Today I am feeling incredibly achy and stiff, but that’s for such a good reason as we had an overnight (Friday to Saturday) in London during which we behaved like tourists and walked a huge amount, especially on Saturday when I clocked up nearly 12,000 steps. On the Friday we went to Tate Britain to see two exhibitions: Women in Revolt and Sargent and Fashion and on Saturday we had a bus trip, more about that below!
Our train was delayed due to a points failure!
My outfit isn’t exactly right, as it is not the kind of dressy-up outfit I like to wear for art exhibitions, but we left in a storm, with high cold winds and lashings of rain, which, in fact, stopped soon enough, but it was quite cold. And then the following day was still incredibly windy but hot, well, hot for the time of year and for the UK at 20C, which is 68F.
So I went layered up with a vest, charity shop top, cardi and my new charity shop faux leather red jacket. Then there were my charity shop boots and a fab new charity shop hat. British weather, eh! On Friday I felt really chilly in this jacket, and then I positively roasted on the Saturday, even though I’d stripped two layers out of the equation; my vest and cardi.
On arrival in London we went straight to the Tate and saw the first exhibition; Women in Revolt and it was a fascinating, albeit busy, exhibition in every sense of the word as the exhibition was to close two days later and it was rammed with people.
And it was also busy in the sense you had a lot to take in as there was a huge amount of ephemera as well as art showing newsletters, leaflets and posters from all around the country.
Perhaps you’ve gathered, I was quite the activist when I was younger, and with two small children and at that time not working, I sat around the kitchen table in so many houses in Brighton raising my consciousness with my friends. We never got as far as a newsletter, but we all did it – and we definitely discussed housework! We were part of the Second Wave of feminism, not that we knew that at the time.
And then there was Greenham.
Oh my word, that featured hugely in my life – I was a very active member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in Brighton and went up twice to Greenham Common. Brighton organised a number of coaches and I was one of those women who held hands around the camp.
I never stayed in a camp, as there was one in Brighton, on the Level, but I remember cooking lentil stews and taking them down there for the protest campers to eat – heady days! On the basis of my activism I then went to Sussex Uni as a mature student to do a degree in International relations, and after three years there I concluded that nuclear weapons were necessary as the Cold War might very well have become a hot war without that deterrent. Btw, I don’t think like that now, as the proliferation of nuclear weapons beyond the two main powers (the US and the then USSR) has us all in far more dangerous and precarious situation. Don’t you think it’s intriguing that there isn’t the interest in disarmament as there was? Mind you if I was young I’d be at the forefront of the campaigns to do something about Climate Change – I’d be quite the radical!
This is a still from a video of a screaming woman – it was a bit annoying. But you know, why not, I do like be provoked by exhibitions.
In complete contrast the second exhibition was very easy on the eye. It was like indulging in a huge box of chocolates as John Singer Sargent painted portraits of society ladies in all their best frocks, and glory be, there beside some of the portraits was the actual dress worn in the painting.
The writing beside both this and the cloak itself, pointed out that Sargent often put pins into the clothing to reveal hints of colour, as he did in the painting above to show off the pink lining. And here is the cloak worn by the sitter and you can see that the pink lining isn’t all that prominent.
There was a look that these women had – this below is of an American benefactor and socialite. She certainly had an assertive gaze about her and after going round Women in Revolt I thought good for her!
Sargent quite obviously adored women in black clothing and here is one portrait you may all recognise.
But he did paint women wearing something other than black. I do love this yellow dress.
And here’s another.
And the portrait.
The next day was supposed to be a bus trip with our daughter and her family, but we received a phone call late on Friday to hear that they had all succumbed to the latest virus going round the UK so they couldn’t come up to London. That was disappointing as we were really looking forward to meeting up with them, but hey ho, we decided to go on the bus trip anyway.
Mr F won’t mind me saying but he is quite a transport nerd and loves buses, particularly the older ones and the whole point of the outing was that the bus was not going to be the ubiquitous modern bus but a restored Routemaster.
Who remembers hopping on and off these buses?
And here we are with Mr F, who is a very happy bunny indeed!
What a great trip – and here’s to many more. I feel as though I am making up for lost time! Seize that carp everyone, and do it while you can 😁
That’s all for now. Thanks so much for reading to the end.
