A Short Break to Bruges, Belgium: Despite working in Brussels for 9 months, despite knowing that Bruges was my mother’s favourite city in Europe and despite not having been there since I was eight years old, somehow as an adult I’ve never quite managed to get on the train and visit Bruges in Belgium. Obstinacy […]
Six of the Best and more – Norfolk Art Experiences
A Norfolk Retrospective and New Discoveries at Congham Hall: The only part of my childhood where our family stopped travelling for a while, Norfolk has a fond place in my heart. Much of the coastline is stunning (even in the pouring rain!) with cliffs, rock pools, sand dunes and wide open beaches. Hunstanton, where I […]
Picasso: Minotaurs and Matadors
REVIEW OF PICASSO: MINOTAURS AND MATADORS. Guest Post by Deborah Tarrant: Set in the modern gallery space of the Gagosian, tucked away in a corner of Mayfair, the exhibition, in partnership with the artist’s grandson, Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, examines the intersection of Picasso’s bullfighting imagery with his mythological and biographical compositions of the 1930s. There are also […]
A Peek at Paris – Musée d’Orsay
Paris, so the saying goes, is always a good idea. Especially if you happen to have a voucher for a free Eurostar ticket in leisure premium no less… The last time I was in Paris, I had intended to revisit Musée d’Orsay. I first went there about 30 years ago and went back some years […]
Hamburg – Part II
Hamburg – City of Culture and Cake: I was invited by the lovely people at cometohamburg.com to visit the city so I could write about its many attractions. It’s a wealthy and powerful place with a strong sense of identity that’s not trading on its past to justify the present. In my first post, I looked at Hamburg’s maritime […]
Day Trip to Dublin with Aer Lingus
Dublin in a Day – an Arty Tea and More: Taking a plane for the day to another country used to be very much my modus operandi. Those times have changed though and if I am working with overseas clients, we are more likely to use skype than to arrange a face to face meeting. […]
Mad about Margate
A Day at the Seaside – Mad about Margate: It may not have been entirely wise to take myself off to Margate on a press trip with Visit England the day I got back from cruising the Mediterranean. Apart from the fact that I didn’t get home till the wee small hours of the morning, there […]
Artist in Residence at The Cumberland – Inspired By London
Gregory Burns – Inspiring and Inspired at The Cumberland Hotel: For a month now, contemporary artist and former Paralympian Gregory Burns has been staying at The Cumberland Hotel. And, after painting in the lobby every day, sourcing inspiration from the staff, the guests and from the hotel itself, he has produced a wonderful series of paintings […]
The Folio Society Annual Book Illustration Competition
The Beauty of the Book – Folio Society competition: I grew up surrounded by books. Even when my parents were travelling, somehow my mother seemed to manage to take a good part of her own collection of books with her. And, when I was eight or nine, they started to buy Folio Society books. I […]