There are few things lovelier on a gloriously warm day than creating a cool breeze by cycling leisurely through the countryside. It’s even better with the beautiful sparkling waters of Rutland on your left. One thing I do think is lovelier is not having to work your thigh muscles and burn your calves – a usual side effect of the cycling culture. However, I have found the solution!
Philip suggested touring around the edge of the lake… on a tandem! It’s great fun. He was awesome, pecs rippling as he worked so hard to masterfully control the huge contraption. He took us riding through shady glens and across grassy spaces full of picnickers and small children – whose parents seemed to think it was cute to allow their offspring to toddle dangerously into the path of oncoming bikes and skateboards. Climbing the steeper hills, Philip even stood up to peddle – very impressive, which I assumed was the reason for the playful display. Turns out it’s the only way to get up the hill if the person behind is sitting there enjoying the ride instead of actually pedaling…
He told me that now I have mastered staying on the seat, the next step will be to learn how to move my feet. We’ll see.
We’d intended to spend the day sailing, but a calm water meant the sails wouldn’t be very effective, so we abandoned that idea in favour of the tandem. It made me think of my nana singing Daisy Daisy when I was very young – and now that I’ve typed that it’s going round and round in my head again. (And for some reason, so is the rude version.) In truth, I did contribute significantly to the pedalling and part of my body that shall remain unmentionable in this ladylike blog is still sore – so I guess it’s appropriate to still be singing a cycling song three days after the event. Annoyingly, I didn’t have my recently-purchased magic cycling knickers with me, which was a huge shame.
Rutland Water is so clear and blue, it’s almost a picture book lake. In contrast, the Thames is a dismal grey colour. Far less pretty but still attractive as it snakes its way through the best city in the world. Have you seen the Giacometti exhibition at the Tate Modern? I hadn’t really fancied going, but Martyn wanted to go, and I was tempted by the thought of a cake on the members’ balcony overlooking the aforementioned watery artery of my home town.
It was all the more enjoyable because I wasn’t bothered about Giacometti so hadn’t thought about what to expect. I went with an open mind and returned blown away by the diversity of this Swiss artist’s work. Sculptures towering over me at around 10ft were displayed alongside teeny tiny bronze sculptures smaller than my thumbnail. Really! It’s all quite fascinating.
But more worthy of a visit is the new exhibition in a large hall at the other end of the concourse: Soul of a Nation: art in the age of black power. This incredible collection of work celebrates black American artists from 1963-83, during the turbulent days of political and social change, following on a huge surfing wave from the impact of the Civil Rights Movement.
One of the things I love about my art gallery memberships is being introduced to artists I’d never heard of before. There were loads here, and their individual artworks, while obviously socially and culturally important – both historically as well as maintaining a global relevance today – are masterpieces in their own right. I’ve never seen such a long queue at the Tate – or certainly not noticed one before – even for the Hockney show.
This is a popular exhibition, and rightly so. It actually inspired me to do something more creative at my life drawing class this week. But sadly, I forgot. Stuck to a 3B pencil and my trusted purple and turquoise felt tips. Oh well. My own artistic revolution is clearly still to come. Something to look forward to, I guess.
As Freddie said, “I don’t believe in Peter Pan, Frankenstein or Superman; all I wanna do is…” You can fill in the blank yourself.
If you need help to fill in any business blanks – particularly social media-related, drop me an email – or ask me here:@WeekendWitch.
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