A few weeks ago, I took part in the press viewing of “Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Florence, c.1504” at the RA, but only got myself to finish and publish the review just now. The exhibition will be open until 16 February 2025, and I highly recommend you visit. It is located at the Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries on the far end from Piccadilly, right next to Burlington Gardens, the street, and inside Burlington Gardens, one of the two main buildings of the RA. All pics (c) BerkeleySqB. Pic #1 shows painting attributed to Francesco Rosselli and workshop, View of Florence from the Southwest, c.1495. MICHELANGELO, LEONARDO, RAPHAEL, FLORENCE, C.1504 AT THE RA All visitors at the press viewing had been given strict instructions on which artworks were completely off limits and which could only be photographed in so-called studio-shots, showing the exhibition space, not mainly the artwork, perhaps showing more […]
The Unseen at Riverside Studios – Political Theatre at its Best!
Ellie and I watched Craig Wright’s fabulous The Unseen at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith last night. Political theatre at its best! FACES OF RUSSIAN RESISTANCE AT THE UNSEEN AT RIVERSIDE STUDIOS Studio 3 with a capacity of 172, was perhaps filled to about three quarters with spectators, an okay turnout, considering it was a rather cold and miserable Monday evening far away from London’s bustling Westend. On your way past the box office and reception area to the theatre you pass by the excellent photo exhibition “Faces of Russian Resistance” by Elena Filina, which has already been shown around cities in much of Western Europe. It is particularly moving, because it does not only show the big heroes, like Navalny, but also many every-day people from all walks of life, some of whom not even particularly political and with no history of activism. All pics incl. feature photograph (c) […]
Moco Museum London – A Very Impressive Art Collection
Last week, Ellie & I were invited by Moco to check out their new London venue. The museum opened next to London’s Marble Arch in August. As some of you might have guessed, the name of the museum is a portmanteau of Modern and Contemporary (Art). (2) Jeff Koons: Balloon Venus Dolni Vestonice (Violet); (3) Dolphin Taz Trashcan FIRST VENUE OPENED IN AMSTERDAM EIGHT YEARS AGO It opened its first exhibition space in Amsterdam in 2016. The founders and owners, Kim & Lionel Logchies-Prins, had been longstanding local art dealers, who had exhibited the art in traditional, free-admission art galleries, for the main purpose of selling the artwork to big-pocketed customers. In October 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, the second venue was opened in Barcelona. (1) Koons: Monkeys (Ladder); (2) Jean-Michel Basquiat: Untitled (Bicyclist); (3) Koons: Untitled (Donkey) THE MUSEUM IS AIMED AT THE […]
Our two-day Outdoor First Aid (Level 3) Course
Ellie & I have just completed a two-day Outdoor First Aid Level 3 Award Training Course with AM Outdoors (£100pp). I had been following Aaron Mitchell, the owner of AM Outdoors, on X for some time. He’s an interesting dude. Former medic with the British Army, served in Afghanistan and around the world, then spent a year and a half riding his motorbike around the world, seven years ago, before settling down back in Old Blighty. MAKING A PROPER WEEKEND AWAY OF THE OUTDOOR FIRST AID COURSE (LEVEL 3) The course took place at Summit House in Gillingham, near Rochester in Kent. Normally Gillingham station is a mere 40 minutes by train from London, and would have been easy to commute to. However, the trains had been having plenty of hiccups on this route lately, which is why Ellie & I had decided to make a proper weekend away […]
Spicy Nepalese food at Gurkha Fire, Chatham
Ellie and I are currently spending a weekend in Chatham, near Rochester, in Kent, for a two-day wilderness first aid course. Naturally, with us being fond of food and all, we had to check out the local culinary scene. GURKHA FIRE, CHATHAM, ONLY OPENED IN MARCH THIS YEAR This is how Gurkha Fire caught our attention. They only opened in March this year to great acclaim, with the mayor and other dignitaries attending the opening ceremony. The mayor at the time happened to be the first Nepalese-born mayor of the UK, Nina Gurung. Of course, she comes from a family of Gurkhas. Within weeks Gurkha Fire became the top-ranking restaurant in the whole region (125 restaurants), according to Tripadvisor. Ever since we first visited Nepal in 2020, we have grown fond of Nepalese food. All pics (c) BerkeleySqB except where otherwise noted. Pic #2 above (c) Kent Online GURKHA […]