Dulwich

I have been taking an interest in Rubens lately, so as noticed at the end of reference 1, I got myself to Dulwich Picture Gallery, which I now know was in business before the National Gallery, in the early nineteenth century. A place which we have been to before, but a long time ago now; I would not to hazard a guess as to exactly when.

A cold, dull morning. Plenty of spaces left in the NCP car park at the foot of Station Approach. The best way appeared to be to get to West Dulwich via Victoria, so train to Victoria it was.

Some probable Wellingtonia on the way, as previously noticed at reference 3. Probably not to be checked up on now until the New Year.

Then there were some festive tents between Battersea Power Station and the river. Not clear how temporary they were. Somewhere else to be checked up on.

Then, pulling into Victoria station, a proper diesel electric locomotive, number not visible, class not known. Then, on arrival at Victoria station, it went one better with a full-on puffing Poirot. One of the chaps minding the fence thought that the circular rides on offer were very expensive. £20 a head? £30 a head? It looks from the web site as if excursions are done for this year and prices, never mind excursions, are no longer available.

No.45231 and Wikipedia knows all about it at reference 4. One of a class of 842 locomotives - which makes one wonder how many steam locomotives there were altogether. Not the sort of thing that one supposes were exported in large numbers, despite Ireland shipping its locos in from the US after independence.

Fine tender full of air-polluting, global warming coal. Could you do them for trade descriptions if they had converted to gas - or even hydrogen - without letting on?

Full size figure sculptures to be seen at Brixton Station.

Out at West Dulwich, with what I took to be a large red-brick school visible right and with Gallery Road more or less straight across. Gallery maybe ten minutes away. Turning out to be off-snap to the right in the snap above. I didn't find out what the chapel like building left was, let alone get in it. Perhaps I should have bought the gallery book which was no doubt available from the shop.

The exhibition turned out to be of modest dimensions, two or three not very big rooms connected by a corridor. Lots of sketches and some lesser works. I wondered whether some artists were touchy about their sketches surviving to be pawed over by arty academics - rather in the way that some writers are touchy about their letters surviving them to be pawed over in the same sort of way. I believe that Henry James, for example, burnt most of his large holding of letters.

An interesting early Adam & Eve, part of which is snapped above.

I think it usually lives in the Rubens House in Antwerp, where they offer the commentary above. I was interested in his treatment of the landscape behind, with his treatment of trees reminding me of the way that 20th century wood engravers did their trees. Also in the curiously pterodactyl-like creature flying over the water. Perhaps it is really a cormorant or a heron.

I rather liked this sketch, which seemed to have a bit more life than some of the more finished paintings. With a composition which seems to pop up in one form or another all over the place - for example in Poussin's 'Dance to the music of time' to be found in the Wallace Collection. As it happens, this gallery ran to a few (what I thought to be) inferior Poussin's too. In one or two of which Poussin only seemed to be really interested in painting the intricate folds and colours of the cloaks, with the other stuff getting rather summary treatment.

Also in the gallery proper, there were some rather striking work by one Sara Shamma, to be found at reference 6. And I had forgotten that Canaletto did time in London: I wondered on this occasion how often somebody bothers to check the large number of churches towers and steeples to be seen in the view of London snapped above. Had he counted or was he just doing an impression of lots? There was also a view of a curious bridge at Walton, which reminded me of the mathematical bridge at Cambridge, snapped below.

The point of this one, as I recall, was that it did not, when built, require any bolts, but then someone took it to pieces and couldn't put it back together again. A recollection which does not tally at all with the explanation to be found in Wikipedia.

But maybe I did better with the association to the bridge at Walton. Presumably the upon Thames one.

A painting by Antony van Dyck of Venetia Stanley, Lady Digby, on her deathbed. One wonders how much time he had to spend with the corpse to make the necessary sketches. Not the sort of thing one can see happening in the UK now - although I believe some parts of the world still support what we would regard as pretty fantastic funerary customs. Not happening in the UK at the behest of the surviving partner that is - but not so far removed from the goings on of the scene-of-crime people if television dramas are to be believed.

