Somehow this did not get posted from a few days ago so here it is a bit late…
My man in the Ukraine reports it has been about 100 degrees there. Here in London it has been in the 60s, which is just fine for me, if not my English friends who would like a proper summer. It rained a bit today but didn’t get in the way.
Met my friend M. At the National Gallery where we saw a small Vermeer show and had a delicious lunch (smoked trout and cottage cheese on a bagel grilled and flattened like a panini. it worked.)Next stop, the always interesting National Portrait Gallery which had its annual portrait contest, a room full of remarkable work by artists from around the country. Really fun. I took my kids to this about nine years ago and we all got a kick out of being able to vote on a winning portrait. This time we voted on a computer touch screen outside the exhibit space, which displayed miniatures of each portrait. Cool!
I walked to my favorite London park, St. James, where the gardens are glorious thanks in part to all the rain. Sat on a park bench watching the world go by. London is incredibly busy and Cosmopolitan these days, with people not only visiting but moving here from all over the world.
Met F. At her office behind Victoria Station (where there is tons of construction) and we met up with R. And two friends at a very good and bustling gastro pub in Chiswick, the Duke of Sussex. I had fish and chips, once more. Photos below of Shalstone road, mortlake where I am staying at my friend’s lovely home.
TakeBetsywithyou 