I’ve moved blog sites

My blog can now be found on laurelshappytravels.home.blog
The blogspot app is no longer working properly.
I will add more blog posts starting this summer.
I hope to transfer my posts from blogspot over to the new blog site, once I figure out how to do it.

Happy travels!

Street art and graffiti in London - from a walking tour

My third street art and graffiti tour in London did not disappoint. Thanks to my guide Greg and the company "Free tours by foot" I had a great time walking around the east end of London looking at art.

Each year some of the street art is different from the year before. I saw quite a few new pieces up this summer.

The first piece of art I saw was by an artist named "Phlegm". (Most street artists have pseudonyms.)

He is from Wales, but now lives in Sheffield. His background is in cartoons and illustrations. This can be seen by the types of characters he paints and the black and white paints used. He spent 3 days on this mural. It was painted with a spray can. The owner of the building gave his permission to paint on that wall. It was completed 6 1/2 years ago. I am a bit surprised this piece has survived this long without getting painted over by another artist's work. You can see that some other graffiti artists have added to the painting (what they call a "tag" - the person's signature). One person painted "fussy" in way that does not interfere with the piece. This is called "fame bombing". It is a sign of respect to not cover up the artist's work with your art. Another person however did paint a tag on top of Phlegm's art. That is disrespectful to the original artist. It is interesting that Phlegm did not include his own tag to his piece. This street art is on Heneage Street in east London.

Museum of London - Exhibitions and Women’s Suffrage Movement

Towards the end of the exhibits in the Museum of London there were two sections that caught my interest - the exhibitions (kind of like our state fairs in the U.S) and the women’s suffrage movement.
There were 3 exhibitions mentioned that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Franco-British Exhibition of 1908 took place outside of central London in an area called “White City”. Its goal was to tout the success of Britain’s imperialism. Two colonial villages were set up to represent Ireland and Senegal. 150 Senegalese were brought in to the exhibit to take part in a “living village”.  Daily activities in their life in Senegal were portrayed. It is interesting that some Olympic events took place in White City in 1908.

Another important exhibition occurred in Wembley Park from 1924-25 for 2 seasons. This was the British Empire Exhibition. 56 British territories were involved in exhibits. A stadium was built (called Wembley Stadium) for music performances, rugby matches, a rodeo and other events during the exhibition. Pavilions were constructed for each colony to display their goods. Palaces were built to showcase advances in British engineering (ie. trains), industry and the arts, and government. The goal of the exhibition was to stimulate trade and strengthen bonds between Britain and the colonies, plus learn more about each other. The exhibition over the 2 seasons was a financial flop. It did not continue after 1925. The only reminders of these events is Wembley Stadium (although the current stadium is not the original building) and some music written by Edward Elgar for the occasion (Empire March, Pageant of Empire and Crown of India).

Earl’s Court in London was another exhibition site from 1887-1914. It was a 24 acre site that included the 2 story Empress Theater and a 300 foot high Ferris wheel. In 1895 was an exhibition at this location called the “ Empire of India Exhibition “ and featured exhibits, food and shows about India. The impresario Imre Kiralfy wrote a show with dance, mime and songs about India’s history from 1024-1895. It was performed at the Empress Theater to great success. Over the years from 1887-1914 many exhibitions took place on this site and covered many topics, not only India. In 2014 demolition of buildings on this site started.

Below is a photo from the museum featuring the White City and Wembley Park exhibitions.

Many of these exhibitions were commercially motivated (for profit) and highly biased and misleading in their representations of the colonies.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the "Representation of the People Act of 1918". All men over 21 could vote in the constituency where they were resident. Women over 30 could vote, but only if they were "registered property occupiers" (or married to one) of land with a value greater than £5.  This act was a great improvement over previous voting conditions for women. The Museum of London is honoring this anniversary with an enhanced exhibit on women's suffrage in England. In 1903 the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst and her 2 daughters. It was a militant women's suffragette group that organized protest marches and committed acts of violence against property (arson, smashing windows, vandalizing homes and churches). They were trying to draw attention to their cause of a woman's right to vote. By being in the news and the newspapers they felt they would continue ro remind others of women's rights and voting inequality.  It was an attention-seeking method. Many of the women who belonged to this group were arrested and sent to prison. There they went on hunger strikes and were tortured with forced feedings (physically restrained while force fed liquid through a nasal or stomach tube). Eventually the "Cat and Mouse Act" was made law in 1913. This stated that women who were weak in prison due to malnourishment could go home to recover. However if they resurfaced as healthy beings outside of their homes, they were subject to arrest again and sent back to prison. In 1928 the voting laws changed again and allowed all men and women over the age of 21 to vote. 

