OK, I didn't actually go to the V&A on Tuesday. I spent most of Tuesday in my new favourite building. But the point is, I could have.
One of the nice things about this career-break / period of unemployment / venture into self-employment / new career as a lady who lunches (delete as appropriate) is having the chance to soak up some culture.
Last week I got to the National Gallery for the first time. Quite how I have missed this for the last eight years is beyond me, especially given the amount of time I spend in or near Trafalgar Square (I'm a bit like a homing pigeon when it comes to that part of town, which is ironic given that Trafalgar Square is the absolute last place on earth a homing pigeon would be allowed to live these days. But I digress.)
Anyway, my point is, the National Gallery is fabulous - full of lots of famous paintings which I had no idea were in London, all in an incredibly opulent building. Of all the treasures I stumbled across though, the most unexpected was The Hoerengracht, which is on until February 21st. Basically, one of the rooms has been tansformed to recreate Amsterdam's red light district*. Not quite what you expect in the middle of a stroll through Rembrants, Picassos and Rubens, but there it was.
The exhibition is on until February 21st, is free, and definitely worth a look, whatever your thoughts about the subject matter. if for no other reason than to admire the attention to detail. Plus, when I was there, for some reason they were playing Cheryl Cole's latest single in the background. Which made me laugh.
*I've been to the actual red-light district, as it happens, which is a very long story involving one of my oldest and dearest friends and some very embarassed Japanese business men....and sadly one which we both swore never to speak of again.
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Arise, Sir Hall.....
If buildings could be knighted, Royal Festival Hall (part of the Southbank Centre) definitely deserves a gong.
It's a fantastic place. Being without internet access at home at the moment, I've pretty much set up semi-permanent residence in the foyer. It's spotlessly clean, with plenty of room, a decent bar and coffee shop, and free wi-fi. Plus it's full of all kinds of interesting people, who are great fun to eavsdrop on. Today I was working next to a man who had been awarded a prize for services to Polish cinema, yesterday I overheard a group of peole who were making a music video for a musician with Downs Syndrome, asking for his feedback.
I knew it pretty well even before this week; in the past 12 months I've been there to play scrabble, shared pain, joy and chocolate with fellow NaNoWriMo-ers in the foyer, been to a couple of concerts and killed several spare hours there with a glass of wine and my laptop, catching up on emails and enjoying the view over the Thames.
It's a fantastic place. Being without internet access at home at the moment, I've pretty much set up semi-permanent residence in the foyer. It's spotlessly clean, with plenty of room, a decent bar and coffee shop, and free wi-fi. Plus it's full of all kinds of interesting people, who are great fun to eavsdrop on. Today I was working next to a man who had been awarded a prize for services to Polish cinema, yesterday I overheard a group of peole who were making a music video for a musician with Downs Syndrome, asking for his feedback.
I knew it pretty well even before this week; in the past 12 months I've been there to play scrabble, shared pain, joy and chocolate with fellow NaNoWriMo-ers in the foyer, been to a couple of concerts and killed several spare hours there with a glass of wine and my laptop, catching up on emails and enjoying the view over the Thames.
Up in the Air
GO AND SEE THIS FILM. Seriously.
It's been getting rave reviews, and before the Golden Gobes was generating a lot of buzz about Oscar nominations. I love a good rom-com as much as the next person, and can think of far worse ways to spend a few hours than staring at a giant image of Mr Clooney. So it didn't take too much convincing to get me along to the Curzon on Saturday night.
As it turns out, calling Up in the Air a rom-com is a bit like describing Jaws as a nature documentary. In 109 minutes, this film raises issues about relationships, families, job security, marriage, getting older, expectations and aspirations, and why any of these things matter in the first place. Chances are it will tip everything you thought you knew about life and the choices you’ve made out of your head, stir it all around for a bit and then pour it all back in; slightly unsettled, perhaps fundamentally unchanged, but certainly not un-examined.
In the end it only picked up one of the six Golden Globes it was nominated for. And, as much as I loved the film, I can kind of understand why. It's very understated, and although the performances from all three leads are brilliant, they are almost too good - so natural that it's easy to forget they are actors on screen and not just people whose lives we've stumbled into for a couple of hours.
The ending (without wanting to give too much away) is somewhat ambiguous; something which would normally drive me crazy, but here it seemed to fit. Although the part of my brain that is curious about what happens next is now nagging me to read the book for some answers.
It's been getting rave reviews, and before the Golden Gobes was generating a lot of buzz about Oscar nominations. I love a good rom-com as much as the next person, and can think of far worse ways to spend a few hours than staring at a giant image of Mr Clooney. So it didn't take too much convincing to get me along to the Curzon on Saturday night.
