Tate Modern is currently hosting a Damien Hirst retrospective, which has attracted a lot of mixed publicity. I’m no art critic, but I know what I don’t like. Thanks to a borrowed Tate Member card, I was able to disapprove of the artworks in person, at no cost. It goes without saying that photography is not allowed inside… [Read more…]
May 10, 2012
A capacity crowd gathered to hear Andrea Wulf talk about her latest book, Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens, at the Royal Society library on Friday 4th May 2012. The podcast of Andrea Wulf’s lecture, which I highly recommend, will soon be available here. A transit of Venus is a rare astronomical event in which the planet Venus… [Read more…]
April 26, 2012
Jerry White, author and Professor of History at Birkbeck College, spoke at Guildhall Library on Tuesday 24th April 2012 about his latest book, London in the Eighteenth Century: A Great and Monstrous Thing. This book is the eagerly awaited third in a trilogy that began with London in the Twentieth Century, followed by London in the Nineteenth Century. White’s… [Read more…]
April 26, 2012
Coming to London for the 2012 Olympics? Keen to see more than back-to-back sporting events? Grab your camera and walking shoes, and check out these history of science hot spots, all within a short distance of Piccadilly Circus. If you’re really keen, you can get this mini-marathon done in a single day. Be sure to… [Read more…]
April 20, 2012
If you love theatre and want to see an excellent stage performance, get yourself to the Barbican as quick as you can for the Sydney Theatre Company‘s production of Gross und Klein (Big and Small), starring the wonderful Cate Blanchett. The minimalist production has laughs, shocks, surrealism, physical humour and existential angst by the bucket load. Blanchett – to paraphrase… [Read more…]
March 29, 2012
Earlier this week, we took advantage of the stunning spring weather and walked from Bloomsbury to the Kennington/Stockwell area in south London. Here, at 87 Hackford Rd SW9, is a blue plaque to the artist who surely needs no introduction, Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890). The house is currently for sale for over £400,000, but is… [Read more…]
March 12, 2012
If you ever wondered what the view is like from a private box at the opera, here are our photographs from last week, when we had the good fortune to receive a friend’s tickets to the Royal Albert Hall‘s new production of Verdi’s Aida, directed by Stephen Medcalf, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra led by Andrew Greenwood. Photography is frowned upon by… [Read more…]
March 6, 2012
This being the 200th anniversary of the birth of English national treasure Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870), there are more celebratory London events going on than you can poke a stick at. The study of Dickens’ work was once considered unfashionable in academic circles, and he was dismissed as a popular entertainer. How times have changed! On Friday… [Read more…]
February 20, 2012
On our way to Jermyn Street Theatre’s production of Howard Brenton’s highly-recommended Byron/Shelley bio-drama Bloody Poetry on Sunday 18th February, we ran into a loud bunch of drum-banging, hoola-hooping, life-affirming activists who had taken over residence of the Anteros statue at Piccadilly Circus. I initially assumed it was an offshoot of the Occupy London movement, but on closer inspection, they… [Read more…]
February 17, 2012
Historian and author Kate Williams discussed her latest book, The Pleasures of Men, with journalist Suzi Feay at Foyles bookshop on Thursday 16th February 2012. This book sees Kate – whose previous works include biographies of Emma Hamilton and the young Queen Victoria - venture into new territory, historical fiction. Kate spoke about her time living in Paris, doing research for an upcoming book on Josephine Bonaparte during the day,… [Read more…]
Bloomsbury Bytes
May 18, 2012
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