On my last trip to London I again stayed in the Paddington area. A few minutes walk from Paddington Station is this long rectangular garden that was built over a former waterworks of the Grand Union Canal and was developed during the Victorian era.
Norfolk Gardens, Paddington, London
Categories: England, London
Tags: gardens, paddington, paddington bear, park, photo post, statue
2 Comments
Li Qingyu Exhibition at Wallner Gallery, Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
I recently made a return trip to the Lakeside Arts area on the University of Nottingham campus to visit a couple of exhibitions, one of which was in the Wallner Gallery inside the D.H. Lawrence Pavilion directly opposite from Djanogly Gallery. just to the left of the reception. The Gallery is quite a small room, with open archways from the reception and into the busy cafe but the space was well used here to display a selection of scroll paintings by Li Qingyu, who is a Chinese artist based in Ningbo (where the University of Nottingham has a campus) and is Director of the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Association. I had no idea what to expect but the artwork was all beautiful and captivating. Nigh on impossible to pick a favourite, here’s a selection of the ones I most admired.
Categories: England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Tags: artwork, chinese artwork, chinese scroll painting, li qingyu, photo post
Leave a comment
Andy Warhol: Pop Icon Exhibition, Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham
Recently I headed to the Djanogly Gallery, part of the Lakeside Arts complex on the University of Nottingham campus for the Andy Warhol: Pop Icon Exhibition. It was made possible by ARTIST Rooms, a touring collection of artwork owned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland to showcase artwork that, let’s face it, would never normally make its way to the East Midlands.
Categories: England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Tags: andy warhol, art, art gallery, gallery, Lakeside Arts, photo post
3 Comments
Nottingham Light Night 2026
Light Night returned this February for its usual two nights of free light sculptures, musical events and as last year, decorated ducks in shop windows. This is its 18th year and it’s always a great night out though I certainly never see everything on offer. This year was also the worst weather I think we’ve ever had during the event though it certainly didn’t seem to be putting anyone off, myself included. I first went to Sneinton Market Square which had this lovely sculpture called The Cat That Slept For A Thousand Years. Created by Air Giant its an inflatable cat that you can hear purring and whose tail gently moves as they sleep. Very cute and popular – took a while for the crowd to clear so I could get a picture.
Categories: England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Tags: cat, duck, free event, light night, nottingham, nottingham light night, photo post, puppet
Leave a comment
Witness for the Prosecution at County Hall, London
I don’t generally write up my theatre visits here however I decided to make an exception for Witness for the Prosecution since it is performed in such an interesting location. I’ve read the play and seen other productions – film and TV – but never on stage which is why I was so keen to see it on my last London trip. Rest assured however there will be no spoilers here, though I will say this is Agatha Christie at her best.
Categories: England, London
Tags: agatha christie, architecture, history, photo post, theatre, witness for the prosecution
2 Comments
Sir John Soane’s Museum, London
Sir John Soane’s Museum has been on my want to visit list for a very long time but I’ve always put it off particularly because of their bag policy (more on that in a bit) and not having time in my schedule to fit it in when I might need to queue for a long time (pre-booking is only for large groups or special events). However on this most recent visit I had the entire morning free before I had a matinee to get to and decided that I would finally visit what turned out to be just as intriguing a museum as I had hoped.
Categories: England, London
Tags: architecture, British history, Egyptian history, free entry, history, museum, photo post, sarcophagus
7 Comments
St Alkmund’s Church, Shrewsbury
St. Alkmund’s Church is nestled between the buildings that have sprung up around it. Founded in 912 it stands as the highest part of the town – indeed is reached up some steep steps – and after renovations over the years is now largely of Georgian design. The tower and spire were added around 1475.
Categories: England, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Tags: architecture, church, history, photo post, stained glass, stained glass window
2 Comments
The Cut: Shropshire Wildlife Trust Garden
After I finished up at Shrewsbury Abbey I spotted a sign across the road for Shropshire Wildlife Trust and decided to take a look. The garden is free to enter and volunteers each have their own part of the garden they look after – no one paid the slightest bit of attention to me as I wandered around.
Oldmoor Wood, Nottingham
For Boxing Day my dad and I did a walk around Oldmoor Wood in Strelley, about five miles from Nottingham City Centre. Looked after by the Woodland Trust it was planted in 1792 by a Thomas Webb Edge as part of Strelly Park though it was redeveloped from ancient woodland that already existed there. It is however not officially considered an ancient wood.
Categories: England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Tags: nature, oldmoor wood, photo post, walk, wood
Leave a comment
Shrewsbury Abbey
I’d heard of Shrewsbury Abbey of course which is why it was on my list of things to see in the town but I had completely forgotten that the Cadfael series of books was based there (I’ve seen the TV series with Derek Jacobi but never read any of the books). I mention this to start with because the lovely friendly volunteer who greeted me on entry was surprised that Cadfael wasn’t my main reason for visiting and directed me to a very nice stained glass window dedicated to Cadfael author Ellis Peters (real name Edith Pargeter).
Categories: England, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Tags: photo post, sculpture, stained glass, architecture, history, abbey, free entry, wilfred owen, cadfael, ellis peters
Leave a comment
Louise Jayne's Blog 