What a miserable day of people acting like arses. First up Mr "We're not a cashless society" at the station Park and Ride which unbeknownst to the whole of our town is now incurring a fee which we have to pay in cash to someone not in an uniform or with any ID and no official signage.

Yes, yes I know I keep banging on about my fucking book! However, if you want one repost this and I’ll do a random winner pick thing by the end of the week because I’m great like that. ♥️📚 #amindofmyown

wp.me/p5AHEA-3YE #MauriceWade #ArthurBerry #KeeleArts

For the past year I have tried to find my spark again. Despite everything, nothing has worked. Think I am actually done. It's just going to me and my books from now on. Books never let you down 📚📚📚📚

Have I missed a meeting? Why is there a 'leadership' contest for the honorific title of Deputy Prime Minister? My understanding is it is a non constitutional role and is offered by the Prime Minister. Why is everything brought down to a 'battle' between people who should be working together?

"I'm as light as a feather! I'm as happy as an angel! I'm as giddy as a drunken man!" Such happy news!

Here we go, then! ‘Fresh from his heartfelt performance as Howard in Through It All Together – a moving tribute to football, family, and resilience – Reece will now step into the iconic role of Scrooge, bringing his trademark depth and northern grit to Dickens' timeless tale.’ #Leedsplayhouse

Loneliness takes many forms, all of which chip away at you. But coming across a video of the kitty you miss more than anything and hear her purr again takes it to a different level 💔

The Quiet Life of a Reader One of the unexpected perks of retirement? The sheer volume of uninterrupted reading time! While the daily hubbub of chatting with hundreds of people has vanished, it just means more quality time with my books. Jumping from rereading classics and realising that you never…

It’s back! Christina’s World at MoMA The first time I went to New York I wanted to see this famous painting, and I was not disappointed. Andrew Wyeth Christina's World 1948, MoMA, NYC It was one of the first paintings I described without knowing anything about it or the artist It was such a…

Travels with Tesla: Niagara’s Industrial Magic There’s something utterly mesmerising about Niagara Falls — that thundering cascade of water, the mist hanging in the air like a veil, the sheer force of it all. But tucked behind the natural drama is a story just as electrifying: the tale of how…

Michael Palin’s Quest for Artemisia Another of these anniversary posts for the birthday of one of my favourite artists. Michael Palin's films are a delight and his enthusiasm does inspire you to find out more. This one is a cracking watch!

Hey ho AGO! 7/7 is The Group of Seven Day and the AGO in Toronto opened especially for me. Sorry, no, they opened to celebrate a group of artists who changed Canadian art and brought it into modernity. I'm at the airport and have a bit of time to share some of my favourite pieces. This may become…

Happy birthday, Marc Chagall! Over Vitebsk, 1915 It's one of those anniversary posts and this is at the AGO in Toronto and was photographed this morning! More on this visit to come!

Edna Reindel – A Woman in the Steel Age Edna Reindel, The Steel Age, 1934 I have been reading about Edna Reindel, a polymath in the arts whose work during World War Two brought her to fame. Edna Reindel: An Inspiring Artist for an Unprecedented Time This article is very interesting and with a…

Beetlejuice The Musical Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Not exactly art but given that I have a passion for Tim Burton's aesthetic, it would have been very remiss of me to not get a ticket to Beetlejuice The Musical at the Mirvish Theatre. First of all, wow! What an interior! I love old…

Seeing Beetlejuice The Musical in Toronto - top notch!!

Time in a library is always well spent! I have started looking at dissertation topics and one of them is based around this kind of literature and how it reflected the fear of mechanisation on a society moving rapidly to industrialization. It wouldn't be a perfect trip if I didn't get time in a…

Great night at Toronto's History with OMD. Once again, met a great bunch of fans from Canada, and the States. This band certainly have the friendliest people following them 🤗

Just been reading on the 'other side' complaints that Michael Sheen, after giving his all in NYE, isn't coming to the stage door. How bloody entitled! You pay to see a play, not to meet the cast. This is their job, and they will be exhausted after performing. Your job is to be the audience!

Four for the Fourth of July 🇬🇧 One for my American friends from precisionist painter, Niles Spencer (1893-1952). Love the colour palette he chose to use! Niles Spencer. Near Avenue A. 1933 Across the Tracks Niles Spencer 1934 Waterfront MillNiles Spencer1940 Niles SpencerVentilators1948 Happy…

So long Niagara Off to Toronto today so it's goodbye to Niagara. It exceeded all expectations and created some wonderful memories. Bought a couple of pencils with me so thought I would sketch my hotel view.

Birds at the Lady Lever Starting to fill my summer calendar and think a little trip up the M6 may be on the cards for Jim Moir's exhibition Dawn to Dusk. A Salon of Curlews over the marsh © Jim Moir Not my usual subject matter, but the choice of venue and images the gallery has shared has piqued…

Niagara in Art First visit and it is even more spectacular than you could ever imagine. Yesterday was a trip down into the tunnel under the power station - yes, I come to a place of natural beauty and my first visit is to the Power Plant and a Nikola Tesla exhibit! Part of the ticket price is to…

Don’t let sleeping Turners lie Remember this from last month? If you recall, at first it was thought to be this... But it turns out it was a Turner and look how much it has just gone for! Makes you want to go Turner hunting, doesn't it!!

