travel report, London.

[rubato]

First of all London is a very odd little place. You average hard-working Londoner is either Italian or gay, as far as I can tell. With a few asians mixed in.

The cab drivers were all English or Scottish and mostly older. Very good drivers. You have to respect the output of a 'semi-professional' approach to licensing.

We stayed in Westminster at the "Mint Hotel Westminster" which was very central and a 5min walk from the Tate Britain and some tourist shit (Parliament, Big Ben, Lambeth bridge &c). A lot of people from the Oil Emirates staying there. We went by Buckingham Palace in the cab on the way there but had no more interest in it than that.

Our one full day was spent first down at the Cutty Sark which some moron set fire to back in 2007 which made the boat viewing less than expected and then at Greenwich at the Maritime Museum which was great.

For the afternoon and even the next morning we were at the Tate Britain. We did the whole tour the first afternoon but then came back only for the Turners. Not enough time at all. Turner is beyond category. His pictures are a transformative experience. I would happily go back there for another day, or three, just trying to decode what is in his pictures.

Then we were busy discovering fast rail connections to Dover, which were very good, almost making up for the amazingly crappy surface transportation in London.

yrs,
rubato

[The Hen]

So the congestion charge isnt helping dear old London town?

Gob and I usually rely on the tube and our feet whenever in the city.

[dales]

I wonder how much Paddington station has changed since 1965?

[The Hen]

Only the peripherals.


Paddington Station 1840.


Paddington Station 1913.


Paddington Station 2004.

[rubato]

So the congestion charge isnt helping dear old London town?

Gob and I usually rely on the tube and our feet whenever in the city.

I polled all of the cab drivers about that. (four) All of them said that it had an effect at first but then wore off pretty fast. One of them said that they'd stopped calling it a 'congestion charge' (which sounds like a tax for being sick) and now called it a pollution tax or something like that. But he was Scottish and I don't know if people who look like an unmade bed are to be taken seriously or not.

I can see why the ultra-rich migrate to London from Oil Sheiks and Rock Stars to Russian Oligarchs. Its a great place to be stinking rich. Beautiful. Almost makes me regret my lack of financial ambition. Almost.

We'll definitely go back. Maybe when they get the Cutty Sark back together?


yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

Loved the fact that the Tate is open to the public with no charge (donation only), no exotic security crap.

I liked all the groups of very-well behaved school children being ushered by attentive child wranglers at the Maritime Museum. I'm not used to seeing the uniforms. There was some awkwardness for the black children in the gallery depicting the slave trade era. I guess it was hard not to see it as being 'about them' and there was a visible (or rather audible) struggle to find some point of view from which to approach something so awful.

yrs,
rubato

[The Hen]

Do American galleries charge entrance fees?

That's a shame. I am used to not paying to see art, though there are exceptions to that rule. Anytime a travelling exhibition is displayed here there will be a charge to see that part of the gallery.

[kristina]

The de Young in SF charges to get in, unless you are a member. IIRC, even members have to pay extra for special travelling shows like King Tut.

[rubato]

Do American galleries charge entrance fees?

That's a shame. I am used to not paying to see art, though there are exceptions to that rule. Anytime a travelling exhibition is displayed here there will be a charge to see that part of the gallery.

It varies, but mostly, yes. On the other hand your galleries had relatively few people in them.

The Tate had a very nice looking woman stationed near the donations bubble which I'd guess had a very good effect. I'd bet she's worth 300 pounds/hour, at least.

yrs,
rubato