Saturday and the Opera

The weekend was full of fun as they all have been.  On Saturday I went to the Tate Britain, which all about British Art.  It can pretty much be summed up in one artist: Turner.  (see previous post about the National Gallery).  I then popped over to the British Museum, and then in the evening went to the Royal Opera House to see a new Opera called "Written in Skin".  It was quite good, although my seat was in the third tier of balconies.  The Royal Opera House is beautiful and ornate.  The original burned down in the 1800s, but was rebuilt. 

Sitting way up high at the Royal Opera House.

Looking across the opera house from my seat.

The main restaurant area inside the Royal Opera House

Looking down on the restaurant.

The Captain of Kopenick

Tuesday evening I went to a play at the National Theatre.  The Captain of Kopenick, which is a comedy about Germany before the first world war.  It was excellent, the best part was that I got a ticket for the second row, centre which was fantastic!  I only paid 12 pounds!

View from my seat!

At the national theatre

Oxford and Helen House

Wednesday I went on a day trip to Oxford to visit Helen House and Douglas House.  These are two hospices which are located at the same site.  They are on the ground of an abbey.  Helen house was the first children's hospice in the world, it opened in 1982.  Douglas House is a hospice specifically for young adults, aged 18-35.

On of the doctors who works at these hospices kindly agreed to have me come and spend the day seeing the hospices and observing her at work.  I took the train from London early on Wednesday morning and arrived at Helen House around 10 am.  

Speeding through the English countryside.

The English love their green hills.

 I spent the day with Dr. Emily Harrop.  She showed me around the hospices and explained about how they each work.  I was able to see some patients with her and attend some of the team meetings.  She kindly arranged for me to have lunch at the hospice, which was delicious.  Some of the cooks at the house also work as chefs in local restaurants.

I didn't take any photographs as there is an excellent interactive tour of both hospices on their website.  I returned home to London at the end of a long day.  Here is the link for the hospices:
http://www.helenanddouglas.org.uk

Bikes parked at the train station in Oxford.

Taking a double decker bus through Oxford to get to Helen House.

Follow the White Rabbit

The white rabbit was evidently quite late for dinner, but given that we are on Spanish time, he ended up being the first one there.

Late on Saturday evening, I went for dinner with another doctor who is also visiting and observing in Palliative care.  She is from Madrid and is nearing the end of her training in pediatric oncology (cancer).  She had a few acquaintances in London, so a group of 6 of us when out for dinner.  We were 3 Spaniards, one Brasilian, an Australian and myself.

We went to a very hip tapas place called White Rabbit, although I don't even think that there was a sign outside the door. 

We shared; baby lamb chops, sirloin, rabbit with barley, goat cheese, prosciutto, and venison to name a few.  The spanish speakers didn't know what venison was and once I explained they kept referring to it as Bambi!  "This Bambi is delicious!" (add Spanish accent).

Dessert

The highlight was dessert of chocolate ganache, bergamot mascarpone, raspberry gel with chocolate crumbs.  Delicious.  

Organ Recital on Sunday

I went to church at Westminster Abbey, which was amazing.  I think that the best way to experience churches and cathedrals is to attend a service, you get much more out of seeing the building used for its intended purpose.  The choir was sounded incredible.  I took a quick look around, although photos are not permitted, I learned after taking one.  Oops.

Illegal picture inside Westminster.

Then I headed our for some more walking in the cold. I walked up the southbank of the river, catching some lovely views of all the buildings I've now seen up close; Westminster, St. Paul's, Parliament and Big Ben.

View from the south bank of the Thames.

View of St. Pauls from the south bank

I went up the OXO Tower to get a view out over the river, named for the bouillon cubes.  I discovered a nice warm restaurant at the top where I had some tea and chips to warm up.

Lovely tea with chocolates and chips.

View from the OXO tower, similar to that of the Tate Modern, just slightly further west.

 Further walking was necessary after this as the tube station I was hoping to use was closed for work this weekend.  Sigh.  While walking to my destination, I discovered this station which is very clearly permanently closed, if you look closely you can see that behind the metal gate the opening is bricked over.