As it turns out, calling Up in the Air a rom-com is a bit like describing Jaws as a nature documentary. In 109 minutes, this film raises issues about relationships, families, job security, marriage, getting older, expectations and aspirations, and why any of these things matter in the first place. Chances are it will tip everything you thought you knew about life and the choices you’ve made out of your head, stir it all around for a bit and then pour it all back in; slightly unsettled, perhaps fundamentally unchanged, but certainly not un-examined.
In the end it only picked up one of the six Golden Globes it was nominated for. And, as much as I loved the film, I can kind of understand why. It's very understated, and although the performances from all three leads are brilliant, they are almost too good - so natural that it's easy to forget they are actors on screen and not just people whose lives we've stumbled into for a couple of hours.
The ending (without wanting to give too much away) is somewhat ambiguous; something which would normally drive me crazy, but here it seemed to fit. Although the part of my brain that is curious about what happens next is now nagging me to read the book for some answers.
Friday, 22 January 2010
Endings and beginnings.....
Last day at work today. I knew it was going to be hard to say goodbye, but WOW. I'm at home now, surrounded by cards, flowers, chocolates, still feeling a bit emotional about it all. But, as last days go, it was just about perfect.
My day began in a school, with a handover meeting. I took the colleague who'll be taking over from me along and we had a tour of the school and met most of the staff. Then I listened, feeling slightly guilty, while they took the opportunity to book her in for a whole pile of training dates, some lesson observations, and as a guest speaker at their upcoming careers day. Just as we were about to leave, two kids appeared with a giant computer-shaped card, complete with a furry "mouse" (photos to follow, much easier than describing it!).
We got back to the office just in time for a surprise morning tea. I was really touched by how much effort everyone had gone to; the office was decorated with balloons, banners, and giant photos from the last three years, we had three different types of cake, and there was even a specially chosen "Caroline playlist" on the stereo. It's amazing how nervous you can get when people have chosen songs which remind them of you! Garry Glitter took some explaining........
We have a long standing tradition of home-made cards in our office, and so one of these was dutifully produced. As I said at the time, I would have been disappointed with anything less! They also gave me "teacher of the year" mug (which I was planning to souvenir anyway, to be honest!) left over from our stash of end-of-year presents a few years ago.
My 'real' presents were lovely; flowers, chocolates, champagne, a bracelet, and a Tate membership - perfect. Lots of very nice words said (by other people) and some very incoherent words said by me as I tried to explain how much our office and the people in it have meant to me for the last few years. They really are like a second family; I will miss them all, and our office banter, terribly.
The rest of the day revolved around food, basically. Chinese for lunch, and drinks and dinner at Canary Wharf this evening, although becuase we were all driving, not many drinks. But that's how most of our work dos go (apart from the time Emma - now my manager - and I ended up drinking wine out of coffee mugs, but that's a different story.....). So it would have felt strange doing anything else.
My day began in a school, with a handover meeting. I took the colleague who'll be taking over from me along and we had a tour of the school and met most of the staff. Then I listened, feeling slightly guilty, while they took the opportunity to book her in for a whole pile of training dates, some lesson observations, and as a guest speaker at their upcoming careers day. Just as we were about to leave, two kids appeared with a giant computer-shaped card, complete with a furry "mouse" (photos to follow, much easier than describing it!).
We got back to the office just in time for a surprise morning tea. I was really touched by how much effort everyone had gone to; the office was decorated with balloons, banners, and giant photos from the last three years, we had three different types of cake, and there was even a specially chosen "Caroline playlist" on the stereo. It's amazing how nervous you can get when people have chosen songs which remind them of you! Garry Glitter took some explaining........
We have a long standing tradition of home-made cards in our office, and so one of these was dutifully produced. As I said at the time, I would have been disappointed with anything less! They also gave me "teacher of the year" mug (which I was planning to souvenir anyway, to be honest!) left over from our stash of end-of-year presents a few years ago.
My 'real' presents were lovely; flowers, chocolates, champagne, a bracelet, and a Tate membership - perfect. Lots of very nice words said (by other people) and some very incoherent words said by me as I tried to explain how much our office and the people in it have meant to me for the last few years. They really are like a second family; I will miss them all, and our office banter, terribly.
The rest of the day revolved around food, basically. Chinese for lunch, and drinks and dinner at Canary Wharf this evening, although becuase we were all driving, not many drinks. But that's how most of our work dos go (apart from the time Emma - now my manager - and I ended up drinking wine out of coffee mugs, but that's a different story.....). So it would have felt strange doing anything else.
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