The Sneaky Magpie

Another extremely busy weekend, juggling lots of tasks and managing to do some fun things too.

On Saturday morning I met a friend for her first bike trip in London, we started lightly on a 20 minute ride to Dulwich Picture Gallery. The gallery is in such a lovely spot and the works displayed are just the right mix of old masters, as usual there is a very good representation of the Flemish golden age which I adore.

As we started quite early we decided to go to Brixton and have a lunch at Franco Manca, we got there just past 12.00 to get the last table, few minutes later the queue was 20 people long. Franco Manca’s pizza is legendary and I heard many opinions by the locals blaming Claphamites for invading the place. Well, I visited with a local so I guess that’s ok? Anyway, the pizza is amazing and dirt cheap, definitely worth waiting for.

Back home for a brief moment and hubby and I were out of the door heading up to town to do a spot of shopping. Oxford Street was heaving so we got what we needed and quickly moved away to the quiet Kaffeine for some refreshments. They had some rather delicious carrot and lemon marmalade.

Sunday started early again, we met up with friends for breakfast at Gail’s, the morning was glorious with sun shining, market stalls unpacking and a pleasant company.

Back home to do some important mortgage paperwork, dull but it got done. Then we were off again, this time to Battersea Car Boot Sale, we had a clear idea of what we wanted and pretty much stayed focused. We have a long list of birthday gifts to get and a couple of people definitely would appreciate something vintage. A beautiful tile for my mother in law, a bag of figs grown in Balham for us (they were delicious!) and a sleek Denby dish for a friend (tried to haggle but the woman kept saying ‘it’s Denby, it’s the last piece of Denby I have got, no discount, it’s Denby!’ she was lying, there was a Denby jug just next to it, oh well).

On a way back home M smelled steak. Le Pot Lyonnais is a restaurant I pass twice daily on my way to and from work and it always looks tempting in the evening with tables on the pavement. So we gave it a go and I must say it was a proper French fair of steak frites and poulet.

So a lot of nice things but also a lot of mundane tasks like washing, house cleaning and grocery shopping. I need some rest now!

Lately all my weekends were packed with chores, last week I was on a shoot which left me exhausted so I took two days off and decided to only do things I really want to do.

My plans were ambitious but as the baby is growing fast now I get tired faster than before so I did about half what I intended.

I went to Tate Britain to see the very funny Rude Britannia exhibition, I knew there will be a number of Hogarths but to my absolute delight they had Rake’s Progress which I always love to see. There was a lot of David Shrigley too who I find hilarious.

Reading room at Rude Britannia

It’s a great show for everyone who likes politics, history and humour, a well spent hour indeed.

Afterward I wandered to the newly opened Chelsea Space and had a quick peak at the current exhibition. There were some colorful windmills outside.

I had a house viewing later on and planned to go to the movies after but when I got home I just had enough.

On my second day off I had more grand plans, Tate Modern and Borough Market in the morning and a movie in the afternoon. I had to stop a little, I spent the morning at home.

I started knitting a baby hat.

And I baked Nigel Slater’s peach pie which was delicious.

Re-energised I took the bump outside to see a film. Here it is, just started to show at 18 weeks.

My outing was very pleasant, I went to see Gainsbourg – a great biopic. Beautifully made and so well cast. A real pleasure to watch.

And there is still whole weekend ahead!

I have spent a lot of time at V&A lately. As the museum has got a lovely indoor cafe and even better outdoor space it’s the perfect place for meetings and fun.

I have visited the Grace Kelly show which was really really lovely. Grace had an incredible class and style which, among other things, was reflected in her wardrobe. Apart from beautiful ‘movie siren’ dresses and classic suits she loved fabulous Madame Gres’ gowns, floating, kaftan-like things of beauty. I was surprised how tall she was and I couldn’t help but think of Betty Draper throughout the exhibition.

I have also visited Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill which made me really want to visit the real thing. Unfortunately it is closed for refurbishment till autumn so I will have to wait.