Permanently closed...

I was again close to the National Gallery, so a second visit was necessary.  I can really only do art in 90 minute intervals and there is so much to see.  Even after two visits, I still have only seen two-thirds of the works.  Today's favourites were: 

Portrait at the Age of 34, Rembrant

This painting is closely related to a self portrait etching made by Rembrandt in the previous year, 1639. In both the print and the painting the composition is influenced by Raphael's 'Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione' (Paris, Louvre), by Titian's Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo in the National Gallery and by Albrecht Dürer's 'Self Portrait' of 1498 (Madrid, Prado). 

This portrait shows Rembrandt at the height of his career, presenting himself in a self-assured pose wearing an elaborate costume in the fashion of the 16th century. It seems as if Rembrandt refers deliberately to his famous predecessors in this portrait, and thus places himself in the tradition of great 'Old Masters'. The word 'conterfeycel' (more properly conterfeytsel) is an archaic Dutch term for portrait.

The Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio

Two of Jesus' disciples were walking to Emmaus after the Crucifixion when the resurrected Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but they did not recognise him. At supper that evening in Emmaus '... he took bread, and blessed it, and brake and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight' (Luke 24: 30-31). Christ is shown at the moment of blessing the bread and revealing his true identity to the two disciples.

Caravaggio's innovative treatment of the subject makes this one of his most powerful works. The depiction of Christ is unusual in that he is beardless and great emphasis is given to the still life on the table. The intensity of the emotions of Christ's disciples is conveyed by their gestures and expression. The viewer too is made to feel a participant in the event.

The picture was commissioned by the Roman nobleman Ciriaco Mattei in 1601. Caravaggio painted a second, more subdued version of 'The Supper at Emmaus' about five years after the Gallery's work.

 After that I went back to Westminster for a short organ recital at 5:45 and then around 6:30, I headed home after a full day of exploring.

Big Ben at Twilight.

Saturday!

Daffodils in Hyde Park!  Signs of spring.

Well, it is now colder here than in Ottawa.  Burr.  I was not prepared for this.  Since it wasn't raining, I decided that it was a good day to do some walking (not realizing how freezing it was out).  Also, I do not have a down jacket with fur trimmed hood with me in London.  The daffodils were still out in force in Hyde Park.  Apparently the English daffodils don't wait for warmth or sun, if they did, they'd never grow.

I started at the Marble Arch, walking through Hyde Park and then down through Green Park and to Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth Gate into Green Park

Wellington Arch

Australian War Memorial, names of battles are visible from far away and then disappear as the names of individuals appear when you move closer, due to the way the letters are carved.

Canada Gate at Buckingham Palace.  

Canada Gate, not sure how we managed to get our name on something so classy. 

Buckingham Palace, no sign of the Queen.

Victoria Memorial at the start of the Mall 

After Buckingham Palace, I walked through St. James' Park which is full of various types of waterfowl.   This park was first enclosed by Henry VIII as a personal hunting area.  The pelicans are the main attraction, and I saw some very excited children running around looking for them!  There is also a tiny Swiss cottage which was deliberate attempt to oppose the majestic palatal buildings lining the park.

The fabled pelicans in St. James Park.

Swiss Cottage in St. James Park.  Some kale trying to grow under the mesh despite the frigid weather....

Brussel sprouts in the cottage garden, not sure that they need any protection from the waterfowl.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for Danny.

 After walking through all those parks, I was freezing.  I made a detour into the Churchill War Rooms gift shop, just to warm up.  Earlier this week the temperature was 10-15 degrees, so my guard was down.  Then it was over to Westminster, I didn't go in but did wander around some cloistered areas in the back, not sure if I was supposed to wander in there, but no one stopped me.

Westminster Abbey.

 Another stop to into the Westminster gift shop to warm up...and then Big Ben and the parliament buildings.

Big Ben!

Fancy Horse Guard, looking serious.  Sign on his right cautions that horses may bite.

