usedtobeljs

Yesterday, Mr Cee and I travelled to Acton Town in West London to visit the London Transport Museum Depot. The main London Transport Museum is located in Covent Garden in Central London, and we have visited it many times. However, like most museums, they can't display all the items they have, and their depot in Acton has 320,000 items ranging from underground train carriages, buses, taxis, signs, signals, an artwork archive, building blueprints and even tiny things such as examples of tickets.

The Acton depot has been open since 1999 and was specifically designed to allow the public to visit and see the results of cataloguing and preserving the history of transportation in London. The public can only view the items during guided tours because the depot's contents are constantly being rearranged (many of the vehicles are taken on tour or to repair facilities outside of the depot), and it is not set up as a museum. However, with the assistance of one of the very knowledgeable volunteer guides, we embarked on a two-hour exploration of the items.

Under the cut for a little bit of history and quite a few photos...

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It was a very interesting outing, and we will consider returning for some of their other tours. We also want to visit the Covent Garden London Transport Museum, as they currently have an exhibition about Art Deco. So that will be a future outing!

blueswan

What have I been up to lately? Mostly staying put and avoiding the cold, the snow and the ice. All the sanders are not helping much with the sidewalks. Maybe sand gets tracked up on the sidewalk at intersections, but unless you are near a school (lots of foot traffic there) that's not terribly helpful.

So I have been watching some tv recently. The two things I've been following are Fallout and Severance. I kinda find Fallout hard to watch.Every time a zombie shows up I find my eyes sliding away from the tv. Why do they all have the same look - even the children playing zombies look the same as the two hundred year old ones. Were they also zombiefied at the same time only they some were actual children? I gather the show is based on a video game but its not like I've encountered (m)any video games. I probably should start again and see if I pick up more details.

But honestly that's mostly curiousity and what I'm really invested in is Severance. It's giving me strong Lost vibes. That's how long it has been since I fell this deeply into caring about the world building and characters of a show. And don't tell me how Lost fell down at the end, I don't agree.) Lost made me happy and sad and it made me feel. Severance is hitting all three points beauifully. I'm so eager to see what happens next.Anyone else getting Lost vibes from Severence?

I finally heard a piece of music, I've heard of way back, way, way back. I think it dates back to my childhood so maybe I overheard a friend's older sister talking about it. But yesterday was the first time I ever heard Gadda da Vida. Loved it, the wait was worth it. Here is a link to the full version, just in case:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIVe-rZBcm4&list=RDUIVe-rZBcm4&start_radio=1

ETA: I realize they are ghouls not zombies. Possibly stringing thoughts together at that time is not a good idea. :)

kazzy_cee

Today started chilly, with frost, but it turned out to be very sunny, so I headed out with Mr Cee to London. He had a meeting with a financial advisor to discuss what to do with his work pension pot, and while he did that, I decided to go to the Wallace Collection to see a couple of their free small exhibitions: Caravaggio's Cupid and the Lucknow Swords.

I also saw a couple of other things, so there are a few photos under the cut.

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By the time I'd seen all that, Mr Cee had finished his meeting and caught up with me at the Wallace Collection, where we had lunch. On the way home, we spotted this interesting statue on the side of a building on Oxford Street. It was inspired by the British ballerina Darcy Bussell and was installed in 1997. It is by Michael Rizzello (1926-2004), a London artist of Italian descent. Behind her are two ceramic plaques with B & H, which show the previous incarnation of the building as the Bourne and Hollingsworth retailer.

It was a fun way to spend some time!

kazzy_cee

Below the cut are the questions for February for those following along with the daily meme. I'm working on March!

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callmesandyk

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gwynnega

It is David Bowie's birthday, so I've been listening to Bowie today. But since yesterday I haven't been able to stop thinking of Phil Ochs's "I Kill Therefore I Am," especially these lines:

"Farewell to the gangsters
We don't need them anymore
We've got the police force
They're the ones who break the law
He's got a gun and he's a hater
He shoots first, he shoots later

I am the masculine American man
I kill therefore I am"

callmesandyk

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kazzy_cee

Yesterday I braved the colder weather and travelled to the V&A in London to see their exhibition Marie Antoinette Style.

Marie Antoinette (1755–1793) was born an Archduchess in Austria and became the Queen of France in 1774 when her husband, King Louis XVI, ascended the throne (having married him four years earlier when she was 14). She was a patron of the arts and a style icon, and the exhibition examines her style and influence on fashion right up until the present day.

One of the first things you see when you enter the exhibition is the wonderful portrait by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (one of my favourite artists). Marie Antoinette is only 23 in this portrait.

The artist described the queen's appearance: "Her features were not regular; she inherited the long and narrow oval face peculiar to her Austrian nationality. Her eyes were rather small, their colour was nearly blue; her expression was intelligent and gentle. Her nose was small and pretty, and her mouth was not too big. But the most remarkable thing about her face was the brilliance of her complexion."

Many of the items owned by Marie Antoinette were sold, stolen or went missing following the French Revolution, which ended her life at 37. Even so, the exhibition was huge, with dresses, jewels, personal items, fabrics, furniture and artwork, and there are many photos under the cut of things she owned, styles she influenced and modern interpretations...
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Apologies for the picpam - but it was a wonderful exhibition and I had so many favourite things. It closes in March this year and it well worth visiting. When I came out of the V&A it was snowing again, but it was worth the trip.

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A visit all about transport in London

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A trip to the Wallace Collection

February questions for the daily meme

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for obvious reasons

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An outing with style

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