And last but not least I have attended Osman Yousefzada’s fashion show which was a lot of fun. It’s my first fashion show and I loved it. The pictures came out rather badly, here are a couple of acceptable ones.

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday at Hix. It was just M and I as I am going away for a shoot to Weymouth on Monday and M is flying off to Seattle for a couple of weeks.

Hix is one of my favorite places to eat in London. They always have the nicest old fashioned dishes. I started with asparagus and the best hollandaise I have ever had and M had a very nice prawn cocktail. I must say, the bread was not as good as ours!

There was a slight problem with hubby’s main but that got replaced quickly with something delicious while I enjoyed a roasted chicken salad. I was also served a complimentary smoked salmon and Richard Corrigan’s soda bread. I never liked soda bread but this one was amazing: sweet and slightly moist.

We had to share just one dessert as the portions are rather generous, we picked a cherry blossom jelly. The cherry blossoms were interestingly nice, nor sweet neither bitter with a good texture. And it looked so pretty.

The wine and bubbly were equally good. All in all a very pleasant evening.

Today we popped to Royal Academy and obviously as soon as I got there I realised I totally missed Van Gogh. We had a look at Relics of Old London: Photography and the Spirit of Old City. It was interesting to see old pictures of London streets however the exhibition was tiny.

Afterward we went to Fortnum & Mason to pick up few English specialties for M’s American colleagues. We settled at The Parlour for a cup of tea and cake enjoying our last day together for few weeks.

Today we took our bikes on a train and headed for Chawton, a picturesque little village in Hampshire where Jane Austen spent few years of her life before she got ill and moved to Winchester where she died soon after. In Chawton she reworked Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility and wrote Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion.

Jane Austen House Museum is a 17th century house which gives a great insight into the author’s life. The house itself is beautiful and it is surrounded by a large flower garden where Jane and her sister Cassandra would sit.

The trip starts in the bakehouse and kitchen.

The interiors are very simple and humble, Mrs Austen and her daughters were left with very little money and the only help came from Jane’s brother who married well.

The desk.

To my delight the house was full of costumes from last year’s adaptation of Emma.

A quilt made by Jane, her mother and sister.

The house is full of paintings, illustrations, manuscripts and things found under the floorboards. It is also decorated with simple flowers throughout which makes it look alive and fresh.

Flowers of course came from the garden.

The museum shop is pretty impressive with a unique editions of Austen’s novels. I am contemplating purchasing these.

Opposite the house there is a lovely little tea room, Cassandra’s Cup.

A charming little place serving lunch and tea. I could not resist the Victoria sponge and a glass of refreshing lemonade.

The tea room has got a charming yet wacky interior with over 200 cups hanging off the ceiling.

Feeling refreshed it was time for a country walk which inspired many of Jane’s novels. Walking through it takes you right back to her vibrant descriptions of nature and taking exercise.

We met some pretty horses.

Chawton has got some intellectual vandals.

The village itself has got a large manor house, a rather spectacular church and a lot of houses have thatched roofs creating a perfect English scenery.

A truly lovely day out of town.

Having friends with little children makes me plan things that can excite both: adult and kids’ tastes. With the weather being so glorious the most essential part of the plan has got to be an outdoor space, and lots of it.

One of my favorite places in London is Horniman Museum with its Victorian dark displays, stuffed animals which have seen better days and all kind of curiosities. The museum is surrounded by gardens, meadows and it has got a small animal enclosure for kids.

We set off with plenty of spare time and got there really fast, I was pleasantly surprised it was only a 20 minute cycle from my house. I always imagined it to be far away.

Having a spare half an hour we headed to Dulwich Picture Gallery, we didn’t have enough time to visit it but instead we strolled through the garden which would not feel out of place in a Jane Austen novel.

It felt so romantic and I was half expecting to see Elizabeth Bennet reading a letter under magnolia tree.