With love, the Frugalfashionshopper
A marvellous blog.
Thank you so much.
Ro
I know how much you love a visit to London! Such a pity you had to do without your daughter. But you were in good company! What a beautiful dresses!! Would love to wear it just for a while, lol.
The dresses were fabulous – they were very wealthy women, I think! The bus ride would have been even better with my daughter but we have decided on another outing together.
And thank you Ro, that’s great feedback – thanks again 😀
Penny I was so glad to see your post this morning. For some reason I never got your last one which I will read in more depth later as it is a subject near and dear to me and which I would have had a lot to say. Anyway, my daughter and I did a trip into Manhattan last Monday to the Museum Of Modern Art(MOMA). It was not a great day weather wise, chilly and rainy but actually better than the rest of the week. We had a wonderful time, saw the featured Kathe Kollwitz exhibit as well as the iconic Monet, Van Gogh and Picassos . I was concerned as there was quite bit of walking, not only from the train to the museum but from my home to the train but I was fine if tired in a good way. We met up with our friends Dayle and her partner Mike who live in the city and it was so good to see them as they will be moving to California soon. We also had a lovely lunch at the museum restaurant. My daughter and my son now give me these experiences, a day or evening of a cultural event and time with them. perfect! I mentioned in a prior comment that I had responded to your Other Blog about the movie you had seen but that seemed not to have been recorded somehow. Today is the solar eclipse. I have not been able to get the proper glasses for viewing it directly but it still ought to be an interesting experience. Love from New York, Darby
Hi Darby and so sorry you didn’t see the last blog and Darby I definitely got your comment on My Other Blog. The thing is I didn’t look at the blog for a bit to approve the comment. As I usually put up quite controversial topics I thought it best to approve comments first – actually I have approved all of them! And I have replied to you as well 😊
Oh MOMA – I’d love to go there! The exhibition sounds really good and so glad you could manage the walking, but I do know about that tired feeling afterwards!
We’ve seen the crowds waiting for the eclipse – I expect it was an amazing experience.
Thanks so much Darby 😊
My husband and I absolutely adore that T15 bus! Whenever we’ve taken it we’ve ended up talking to other passengers and the conductor and sharing recollections of our years of commuting to work on the old routemasters. I always sat upstairs which, with hindsight, probably wasn’t a great idea as that’s where the smokers sat, and you’d end up kippered by the time you got to work!
Oh, you’ve been on it too! Isn’t it a great experience – they are such lovely buses. And the smoking….. amazing that we thought it normal to do this, allow people to smoke everywhere! Trains too, I remember when I worked in London and the crowded commuter trains and having to find the only seat available and it was a smoking carriage – the smell, the fug!!!
Thanks Claire 😊
Hi Penny
I’ve fairly recently signed up to receive your blog posts and I find myself looking forward to them dropping into my inbox! This one is really interesting and colourful and so great to see your photos of your trip and of the exhibitions as someone who lives about as far away from London as is possible while still being in the UK.
Thank you and keep them coming.
Hi Elsie and great to meet you, so to speak. I do like a good exhibition and love going up to London and then sharing my pics. Going up again next week actually! I wonder where your nearest large city is? One day I hope to visit Tate Liverpool and the one in Dundee.
Thanks I will keep them coming 😄
You both look so happy on the bus.
Must go to London, you’ve inspired me Penny xx
London is such a buzzy experience – Saturday was so busy being the end of the Easter holidays too. It was fun. Thanks Vivian 😊
Penny, you really were quite the activist! Yes, it’s strange to think of the countries that now have a nuclear arsenal yet no one seems worried. It’s so discouraging to be a woman these days in the US. I just can’t believe the number of women I know who voted for and will vote again for that monstrosity. They believe anything he says just because of the R behind his name.
But on to more pleasant things. I would have been in heaven at the Sargent exhibition. I do love his works. I know there is at least one at our local museum. I am always enthralled by the details artists include with just a daub of paint here or there. But, to have the actual clothing there at the same time would have been amazing! Someone was thinking of the future!
I loved riding the double decker buses in London. I don’t know what kind we rode, but they are such fun (unless it’s raining and the only seats are on top). I do hope your daughter’s family recovers quickly.
