Celia and I went to the Small is Beautiful exhibition today in South Ken. The ads for it looked good, but it was even better than we’d hoped, housed in a space which seemed to unfold as we made our way round. An exhibition can be made or spoiled by how it is laid out. This one felt like a journey of discovery and exploration. Engaging, stimulating, exciting and in the true sense of the word, wonderful.
It closes on Sunday so you haven’t got much time to see it in London, but then it’s off to New York. Might be a good excuse for a hop across the pond. There were people of all ages. Young children were both mesmerised and audibly thrilled by the whole thing. We went in the morning. We were actually the first people through the door and we spent nearly two hours there. Time flew by. Some of the pieces amused, some provoked, amazed the skill of all the artists amazed. My favourites were Simon Laveuve whose pieces I loved, and Slinkachu whose pieces I recognised, though I don’t recall from where. Anyway, check out the links.
A couple of days ago I had acupuncture for my shoulder and neck pain. I went back to Luke who I last saw four years ago. It has only just dawned me that this is now chronic pain as I have had it for months. The session has definitely helped, and I feel more positive that this is not something I am going to have to live with for ever. I go back fr more needles in ten days. Watch this space.
I’ve always been a reader, but at the moment I am never happier then when I have my nose in a book. A trip to the Barbican library netted booty: four novels to enjoy. The Barbican library is the best lending library I know. Unlike so many, it hasn’t been disemboweled and turned into a café with a few books around and a lot of computers. I think there are even still librarians working there, as opposed to library assistants. In the various lockdowns while our local libraries closed, the Barbican did all it could to make sure us borrowers could keep borrowing. We reserved our books online, then collected them from the library’s back door. It worked perfectly and gave our walks to the City real purpose.
Next week Bake Off returns for a new series, and I think so does Taskmaster. So that’s two hours television I shall enjoy each week. I am having a break from watching the news although normally I’m a Channel 4 News addict. It’s just too depressing. I think that’s why books are so important at the moment. They offer comfort and escape.
On my work Insta account I published this picture:
So far more than 100 people have liked it. This is far above my normal number of likes. I expected it to attract some attention but not much. The response struck me as similar to someone dying of thirst in the desert being offered a glass of water. We have reached the point where a cat seems a more attractive and sensible candidate to be Prime Minister than anyone in government. Strange times.
I have a habit of shoving avocado stones into patches of earth in the garden and seeing if they’ll grow. Some do, some don’t. I have one tree that’s around seven years old and seven feet high. It’s my pride and joy. The other day I realised I have a good number of small plants which may not survive the winter if left where they are. I offered some to a neighbour who is a keen gardener. He took one yesterday, and will return for another. He also sent me a video of a thirty foot avocado tree complete with fruit, growing on a street somewhere in south London. WE studied the pictures but could not identify the location. My next door neighbour is giving two more to his parents when they visit this weekend, and the team who maintain our outside space left with four today which they plan to over winter in their greenhouse and possibly sell. Could I have a potential business selling avocado plants? I am keeping one in a pot to see how it gets on. I can move it to a more sheltered spot when the weather cools and hopefully it will be robust enough to survive. They are very attractive plants, and evergreen. They’d make a beautiful screen at the end of a garden.
I realise this post has also been bullet points only with the points.
Have a good weekend.
Isobel (and Cat)'s Blog 
Good news about the Barbican library. Celia and I were returning from an appointment at Guy’s when we had to get off the bus and walk because your town hall was on fire. So upsetting to learn that the library was destroyed and even more upsetting to hear that it wouldn’t be replaced. Good old Barbican!xx
I remember that day. I turned to walk down the Walworth Road just as the flames started to shoot through the roof.
The library was not destroyed or even rendered unsafe, but the council took the decision to let the building and open a vastly inferior place with a reduced selection of books. At one of the meetings following the fire the leader of the council let slip that the council had been intending to close the library as part of the regeneration of the Elephant. There was outrage at the meeting. People standing up saying they wanted our library retained and reopened. The fire must have seemed lime a blessing in disguise to the council who went ahead with their plans.
Such decisions are all too frequent these days. The general public and their needs or wishes no longer come into the equation. I feel really sorry about what kind of world we are leaving to the next generation.