Random Things #5 and Farewell For Now

Our month in the U.K. has come to a close.  We are so happy we were able to resume The 10 Year Plan, at least in part.  

Our time here has been wonderful, filled with many great sights, happy surprises and friendly people.  

We hope to resume The 10 Year Plan next year, possibly during Spring or Summer and likely returning to U.K. for even more fun and new experiences.  

For now, we wish everyone health, happiness and a peace-filled holiday season spent with friends and family.  

Of course, Greg still has many random things to share.  Enjoy.

Until we meet again down the road, farewell. 

An Evening Out in London

During our time in London, we enjoyed some evening entertainment.  One night, we walked around Covent Garden and marveled at the holiday lights.  Later, we saw the musical Six about the six wives of Henry VIII.

The decorations above are mistletoe.  A seasonally romantic idea, to be sure.

The musical Six at the ornate Vaudeville theater was very good.  It featured six strong singers dressed in outlandish costumes, telling their personal tales of love and heartbreak.   

Thanks for joining us for a night out.  

P.S.  Another night, we saw the musical & Juliet, which tells an alternate story of Shakespeare’s Juliet:  What if Juliet hadn’t stabbed herself in the final scene? The ensuing story is filled with comedy, great music, a bit of tragedy and some unexpected plot twists.  

Random Things #4

Because our visit is ending soon, here are some more random things.  

We have seen more unicorns during our visit than ever before.  

In addition to unicorns, we have seen  a lot of sheep.  Lots and lots.  (By the way, Bristol is the of Shaun the Sheep.)

Thatch roofs are still prevalent.  Many thatchers leave behind some advertising of sorts—a trademark on the ridge of the roof.  Below is a running squirrel.  

While zooming along the highway, we glimpsed two very large sculpted horse heads in a field.  One is pictured below.  The horses are Kelpies, mythical creatures that will drown you and steal your soul.  Who knew?

Here is a series of odd things to discover while roaming around town and country.  

We were told that Bristol has the greatest concentration of barbers in England.  We saw many shops, including one on wheels.

In Wiltshire, about three centuries ago, some blokes decided to sculpt some large horses into chalk hillsides.  Below is one horse still on the loose. 

Below is another very friendly horse. 

In Castle Combe, there is a 200 year old Sequoia growing.  It is non-native and its planting is mystery. Nevertheless, the tree is a lovely addition to a beautiful setting. 

Thanks for letting us share some more random things.

Another Visit to the National Gallery

While visiting London, we hoped to visit the National Portrait Gallery.  We were thwarted because the gallery is closed for renovation.  So, we returned to the nearby National Gallery and are so happy we did.  There is so much great art to see there.  We missed many great works during our earlier visit.  Plus, two special exhibitions opened since our earlier visit. 

And away we go.  

After visiting the Tate Britain and viewing many great works by J.M.W. Turner during a docent-led tour, we decided to search out more Turner’s at the National Gallery.  Here are a few paintings that represent his early work for which he is famous and some later works which seem to presage the Impressionist movement 30 years later.  

We also enjoyed two large harbor scenes painted by Turner, which are on temporary loan from the Frick in New York.  They were in a special exhibition and no photos were allowed.  So sad.  

The National Gallery is hosting another temporary exhibition featuring Eva Gonzalez, who was mentored by Édouard Manet.  Their work is quite similar and we enjoyed discovering Gonzalez and learning more about Manet.

We also viewed works in the permanent collection and Greg selected three paintings as being blog-worthy.  The last one is especially amazing.  Enjoy.  

Thanks for revisiting the National Gallery with us.