Art and Architecture

As well as the usual round of recces I’ve recently managed to get and bit of art-house and architecture under my belt. The art house was an interesting black and white film by Sarah Pucill called Magic Mirror, shown at Tate Modern, about the work of French photographer and writer Claude Cahun. The film was a ‘re-staging of the French Surrealist’s work and the text from her 1930s work Aveux Non Avenus.

Waiting for Sarah Pucill’s film to start at Tate Modern

On a quick trip to Malta I managed to see the work being done on Renzo Pian0’s designs for the gates of the capital city Valletta, the colour of the stone cladding blends perfectly with the adjacent ancient walls and Roman pillars although the look is whole heartedly modern

Valletta re-build underway

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Out and About

I’m planning a trip, at the end of May, to the West Country so have been on the phone and email to some interesting folk with nautical connections and have accommodation booked at the wonderful looking, and highly recommended, South Sands Hotel and beach side restaurant.

But before then it was off to Bury St Edmunds via Ely. An early morning start and a quick connection, but as we left Ely I did a double take from the train, through the window it looked as though we were passing a snow covered landscape until I rubbed my eyes and looked properly, the land was covered with thick sheeting, presumably to keep the late frosts from killing the new buds.

Snow or no snow? outskirts of Ely on Tuesday

The shoot went well and Darren Chung found a comfortable spot in a disused fireplace to take a shot of the kitchen extension at the home of Allen Perkins of the Vintage Playing Cards company

Just getting it in focus, Mr Chung at work

The week ended with a visit to Chelsea to meet designer Gretchen Trusted of Shake the Sky and on Friday a trip to Holland Park to see another location that might make it to the pages of The Times magazine. En route I passed what has to be the narrowest doorway in London, one you’d have to turn sideways to fit through!

Breathe in – all those who wish to enter here.

Teas and coffees

A week of beverage taking: Monday’s shoot at the 1950s home of designer Jennifer Newman was enhanced by a dash of spring sunshine and delicious coffee stylishly served with a morsel of frozen chocolate brownie.

Coffee in Richmond, served with style

Jennifer’s house is at odds with the surrounding Georgian mansions but has a good pedigree, being designed by James Stirling after whom the prestigious architecture prize is named.

Tuesday: A good caffeine filled cuppa and croissant at the offices of ARC Pr in Notting Hill where Jenny Hildreth and her team did a great job of PR-ing PR for a work experience student who was spending the day with me. Then on to Angel in North London for a meeting with Jo Copestick of Jacqui Small Publishing. Regular followers of this blog might remember that Jacqui Small is the publisher of Homes from Home my latest book due out in September – it was very exciting to see a dummy of the book heading off to this week’s London International Book Fair.

Rush out and buy it on 19th September!

Wednesday was a very smart coffee with Fiona Barratt Campbell at Daylesford in Pimlico. On the way from Sloane Square tube to our meeting I passed the site of the shop she is opening later in the summer, it is discreetly concealed behind hoarding while the transformation takes place.

the Barratt Campbell hoarding, shop to follow soon

London’s Calling

Most of this week has been spent on ‘go sees’, going from one side of London to the other looking at locations that might make features for The Times Magazine. This part of my work takes me to unexpected places and to meet interesting people but most of all it makes me appreciate what a diverse and magical place London is. On a walk through St James’s Park, en route to the West End, I did some bird watching and pageantry appreciation, all the space of five minutes.

Westminster wild life – a Pelican in repose in front of Buckingham Palace

Pageantry on The Mall

On a shoot on Thursday I saw Anish Kapoor’s wiggly ArcelorMittel Orbit in the Olympic Park. With photographer Darren Chung I was doing a shoot at the home of the Emerald Faerie and as we worked away snow flurries wafted past the window…

Olympic leftovers

Mr Chung checks out Faerie style

Spring in my step

Mimosa in bloom in Holland Park

Early in the week, on my way to recce a location, I was trudging along with my head down, trying to stop my eyes from watering in the arctic wind when a sweet scent wafted past my nose, so strong and lovely it made me stop in my tracks and look around. As I glanced up I saw the source, a mimosa tree laden with blossom. Its sunny little yellow bobble flowers and the delicious smell put a spring in my step..

On Tuesday it was off to Essex to meet up with photographer Darren Chung, we had a great shoot at the home of textile designer Freddie Robins and her multi-talented husband Ben Coode-Adams and even though we had to scrape and brush the snow away from the front of their home to get the exterior shots, there were a few rays of sunshine and plenty of hot coffee, soup and biscuits on offer to keep us going.

Wednesday was a shoot with Jefferson Smith in west London, Jefferson took time out to worship at the feet of a household god, a small round red object in the corner of one of the bedrooms….

Jefferson pays homage to a household god

or maybe he was just asking for the sun to come out and stay out instead of playing hide and seek.

As well as the unusual red floor light, for that is what it is, the curtains were of African printed cotton edged with a pleated kilt-like border.

A curtain with kilt