Travel | Postcards From Here and There

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

The Royal Academy on London’s Piccadilly has held a Summer Exhibition since 1769 making this the 250th event. It is an open submission exhibition which means that anyone, professional artist or amateur, may enter work for consideration. In the end 1,347 pieces were eventually selected, by a committee led by artist Grayson Perry, from over 14,000 submitted.

The exhibition lasts until 19th August 2018 and most of the pieces are available for purchase.

Symphony for my Beloved Daughter by Anish Kapoor in the courtyard

Royal Valkyrie by Joana Vasconcelo dominates the entrance to the exhibition

I have always like the architectural models and this year they were exceptionally good.

The exhibition is always interesting and is great way to spend a few hours. It is always advisable to buy tickets in advance, you can do so here

London’s Marylebone

Whenever I travel to London I am always struck by two things. It’s always much busier than I ever expected and, compared with North West England, its always much warmer! On some days the hustle and bustle becomes too much and I head for Marylebone, an oasis of calm and only a short walk from the crowds of Oxford Street.

Marylebone feels like a village in the heart of the city. It is full of small independent retailers, cafés, bars and restaurants. I return time after time and am never disappointed. Here are a few of my personal favourites.

La Fromargerie, Moxon Street.

This shop has everything you could want; the freshest seasonal produce, a great deli, wines and the most amazing cheese room.

There is even a café serving food from the shop. Great for breakfast, even better for a light lunch stop. Visit the website here

The Ginger Pig, Moxon Street.

With meat mainly farmed in Yorkshire this is an absolute wonder of a butchers shop. About as far removed from a supermarket as you can get.

Daunt Books, 83 Marylebone High Street

Fist opened in 1912, and originally selling travel books, this is a wonderful place to spend half and hour or so browsing. Its old school and makes no bones about it, it is exactly how you imagine a bookshop should be. Old wooden shells bathed in glorious sunlight from the skylight, it’s national treasure. I urge you to visit. Daunt Books

The Providores, 109 Marylebone High Street.

The Providores gives you three options in one. Upstairs is a very good restaurant offering contemporary fusion food. Downstairs is a café, offering some rather good tapas style small plates and a wine bar. The wine list is devoted to the wines of New Zealand and that to me is reason enough for going. Wines are available by the glass,caraffe and bottle. Visit the website here

The Nordic Bakery, 48 Dorset Street

Tucked away on Dorset Street, just off the busy Baker Street, The Nordic Bakery is a piece of Scandinavia in the capital. As you might expect the ambience is peaceful and relaxed and the coffee is very good. The cinnamon buns are pretty good too. Visit their website

Chiltern Street.

Just round the corner from the Nordic bakery is Chiltern Street, probably the prettiest shopping street in London if not the whole of the UK. Superb Victorian gothic architecture and a wonderful collection of shops, including a woodwind specialist!, make this a must on any visit to Marylebone. At Christmas the street becomes truly magical. The Moncole Café (18 Chiltern St) is a small but worthy place to stop off for a quick caffeine fix. At the southern end of the street just by the intersection with Blandford Street is The Chiltern Firehouse.

Purl, 50/54 Blandford Street.

You could easily miss the entrance to Purl and that would be a shame because its a fabulous place to stop for cocktails. It is very popular and always best to book ahead.

The sign leads to some stairs to the main entrance because Purl is all below ground. Its such an atmospheric place and no matter how often I’ve tried my photos never seem to do it justice. The cocktails are wonderful, theatrical and playful. Designed to give you a multi sensory experience they are not to be missed. they also serve wine and craft beers for those so desiring.

Trishna, 15/17 Blandford Street.

Trishna is a one Michelin star Indian restaurant that serves excellent food. Informal and relaxed you can choose from specially selected tasting menus or go à la carte. The wine list here is also very good and the advice on pairing wine with Indian dishes is excellent. Trishna

The Wallace Collection, Manchester Square

Located in a fine townhouse on Manchester Square, The Wallace Collection is an art collection that was left to the nation by the widow of Sir Richard Wallace. It is a rather fine collection that has something for everyone and the entrance is free. Whats not to like? The website is here

Liverpool Terracotta Warriors

Liverpools’s World Museum on William Brown Street plays host to the exhibition China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors until October 28th. You can visit the museum’s website here

Qin Shi Huang was China’s first Emperor and when he died aged 49 in 220BC he was buried in a huge mausoleum that had reportedly taken over 700,000 men to build. The huge construction lay undiscovered until the spring of 1974 when farmers digging wells for irrigation came upon it by chance. Subsequent excavations revealed an enormous army of warriors, some 8000 in number, made from terracotta. Much of the site of the mausoleum has yet to be excavated.

The purpose of the warriors was to look after and protect the Emperor in the afterlife. He was buried with everything he could possibly need, including chariots and many everyday objects such as cauldrons and drinking vessels.

In total the exhibition has around 180 artefacts, including 10 warriors, which span 1000 years of Chinese history.

The Golden Horse of Maoling was discovered in 1981 in the mausoleum of Emperor Wu.

As you can imagine the exhibition is very popular and admission is by timed entry to control numbers and give visitors plenty of opportunity to see the exhibits. It is advisable to book tickets well in advance. You can do so using this link

The exhibition makes a great activity as part of a visit to the city. If you have limited time an hour should be all you need to get round the exhibits.