Ho-hum.
Been back for over 24 hours now. It’s dark here. And cold. Not many hummingbirds, either.
Still, I haven’t been to the Velasquez yet, so that’s something to look forward to. And the Holbein.
Tag: London
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Houses of Parliament
I went on a tour of the Houses of Parliament today, which was well worth doing. Most obvious point: the chambers of the Lords and the Commons are both really surprisingly small. Too small, in fact; you can see why the Commons is standing-room only for PMQs.
I was amused by the fact that, while the Lords’ part of the building is dolled up in elaborate carvings, gold leaf, painted ceilings, mosaics and other gothic bling, the Commons is much plainer and more austere. This is no doubt meant to be symbolic – but of what? The decor in the Lords is so OTT that I almost felt it was gently poking fun at their lordships. I assume that wasn’t what Pugin intended.
I was walking in the park behind the house today and, just growing in a little scrubby patch, found a sunflower and a hemp plant. Both of them are probably growing from seed I put out for the birds.
I’m slightly suprised that no bored local youth has taken the hemp plant for personal use. Don’t the young people of today learn any botany in school? I shouldn’t think birdseed cannabis is the connoiseur’s choice, but I shouldn’t think many South London teens are especially fussy.
A cool thing from the people at Digitally Distributed Environments:
See the whole panorama here.
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FSotW: All Evening Standard Headlines
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ARMED POLICE RAID FARCE
As the Evening Standard news-stands put it. Which conjured up an image that I don’t think they intended.