We did, however, need some milk as well as the daily paper so we walked down to Paddington Basin to see what it is like - Christine had not seen the new fountain and bridge just before the end. From there we went to the adjacent Tesco before returning back to the boat along the opposite side.
After lunch we decided to visit the Courtald Gallery - Christine did not know of it and it is several decades since Mike last visited, well before it moved to its current home in Somerset House, a short walk along the Strand from Trafalgar Square. Sometimes it is strange to spot the real location of a firm or organisation that has hitherto only been known about. Down one back street we could see the RSA and then, on the busy main street, a name well-known in our youth to all would-be stamp collectors! Many an hour was spent looking up the supposed value of stamps, hoping that somehow just one would be worth a fortune. Alas, no such luck.
We arrived to discover hordes of people, many photographers, making it hard to move and to find which entrance we needed. It was the first day of London Fashion Week which is held in the central area of Somerset House, with the leading fashion houses having their own invited guests in the exhibition facilities on the ground floor of the old building.
Eventually, we discovered where we should be and entered the calm of the gallery. The gallery is best known for its collection of impressionist paintings but also because it does not try to cram too many items into each room.
Despite its main aim, the first room is devoted to medieval and renaissance art - many of them combined a religious purpose with the artistic. Also, these were mainly small scale items, probably intended for private use. (No flash allowed so photos vary in quality!)
What drew our attention was how detailed and life-like some of the portraits were.
The Crucifixion with Saints set of panels seems to show the saints totally unaware of the horror that was taking place in the middle.
The main floor begins with the Renaissance painters, including Cranach's Adam and Eve.
And also Rubens' portrait of his friend Brueghel and his family.
Eventually we arrived at the start of Impressionism - what is startling when you can compare a few examples from each phase of this period is just how quickly ideas and techniques evolved in not much more than a couple of decades.
Boudain's Beach At Deauville Low Tide was followed by Pissaro's Lordship Lane Station Dulwich. This one drew Mike's attention, not least because his teenage years were spent living only a short distance away. The line has long since closed (1954) and built over, although Mike does recall walking along the old track bed. A side road nearby is where he first tried doing a hill start!
Not all of the rooms have a few pictures as this one, but nevertheless it can be seen how it is possible to really take in each one as an individual painting.
At the end of this floor we were in need of a cup of tea, down in the basement. Christine, despite Mike's best efforts to stop her, could not resist the temptation of a chocolate brownie. It certainly was a superb example of this particular art form.
The top floor covers the early part of the 20C, although there is nothing much after the early 1920's. Fauvism was well represented here - something at least one of us knew nothing about before today!
It was not until almost at the end of the gallery that we first spotted a work by a female artist - Vanessa Bell.
And then this striking image by Gabriele Munter. We have not shown photos of the most famous of the gallery's paintings, partly because they can be readily seen on information about the Courtald, but also because none of them came out even tolerably well!
The final room is a recent addition and used to display a few examples from the over 2000 drawings which the gallery holds. This last photo is, surprisingly, done in chalk.
Back outside it was quickly turning to dusk as we wandered around the courtyard - with still many people hoping to catch a glimpse of a well-know model. Others or their designers were being interviewed by one of several tv crews.
Leaving Somerset House we walked back along the Strand, checking out places to eat but it felt a little early so we continued back to Trafalgar Square and up St Martin's Lane where we had seen a couple of interesting places earlier in the week (there were plenty of chain restaurants - mainly pizzas and burgers). Alas, both were already full with the earliest table now at 7.30! We were beginning to wonder if we would have to go without (or even, worse, succumb to a burger!) when we did find a place that had a range of items on its menu and also a couple of tables free! In the end we did have an enjoyable meal.
The concert - an even larger audience than last night - was given by London Octave, mainly a chamber group but also with a substantial choir. All of the items were by Mozart. The first half included the third horn concerto. The soloist, Anna Douglass, was winner of the Young Musician Brass Category in 2010 and was a superb performer.
The principal reason for coming to this concert was for the main work in the second half, Mozart's Requiem which the Wadebridge Choral Society is currently rehearsing. Mike found it quite strange to hear the work 'from the front' as well as accompanied by an orchestra.
The four soloists were quite young by most impressive, especially the soprano and contralto.
Another excellent musical evening which we thoroughly enjoyed - our third visit to St Martin's.
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