A cheeky one! Emil Ganso, Burlesque, 1933 This is by a German born artist whose back story is an interesting one. Emil Ganso went to the United States as a teenager and became a baker. Emil Ganso, 1930, © Peter A. Juley & Son Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum J0114349 He attended art…

I’ve just been to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Graycliff! When I spotted this on the map towards the border crossing it became a must-see, and it was so worth the trouble. At the moment you can only go on a small tour due to the building of a new visitor centre. Luckily for me there room on the tiny group…

Happy Canada Day: The Group of Seven – Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933 To celebrate Canada Day and the fact that I'll be crossing the border later today, I found this interesting website about The Group of Seven: The Group of Seven – Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933 Just…

Look what I found:  Raclin Murphy Museum of Art Heading to Toronto over the next few days and I'm in charge of navigation on.this road trip.  That's a dangerous decision as I will sniff out art on the way. First stop South Bend/Notre Dame, Indiana, and I found a stunning new gallery, Raclin Murphy…

Resting…I think not! Resting, Antonio Mancini I'd like to think this is how I woke up this morning but no. Jumped up in a panic as today is Road Trip Day and I leave Chicago behind until another day!! But, this painting was a lovely surprise at the Art Institute of Chicago and a painting I thought…

Untitled Two years ago I visited a tiny church in Tudeley to see a very special commission of stained glass windows by Marc Chagall. I was moved by the generosity of Chagall to make the decision to design all the windows in that small church. Having been to the magnificent Mainz in 2019 to see…

Who let Delvaux out? Finished up in the European Modern Art galleries and there wasn't anything that jumped out at me here. Apart from this. I have sat here laughing to myself at the audacity of my favourite French lunatic artist! I have to share the wall caption about his inspiration for this…

At The Art Institute of Chicago Finally got here and it is special to have ticked this off my list of galleries I have to see. I wondered how I was going to attempt writing about this place given that it is huge so I think I will stick to a Top Ten approach, but in no particular order to avoid…

A little sweetie 🍬 Finally, we're in the same room!!

I’m a little confused I commented on Jonathan Jones' very negative, two-star review of Kiefer/Van Gogh exhibition in Amsterdam back in March as it seemed really harsh. The exhibition has moved to London's Royal Academy and I have a ticket for later in the summer, despite the negative review. I…

Tamara de Lempicka’s ‘La Belle Rafaëla’ sold for £7.47 million at Sotherby’s Tamara de Lempicka,La Belle Rafaela, 1927 This was an exciting watch: Property from a Private British Collection Tamara de LempickaLa Belle Rafaëla For more on Tamara, see my post from last year:

Fed up of negativity in the Whoniverse and trying to give up overeating as a comfort, so binged the first 5 episodes of #DoctorWho series 1. Lovely to curl up and meet Rose, see how hammy Mickey's and Jackie's acting is and giggled at the amount of farting that went on in Downing Street. Fantastic!

Mysterious Neolithic figurine. Sensational discovery in Kołobrzeg Nice to get some reading done when it's too warm to sleep especially when it's about one of my favourite topics: Stone Age 'Venus' statues!! Meet the 'Venus of Kołobrzeg! Here's the story: and welcome to the clan, Koło!

Went to the cinema to see this today. Really nice change to the usual romcom elements!

Happy Days – Frida in Chicago One of the best parts of an art trip is the actual planning, especially when you find something interesting is going to be there when you are.  Sometimes it is a deliberate choice to visit, like Hopper at the Witney, but this time I was just booking my general…

James E. Allen: Grit, Girders and the Glory of Industry You might remember the print I posted recently—one of Allen’s breathtaking high-wire workers perched on a steel beam. Today’s main image is another gem: Oil Refinery (1936), a brooding, beautiful ode to American industry in full swing. James…

In this new feature on 'Crush', we look back at the album’s genesis, the critical response and the legacy it established using the words of the people involved at the time… www.omd-messages.co.uk/crush-an-ora...

Chicago inspired sketching Getting ready for my trip so I sat in the sun, head out of books about the workhouse and had a crack at the skyline from Lincoln Park. Have a feeling I may need to pack a sketchbook as well as the suncream!

Joel Shapiro: Sculpting Joy, Defying Gravity.

You’d be mortified! Going around museums does carry a risk of breakage. I'm unbelievably clumsy so it's a miracle it hasn't happened to me. You are asked to leave big bags in lockers and if you do carry a small back pack you'll be asked to wear it on your front. But how do you legislate for this…

Bridges of America RECAP Just saw this gorgeous painting on the Smithsonian's website and thought, shall I look at American bridges in art before recalling that I already did, last year! Nicola Victor Ziroli, Bridges in Winter, 1934, oil on canvas, 24 1⁄8 x 30 in. (61.2 x 76.3 cm.), Smithsonian…

Quiz time! Guess the Women Artists It's that time of the week again folks! And phew! I'd have had to go away and hang my head in shame if I hadn't got full marks! Let me know how you get on!

Who doesn’t like a war film on a Saturday afternoon? I was watching the 1942 war classic, In Which We Serve, this afternoon as I am a sucker for a war story with a heart. Since a kid, I've loved Nöel Coward. I got a book out of the library about him and Gertrude Lawrence and I became fascinated by…

Heavy metal thunder; three engines and a rolling crane at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg. These are just the tip of the iceberg; dozens of old train cars, engines and train paraphernalia exist in this amazing museum. #railroad #urbex #trains #Pennsylvania #photography

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