Saturday 2 May 2009

loitering in London


on Monday i escaped the broom closet at the Anchor [VERY different to the light and airy room they use to illustrate their website]
felt a bit Potterish
but the proprietess [?] kindly brought me onion skins for the class
so tis mostly forgiven

unusually i had a day "off"
so i decided to wander
somehow i found myself at the Garden Museum
[near the Lambeth Bridge]
 


there i discovered the tomb of the Tradescant family, famous gardeners and collectors of plants



the Museum garden was home to the flowers that had been popular in their time


i sat on a bench amidst a fragrant cloud of lily-of-the-valley and happily painted splodgy watercolours



[mind you, no splodgier than those of Le Corbusier whose life is presently under examination in an exhibition at the Barbican centre ]


after a time i wandered on heading west along the Thames. near the Vauxhall bridge i came upon a small ramp where access to the shingle was possible

my feathered friends watched as i collected fragments of flint, blue-and-white porcelain, blue glass, perfect pocket pebbles and [oh delight] a pearl button
 

8 comments:

  1. You made me laugh about how the Anchor advertised their rooms vs the reality! It's the norm these days unfortunately. Thank you for the tour of the garden.

    ReplyDelete
  2. India - you are a 'mudlark'!
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudlark

    ReplyDelete
  3. so you better stayed that day in Belgium...I heard so much about you from martine! it makes me more and more curious about you.
    the lily of the valley from my garden sents you her scent!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've enjoyed grazing here today, getting the feel of London (sigh...) and as for painting amidst a fragrant cloud of lily-of-the-valley ....bliss!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lost... in transit?
    Hope you have arrived back safely.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ooh! The treasure gleaned from the banks of a waterway are the best, and I send my sympathies for the hotel room. Had the same experience when there too, AND paid a fortune for it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The overwhelming colour of GREEN was so refreshing
    thanks for the journey and the memories of a northern Spring. welcome home in upside down land

    ReplyDelete
  8. treasures me hearties....watch for pirates and rogue custom wankers. Looks grey and dirty that river, but glad you found treasure. And glad you found the tradescant garden...love the skull! Death in the green...again it must be the pirates. x marks the spot. is always x
    x
    x
    x
    x
    x
    x
    x
    x
    x

    ReplyDelete