July 12-15, 2019: London Town: Uncle Neil, Bobby Dee, Lee Kasner, Birdlife and Kew Gardens

Bob Dylan and Neil Young rock Hyde Park's world in their duo tour. They did not sing together as Kilkenny, but still-- pretty righteous.

London, thou art the flower of cities all! Gemme of all joy, jasper of jocunditie. 

-William Dunbar

The pirate spent approximately 18 summers of his life having fun and chasing an obscure concert series started in London by the dearly departed guitarist Derek Bailey which turned into much more as time passed. So it is no surprise he would make up virtually any excuse to come to London in the summer. And this year, it was a better than average excuse, since Bob Dylan and Neil Young are on tour and playing Hyde Park. So instead of going home after our South American sojourn, we were off across the pond. Delta delayed our arrival by having a variety of issues complete with lost luggage as well, but we made it to part of Neil Young and all of Dylan. The outdoor show was sold out with an audience of 65,000. Neither artist said a danged word to the crowd, but they both managed to belt out their signature music. Dylan played a variety of songs, including Girl from the North Country, Highway 61 and Blowin' in the Wind. Over the years, he has stripped many of his renditions down to bare-bones as far as the singing (if you want to call it that) goes, but I think his backup band and even his own enthusiasm are why the "never-ending tour" could also be called the never boring tour. The pirate will likely have more erudite commentary below. 

The next day, we went to the Barbican Museum which never fails to have an interesting exhibit. In fact, the last three times we have been to London, Barbican has been on the menu. This time they had an exhibit of Lee Krasner's work. Unfortunately, as she will herself point out, most people know her as Jackson Pollock's wife. But that is a truly unfair characterization of this abstract artist whose work can certainly stand in its own right. 

Born Leonore Krasner in Brooklyn at the turn of the century, she knew as an early teen, she wanted to be an artist. Getting an art education was a struggle for women in her era. Hans Hoffman who was her teacher paid her the compliment/insult of stating her work was so good, "you wouldn't know a woman did it."

The pirate admires a large work from her "umber" series which she performed at night in her barn in Spring, New York. She was suffering from insomnia and didn't want to use black while painting indoors.

Her specialty is seen here: collage. She would tear up her old work and make new pieces from it.

When Jackson Pollock who was suffering from alcoholism and was having an affair with Ruth Klugman,  was killed in an automobile wreck in 1956, Lee Krasner returned to from a visit to friends in Paris to  Spring, New York and her work. She had been painting a large series which she named Prophecy. 

She called this one Three in Two. Not sure if it was a reference to the wreck with killed Pollock and another female artist friend, but spared Ruth Klugman. I think it looks like mangled bodies, but that's probably just me.

This was the first piece in the exhibit and it has a lot of texture. Even though Pollock and Krasner trained in separate schools and she didn't know him at the start of her career, their styles have certain noticeable similarities. 

A mosaic table by Lee Kasner made from a wagon wheel.

It was a very educational to see the work of this artist and there is a 20 minute interview with her in which she is asked quite a lot about her approach to art and life. Her answers are very refreshing and honest. I really enjoyed the exhibit and the film. 

Another exhibit at Barbican which was sold out and we couldn't attend was called AI. However, outside the exhibit, they had this bartender robot. It was fun watching it make a Negroni. Stay tuned. The pirate might install one at 713 that makes gin and tonics!

From here, we were off to our dinner at a restaurant we discovered by accident while staying in Dalston a few years ago: Salut! Started by a pair of German brothers who trained at world reknown Noma in Copenhagen, the restaurant recently changed chefs...and it is still excellent. I would describe the food as modern European cuisine and the chef is pretty playful, as well as an artist of sorts himself. The restaurant is small and has 10-12 tables. The kitchen is open and it is fun to watch them create the menu items. Salut! can mean either hello or goodbye, and I'm always game to say HOWDY to this food and the friendly staff. If you go there, salute the manager Danny for us!

Food at Salut is never boring or ugly!

We were fortunate to have amazing weather our entire stay with lows in the low 50s and highs only to the mid 70s at most, overcast at times, but no rain! THe week before London had a heat wave. So although we love the museums, being outdoors was very appealing and that's how we approached the rest of the short sojourn. A few years back when the pirate was working in London and I was tagging along, I saw an advertisement for the London Wetland Park. It rained that time, and I didn't make it out there to Putney to see it, but not so this time. This area is a wildlife preserve and it is reachable by train from central London. When you exit Putney Bridge station there is a very nice walk on the Thames path out to the preserve which host many migratory birds and water fowl. Putney is the start of the Oxford vs Cambridge boat races, so you pass all the various college boathouses and a fair number of bars as well along the way. Opened in 2000, the site is composed of four disused Victorian era ponds at the side of the Thames. There are numerous towers and hides for better observation. 

