London! part II

From St. Paul's we walked towards the Millenium Bridge where we crossed the River Thames to get to the Tate Modern. You might remember the Millenium Bridge from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

Construction on the Millenium Bridge began in 1998 and the bridge had its opening in June 2000. However soon after its opening there was a charity walk across the bridge and participants described it as a "wobbly" experience. The bridge was then closed for nearly two years to ensure its stability. It reopened in 2002. As far as I noticed, it felt quite stable underfoot! From the Millenium Bridge you can see the London Tower Bridge... 

and a local man searching for lost treasure with a metal detector.

When we reached Bankside, we came upon the Globe Theater situated right next to the Tate Modern. The Globe Theater was originally built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was later destroyed by a fire in 1613. The theater was rebuilt at the same site a year later, but then closed in 1642. (It's kind of cool to think all of this before our country was even born, what a history!) The building you see in the photograph is a modern reconstruction of what the theater looked like; it opened in 1997 and is situated less than a mile from where the original Globe Theater was built. 

the name of the theater comes from the latin phrase, totus mundus agit histrionem--
all the world plays the actor.

The current Unilever exhibit at the Tate is by Ai WeiWei, a Chinese artist who works in sculpture, architecture, and film as well as a variety of other mediums. This piece is called Sunflower Seeds.

Here are one hundred million sunflower seeds, and though they look like actual sunflower seeds and appear to look alike, they were each individually crafted and are made of porcelain. Each one was made by specialist workers in small workshops throughout China. Originally visitors were allowed to walk on the porcelain seeds, however it was suggested that the dust that started to accumulate in and around the sculpture would be harmful to inhale, so now, looking only. 
Here's a little snippet about Ai Weiwei that I got from the informative plaque at the Tate:


Ai Weiwei merges his life and art in order to advocate both the freedoms and responsibilities of individuals. 'From a  very young age I started to sense that an individual has to set an example in society,' he has said. 'Your own acts and behavior tell the world who you are and at the same time what kind of society you think it should be.' As material for his art, he draws upon the society and politics of contemporary China as well as cultural artifacts such as ancient Neolithic vases and traditional Chinese furniture whose function and perceived value he challenges and subverts.

Visiting the Tate was so wonderful. I spent time with quite a few Francis Bacon paintings including, Figure in Landscape 1945, Seated Figure 1961, Study for Portrait on Folding Bed 1963, Triptych August 1972 1972, and Three Figures and Portrait 1975. It was great to see so many of his together as I feel it can be helpful to saturate in the work of one artist.  

this is Francis Bacon's Triptych August 1972

I was also very grateful to see several of Alberto Giacometti's sculptures. 

Giacometti's three Standing Woman, all sculpted 1958-59

Into early afternoon we left the museum (with plans to return the following day...there was so much to see!) to find a place for lunch...we ended up finding some very very tasty Thai food. 

me outside the Tate-- I love the look of those trees.

the view of St. Paul's from the Millenium Bridge.

more to come, more to come!

London! part I

Last weekend we set out for London! After searching for an affordable hotel in a good location without much luck, I remembered an article I'd read in the New York Times travel section about a site called airbnb.com. On this site people can list their dwellings if they have a spare room to offer travelers for the night for a specified price. I began to search and was happy to find a lovely offering just a few minutes walk away from St. Paul's Cathedral (which I knew to be in central London and very near to the Tate Modern). I had never tried airbnb before, but it went very well. We stayed with a young couple, Aisha and Abdel, and besides their being very hospitable and offering a clean place for us to stay, they were lots of fun and really wonderful people! Something they're working on is a composite site of theme-linked podcasts and radio shows... it seems really neat, if you enjoy This American Life, Radiolab, the Moth Podcast, and Ted Talks, it'd be worth checking out (said.fm). 

It was a somewhat long journey from Huddersfield, though very smooth. Upon arrival we assessed the map and walked over to the flat from the train station. Along the way we passed by a window display of men's clothing shop. I snapped a photo for Dad, who once bought a very stylish suit while on a visit to London as a young lad.

can you see me in the reflection?

After settling into our room we set out to get our bearings and figured out where we were in relation to places we wanted to visit the following day. For dinner we found a Yo!Sushi! I'd never been to one, but it was pretty fun! They serve sushi and other Japanese cuisine. The seating is arranged along a conveyor belt on which passes food in little see-through containers. When you see something you like, you simply take it off the belt and start eating. Of course you can also order off of the menu. Here's a nice overhead photo I found on the internet. 

The following day we charted a path to St. Paul's Cathedral and then made our way to the Tate Modern.  But first found this little gem:

just around the corner is John Milton Passage!

For those of you who might not remember, John Milton is a poet most popularly known for  his epic poem, Paradise Lost. 

St. Paul's Dome

A cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul has stood at this site since 604 A.D. This particular cathedral was built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great London Fire. It was designed by the court architect Sir Christopher Wren and was recently renovated and cleaned to mark its 300th anniversary.

St. Paul's from the front. 

and... Ray at St. Paul's!

much more on the way!

We're engaged!

yippee!

As most of you have heard, Ray and I are engaged!! It's so nice to share it with our loved ones! 
There has been lots going on over here; we recently took a mini trip to London, I've started hearing back from schools, and Ray's guitar piece will be played next week...stay tuned for photos!

happy valentine's day!

16 Figures mini-tour with Ray.

This week Ray, Iain Harrison and Rodrigo Constanzo went on a mini-tour to promote their new improvisational cd titled 16 Figures. You can have a listen here if you'd like! 

cover art by Angela Guyton.

The first show was in Huddersfield. Next, Sheffield and finally Manchester. Thanks to Scott Hewitt for hosting the Huddersfield show. The last two shows were conducted by The Noise Upstairs, which is a collective that puts together an improvisational concert monthly. Anyone who shows up has the option of putting their name into a hat from which are picked three names, these three people then play improvisational music together. Following their session, the next three are picked from the hat. Ray, Iain and Rodrigo were the visiting artists to the shows this month. 

at the gig in Sheffield.

in Manchester. 

Thursday in Marsden, part II

A terraced dam.

the path going diagonally up on the left is a stairway!

a dam caretaker's little house?

We found a bridle path to walk that ran alongside the butterley reservoir. At one point it was flanked by this rocky cliffside. A bridle path is a road that was originally used by the public to travel through private land, usually on horses.

the butterley reservoir
(notice the patch of pine on the other bank?)
so peaceful. 

walking along the bridle path.
there were a handful of people out walking with a couple dogs trailing behind them.

dry stone walls!
there were many rabbits hopping around in these fields.

and sheep, too!

I really liked this tree.

and the moss and lichen growing on the walls.

a view of the village from the bridle path. 

the Shakespeare PUBMASTER!

lovely grocer in town.

All finished with a tasty picnic we packed from home, a wonderful jaunt indeed.

Thursday in Marsden, part I

On Thursday Ray and I took the train to Marsden, a village just south of here that is surrounded on three sides by Moorland. 

If I ever live in England again, I'd like to live here.
It's lovely, isn't it?
I love the green moss growing on the roof.

more photos on the way!