From the tranquility of the gallery grounds to a mayhem of toddlers pointing at stuffed monkeys and owls. After repeating animal names for a bit and trying to teach a 2 year old the word ‘cuttlefish’(it’s been a while since I saw kids getting so excited!) we settled for an afternoon tea in a charming glass house.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of the fish scale detail of the roof.

Then it was time to explore the garden and burn off the Victoria sponge, the blossoms make everything look so pretty.

I have no idea what tree this is but I love it.

Lately I have been reading a lot about Utility design and rationing, a very fascinating topic.

Utility Furniture and Fashion 1941-1951 is a great little book explaining all the stages of the rationing era: how the utility furniture was designed, what pieces of clothing were allowed, there are examples of fabric design and the best posters ever. Simplicity is a must, but simplicity makes those things aesthetically appealing to me.

The Dig for Victory campaign is probably one of the best pieces of advertising ever made, clear message and striking imagery.

Fabric patterns:

Posters:

When I visited Imperial War Museum back in January I almost screamed for joy when I saw the poster for the upcoming Ministry of Food exhibition. So yesterday I paid a visit.

To start with I wanted to buy everything from the exhibition shop, there were recipe books, candles, aprons to name a few, all very attractive looking.

The exhibition shows all aspects of food making process.

We start in a gardening section with a shed and accessories that wouldn’t feel out of place at Labour and Wait.

We had rationing books and examples of food rations – it was not a lot! There was also a shop with the most amazing packaging display, a lot of the brands are still available now.

There was a kitchen with very little on the table.

I will take this as a house inspiration.

I saw few examples of the most popular dishes and I can only imagine how dull it must have been with a Woolton pie being the most exciting thing on a plate. But I admire people for creativity, I remember potato stamps which used to amuse me as a child and got chucked afterward, back in the 40s after having a creative afternoon the stamps were cleaned and cooked for dinner.

The exhibition ended on a high note in a sweet shop.

The fashion was pretty amazing too, corduroy jodhpurs, shirt and a preppy v-neck worn with socks and lace up boots. Chic Land Girls are my new style inspiration.

This is one of the most informative, interesting and inspiring exhibitions I have ever seen.

So the post Easter cold took over this week and I was in bed for a couple of days. When I got on my bike on Thursday I was loving the weather and the lack of traffic, I guess kids are off for two weeks and there are less buses and cars on the roads. The daffs are already on their way out giving room to the most amazing blossoms and other spring beauties. Loving it!

I did manage to do a couple of things that are really worth mentioning.

I went to see Arshile Gorky at Tate Modern. It was my first proper encounter with Gorky’s work, I only ever saw a couple of paintings here and there.

The exhibition is great, it takes you right from the start when he was an apprentice in Boston and New York, his early works show a huge influence by Picasso, Cézanne and especially Matisse.

There are some graphic prints and drawings as well as sketches of murals, sadly the only remainder of these works as most of the murals were destroyed in the 1940s.

In the 30s he started to move away from Cubism, he experimented with Surrealism, Avant-Garde and later on with Abstract Expressionism for which he is most famous.

The most touching paintings for me are the pale colored portraits of his mother who died of hunger and all the Eastern European folklore, Baba Jaga is a regular figure in his paintings.

Some of the most striking works are the Betrothal series, very powerful yet delicate, they are peaceful but somehow there is a certain lack of ease in these paintings.

A great retrospective of a troubled soul.

Last night I met a friend at the National Gallery to see a small Christen Købke show, I never heard of this Danish artist before and it was a real treat to explore something new.

Købke is amazing with light and an extreme attention to detail making some paintings look like pictures. The pastoral themed works and landscapes are my absolute favorites with the beautiful pink skies, folk in their everyday life, buildings surrounded by nature which takes over the canvas, it was magical.

Day 1. Good Friday. Shopping.

I was preparing for a big Easter breakfast with friends so in order to get the best produce I set off to Borough Market. The day started lovely with nice sunshine, I meandered through the stalls wanting to buy pretty much everything.

Beautiful gerberas.

Lavender.

Crayfish was looking at me.

