We started at East Bergholt, birthplace of John Constable whose father owned Flatford Mill, and where his first studio still stands, now a domestic residence but commemorated with a plaque. Continue reading “Flatford Mill”
Flatford Mill
Category: Waterways
Pin Mill
Pin Mill sits beside the River Orwell, south east of Ipswich, a pretty refuge of yachts and dinghys, where X marks the spot at the crossroads of a figure-of-eight walk. Continue reading “Pin Mill”
Sailing To Shanghai
This is Sailing To Shanghai, an early painting by Christopher Corr. We sold it recently to a fellow traveller who was curious to know its story, so I asked Christopher for more information. He sent us a few words and a lot more images. Continue reading “Sailing To Shanghai”
Art & Life (& Memory)
This painting by Ben Nicholson, titled c.1930 (Cornish Port), features on the cover of Art and Life 1920-1931, the catalogue for the exhibition at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, examining the artistic partnership of Ben Nicholson and Winifred Nicholson in the 1920s and their friendship and collaboration with Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis and the potter William Staite Murray. Continue reading “Art & Life (& Memory)”
Maybe It’s Because I’m A Londoner
Having lived in London for over 40 years and coming from generations of dockland EastEnders I felt well qualified to respond to the brief for a new exhibition by the London Group, On London. Continue reading “Maybe It’s Because I’m A Londoner”
Walton’s Treat
Tucked away around the back of Oxford’s Walton Street is the delightful Art Jericho gallery where a visual treat awaits the curious trek-cyclist, art-lover, flâneur, passer-by or Port Meadow pilgrim. An exhibition by Andrew Walton celebrating the Thames riverside from Jericho to Wolvercote. Continue reading “Walton’s Treat”
Mystery River
The very next morning, right after I finished patching together Out Along Lee, my post about walking the River Lea and the Lee Valley, I found this lovely and fascinating film by Michael Smith thanks to Caught By The River. It felt like synchronicity but this is much better. It was commissioned by The Floating Cinema and UP Projects; it’s a wander along the Lea, all along, down along, out along Lee.
Out Along Lee
Sometimes it’s the Lee, other times it’s the Lea, and most times it’s confusing. The River Lea rises at Leagrave, north of London near Luton (Leatown) and flows south via Leyton (Leatown) to join the River Thames at Leamouth. Over the years many of its twists and turns got straightened out to make it more easily navigable and the artificial channels and canals became known as the Lee Navigation. Nowadays the river (Lea) and the canal (Lee) are almost indistinguishable. Continue reading “Out Along Lee”
Arbres
This beautifully balanced oak tree, poised like a signpost to everywhere, stands beside the D15 road from Gordes just before the village of Murs in the Vaucluse region of Provence. We discovered it last summer as a result of an earlier trip to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Continue reading “Arbres”
I AMsterdam
We took a half-term weekend break to Amsterdam. It seemed like the city was being relaunched and rebranded/rembrandted. The Rijksmuseum reopened in April following an unprecedented 10 year renovation, the Stedelijk Museum reopened last year after a 9 year refurbishment, and 2013 marks 400 years since construction began on the city’s iconic canals. Continue reading “I AMsterdam”