The Van Gogh Immersive Experience

I was a little nervous about getting out, Leicester still has an infection rate higher than most of the country, but I found the small church at the back of the huge shopping centre car park. And the alley to the side of it felt rather Dickensian. Some parts of Leicester have not changed (or been cleaned) in a very long time! 

Going in I was slightly concerned that the corridor was small and there was a lot of of reading. I shouldn't have worried it was very quiet and this was the most reading of the whole thing.

There was a brief and interesting documentary to watch, I had no idea Van Gogh was most likely colour blind.

And then to the full scale bedroom.

And the huge vase which was a constantly fluid changing painting of many of his vases and flowers.

The immersive experience was truly that and I actually found it moving in places.

Partly because I know my favourite excuse for a euphemism would have enjoyed it as much as I did.

The church was a perfect setting for it, everything was constantly moving and changing, every picture, every wall, the light, the floor, the sky and yet it did it with a smoothness embraced by the music and occasional narration.

I think I could have sat there a very long time, and I did.

I  enjoyed it so much I would like to go back and do it again.

"‘Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience’ is a travelling exhibition intended for a wide audience including families and visitors of all ages. It is a beautiful exhibition around Van Gogh that combines his life story with an in-depth immersion into the heart of his art."

The virtual reality journey, a day in Arles, was like being completely absorbed in a huge 360 painting, travelling from painting to painting through the landscape.  It was incredible.  I wore a mask the whole time I was in there (as did everyone) and for the VR you put on more PPE over your own.

The 'experience' is a travelling one and is in Leicester (and York) until the 31st December.

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Tutankhamun on the Kings Road London

It's been a while since we went to London, a few years a go I seemed to be there at least monthly.   But the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery was enough of a draw to take me back.

We walked from Victoria to the Kings Road (the long way round no thanks to me!) but neither HWMBO have ever spent non-work time in this area so it was pleasant and we knew we were getting close as the number of Land Rover Defenders (with low profile tyres obviously) grew.    We wandered past the Sloane Square carpark which was a about £50 a day (or £224 a week) to park the London City necessary off-roader off road.

Pavillion Road was a plethera of artisan food shops where if you needed to ask how much a pound then you couldn't afford it!

There was a amazing little barbers shop that a little boy was having a hair cut in an old fashioned sweeney-tood type chair next to an incredible till, seriously worth window shopping but at £50 a shave,  HWMBO said he'd rather shave himself.










The weather was good and we decided to wander on, I was drawn into an 'active wear' shop and HWMBO and I looked at clothes we'd actually have really liked and then looked at the prices!  A pair of leggings in an orange colour to die for were £120 - now don't get me wrong if you were going to a gym in Chelsea they are probably uniform, I can see that - but given the brambles and clay stain mud I run through I decided to stick with my (cheap by comparison but it's all relative) Reeboks!  HWMBO decided Sainsburys gym clothes were perfectly adequate for his needs and that is why I love him - he doesn't spend his own money, so I can do it for him!

This is the world of Ab-Fab and the stereotypical and the want-to-bes are there for the watching.  It is  fun and at the same time horribly disconcerting that this country is really such an unfair society in which so many can't afford to eat and so many can afford to live this life.

We had a wander around the Duke of York Square fine food market which is right outside the gallery and decided what we would be eating afterwards and I gave some money to the big-issue seller to get over the guilt (amazing how quickly you can filter out the uncomfortable feelings.)

Anyway, onto the Saatchi gallery and the queues, tickets are timed and the queues are very well organised, get there 15 minutes before your time on the ticket and they open up a queue lane for your ticket time.  There's no point in being there any earlier.  But you know exhibitions in London, never knowingly undersold tickets since 19-canteen.

Once in we declined the Theme park type photo and headed into a film room (or holding gate as layout designers probably refer to them as)

It was short enough not to be a pain and interesting enough to get me a little more excited but I don't consider myself to be small person and this was my view of the screen so I can only assume I was there on tall person day or the room is on a downward slope.




Once inside,  the exhibition was heaving with each case surrounded by people waiting to take a photo before moving on.

There was limited historical information, just snippets of  what seemed more like prose than data and a brief description of the artefact.

In fact some people seemed to take a very long time reading a very limited amount of words,  I came to the conclusion that the lettering colour and font was not conducive to fast information intake, which for the number of people they were pushing through was needed.

Overall it had a cinematic rather than historical/museum feel to it and my social media trained snippet brain liked it.  It reminded me of a phrase my brother used about musicals "Opera for idiots"

 This was Tutankhamun for the bling not the detail.

 But all the same I kept awing over the age of the items and that in the 100 years we have been man handling them, they haven't been totally ruined.  There's time for that yet I guess.

 I also decided I'd prefer it if my own grave wasn't turned into a mass tourist event without properly touching on my life.  But I guess the ancient Egyptian's importance of remembrance in posterity makes it a trade off.


















We headed back out into the cold for chicken broth and dumplings and walked the straighter route (thanks to HWMBO) to Victoria.


It was a pleasant day which reminded me why I like a day out in London and why we should make the effort to go more often.

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Ambergate

Starting at Tansley  we had an immediate steep climb that gave us lovely views of the cable cars at Matlock Bath.

We headed west to Riber Castle – which for part of its history was a wildlife park – 20 lynx that lived there were released into the wild when it closed, they probably aren‘t around now…unless the beasts of Lumsdale bred.

