Sunday September 2nd
Meet up with N.C. at Kings Cross. She has just moved to London from Holland - prior to that (a long time ago now!) we went to University together.
It was the usual deal of phone calls - "where are you?" - while standing about 25m from each other! After hugs and exclamations and general catching up and discourse on where and what, we determined on the Design Museum where N.C. was sure that there was a Zaha Hadid exhibition. So we then caught the Tube to Bank and then (due to engineering works) had to walk to the Design Museum on the other side of the Thames, across Tower Bridge. Which actually was rather lovely with the sunny blue sky. Especially since I hadn't seen the Tower in the sun before nor with leaves on the trees before! So that was nice.
On the other side of tower bridge there was a PETA protest - Bare Skin Not Bear Skin - regarding the Beefeaters hats. So naturally it was young ladies in the nude (almost) with Union Jacks on their cheeks, butt cheeks that is. For their sake I was glad that it was warm and sunny. Well I was glad for my sake also, but...
There was indeed a Zaha Hadid exhibition at the Design Museum. It was very good, but I am inclined to dispute the argument, posed in one card, that her recent built projects prove that contrary to earlier critique she is a builder not just a painter. I think it is just that now she has staff to turn her artistic vision into built reality. By which I do not mean to denegrate the power of her artistic vision, nor the influence that she has had on architecture internationally. I just think that the staff should get a bit more credit - they are not, afterall, merely drones...
There was also a Graphic Design exhibit: a group devoted to anti-brand, anti-globalisation and naturally anti-war. There was some very good work and some hard-hitting political / social critique - but of course, the irony is that they have become a Brand themselves...
Perhaps that accounts for the shift towards anti-war?
I confess to shopping: four little porcelain tumblers, like crumpled plastic cups, each one different from the others. The location of the crumple on each though, is just perfect for a thumb hold. 
We then had a pub lunch before I had to rush off to meet J.D. (ex CSP) at Oxford Circus. With lunch running late, and then the engineering works on the Tube (requiring the hike back to Bank) I was 1/2 an hour late but had forewarned J. so that was okay - infact, I wound up waiting for him. We walked across to Soho where he introduced me to a nice little Kiwi run cafe - the best hot chocolate that I've had since arriving in the UK! and they do a flat white...
It was very odd though, it seemed everywhere I went I was being served by antipodians - and when N.C. and I were working out the best route for the tube, who should stop to help but a Kiwi, complete with MacPack backpack...
We then just walked and talked, around Soho and down to Westminster and back to Picadilly Circus.
Then back to Chiswick for dinner with P. and M. After which I showed P. the photos I have from the wedding (I had my iPod on which they are - and since it is set up as a hard-drive I could access them to show her - neat eh?).
Speaking of photos - the pics from this trip can be accessed at :
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13456&l=4a8dd&id=536389399
