us on the way to our intended destination.

St Martin-in-the-Fields

The bus delivered us to Trafalgar Square and the early 18th-century Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. After nearly 300 years, the church is still here and in use but the fields that once surrounded it and in whose honour it was named, are long gone.

Nelson, still atop his column

We changed buses at Trafalgar Square where I took a quick photo through the traffic of its most famous inhabitant. Nelson is still standing on his column but for how long? There is a body of opinion that he should be removed because of his alleged racist views.

Beside the Thames

We disembarked beside the Thames which was dressed in grey to harmonise with the meteorological theme.

The Tate Britain Gallery

Opposite was our destination, the Tate Britain Gallery. We were not sure whether or not we would manage to enter as all galleries currently limit access to avoid over-crowding and you need to obtain tickets, even for free exhibitions. Perhaps because it was a week day, we were able to acquire tickets without difficulty. These were for the main exhibits, not for the special exhibitions which were booked up solid all day. We were happy with this as there were a couple of temporary exhibitions that we could see. In order to obtain tickets, we had to give our names and telephone numbers in case we needed to be notified of Covid infections occurring in the gallery.

Inside Tate Britain

The building itself is worth visiting for its architectural interest as this view of the staircase perhaps suggests. A one-way system was in force, as everywhere these days, and these stairs were “up only”: to come down you had to go another way.

The gallery cafe

Before proceeding to view the art, we paid a visit to the gallery cafe.

Coffee and cake

Here we treated ourselves to coffee and cake. Well, why not? It was a special occasion in a sense, our first post-Covid visit to a major art gallery.

First glimpse of the art

We first visited an exhibition, a commission by Heather Phillipson entitled Rupture No1: Blowtorching the Bitten Peach. I will not attempt to interpret or “explain” it. Make of it what you can with the help if the linked page.

There were still objects, like this one which is paired with an identical twin, and moving objects or screens with motion pictures as in the photo above. The universal red lighting sometimes made it difficult to see clearly.

“Like something from a nightmare,” said Tigger of this piece. Agreed.

This is a detail from the “nightmare figure”, showing that it is papered all over was sheets from newspapers.

These wheeled vehicles or machines, provided with massive animal horns, were grouped around a pool of water like animals round a waterhole.

From the outside and…

…from the inside.

My Tuk Tuk
Chila Kumari Singh Burman, 2018

We stopped to photograph this object as we were on our way to the next exhibition.

This exhibition consisted visually of a structure like a theatrical stage on which were a number of animals on stalks. It was accompanied by a monologue or commentary of which I, with my faulty hearing, could understand little. We stayed only a short while. It is called COOKING SECTIONS SALMON: A RED HERRING. Perhaps you can make sense of it.

There was the rest of the permanent collection to see but with art, as with any nourishment, there is a limit to how much I can consume at one sitting.

The gallery shop

We of course visited the gallery shop but didn’t buy anything.

St John Smith Square

From the Tate Britain we set out on foot and passed through Smith Square which is dominated by the early 18th-century church dedicated to St John. No longer serving as a church, St John’s Smith Square is now a concert hall. Many concerts broadcast by the BBC take place here.

Aboard a number 88

We boarded a number 88 bus to begin our journey home.

Eros, boarded up

We passed through Piccadilly Circus and saw that the famous fountain with its statue of Eros was boarded up. A workman was applying to the barriers what I took to be anti-climb paint. I imagine this is because an influx of hooligans is expected, stupid people whose idiotic behaviour spoils things for the rest of us.

We changed buses in Piccadilly and arrived home in time for a late lunch. It was a good outing and, all being well, there will be more tomorrow.