Below is a description of one of the militant suffragettes. She endured a lot. 

One brave woman!

I highly recommend the Museum of London and their exhibits. I always learn a lot there.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London - the Baroque and Rococco eras

On a rainy morning in London I made my way to the Victoria and Albert Museum for mainly a practical reason. I did not want to get very wet. I knew that once I was on the tube for the South Kensington stop that I would not have to resurface outside to get to the museum. There is a tunnel from the South Kensington tube stop to the museum. I easily walked there without getting wet.
Of course the museum is reason enough itself to go there, regardless of the weather.

I decided to check out the rooms called “Europe 1600-1815 Baroque”.  This area covered the Baroque and Rococco eras. Each room had a theme.  The first room focused on looking back to classic Greek and Roman art.  The sculptor and architect Gianlorenzo Bernini created a fountain for the garden of Cardinal Montalto and called it “ Neptune and Triton” (1622-23). Here is the impressive piece.

Baroque designs focused on floral ornaments (flowers and fruit), mythological figures, emotion shown in faces and twisted columns. You see this everywhere. 

Another room showed art that was a fusion of Mexican and European styles.  This was due in part to the colonization by Spain of Mexico, South America and the Philippines. Much of this art had a religious theme.

Catholicism in art in the colonies and Europe was featured in one room.  Here is an example of the crucifixion made in France (1664) of ivory.

Another room was called “Dutch Domesticity” and showcased dishes, wooden cupboards and household gadgets. In the following photo you will see a “curfew” to cover up embers to keep your fire warm overnight and a “warming pan” to pass through your bed sheets to heat them up at night before you go to bed. The description said “for women who haven’t got a man who can warm their feet for them “!

Global trade with Asia and the Americas was the next topic. Below is a coffer on a stand that was made in Japan for the European market and taste. It was made sometime between 1590 and 1625. It is made of wood with plates of shell and black/gold lacquer - all the rage in Europe at that time.

“The Cabinet” refers to either a private collector’s treasures or a storage cabinet. Both are found in this room. An example of the former is obvious with this glass virginal made between 1604 and 1620 in Austria or Germany. It is made of soft wood with decorations of silk and glass. It is able to be played. 

An example of a decorative storage cabinet is seen in this Belgian cabinet depicting the story of the prodigal son. It was built between 1640 and 1660 of oak with ebony and oil painted panels. There are drawers to store your treasures.

The rise of France under King Louis XIV encouraged the promotion of the arts, as Louis was a big fan. He encouraged others to value the arts. The cabinet maker André-Charles Boulle, a friend of Louis, developed a technique of inlaying turtleshell, metals, bone, horn and ivory in wooden surfaces. The process is called “marquetry”.  It is quite exquisite.

The Rococco period of art features curvy shapes such as scrolls in the shape of the letters “C” and “S”. The fad started in France and moved to Germany and Italy. Here is a writing cabinet made in Dresden between 1750 and 1755 for Augustus III, King of Poland.

This tile wall panel features musicians and dancers and was made in Portugal. It was meant for warm climates, as wall tapestries didn’t survive the heat and humidity well. It was made between 1720 and 1730. 

After the Rococco room, neoclassicism was featured. A return to the Classical Greek and Roman styles with straight lines and restrained elegance was a welcome change in style.

I highly recommend a visit to this section of the museum. Next time I will try to find the rooms about Europe prior to 1600. 

British Library

On this trip to London I wanted to make sure I visited the British library. I had heard about it through friends who have visited and done research there. The only photography allowed is outside the
building, so I’m stuck with the one photo above.