The white-headed goose must be related to surgeons, as it can sleep standing up!

We saw lots of mamas with babies in the park.

Butterflies were abundant as well

If I were a duck, I think I would find these canals and ponds quite suitable.

A little birdie told me.

Although not  a botanical garden per se, the plant life was beautiful.

Mama Marsh hen feeds her chicks.



Pirate Bird

This golden eye chick opposed having his image captured.

After our lovely day out, we caught a jazz show at the stunning Wigmore Hall with Django Bates Trio and the inimitable and amazing Evan Parker playing a repertoire of Charlie Parker compositions. It lasted about 90 minutes, celebrating the 99th birthday of Charlie Parker and the 75th for Evan Parker. It was a great show. Django Bates is a very melodic pianist and it's always fun to watch Evan Parker go to town on the sax while practicing circular breathing. Too much fun!

The artists weren't keen on photos of them, but I did get one of the ceiling of Wigmore Hall.

We kept dinner local to the Marleybone neighborhood and enjoyed "elevated British fare" at Ivy Café. I had a very tasty lemon sole and Paul had steak. While the restaurant is very meat-centric, I think my favorite dish was the watermelon and tomato salad.

This salad is as delicious as it is attractive!

For our last day in London, we went to Kew Gardens which is always a treat. We took the boat down the Thames and enjoyed a commentary regarding all the buildings. Pirate and I both see many modern buildings, particularly residences, either replacing or rehabbing what was there twenty years back.  As for Kew, it's probably best if I let the photos do the talking.

I haven't ridden on the London Eye yet, although I saw it when it was still on the ground.

House of Parliament

Last summer I saw Chilhuly at the Biltmore. This year, it Kew-Chihuly. Lovely anywhere!

Indoor Kew exhibit with Chilhuly

Perhaps my favorite thing at Kew Gardens are the ginormous trees.

Pagoda in summer

Another large Chilhuly installation



Sculpture in the rose garden. I wish you could smell this area!

You can't blame the bee for flying into this!



Colors galore

Pirate loves flowers ...and ice cream.

This is a relatively new sculpture in the Kew Gardens called the Hive.

We ended our London vacation with a trip to another favorite restaurant, Portland. It's small, about 20 tables, and we have been there so often, they stuff us with food. Delicious food. We highly recommend the tasting menu with wine pairings. Don't eat before you go and walk at least 10 miles!

The open kitchen of Portland Restaurant with one Michelin star. So yummy.

We will be sad to leave London, but happy to get home. Here are a couple of London signs we enjoyed along the way.

This gave us a laugh.

I like the spirit of this great London which I feel around me. Who but a coward would pass his whole life in hamlets; and for ever abandon his faculties to the eating rust of obscurity? -Charlotte Brontë

Paul's Ponderings:   London is probably my favorite big city worldwide....it's an embarrassment of riches as they say and this time was no exception.    This time sort of was a bookend to my early visits with Derek Bailey's long gone "Company Week" festival, since we saw his long time collaborator Evan Parker (although they did not play together for a long time prior to Derek's passing).   I won't belabor the history of either since it's easily found online other than to add that I first read this quote in Bailey's book titled "Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice in Music".   It's probably my all-time favorite quote about improvising and this seems like a good spot to share it.

The composer and improviser, Frederic Rzewski tells the story of running into Steve Lacy, the great soprano player, on the street and quizzing Lacy for his opinion on the difference between composing and improvising.   (Note:  Yes, that may be an odd question to ask on the street, but hey, it's Steve Lacy.)  

Rzewski says: In 1968 I ran into Steve Lacy on the streets in Rome. I took out my pocket tape recorder and asked him to describe in fifteen seconds the difference between composition and improvisation. He answered: ‘In fifteen seconds the difference between composition and improvisation is that in composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in fifteen seconds, while in improvisation you have fifteen seconds.’ His answer lasted exactly fifteen seconds and it is still the best formulation of the question I know. 

I'm lucky to have seen Fred Rzewski, Steve Lacy, and Derek Bailey all perform, the latter two in particular many times.

Quotations aside, Kew Gardens is always a pleasure and we had the added fun of the Lee Krasner exhibition.   I'm certainly guilty of only knowing her through Jackson Pollock, but that's no longer the case!    

Top that off with some fabulous food and what's not to like.    We now head home for a few weeks, but soon we'll be providing some updates from the southern part of Africa if all goes to plan.

They had the pirate at "pi"