An Afternoon in London

* there is one major spelling mistake but I’m leaving it because it has made folks smile!

A Wednesday adventure with a difference last week! I had to go to London for a meeting which was in the East of the city. Usually when we visit, we go to Paddington / Charing Cross so being in the area of Kings Cross and St Pancreas was a new experience for me. We didn’t have much time after my meeting but we did get to the British Museum and had a chance to look at these new stations, both of which have been given a make-over.

First the library. It is mainly reading rooms surrounding an atruim but the central ‘book case’ is very impressive as it goes from floor to ceiling through 3 levels.

There were lots of folks with books, various electronic devices and food (!) on the walkways. I was surprised about the food but there are a couple of eateries in the building as well as one outside keeping Isaac Newton company!

From the library, we made our way to St Pancreas station. This is now an international station as the Eurostar trains leave from here so the make-over was more than getting rid of the ravages of the steam era. Not only does it have a pretty amazing roof, there are several interesting sculptures on the upper concourse.

John Betjeman, who is credited with saving the station from demolition in the 1960’s, is immortalized by Martin Jennings looking skywards perhaps towards that roof!

You breath is taken away however by   Paul Day‘s sculpture ‘Meeting Place’. It is a 30ft sculpture of a couple embracing in the tradition of ‘Brief Encounter’ and so it’s place is obviously beneath the reconstructed Dent clock. The embrace is stunning but the frieze that goes around the base is extraordinary. My pictures can’t do it justice as in order to see the full beauty of this art through a lens, you have to be the other side of the screen which means you have to be travelling on Eurostar!

  

 Do watch this short clip that hopefully will encourage you to take a visit here if not a train when you are next in London!

Wind in the Willows

My husband is not a reader.

Despite going to one of the best known and well respected state grammar schools in Kent, much of his ‘youff’ was spent playing football and reading was only done when absolutely required. His regular reading now is limited to a certain newspaper on a Monday because ‘their sports coverage is very good’.

That said, he has a favourite book from his childhood which is ‘The Wind in the Willows’. He loves the way Kenneth Grahame depicts life at the turn of the twentieth century, albeit through the lives of the animal characters. This passion has stayed with him into adult hood. When he retired, he used to come into my school three times a week and take small groups of children for reading. They were usually readers who needed additional help and encouragement, although he did have a high-flying group of 11 year olds who were just about to take their SATs tests.

Once he had established a rapport with the children they would move away from scheme books to books that had more interest for them. So for instance, a couple of Year 4 (8 year old) boys looked at poetry about football. What all groups shared was the Wind in the Willows treatment. Nick would find a copy of the book at the appropriate level. Did you know there is a Ladybird version? Each group would find its own level of intellectual discussion particularly around vocabulary that is no longer used. How fabulous for them to hear ‘Onion sauce’ as a taunt to a rabbit trying to charge a sixpence for travelling along his part of the road!

On our recent trip to London to do the Books About Town Bench Trails, we just had to find the Wind in the Willows. It shows some of Toad’s mad adventures.

Of course, I had to take himself sitting on it!

The backs of these benches, all designed by local artists and famous names are also decorated. It was grand to ‘The Lads’ depicted so beautifully as the group of friends they were.

Is Wind in the Willows in your library? Have you a favourite children’s book that has stayed with you as you grew?

13 Challenges – #12/1 – Margaret

Another new challenge and what a lovely one – going out with friends!

First off the blocks is Margaret, my sister-in-law and all round good egg!

We all went up to London to see the Valentino exhibition which was brilliant. Below is a collage of our day:-

Somerset House, the Living Wall of Athaneum Hotel, Selfridges, shoes, the Crypt of St Martin in the Fields, Pret a Manger, skyline of London, work on new underground and of course Margaret!

Decorations

We have recently been for a couple of days in London. With the letter for Alphabe now at ‘D’ it was an obvious choice to share some of the wonderful decorations on display.

People visit just to see the decorations. These were taken in Oxford Street, Regent Street, Covent Garden and the Strand Palace Hotel.

Enjoy!

Silent Sunday

Last Week I Learnt That …#65

• There are some words that I feel very uncomfortable about. Don’t worry – they aren’t rude ones! One that popped up this week was ‘belly’. A perfectly innocent word but for some reason it does not sit happily with me. For me, that area is either a tummy or a stomach. Have you words that make you cringe a little?

• When busy people give up their time to talk to you it make you feel valued.

• When you have passion and self belief, the world truly is your oyster. I visited two such individuals and although in completely different areas, their belief in their work just shone out and certainly convinced me that they were right!

• Having a spare cardigan in the car can be a life savoir when you go out.

• I can’t keep still when I’m watching Fred Astaire! I have always had a passion for dance. I actually went to college to do a course in Dance and Drama. In those days it was one of 3 such courses in the UK and only had 12 places so I was very lucky. I didn’t do anything with it though but still tap my feet when I see those amazing performers.

• No matter how often we go, a trip to London is always special. It is our capital after all!

• School dinners never lose their reputation. One of my visits was to a school and we were invited to stay for lunch. Whilst I was quite happy to take up the invite one of my colleagues was very anti the idea. She could not be persuaded so we ended up with a sandwich at the services on our way back. Was that better I wonder?

Lots of business for me. How about you?