Post-war loveliness; blue chicken; walk

Went with Ray to the ‘Brutal and Beautiful’ exhibition on 23 November at English Heritage’s Quadriga Gallery inside the Wellington Arch. The exhibition was very interesting and nicely done, focusing on listed post-war buildings, and is apparently one of a series of exhibitions to mark the centenary of the 1913 Ancient Monuments Act. It included various interesting short films, including architect Peter Aldington talking about his three beautiful houses at Haddenham, one of which he evidently still lives in.

I had never guessed that the Wellington Arch contained a gallery space – the space is over three floors but is really pretty tiny, so it was lucky that it wasn’t very crowded. In the first exhibition room, there’s a bit of history about the arch and the story of the various statues that have adorned the top of it, including the statue of Wellington on horseback which was apparently mercilessly lampooned at the time as being disproportionate (and was later moved to Aldershot, perhaps as some sort of punishment) before being replaced by the current Quadriga. We went out onto each of the two terraces and had a gander at the view.

Photos of the day here. We started the day by walking to the branch of Carluccio’s on Westbourne Grove for breakfast, then down across Hyde Park; after visiting the Arch we walked down via Belgrave Square to the King’s Road where we had lunch at Mori. Then Ray caught a taxi back to Paddington as he had a late afternoon appointment to get some work done on the van, and I nipped in to Peter Jones to use the facilities, before catching a v. convenient bus (am rapidly becoming a convert to buses over tubes) heading up via Tottenham Court Road. In the event I didn’t get that far, as I couldn’t resist getting off the bus in Trafalgar Square to photograph the super blue chicken – or the blue cock, as it is more directly called in this article.

Met Ruth in Heal’s and we had tea in the very civilised Heal’s Quarter Café and a brief discussion of the term 'Fitzrovia', which Ruth had evidently though was some sort of made-up word in manner of Narnia. Then proceeded down to Leicester Square, as Ruth fancied seeing a film but had kindly tried to cater to my lukewarm attitude towards going to the cinema by picking out a couple of films that she thought might be my cup of tea. We ended up seeing Le Week-End, which is well done though difficult to watch in parts; Guardian review here.

Slightly horrified by the crowds outside the Odeon, before realising that they were nearly all there to see the sequel to The Hunger Games. Le Week-End was showing in the tiny Screen 2 of the Odeon Mezzanine, next door. We followed up the film with dinner at the nearby branch of Café Rouge in Irving Street.

Received a texted photo from Ray last week of the Vile Cardoon, now excised from our garden and planted in the garden of Ray’s employer Laurence, who has apparently given Ray carte blanche to plant what he likes. Although it may have been pruned to a stump at the moment, have warned Ray that it grows like the blazes and will need hacking back within a fortnight.

Enticed Ruth out for another walk on Sunday (she is getting better at this), this time from Whitchurch back to Caversham via the path through the Hardwick Estate and Mapledurham. It was only as we got off the train at Pangbourne that I remembered that Whitchurch Bridge is closed for repairs until next year, but luckily there's been a temporary structure erected for pedestrians. The walk took in some ponies, a field of alpacas at Bozedown Farm and a vegetable stall with an honesty box, where Ruth bought some muddy sprouts that she then shoved into my rucksack. We followed it with another late lunch at The Griffin.

The walk took in two atmospheric gates which I was compelled to photograph: the mossy but splendid gates at the eastern end of the Hardwick Estate (left), and this rusty gate on The Warren in Caversham (above right), which must at one time have led into someone's garden, presumably, but which is now just standing by itself.

The article on Hardwick linked above claims that 'indeed there is strong circumstantial evidence pointing to Toad Hall being Hardwick House'. Sometimes wish that the half-dozen or so houses in the Thames Valley that claim this would get together and settle it with a fight.