 After walking up Whitehall, the street lined with bureaucracies, not a pinstriped functionnaire in sight this Saturday.  I then arrived at Trafalgar Square, where I revived myself with chocolate.  Always a wise idea.

Refreshing myself with hot chocolate and chocolate croissant.  

Considering the weather, I decided that indoor activities would be a good idea, so I checked out the National Gallery, conveniently located on Trafalgar Square.  It was impressive, so say the least.  I try to pick my favourite painting whenever I go to an art gallery.  Here are my choices for today, with clever captions from the National Gallery who are much better art critics than me.

Bathers at Asnieres, Georges Seurat
The National Gallery Description is below:

Asnières is an industrial suburb west of Paris on the River Seine. The present work shows a group of young workmen taking their leisure by the river.

This was the first of Seurat's large-scale compositions. He drew conté crayon studies for individual figures using live models, and made small oil sketches on site which he used to help design the composition and record effects of light and atmosphere. Some 14 oil sketches and 10 drawings survive. The final composition, painted in the studio, combines information from both. 

While the painting was not executed using Seurat's pointillist technique, which he had not yet invented, the artist later reworked areas of this picture using dots of contrasting colour to create a vibrant, luminous effect. For example, dots of orange and blue were added to the boy's hat. 

The simplicity of the forms and the use of regular shapes clearly defined by light recalls paintings by the Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca. In his use of figures seen in profile, Seurat may also have been influenced by ancient Egyptian art.

The Fighting Temeraire, Turner

The 98-gun ship 'Temeraire' played a distinguished role in Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, after which she was known as the 'Fighting Temeraire'. The ship remained in service until 1838 when she was decommissioned and towed from Sheerness to Rotherhithe to be broken up.

The painting was thought to represent the decline of Britain's naval power. The 'Temeraire' is shown travelling east, away from the sunset, even though Rotherhithe is west of Sheerness, but Turner's main concern was to evoke a sense of loss, rather than to give an exact recording of the event. The spectacularly colourful setting of the sun draws a parallel with the passing of the old warship. By contrast the new steam-powered tug is smaller and more prosaic.

Turner was in his sixties when he painted 'The Fighting Temeraire'. It shows his mastery of painting techniques to suggest sea and sky. Paint laid on thickly is used to render the sun's rays striking the clouds. By contrast, the ship's rigging is meticulously painted.

Thursday and Friday.

This was a pretty regular day.  I spend the morning at the hospital discussing palliative care with one of the physicians.  In the afternoon I went on a home visit with one of the physicians and a nurse consultant.  A nurse consultant is a specialized type of nurse, it is one of the most senior level of nurse.  A nurse consultant can practice independently, to some extent.  This nurse consultant works on the palliative care team, but her role is still in evolution.

After the home visit, I spend some time shoe shopping!  There is a fabulous variety of shoes here!  I am looking for things I can't get in Ottawa.  Stay tuned for purchases as I'm still looking around.

Then I went over to the National Portrait Gallery to see the modern portraits.

Friday I spent the day at the hospital.  I attended oncology rounds with one of the team nurses in the morning.  In the afternoon I met with Paula Kelly, a researcher and nurse by background who does research with the palliative care team.  We discussed my current research project and some next steps to take.  I am currently working on developing a data abstraction tool to allow me to do a chart review.  The chart review will look at quality of care provided at end of life and if there is any benefit from a palliative care consultation.  Specifically, I want to examine the presence of pain and other symptoms at end of life and look at location of death and resuscitation attempts at the time of death.  We discussed this at length and she offered some feedback about how to develop a tool to assess these things.  She was extremely helpful.  I am hoping to have most of the work on this project completed by the time I leave London.

Ardibal Carpet

This evening I went to the V and A museum again as it was open until 10pm.  There was a party atmosphere in the main atrium with drumming and live music and a bar set up.  The late night events at the museums seem to be more hip and modern.  The museum was quite crowded.  I looked at Islamic Art, including the Ardibal Carpet one of the oldest in the world.

Tomorrow I am waiting to see what the weather is like before deciding what to do.  It was raining today, so outdoor activities may be out.