I realise it has been a bit longer than intended but I notice my January blog was a month ago. So a little update is required. What has been happening? Well a fab trip to Glasgow to see Top Gear Live. More on that later.
We had some culture during our visit too. First, a very interesting tour of the Glasgow School of Art http://www.gsa.ac.uk/ . The splendid tours are run by the Students, http://www.gsa.ac.uk/visit-gsa/mackintosh-building-tours/ - highly recommended. Book in advance just in case as they are popular.
We also visited the Kelvingrove Museum to see the Jack Vettriano Retrospective.
http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/kelvingrove/current-exhibition/Jack-Vettriano-A-Retrospective/Pages/About.aspx . I didn't know much about Vettriano. His paintings (those few I had seen) seemed too polished and commercial looking for my taste. However I now understand a bit more about him, as the exhibition is peppered with various taped interviews and you get to know the chap a bit more and understand what it's all about. He has done well, successful commercial paintings tend to be sneered at by the art critics, some say he can't paint. I have to say I liked the Bluebird ones (commissioned by Terence Conran) best. I found the nightlclub paintings (or erotic as the critics like to call them) slightly depressing. 'The Weight', a self portrait, is one of the best, and should indeed be on permanent display in Scotland.
I also loved the "Portrait in Black and Pearl" http://www.jackvettriano.com/exhibitions/days-of-wine-and-roses-london-october-2010/portrait-in-black-and-pearl-2/I love the brushstrokes used to create the effect of fur and the glowing pearl earring (yes I know Vermeer did it first ... ). You can only really get the effect when you see the painting in person. It also reminded me of some Tudor paintings (often by Dutch artists too) adorned with many pearls.
Here's a recent article about Vettriano moving back to Scotland: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/vettriano-reveals-return-to-edinburgh.23307282
I wish we had more time to look around the whole museum as there is so much else to see. It was well worth the visit.
The whole
pearl thing is on my mind a lot after the recent 'Pearls' Exhibition at
the V&A which I saw just before Christmas. The way things link together in my butterfly mind never ceases to amaze me. The pictures of Mars (Art from Mars article in the Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/jan/10/art-from-mars-the-best-pictures ) inspired me to make a necklace with pearls.
The next cultural trip is to the Cheapside Hoard at the Museum of London, sometime before the exhibition closes in March.
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/london-wall/whats-on/exhibitions-displays/cheapside-hoard-londons-lost-jewels/
So what else? OH is currently restoring (mostly restored now) to
working order a wonderful light which I bought for him for Christmas the
year before last. They were used in Lancasters and other WWII planes.
It should also have a red filter so it can be used as a night light but
it came without that. So far it has a new bulb and wiring, and the
light is working for the first time in maybe 60 years. He decided
it was a shame to leave it there in its shabby state so it has been
gently cleaned, rewired, and the appropriate transformer has it down at the
proper voltage/amperage. I will get a pic of it in it's restored state
for a later blog. 
Oh and finally, Good News!!!! Top Gear is back again tonight. Thank goodness. We need a bit of fun. We much enjoyed the trip to Glasgow, and the return to our screens of the Fab Four (yes I include The Stig) just can't come quickly enough!
When we booked the tickets for TGL we thought one show was enough but then, ooooh at the last minute ... I know whenever I leave a Top Gear Live Show I just want to go back and see it all again. So yes we booked two tickets. It made for a well rounded visit, one show on Saturday night and one on Sunday afternoon. The last time I went in Birmingham and in London the show included much in the way of stunt driving, races, bits with Tiff in it. This time it was more a 'best of' show, for 90 minutes we had mostly the guys themselves, cocking about as usual. The Saturday night game of Car Football was without doubt one of the best ever! Three footballs were destroyed and the Stig's car was almost destroyed too!
So - I will add a couple more pictures below for you to enjoy, then, I think it's time for a cup of tea and a bit of jewellery fettling.
TTFN
VB
xxx
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