Blog revisited

I’ve fallen off the blog wagon, I guess.

The last two weeks have flown, all good – Ava is into the swing of things at Abercorn. I had to laugh; ASL kindergarteners ease into things w/ very short days week 1, then short days week 2, then finally regular days (still getting out earlier than all the big kids).

No so at Abercorn. She started last Monday, went full days everyday and swam on day one. (Well, she was supposed to swim on day 1 but since she made a fuss and several other kids didn’t get in the pool for one reason or another they let her off the hook. Week 2 swim seemed to go fine, though.)

We did have world war III over tights the other day. I don’t think my children have made the mental transition from warm climate clothing to London’s cooler fall/winter/spring weather. (May as well throw in summer while we’re at it.)

Regarding school, Ava’s happy with her teacher, is one of four girls in the class and seems to enjoy her new circle of friends. Plus she gets to see her pre-reception buddies plenty, as the classes interact throughout the day.

As for extracurricular activity, ballet started Friday; she woke up looking forward to it and was very focused and beaming throughout class. Claire and I got to watch and play cards.

Speaking of Claire, she’s definitely enjoying second grade, her friends and her teacher. She’s had several play dates and been to Canon’s Park twice already. (This is a facility the school uses to teach about nature and the environment. Yesterday they went for a demonstration by the Bird Man, which kicks off their unit on birds. Later they’ll dissect owl pellets. And they need 10 parents to volunteer for that project…as gross as it sounds, I’m told it’s very cool as you look for skeletons, skulls, etc. from unlucky owl prey).

On my end, I had a number of meetings last week – school stuff and women’s groups kicking off activities for fall.

I also got to hit the Serpentine Gallery with a group of ladies for a tour of paintings and sculptures from Jeff Koons’ Popeye series. An American artist, apparently he has “explored notions of consumerism, taste, banality, childhood and sexuality. He is known for his meticulously fabricated works that draw on a variety of objects and images from American and consumer culture.”

The exhibit we saw incorporates surreal combinations of everyday objects, cartoon imagery, art-historical references and children’s toys.

The latter Koons casts in aluminum but you’d swear they are the soft, squishy plastic we buy yearly for our kids. It’s one of those exhibits you want SO badly to touch. (So badly, in fact, there is a guard at every sculpture to prevent any handling.)

The “inflatables” are juxtaposed with everyday objects – chainlink fence, chairs, etc. The result: unusual, colorful and contrasting sculptures.

Paintings in the exhibit are also inviting to touch – they look textured and are extremely colorful, pulling in aspects of the sculptures displayed in the room. In several paintings, Popeye and Olive Oil are central figures (FYI Popeye turns 80 this year.) Our tour guide noted that Popeye, developed during the Great Depression as a character that could address hardship and injustice, is fitting in today’s period of economic recession.

Other information about the artist per the Serpentine Web site:

Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania, in 1955. He lives and works in New York, and his work has been widely exhibited internationally. Recent solo exhibitions include presentations at the Château de Versailles, France; Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, all in 2008.

I did very much enjoy going to the exhibit, though the art isn’t something I identify strongly with. The gallery is in a delightful spot, in the middle of Kensington Gardens. We had a lovely day to walk through the park to and fro, and getting some insight into Koons’ work and motivations through our guide was worthwhile.

Also on the cultural calendar…Friday evening Joe and I met at the theatre for Billy Elliott, which was fabulous.

Here is the gist and if you have a change to see it, do!

Billy Elliot the Musical is an inspirational story of one boy’s dream to realise his ambitions against the odds. Set in the North East of England against the background of the historic 1984/85 miners' strike, Billy pursues his passion for dance in secret to avoid disapproval of his struggling family.

On Saturday, which dawned bright, sunny and warm, we headed down to the Thames Festival, which takes place annually along the river. Bands, a market, food and beer stands, kids’ activities, book sale and more were in full force, and plenty of people were out and about. Nice way to spend a few hours.

We also enjoyed a little patio time, which I’m sure will be spare between now and spring, so I fired up the grill (ok flipped the switch).

And Sunday was my market day – the Marylebone High Street market is my favorite so far, with a number of farmers selling fresh meats, fruit, veggies, eggs, etc. And there are a few bakers, someone with flowers, a fishmonger…always something yummy and fresh.

