London - the happy tourist

By the end of my time in London I was happy to shoot my little camera and capture the fantastic skies and places.

 On Piccadilly looking towards Green Park Tube

 Green Park

 Green Park is between Piccadilly and Pall Mall

 The weather was clear, dry and sunny and cold - lovely.

 Afternoon light and lengthening shadows

One of the very grand old houses along the park - surely not still a private home.

 Another one

 Another one - smaller and more believable

 Yes well this says it all - a bygone era

 Another one - former town houses of luminaries such as William Kent

 Pall Mall

 By accident came across a famous address with fancy gates

 very fancy lights

 it seemed famiiar

 The sun was just behind the palace

 Canada Gates

 Closer

 When you see something you know from the media it's strange to see it in reality

 Australia gate - a roadway - symbolised by a figure cuddling a kangaroo - oh what a relief - reassured by the stereotype!

St James Park - so I guess this is close to the heart of the old British Empire and Royal Family - just a few pleasant open spaces and incredible relics of another age.

 Walked along Millbank from tate Britain past the Houses of parliament

 Detailing

 From Westminster Bridge - quite a way off

 It's always fabulous to see a city at night

Looking across to South Bank - you can walk from Westminster Bridge all the way to London Bridge past the Festival Hall, lots of restaurants up to Tate Modern and the Millenium Bridge to Borough Markets.

Painting in London - The Last Look - White Cube

The other contemporary art pinnacle is owned by Jay Jopling. The White Cube has two galleries in London. One is at Mason's Yard off Duke Street, St James and the other is at Bermondsey. The website is good.
There seems to be a healthy rivalry between White Cube and Saatchi Gallery.
Our attempt to find Mason's Yard led us down Abemarle Street and Cork Street. At the Alan Christea Gallery in Cork Street we saw lithographs, drawings, drypoints and colourful prints from Jazz by Henri Matisse. This was a fabulous surprise.
So in this area there are many old established galleries close to Burlington House home of the Royal Academy since 1867 on Piccadilly in the West End.
I didn't find any other areas of commercial galleries like you can find in capital cities here. Time was against us. before Christmas I visited the White Chapel Gallery in Aldersgate in the eastern area of London and it is great with a strong social conscience.

 Burlington Arcade on Piccadilly

 Another arcade

 Piccadilly Arcade

 At White Cube Mason's Yard - Frederick Kunath I'm Running Out of World

 White Cube Mason's Yard - Frederick Kunath

 White Cube Mason's Yard

 White Cube Mason's Yard - Frederick Kunath

 This very contemporary functional space is built in the centre of a cobbled space - literally I guess an former mason's yard!

 It is in stark contarst to everything surrounding it.

 Uo the road is Fortnum and Mason

 Fortnum and Mason window

 Sale on at Fortnum and Mason

 Across from Fortnum and Mason is Burlington House

 The layout of Burlington House

 In the courtyard

 The Daumier exhibition was fantastic

 The back view od old Sir Joseph Reynolds

 Back out on Piccadilly looking up towards Green Park

 The Ritz - missed out on afternoon tea here

 In the White Cube Bermondsey - this is over the River about 10 minutes from London Bridge and the Borough Markets. It's a great area which is worth exploring. It's very near to the huge Guy's Hospital.

 Mark Bradford - mixed media works - amazing - more examples on the web site

 Artist no 1 in White Cube Bermondsey - Mark Bradford, incredible works

 Artists no 2

 This gallery is in a converted huge warehouse. Apparently it's the largest commercial art space in britain. It's fabulous although I reckon the lighting and tonal balance for the best display of work is better in Saatchi.

 Another dear tree

 Forecourt of White Cube Bermondsey

 Looking back towards the Shard which is at London bridge. It cost 30 pounds to go up to the viewing deck - missed tat one too hahahaha - the queues were so long as this was a rare blue sky day - a beautiful day to walk around London!

Another gorgeous old pub tucked away between the White Cube, the huge hospital and the Shard - so good that the old and the new can co-exist although the pressure on old buildings would be huge as the price of land skyrockets in London. ll the old suburbs are regentrified. House prices have soared in the last couple of years. The GFC didn't really affect London but certainly the rest of the country. It's a bit like here with the mining boom - two economies ,two worlds in England - London and the rest.