A Little Bit Of Culture…...

Having some spare time before a trip to the theatre in London, I decided to go walkabout and visit some places that I hadn't seen in years. I started off at Charing Cross Station and walked to Trafalgar Square, named after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, when Britain's naval hero, Lord Horatio Nelson was killed:

Trafalgar Square is always full of tourists (me included!) and at New Year's there's always at least one person that tries to scale Nelson's Column. On one side of the Square is this building, do you recognize it?

Maybe this is a better photo:

OK, final clue:

And just because we have to be politically correct:-)

I was going to go inside for a quick peek. I always took my kids there and they would sign the Visitor's Book and feel very important! But, alas, Canada House was closed for extensive refurbishment. The Canadian Government had sold the Canadian High Commission in Grosvenor Square-  super prime real estate - for  a small fortune - and were merging both buildings into one. This is an update from their website: "We're all abuzz about the latest addition to Canada House. The High Commissioner has unveiled a luxury bee hotel that will grace the roof of our new office in Trafalgar Square. We're pleased to be able to offer London's bees a safe haven in the middle of the city, and staff are lining up to learn all about maintaining a great environment for these important animals". Hmmmm…. interesting to the average Canadian taxpayer. They did add that this was donated by the Savoy Hotel but……

Alongside Canada House is the National Gallery, I haven't been here for years so thought it was worth a visit:

The Christmas tree is annual gift from the people of Norway in thanks for the help they received from Britain in WW2.

Here's a close up look:

There were lots of street entertainers in the square, this guy was playing with fire, one way to keep warm!

Now, Art was never a favourite subject at school - I just never had the artistic touch and I think I only scraped by by getting good marks on the Theory of Art so…. not knowing the difference between a Manet and a Monet I went in anyway and was pleasantly surprised to actually recognize these:

"At the Theatre" by Renoir

"The Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice" by Canaletto

"The Fighting Temeraire" by Turner

"Mrs. Siddons" by Thomas Gainsborough

I guess I didn't snooze through all those classes after all!!

Now this one is a real classic:

It's called a selfie!! Just kidding, but the hips look disturbingly familiar!!

There were also lots of Italian Renaissance paintings, I took these because it was so close to Christmas:

Lots and lots of Italian Renaissance:

These are familiar scenes on Christmas cards in England.

I'm glad I went for a visit, a little bit of culture never harms! Now, outside was a familiar figure:

And I knew immediately who it was…. Paddington Bear!

A collection box, aptly, for the NSPCC

On the third side of Trafalgar Square is this building:

St. Martin-in the-Fields Church. I had to steal this photo as mine was too dark! This church dates back to the 1700's or, as my kids always said, "everything in England is so old"! I always like to come here, not just to sit in the church:

There was a choir rehearsal in progress for a fund raising concert later that night.

But also, because down in the crypt……………

They have a lovely cafeteria that serves great food and afternoon cream teas. It was a bit late for afternoon tea but I couldn't just go there and not eat anything, could I???

Just a wee slab of coffee and walnut cake….

It does feel a bit disrespectful eating in the crypt with gravestones like this at my feet:

But everyone is doing it!! The ambiance is great!

In the foyer there was a gorgeous Nativity scene, made from oak and gilded with gold and copper leaf:

The artist is from Nottingham, how cool is that!

So, time for my theatre trip. A short little stroll down the Strand to the Savoy Hotel:

The theatre is just to the right, you can see the red lights. It's an Art Deco theatre and is really neat inside:

This was a view from my seat, I guess I was the first one there!

The play was a comedy and was terrific: two con-men who were then conned by a woman!!

I can tell you that because the season is over next month!!

I laughed and laughed and…… because no visit to the theatre is complete without chocolate……

this is what I had:

because, as all us Brits know, Maltesers are "the chocolates with the less fattening centre."

So, in view of that, I ate the whole pack all by myself!!!

Thanks for the theatre, Donna, even if you did send me out in the freezing cold!

Talk soon

Zoe