On Monday I went with a group to Althorp, the family home of the Spencers (Diana’s family). Her brother, the current Earl Spencer, lives there with his family. We had brunch in one of the dining rooms, then toured the grounds and house.

Diana is buried in an unmarked grave on a small island on the grounds, a lovely, tranquil setting. Thousands upon thousands of people came to visit and mourn her death the first two years after she passed, and many still come, according to our guide.

About Althorp:

The Althorp Estate covers 14,000 acres of beautiful countryside in Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Norfolk. It encompasses cottages, farms, woodlands and villages, which combine to give a rich mix of landscapes, habitats and activities.

The house, built in 1508, has been home to the Spencer family for nearly 500 years. Among other things, inside are 400+ paintings, according to our guide, among them works by Rubens, Van Dyck, Reynolds and Gainsborough, to name a few great artists.
John Spencer acquired a 300-acre estate around Althorp in 1508; and his grandson, another Sir John, made Althorp the principal Spencer home by the time of his death in 1586.

The house first erected at Althorp consisted of an enclosed courtyard with projecting wings on the south side. It is presumed to have been unaltered until Dorothy, long-widowed wife of the First Earl of Sunderland, roofed in the courtyard and installed the grand staircase across the central axis in 1660-62.

Then, the house was of red brick but the Second Earl of Sunderland wanted a more classic façade so Weldon stone Corinthian and Composite columns were added, and a balustrade placed on the elevation.

In the upstairs west wing he transformed the great hall - the ubiquitous living space common to Elizabethan houses - into a long gallery. The next additions were carried out by the Fifth Earl of Sunderland around 1730, when he decorated the hall. A Palladian design was drawn up by Colin Campbell.

However, he died in 1729, and it was left to Roger Morris to carry out the work. In 1772, part of the roof fell in. Years of benign neglect were compounded by the First Earl Spencer's prior interest in the construction of his London mansion, Spencer House. Only after his son's accession was an overhaul considered.

The architect taken on was Henry Holland. The external treatment given to Althorp reflected both the Earl's finances and fashionable imperatives. Rather than cover the existing walls in white brick, Holland substituted 'mathematical' or rebate tiles, so-called because of their precision fit, flush-mounted to look like brick.

Holland also added simple pediments to the north and south fronts, corridors to the projecting wings, and new dressings in the Roche Abbey stone from Yorkshire, and pilasters in local Kingsthorpe stone for the front entrance. The roof was lowered, the chimneys constructed anew. On the outside, the house is much today as Holland decreed, characterised by conscious restraint and a lack of ornament.

He relocated the state rooms to the west wing of the ground floor (in a reversion to pre-Palladian practice). The Long Library was extended and the gallery painted.

The then Lady Spencer praised the scheme as 'the image of comfort - so convenient, so cheerful, so neat, so roomy, yet so compact .' How deliberately the Holland alterations responded to family directives on this score is not clear.

Holland's last act was to extend the house to the east with offices screened by shrubbery.

His plans for the house were generally untouched for a hundred years. Two libraries on the north-east corner came - and went - according to the demands of book-buying Earls.

The present gardens, including the oval pond, were laid out in the 1860s by W.M. Teulon. In 1877 the Fifth Earl had J. MacVicar Anderson add the State Dining-Room, removing the anomaly of cooking and eating in opposite wings. He also enlarged the Saloon and opened up the west and north ranges more or less into the continuous reception suite seen today.

While at Althorp we were able to visit an exhibit commemorating the life and work of Diana. Six rooms feature audiovisual displays and exhibits containing her Bridal Gown, childhood letters, school reports and details of her work for charity.

The tour was excellent, and the property is gorgeous, surrounded by green pastures filled with cows and sheep. (Apparently the Spencers made their fortune with sheep hundreds of years ago, so I guess it’s fitting that they roam the estate today.)

Otherwise on the Weber front...

- leaky house due to a DELUGE of rain
- fridge misbehaving
- back to school night for ASL

Could someone send over the maytag man (or frigidaire guy, in this case).

and some very sad news --

We learned of a friend’s death on Sunday. She was 31 years old, a lovely, bright, talented young mother whose presence will be missed by many. Why her, why now, one wonders.

Her passing should serve as a reminder to all of us to make the most of the time we have and don’t put off what is important. Spend time with people we enjoy. Wear the good clothes. Use the china. Book the trip. Go! Do! See! Live! I’m doing my best to follow the mantra and hope you do the same.