Bluebells

The bluebells are out in gardens and parks. Not in the woods yet, that will take another ten days or so.

 

Mayfair

We had a wonderful time around Mayfair in London a couple of weeks ago.

We wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere and admired the architecture - I always stop and look at the Fortnum and Mason's building

mainly because of the Lynne Chadwick sculpture

but I also like the clock.

We then went to the Royal Academy

to see two exhibitions

Souls Grow Deep like Rivers, an exhibition of the work of black artists from the American South

and Spain and the Hispanic World.

Having seen the two exhibitions we decided it was time to get something to eat. Unfortunately, Le Richoux, our favourite restaurant in the area, has changed management, and we did not fancy the new menu. 

So we went to Caffe Concerto instead

where the decor is a bit over the top

but the food is good.

Next stop, Marlborough Gallery where there was an exhibition on Sculpture in Post-War Britain.

On the way to the bus stop that would take us back to the train station, we saw Carpo and we went inside because seeing it made me nostalgic for Athens

and it was just like their shops in Athens

drinks

chocolates

chocolate covered nuts

tisanes and herbs

nuts and dried fruit.

 

We then walked to Regent Street and got our bus.

Colour at Compton Verney

Another visit to Compton Verney to see three exhibitions, but first, a walk around the grounds. 

I always enjoy walking around the lake which was apparently created from a chain of five separate ponds. Capability Brown designed the lake to look like a river that, like the park itself, appeared to continue indefinitely.

A photograph is posted by the lake: it's the detail of a Staffordshire dish depicting Compton Verney c1790. We did not think it quite matched what we could see and decided to investigate later.

It started drizzling so we decided to go and see the exhibitions and leave the walk for later. As we approached the house we could see the bright colours that the pillars and the windows had been decked with by Morag Myerscough.

A bright, vibrant display of tulips was one of the first things we saw after we left the house.

More tulips at the top of the steps

and some fritillaries

We walked all around the meadow which is at the back of the house which was full of cowslips

through the path that is lined with colourful bughotels made by local children

admired this massive cedar of Lebanon

more colour around this tree

anemone blanda blue

Having 'done' the grounds we decided to walk through Old Town Meadown, so over this bridge

which is positioned over this stream

and we reached the meadow

lots of dandelions

and yes, we could verify that the Staffordshire plate does provide a good representation of the view from here

We continued on our way

and reached Morag Myerscough's Village, an art installation that's been on this site for over a year.
 

Warwick Castle

 seen from St Nicholas Park.

Blossom

Blossom is out everywhere: in front of this modernist house

or this Victorian one, down the road

it's on the path by the Shakespeare Marina in Stratford

and it's in the theatre square in Stratford.