I din't find out what this was place at the time, but Google images identifies it fast enough as the College of God's Gift, possibly the original site of the big school already mentioned above, possibly now a supported living operation, all sketchily described at reference 7.

Came out to the east of the gallery, which confused me as I had gone in by the west. But a helpful passer-by got his phone out and all was revealed. Back on the right road.

This building was advertised outside as a bar and restaurant and I had hopes of taking refreshment, but it was very firmly shut. An event operation rather than a walk-in. Belair House of reference 8 - which today suggests that it was open all along. Perhaps I had to try a bit harder.

Passed a special parking space marked out in the road for electric bicycles, scooters and so forth. Regularised to that extent, and I have noticed similar spaces here and there since.

An approximation to a bacon roll from a stall opposite the station, heated up in two halves in one of those fold-over toasting contraptions. A lot of salt and a lot of calories. Tea rather better, despite being in a paper cup.

Very full litter bins in and around the station. Which made one think: Dulwich might be an expensive suburb, but not an expense which runs to looking after their litter bins. Then having been sensitised to litter in this way, on the train I noticed a young man stuffing a banana skin down the side of this seat while talking to his telephone about talking to a friend of his out on license. I was all ready to think the worse of him, but, as it turned out, he took his banana skin with him when he left.

I thought about getting out at Brixton, but didn't. I thought about getting out at Clapham, but the train didn't stop there. Out at Victoria where I failed to find a litter bin for my litter at all, but eventually found a cleaning lady with a trolley to which she invited me to contribute. I think she also said something about security seeing off the regular bins.

Upstairs Wetherspoon's shut, a place I used to enjoy from time to time on the way home. Fine view of the goings on on the concourse.

Settled on going to Tooting Broadway via Balham. There was a chap near me sharing his telephonic noise aka musical art on the train, a chap whom I thought was challenging me to challenge him. But I didn't and I got off that hook by his getting off at Clapham Junction.

We pass over the puffing Poirot, somewhere near Battersea.

By tube to Tooting. Pleased to find that the self winding clocks from New York are still to be found at Balham. A type of clock possibly first noticed at Tooting Broadway at reference 9.

Wetherspoon's at Tooting Broadway had not changed much, with some of the original artwork still present, from what must be near thirty years ago, when Wetherspoon's was not long started and a far cry from what it is now. Pleasantly busy with a buzz of conversation not helped along by musak or television. Quite a lot of solitaties who appeared to be watching films on their telephones, propped up in front of them. The bookshelves had been thinned out, but I still managed a paperback from Bloodaxe featuring poems and photographs from one Ahren Warner: 'Hello, your promise has been extracted'. Of passing interest. A well-made paperback with four sewn signatures.

Onto the Half Way House at Earlsfield, my first visit for a while. No sensible snacks, but they could offer pork scratchings, freshly scratched, as it were, on the premises. I was a bit nervous about my fillings, but eventually I worked my way through them, cheating with a certain amount of breaking by hand rather than by tooth. Fresh, tough when thick and not of tasting of much.

Back onto the platform for a shot at the aeroplane game. Low cloud, but nearly dark and the lights of the aeroplane's showed up well. I heard more planes than I saw, but in 15 minutes I did manage two two's and two two minuses. Whereby a two minus, I mean a two where the first aeroplane disappeared to the west only a few seconds before the second appeared in the east.

Remaining leg of the journey occupied by a young working mum, perhaps in her mid twenties, on her telephone, trying to convince her young child, with a minder for the day, that she was just about to pick him or her up. 'Just start to do something dear and I'll be there before you know it'. At least half an hour in my estimation and it did not sound like the child was convinced either.

PS: Warner has been reprieved. Maybe more to it than I gave it credit for on the day.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/12/cheese.html.

Reference 2: https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/12/wellingtonia-108.html.

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMS_Stanier_Class_5_4-6-0_5231.

Reference 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Paul_Rubens. 1577-1640. Painter and diplomat. Presumably his workshop was more or less a factory, along the same lines as that operated some years previously by the Breughels.

Reference 6: https://sarashamma.art/.

Reference 7: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_God%27s_Gift.

Reference 8: https://belairhouse.co.uk/.

Reference 9: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/01/cheese.html.