The library is located near the King’s Cross/St. Pancras rail and tube stations. In order to keep a similar look of brick buildings as the rail station, this building was also built with bricks. It took 37 years of planning and construction to get a completed library building in 1997. The architect was Sir Colin St. John Wilson. There are 4 levels of basements that are used for storage and go 24 meters underground. There is another library/storage facility in Boston Spa (in West Yorkshire). It is possible to visit this location and do research there.

I took a tour of the library. It is well worth doing so. The cost was £10. An employee of the library showed us around and we were able to go to some areas where the general public is not allowed. One of these places was the scanning and transporting room. This is where the requested library items are scanned into the computer and placed on a conveyor belt to go to their final destination to be picked up by the library patron (usually to an assigned reading room based on the item’s subject area such as the humanities, social sciences, maps etc).  The guide also spoke about the history of the library, the various rooms in the library and how you can get a reader pass to do research.

The main library in London (the one I visited) has exhibit rooms for rotating special exhibits (admission is charged) and rotating free exhibits. By rotating I mean that the exhibits change during
the year.  I opted for the big free exhibit called “Treasures of the British Library”. It showcases some of the library’s special manuscripts. The original music manuscripts were especially of interest to me. It was fascinating to see the originals of music by Purcell, JS Bach, Mozart, Handel, Haydn, Beethoven, Mahler, Britten, Elgar, Schoenberg and Vaughan Williams. Each composer had his own style of writing out his music (neat or sloppy and some with handwritten comments in the margins and portions of the music crossed out). It was really interesting to recognize on paper pieces I have performed. In addition to music, there are manuscripts from literature, historical letters and religious books.

In addition to the exhibit rooms there are 11 reading rooms devoted to various areas such as maps,
Asian and African Studies, science, humanities, manuscripts, rare books and music, and a newsroom.
In order to look at materials in the library (and possibly check out certain items), you need to apply for a reader pass. It is a closed shelf system at this library.  There are strict rules about what you can and cannot take into the reading rooms. You are allowed to photocopy or take pictures of the item you  are researching, however there is a limit to how much of the item you can copy. They don’t want you copying the whole book.

There is a six story glass tower in the middle of the library that is home to the private collection of King George III (the mad king). This area is locked and accessible only to staff that are assigned to work in that tower. Many first editions of books are located there.

A Business Centre is also a key part of the library. There is a big collection of information on business and intellectual property to help you start, run and grow your business, protect your ideas and research your markets. It is possible to network there and make business contacts, as well as meet with advisors who can help direct your research and business projects. I imagine these services are used often by entrepreneurs.

There is a wing of the library devoted to the conservation of materials. When an item needs to be repaired, it comes here. This area is not open to the public, unless there is an advertised, library-sponsored event there.

In addition to visual materials, the library has a large collection of audio materials (recordings of music, speeches, interviews etc). You can get a taste of what they offer on the library’s website. Look for “sounds of the library”. You can listen to some recordings online without being a member of the library. I got stuck in the section of a reading of a children’s book by English speakers from various countries. I must admit I was disappointed by the section of regional American readers because the accents from various parts of the U.S. were not that distinct. For example the reading representative from the Boston area did not sound that different from the reader from Oklahoma. It was interesting for me to hear the various accents around the U.K., especially the Liverpool area.

I highly recommend a visit to the British Library. I spent hours there. If I ever want to do research, I would go there to do it. Apparently Johnny Depp does (for his movie roles).

View of Port Isaac from the breakwater

If you manage to arrive at Port Isaac's harbor at low tide, you can walk up to the bottom of the breakwater and climb up the ladder to the top. The view of Port Isaac from the breakwater is fantastic. You can even look over to the other breakwater on the opposite side of the harbor.

Walking up to the breakwater from the harbor of Port Isaac.

You walk on that strip of pavement on the left from Port Isaac harbor to the bottom of the breakwater. At high tide that pavement is under water.

From one breakwater looking over to the other breakwater.

From on top of the breakwater looking towards Port Isaac's harbor.

I highly recommend keeping an eye on the tide. We barely made it back to the harbor in Port Isaac before high tide came in. We got our feet a bit wet on our return due to the rising water.

Back in action soon!

Hello,

I will spring back into action soon with more blog posts coming on London and Cornwall. Be on the lookout starting in late July.

Royal Albert Hall, London, at the BBC Proms.