Some of us mud slithered downhill (the more sensible ones followed our leader on a parallel grass path only metres away!) towards Cromford Mill, a world heritage site. We stopped for a cuppa (and ice-cream – yes in January!) and the unexpected pleasure of a loo not in the bushes at Cromford Wharf. The canal that starts here is a site of special scientific interest. 

Following the Derwent Valley Walk 

 We walked along the sheep pastures incline,

 a feat of engineering,

 with views

 past the catch pit, still with a crashed carriage from the 1950s inside.

 into High peak junction.

Past Leawood Pump House and Aquaduct Cottage which is currently a ruin but hoping to be restored, it was part of the Nightingale Estate and Florence visited it.

  Following the canal again for a short time, I saw a  pike, just by the bank, it soon moved away but the little grebes spotted later hung around for much longer.

 I love walking through woods at any time of the year, these stones look placed not natural.

In an area with so much  industrial heritage in a rural setting, I wonder.

 Off the water again

  and crossing the end of the line from the Crich Tramway Museum. Lunch at the Glory Mine (Fluorite mining)

We had time to go up the Sherwood Foresters Memorial Tower,

 very windy up top but gave fine views.

And onto Crich, Fritchley and finally the (finally dry after the dreadful flooding at the end of 2019) Hurt Arms at Ambergate. 

This was a really interesting walk with so many things to look at and learn about. And also notable for the bizarre street names we kept seeing: Intake lane, Chadwick Nick Lane and Top Hagg Lane. So much Googling to be done: a hagg is either a firm spot in a soft bog or a soft place in a moor – take your pick for a tarmac road I guess!

11.5 miles and a nice change to have an urban element to our Derbyshire walks which are usually on edges or the moors.

I’m looking forward to going back to this area to spend more time looking at the engineering. 

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Donna Nook 2019

I went to Donna Nook in 2013 and this year I went back.  It is a reserve on the North Lincolnshire coast. The seals spend much of the year out at sea and on sand banks but in late autumn they come ashore for a few weeks to have their pups.









It was as cold as I remembered it to be and this time very wet as well.  But the pup numbers were up, even if the car park was soggy.

(The price of the overflow carpark had gone up as well from £1 to £4)

The pups didn't seem to mind the weather though.

There were seals looking like they were sunbathing as far as the eye could see. A lot of placentas as well!

The pups weren't all white.

But they were hungry, saying 'mum, mum, mum'

They were extra cute.

And all the seals looked like smiling sun bathers.

This one was on the path we walked along, she was about to give birth, so we left her be and gave her a wide berth.

The path was often otherwise occupied!


The weather finally beat me, I was soaking wet from sideways torrential rain and cold to the bone.  So we retreated to the Axe and Cleaver at North Somercotes for a  cup of tea by a fire and a warming curry before the long drive home.

It was fairly quiet when we were at the reserve and the carpark we went in was a side field off the usual overflow carpark  both of which were looking like cars might need to be towed out. It turns out the Donna Nook warden had put a message out that morning on social media saying it was closed and not to go.  So do what I didn't and check whether they are asking for people to stay away before you travel!


My Donna Nook tips: Remember they are only there mid November to mid December.  Go straight to the overflow car park (if you don't need disabled access). It's no further to walk to the seals, it's less muddy and there are some porta-loos there. It cost £4 mid week, £5 at weekends in 2019.

The reserve walk way goes between the two car parks. The path is good, suitable for little children and and I saw a mobility scooter on it too.

Don't be fooled, this is a long drive from anywhere! The roads are mainly single track and muddy, give yourself plenty of time and take your time.

I spent about an hour watching the seals, this isn't a day out unless you want to stand for a long time with a camera.

Other top tips: Stop at the last services you can on the way for a loo break. Wear a lot of layers and a tight fitting hat, the east coast wind is bracing. A good pair of walking shoes would be good too.

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La Corbière Lighthouse

On our holiday in Jersey we rocked up at Corbière. 

We parked up on the hill and walked down past the German occupation concrete fortifications (there are so many in Jersey!)

There is a causeway that  you can walk across to get to the lighthouse.

There was a sign that said if you hear a siren then return immediately but no indication of tide times, so with a little concern (from me) and a 'she'll be right' from HWMBO we set out.

 It was a brief canter from me and ready to turn back straight away, HWMBO must always push boundaries - drives me nuts.

 He dallied around whilst I nagged him until he agreed we could quick march back.

We read the memorial to the keeper who died trying to rescue another dallier and turned back to watch the sea.

 Which within minutes started to lap over the causeway,

 In fact I was surprised at how quickly the causeway became covered.

 And started to disappear

 I sat on the rock for a while watching until it became clear the waves were going to catch up with it and I moved back.

When I was young, my brother and I played this game a lot on the rocks around St Govan's Head in Wales.  I lost my bravery when my brother cracked his head open after slipping when he dashed from a wave.

So I mentioned to HWMBO that he wasn't really wearing the right shoes for playing with the sea and concrete.  As is his way, he grumped at me and told me he was 'FINE'.

So I retreated to watch him until he slipped over running from a wave and cut his face on his glasses, smashed his nose enough to blacken his eyes and cut his hands.

I was determined for at least 5 minutes not to say 'told you so' - I may have lasted 6!

But despite his pain and bruised ego, we stayed a little longer and watched the rocks disappear some more.

This really is a beautiful place, but not one to be messed with.

If you go, do check the tide times before hand and don't take risks.

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