Grayson Perry

 Last month I went to see an exhibition of Grayson Perry's work at the Wallace Collection in London. Perry is a British artist best known for his ceramics and tapestries. He is also a cross dresser with an alto ego called Clare. For this exhibition, Delusions of Grandeur, he had created another alter ego, Shirley Smith. The fictional Smith considers herself the heir to the Wallace Collection. The exhibition is curated by Perry around Shirley's life and artistic obsessions, including family trees and the Wallace Collection itself. I have included Perry's explanations and insights into his work.

Perry dressed as Shirley seated in the Wallace Collection Museum.

 

Herons

 As I walked by the Thames yesterday I spotted 3 grey herons.

This is the North bank of the River Thames near the old East India dock. The tide was out and the heron was not disturbed by people walking on the Thames Path. It probably knew we couldn't access the shoreline. Across the river is the O2 arena at Greenwich Peninsula. 

Not too far away is Bow Creek which flows into the river Thames with the buildings of Canning Town in the background. Two herons were hoping to catch something for lunch.

 

 

A not very good close up of the grey heron. They are a common sight in London these days.

The Tower Remembers

The Tower of London created a poppy display called 'The Tower Remembers' a few months ago which will be removed later this year. It is on display within the Tower walls. Tens of thousands of the original ceramic poppies which flooded the moat in 2014 have been used. This time they have been arranged as a 'wound' at the heart of the Tower from which they form a crater and flow outwards. The Tower was bombed during the war resulting in injuries and death.

The 30,000 poppies were given to the Imperial War Museum after the display in 2014. This is the first time they have returned for this year's memorial of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2

  

Paris

 This weekend I went to Paris, France with my daughter and my 7yr old grandson and 11 yr old granddaughter. Most people assumed we were taking them to EuroDisney but we were there to show them the sights.

The highlight for my grandson was the Eiffel Tower. We took two lifts to get us right to the top of the tower which I had booked well in advance. I am not that happy about heights and eventhough we were inside a lift, I didn't feel that comfortable the nearer we got to the top. Once at the top(which is enclosed in glass) the views were tremendous and I have to admit it felt much higher than I thought. My grandson was truly full of awe and wonder and wanted to go back each day to look at it again.

The newly opened Notre Dame Cathedral which I was desperate to see had such horrendous queues that I had to forget that idea. Just not fair on the children. 

Of course we had to return at night to see the 'twinkles'. The tower is always lit up at night but on the hour for just five mins it is lit by tens of thousands of  flashing LED lights hence the name.

The pyramid above the Louvre. We were there as it reopened after the theft of the French Crown Jewels. I had booked tickets a while ago but it still took 40 mins of queuing to get in due to security . Once we actually got to the security section, I was surprised how unprofessional it appeared. It was nowhere near as thorough as getting into the National Gallery in London. 

I was glad we made the effort though as both the children loved the museum. As it used to be a palace the building itself is so decorative and opulent and of course we did see the Mona Lisa.

So many attractive shops and the numerous bakers with their collections of bread and cakes made it difficult to resist.

The extensive Metro system makes it easy to get around.

It is four years since I was last in Paris and the biggest difference was the crowds and I don't mean tourists. Every metro train we got on was crowded and felt uncomfortable. The cost of food and especially soft drinks was very expensive. Planning ahead and booking tickets before you go is absolutely essential. Overall it was a really good trip and one the children will remember for a long time.