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It is so interesting to people outside the US as to the why of Trump. No-one understands, although you can get an inkling at the discontent of the left-behind communities where industry has disappeared. But the Evangelical Christians???? That’s so astonishing!
As for the exhibition – both were so interesting and so very different of course, The Sargent was just lovely and the other, so stimulating. I went around thinking, wow, I was part of this!!! Thing is I wasn’t unusual, everyone I knew was an activist, and so many of them women. Different days as today life is harder and you have to work as soon as you can after having a child so there’s no time for activism – it’s the cost of living situation. It’s very unusual here for women to be a stay-at-home mother.
The double-decker buses are lovely and if you can get up to the top deck the views are so good. But those days are over for me now too 🤣
Thanks Marsha 😊
Great blog, Penny. I too travelled up to London recently- twice in a week! The first trip (Easter Sunday) was with my daughter who wanted a trip to the V&A to see the Tropical Modernism exhibition for OU research. It was fascinating and perhaps, having read about your father’s connection, I think you would find the India section interesting. My second trip a couple of days later was with my son, to Tate Modern to see Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Rooms. I’ve wanted to see the exhibition since the fascinating tv documentary about her. We had lunch up in the restaurant, lucky to have a window table with its fabulous view directly across to St Paul’s and the tremendous panoramic view of London and the Thames.
That sounds interesting and I’m going up to London again next week so will look for that exhibition. And I shall go to the Tate Modern in June for my birthday to see the Yoko Ono – will search out the Infinity Rooms as well. I love that view too.
Thanks Jane 😊
I loved this blog Penny. Totally uplifting to see you out and about and enjoying yourselves. Two exhibitions and a bus trip!! Can’t think of a better couple of days out. The photo of the both of you on the bus is wonderful. You must have it framed!!
Christine
Thank you so much Christine – we did enjoy ourselves and the aches afterwards were so worth it! 😁
What a great trip to London. I love the old fashioned Route master buses. My stepson and his wife hired one to transport guests at their wedding. I enjoyed the Singer Sargent too. I didn’t see Women in Revolt, bit of an oversight. I remember seeing protesters at Greenham Common when I lived in Newbury in the 90s.
It was fab and that bus brought back so many memories of the various buses we went on when we lived in London and then Penge. Good old Penge!
The Singer Sargent was beautiful but the Women in Revolt exhibition was another one that brought back many memories, particularly that of the local branch of The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. In fact, when we got home, Mr F found a newsletter that he designed for the branch. A lot of the content was about women and Greenham – should have been in the exhibition!
Sounds like a really nice trip and time away! The weather can sometimes be a challenge: my first day was cold in Arizona but then it was positively perfect! I do love those gold dresses in the exhibition.
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I think of America as having such warm weather but of course your country is so large there must be many different types of weather across the States just on one day! The Singer Sargent exhibition was lovely.
Thanks Mireille 😊
That sounds like a lot of fun. I love looking at all the fancy dress details in the old masters’ paintings. I used to paint on canvas myself and know what incredible skill and patience it takes to paint things like lace.
That’s so interesting that you know about painting on canvas – and yes the Singer Sargent exhibition was simply lovely.
Thanks Joanne 😊
Thanks for another great post Penny. I’m still hoping to get to the Singer Sargent exhibition with my daughter even though my ability to walk distances is reducing. Just been away for the weekend with younger daughter and SIL. Stayed at the Warners at Holme Lacy, a beautiful house. We had rooms in the old part at very reasonable cost. Food good and we enjoyed the C&W show on Saturday evening but the Friday offering not so much! Visited a couple of NT houses as well as Hereford Cathedral to see the largest intact Mappa Mundi in existence! It’s very strange living with a terminal prognosis but then it’s day by day! I’ve got a pain in my side which is keeping me awake at night so not good! I’d really like to meet you if something could be arranged!
I love your stylish outfit! It’s interesting to read more about you and your activist days. I used to be against the UK having nuclear weapons but the world is a much more dangerous place now, at last it seems that way. Those old buses were fantastic, I used to love sitting on the top deck at the front! Thanks for linking!
Emma xxx
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