Mr Morris

Last week Ma and I travelled up to the very opposite end of the Victoria line to Walthamstow and the William Morris Gallery. A grand townhouse set in Lloyd Park, the gallery is in the building Morris lived in as a teenager and today hosts a wealth of his Arts and Crafts work from early drawings, to furniture, to fabrics, to ceramic tiles. Mum has seen more of his work in situ at Red House and Standen, but this free-of-charge gallery is a gem in London. Walthamstow itself was full of surprises for me: historic churches and cottages nestled into the north London suburb. All well worth a visit!

T&T

Today the Laurens and I decided to escape Canterbury and head for the bright lights (and, oddly, the colder temperatures) of London! The aim of the day was to have a cultural trip, go snap happy with our camera and have a good Sunday lunch out... with a sprinkling of shopping! Tate and Topshop!
At the Tate Modern we saw the new installation in the Turbine Hall, a huge shipping crate inside which was a great black expanse set to fear you as you walked into what appeared to be never ending darkness... and then we had a wander around the main galleries!We had lunch under the gaze of St. Paul and then set off towards Oxford Street for a little retail therapy! The gentleman at the top was searching through the book stalls on South Bank, what a sweet character!

I love London, always have, always will, and even though today was a quick yet exhausting trip, I cannot wait til I'm there again.

Notting Hill Carnival

Today a bunch of my friends and I went to the carnival in Notting Hill, the biggest in Europe so I hear! We had a brilliant day, the atmosphere was incredible... music, dancing, colour, parade, costumes, Caribbean food! Twas fantastic... we were all taken miles away!
I've spent a lot of time in London town over the last few weeks and I've realised what a wealth of culture and activity we have on our doorstep here! On Friday I went to the National Portrait Gallery to see the BP Portrait Awards (and glimpsed Twiggy who was there!) Some of the portraits you would never believe have been painted, they look like photographs! My particulary fav was Maggie by Sue Rubira. About 1m in height, it had such a presence in the room.My friend Ree and I also popped along to the V&A to see the Telling Tales exhibition on Design Art which focuses on art based furniture. The chairs especially are going to be inspiration for my dissertation this year!

There's sooo much to see, definitely go see it all!