The National Portrait Gallery

 I’ve missed The National Portrait Gallery. For the last few years it’s been closed for renovations so my go too place for a quick mooch, coffee and think disappeared for what seemed like an age. 
The gallery is open now.
Slicker.
Brighter and more airy.
I liked it 

Marlene Dumas’ Amy Blue was a standout version of Amy Winehouse as was Colin Davidson’s Ed Sheeran. 

I also slightly fell in love with Lady Colin Campbell by Giovanni Boldini who was the La Traviata of her day and in my minds eye the perfect Violetta.


We had a nice meal at Côte in St Martins Lane then ambled to the Duke of York’s to see the revival of The Pillowman with Lily Allen.
The Pillowman proved to be a dire, badly acted , gloomy affair which has a lot to say about Child abuse and man’s inhumanity to man .
Too much so.
Nu and I walked out, which was a shame 





The train system is messy this morning.
I hope to be home lunchtime
Im going to take the dogs to be the beach



45 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:44 am

    Nice selfie of Nu and you, love your shirt and of course Nu’s great smile! Gigi

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    1. She has a lovely genuine smile, always has.
      We look hot and bothered. This was at the theatre just after I had fallen asleep before the interval

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  2. weaver9:44 am

    Hope you get back home easily. Looking for something in my AA Road map of GB I noticed Trelawynd was on the front cover! You are so near the sea - nice to think of you all strolling along the beach (and all having a paddle)

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    1. We are 600 feet above sea level to its a drop and a half from Trelawnyd to the coastal plain

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  3. It is a great photo of you and Nu. I bet the conversation between yourselves never diminished.

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  4. Anonymous10:42 am

    That really is a great photo of both of you!

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    1. We were feeling hot sweaty and irritated, so I’m surprised

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  5. National Portrait Gallery brings back memories,

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    1. You would love it more now, it’s brighter and less gloomy

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  6. Yorkshire Tiz11:02 am

    It's GREAT that Nu has the time and patience for you! 🥰🫶

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    1. What a stupid comment , we’ve been best friends for over 33 years

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    2. Yorkshire Tiz11:55 am

      I meant she must be very 🫶 patient because you must talk all your problems with her and so she must be absorbant. Sorry if I am sounding stupid 😿😿😿

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    3. It was an odd comment , like many of your others

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    4. Yorkshire LIZ9:21 pm

      Now, there's interesting. Because those weird comments by Yorkshire Tiz are not by me getting my spelling wrong. As you might know. Must be dear old Anonymous trying to be clever yet again. All the subtlety of a four year old playing mummy off again at daddy for a sweetie.

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  7. What a shame about the Pillowman, but you don't need gloom and doom while you're feeling so good. Hoping the trains home are on time, and the beach trip isn't rained off! xx

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    1. We’ve just returned from the beach. The washing has been done, and is hanging on the garden bushes
      Dorothy is licking my feet on the couch Nd I’m going to doze

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  8. Lovely photo of you and Nu. I didn't like the newly revamped National Portrait Gallery. The day I went it felt very cramped and far too busy. You couldn't stand back far enough to appreciate the paintings. Maybe I'll try again on a less busy time. I didn't even know about the Tracey Emin doors as the door I went through was open and I didn't see the design!

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    1. I get what you are saying , I’m a bit ruder than you and I made sure I sat on the benches and asked the people behind me to give me some space
      That’s where I saw the Amy blue
      I’m glad you told me about the doors, I’ve just researched them
      https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tracey-emin-the-unlikely-new-face-of-the-national-portrait-gallery-32g3tqlxb

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  9. The photo captures your friendship so naturally x

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  10. I have just read a synopsis of The Pillowman and can understand why you would have walked out. I probably wouldn't have even got through the door!

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    1. We discussed it at length and just didn’t see the points they were trying to make. When the acting is lacklustre too, the whole production fails to engage

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  11. You and Nu are looking good! It must be nice when you get together and enjoy your travels. The Gallery sounds superb and a joy to visit. I would have walked out of the Pillowman showing too. Who needs it when there are other more pleasant things to do.

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  12. I guess "The Pillowman" was a bit too high brow for you and Nu. I think I would have enjoyed it.

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  13. Nice to have a look there.

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  14. Great selfie of you and Nu! National Portrait Gallery worthy!

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  15. Barbara Anne4:14 pm

    Great selfie! Love your smily and Nu's nearly electric mile and red hair!
    I;'d love the visit the National Portrait Gallery ... maybe on the website.
    Pillowman sounds dismal.
    Happy homecoming!

    Hugs!

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  16. Yorkshire Liz4:36 pm

    Fascinating post. Sorry Pillowman was a crude disappointment. (I would have loved to see the Geilgud/Burton play at the National) A lovely new series on Sky Arts re the restoration and reinvention of the NPS: worth a look if you can, and been shown currently.

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  17. Glad you had a good visit with Nu and enjoyed La Traviata & the National Portrait Gallery! Nice to go away, visit with a good friend, and then return home, isn't it? Hope you & the dogs had a good walk.

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    1. They had a gallop on the beach and I blew the cobwebs away

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  18. Sometimes it's just the right thing to do to walk out on a performance or stop reading a book if neither is not satisfying. Life is too short to struggle through some things.

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    1. That’s what we debated last night. It was our conclusion
      I felt last night was an example of the Emperors new clothes me thinks

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  19. You can delete this comment if you think it's not appropriate. A friend posted it on Facebook and being a Woody Allen fan I thought it was funny. It's a conversation between Allen and Diane Keaton in a museum, from the movie "Play It Again, Sam".

    Allan: That’s quite a lovely Jackson Pollack, isn’t it?
    Museum Girl: Yes, it is.
    Allan: What does it say to you?
    Museum Girl: It restates the negativeness of the Universe. The hideous, lonely emptiness of existence. Nothingness. The predicament of Man, forced to live a barren, Godless eternity, like a tiny flame flickering in an immense void, with nothing but waste, horror, and degradation, forming a useless, bleak strait-jacket in a black absurd Cosmos.
    Allan: What are you doing Saturday night?
    Museum Girl: Committing suicide.
    Allan: What about Friday night?
    ..."Play it Again Sam" Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, 1972

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    1. No I loved this , his banter with Keaton in many of his movies has always been a favourite of mine.
      This Black Jewish humour is him at his best

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  20. How was Lilly Allen's acting? I still enjoy her first album, where she was simply a naughty cockney schoolgirl, but I can't imagine her on stage.

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  21. Nu has a glow that made me fall in love immediately. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a little Nu in their lives.

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    1. She has a certain energy which lifts a room

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