Fat tomatoes.

The first of spring’s asparagus.

The last of winter cabbage.

And pretty much all other veg one can wish for.

Then it started to rain, and it rained badly. My friend and I decided to run to Tate Modern to seek shelter. We visited Arshile Gorky retrospective which was very fascinating.

Day 2. Saturday. Preparation.

The Easter meal demands a military precision. I was responsible for cinnamon buns which came out amazingly well, I used this recipe and M was making bread. I also made few salads and a chicken liver pate.

Buns got packed and we set off to see our little niece for an afternoon tea.

Day 3. Easter Sunday. Big Breakfast.

We started at 11.00 and finished at about 22.00. It was epic. Everyone put so much effort into it and absolutely everything was home made.

We all had our personal eggs.

We had a refreshing walk through Brockwell Park, stopped for hot drinks at the park cafe and ended up in a pub in Herne Hill. It was not the only pub we went to.

Day 4. Easter Monday. Suffering.

I am in bed watching silly films and paying for yesterday’s fun.

Yesterday was a very exciting day, I got to meet Miranda from Skirmishofwit. We met in Hamspstead and headed to Ginger and White cafe for a blissful afternoon of tea, cakes and wonderful conversation. It was great to meet you Miranda and I am really looking forward to see you again soon!

Ginger and White serve everything on Poole two tone crockery which I absolutely adore.

Later on I met hubby in China Town and went to see A Single Man. I didn’t love it so I will try to dissect it a little. The acting was very good, especially Julianne Moore and Nicholas Hoult, Colin Firth was not bad either. The story is very interesting, exploring a day in life of George Falconer who decides to kill himself after loosing his partner in a car accident. I thought Tom Ford didn’t show enough of George’s pain, the film is edited with way too much focus on beauty shots which make it look like a perfume commercial, and not much on George’s feelings, there are nice touches where the colors change as Falconer is happy or sad but I could not see his real suffering. It is definitely worth seeing but it left me a bit disappointed.  What didn’t disappoint is the set designing which was absolutely amazing as well as Hoult’s mohair jumper. I’d like to read the book as I really believe the story is too good to be judged by Ford’s film.

Time for dinner, we found a real gem in Lisle Street, a cottage – like Taiwanese place which had steaming dumplings in the window and a queue outside, always a good sign, it is called Leong’s Legend. After waiting for 5 minutes we were lead up a very narrow staircase to our table. The atmosphere was lovely with dim lights and wooden interior.

The food was delicious: steamed bao with pork, crab and ginger with a tiny bit of roe on the top, Beijing dumplings, duck pancakes with plum sauce and squid with ginger, chillies and garlic. A real feast for very little and they serve beer in bowls!

I have finished Gaskell’s North and South which I enjoyed enormously. She is so good with describing characters and places. The South was all warm, sunny and described with yellows and reds while the North had depressing grey and blue-ish feel to it. The story is beautifully written with a lot of detail making a precise picture of a Victorian industrial town. There is a bit of humor in the novel as well, the author calls the northern county Darkshire. I cannot wait to reach for Wives and Daughters next.

Today we cycled to Tate Britain, mainly to see Henry Moore exhibition. We meandered through the main gallery rooms and discovered a Francis Bacon room. I really believe if you get lost you can always learn something interesting. What we learned today was that in the 1920s and 30s Francis Bacon was a very talented interior decorator, inspired by the Cubists he designed a screen and few very attractive rugs.

The Henry Moore show was truly amazing, from early sculptures of primitive masks and bodies through reclining women, mother and child series to war time sketches of miners and people in underground shelters. By walking around the works you can discover the real angle and see the shapes of human bodies. He was very respectful of his materials, he carefully carved shapes out of stones till the real shape got revealed. This is a must see show, the curators did an excellent job by bringing all those wonderful works together.

As we were at Tate we decided to see Chris Ofili’s show too but this turned to be so underwhelming after seeing Moore’s and Bacon’s works that we left promptly.