Camden Market

A major part of my misspent youth was wasted hanging out at the very cool Camden Market.


Set in North London, this market is now open 7 days a week although remains at its busiest during the weekends. Set on and around the canal, it is full of trendy stalls with some of the wackier designer clothes, music, hippyesque handicrafts from around the World, antiques, and an excellent array of cheap food stalls reflecting London´s multiculturalism.


I still regularly visit and every time i return, the market-place continues to expand.


There are several traditional pubs and coffeeshops to be found nearby, and the walk along the canals is always a pleasant experience providing the weather is dry.

The Victoria and Albert Museum

It is always lovely to hear from Bear in Singapore. She is an ex-colleague from Hong Kong who is a bit of a Science whizz. She writes to me this week asking me to check out the new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington – Decode: Digital Design Sensations.

These innovative and interactive designs use generative software, animation and other responsive technologies to instill “live” elements into these compositions. Whilst some works exist in a state of perpetual evolution whilst others operate through interaction by the visitors to the exhibition.

The display elements are truly remarkable and visitors are engrossed in the interactive displays – not least Airways and myself.

In the blurb it notes that

Decode looks at three current themes within digital design. Code shows how computer code – whether bespoke and tailored, or hacked and shared – has become a new design tool. Interactivity presents works that respond to our physical presence. Network charts or reworks the traces we leave behind.

Tickets for this exhibition cost GBP5 with a GBP1 discount for concessions. The exhibition runs to 11th April.






Airways´ self-generated image


touch the screen and generate showers of colour

use a hairdryer to blow away the dandelion seeds

Tate Britain and the National Gallery

Out and about in London today with culture vulture Airways, we hit some more of London´s galleries.

First stop is Tate Britain situated on the South Bank where they are running two great exhibitions at the moment.

The Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) retrospective is simply outstanding, running the gamete from the 1920s – 1960s. Using a variety of predominantly British stones and woods for his sculptures it maps out his early influences of African tribal stuff to more esoteric and avant guarde modern sculptures and gives a glimpse of Moore´s prolific output. The exhibition also includes a series of mixed media sketches of miners and London Underground stations during World War 2 which were used as air-raid shelters. These works are superb if really dark.





dark wartime sketch

The second exhibition we see at Tate Britain is by Turner winning artist Chris Ofili who made his name by incorporating elephant dung into his compositions. The novelty wears a bit thin, but he has moved on from his elephant shit days and his use of colour and shape reflect a more positive and uplifting nuance to his compositions. This exhibition runs to the 16th May.

elephant shit was a feature in Ofili´s earlier compositions



a happier Ofili?

You can get a discount on visiting both these special exhibitions GBP16 or 2 pounds off with a student discount. No photography is allowed without a press pass and i got busted by security on three separate occasions.

Our next stop takes us to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square with 800 years of Western European Art History. With a background in Art History Airways knows her stuff and is able to offer valuable insights into many of the pictures. Entry is free and Fridays are late night openings till 9pm.

The National Gallery

The Real Van Gogh

Airways and myself continue our cultural and artistic exploration of London.

We head across to Green Park for a visit to the Royal Academy of Art where there is currently The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and his Letters running until 18th April.

Queues look long, so we head to the free galleries on the top floor. There is a lot of contemporary crap, with a few choice pieces scattered in the mire.



Airways capturing one of the more interesting compositions

Not satiated we then queue for 40 odd minutes to get into the Van Gogh exhibition.

Adults are charged GBP12 with GBP4 reduction for those lucky enough to possess a student card. This is really a quality exhibition.The paintings include a few favourites, but many I have never seen before, in reality or in books. There are several incredible studies in ink, pen, pencil, and some with the subtlest addition of water-colour pieces that are simply outstanding for both line and perspective, even in monochrome.


Most fascinating for me however is his letters. These are predominantly written to his younger brother and patron Theo and are in both French and Flemish. Fortunately Airways is a Quebecois and translates them in full for me. Clearly obsessed in colour and his artistic techniques, the written words themselves don´t reveal any huge insights. However, they are accompanied by some tiny, but magical sketches of his major paintings with incredible minaturesque detail that is simply stunning, and, in many cases, looking better than the finished paintings themselves. Click here to check a selection of his letters out at this website.


Whilst an incredible collection of stuff has been brought in, the crowds are too much. Weekends are clearly not a sensible time to visit.


Photography is meant to be strictly prohibited in the Van Gogh exhibition.

A Visit to the British Museum

Ellie is Jen´s elder step-sister and she invites me for cake and drinks at the British Museum for her birthday.

Situated close to Russell Square tube-station, this imposing building offers an eclectic assortment of artefacts pilfered from around the World, most notably the Elgin Marbles stolen from the Greeks.


It has been a very long time since my last visit and it looks even more impressive than i remembered. It boasts artefacts covering close to 2 million years. It is somewhat of a labyrinth to negotiate around and unless you give it a complete day of exploration, you are better to just focus on your specific interests.

There is currently an interesting exhibition of West African sculptures on display.

a cool African artefact

The museum is open daily between 10am – 5.30pm with late evenings on Thursdays and Fridays.

Like all the major museums and galleries, entry is free, although begging bowls litter almost every gallery room.

Check out their website by clicking here.