Spent this Saturday in London to see the Tamara de Lempicka exhibition at the RA. As usual the main challenge was finding the RA, and after that finding the right entrance (the one we found first was for football fans only).
The exhibition was perfectly formed but small so we still had time to rush across town to the V&A to see the other flower show and their retrospective of Vivienne Westwood, which is great. We were rushed out at the end and had only the briefest glance through the inevitable tat shop. Jeremy feels extra pleased with her (second-hand) Westwood tee-shirt now she's seen them on sale for £65 new...
Outside the V&A a crowd was gathering. Eventually we worked out it was there to see the Olympic torch procession.
We dutifully accepted a blue inflatable baguette from Samsung and a London pennant from Coca-Cola. Some kids has flags of various nations, but we were too late to claim any of those. The running man ran past too fast for me to take a decent photo. Jeremy got a better snap of him.
Aftwerwards we decided to walk to the Linus gig at Needles through Hyde Park rather than trying to use the Tube (guessing that it would be crowded with the crowds that had gathered to watch the procession). On the way we passed the Albert Memorial, which is quite a bit of work!
This is just a sample of one of the corners, which shows a Victorian conception of the Americas, complete with man in cowboy hat, with moustache, musket, and Greek drapery!
As we walked through the extensive rose gardens of Hyde Park, the Red Arrows flew overhead, spouting red, white, and blue smoke.