A Special Day at The Storehouse

a private showing curated by our son, Brendan

One of the unique features at the V&A Storehouse is the private showing of items that members of the public can request to see up close. You simply go into the on-line catalogue of items stored in The Storehouse and choose up to five items that you would like to see. There is about a two week wait so you have to book in advance.

Brendan curated our pieces for us based on our interests and family history. Last Friday we arrived at the Study Room, washed our hands, donned purple gloves and read the rules for handling our chosen items.

Kevin’s items came up first. The first item was a silk screened poster from 60s of the band Buffalo Springfield, the second a 1970s Canadian made telephone, the third a pair of trainers made on the 70s for Marks and Spencer’s, the fourth a 400 year old celestial globe made in Iran and the final item was an Irish bracelet made in the 1800s from horsehair.

My items included a theatre poster from a child’s puppet show held in the town of Magdeburg, where my mother came from, a bohemian glass vessel made in Schlesinger where my father was born, a pewter coffee pot made in Frankfurt, Germany where I was born, an 800 year old beaded banner made in Germany and one of the first pieces ever housed by the V&A over 150 years ago. My final piece was a large roll of screened fabric for household items made in Germany in the year I was born, 1952.

If you are planning a trip to the Storehouse I would highly recommend that you do some research in advance and book one of these free showings.

Monochrome Madness – Ruins

thanks to Sarah from Travel With Me for hosting Monochrome Madness https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/gallery-seeing-ruins-in-black-and-white/

Cemetery in Stoke Newington, London, 2025
Highgate Cemetery, London, 2019
Ruins in the centre of Rome, 2016
The Colosseum, Rome, 2016
In the hills of Florence, Italy, 2016

A Trip to Denmark Street and Covent Gardens

Originally Denmark street was laid out in the 17th century and named after King George of Denmark. In the 19th and 20th centuries it became a hub for sheet music sales, instrument shops and music publishers and in the mid 20fh century it attracted many famous musicians. Some notable names are David Bowie, Elton John, The Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols.

Today Denmark is still home to many instrument shops and recording studios but the surrounding area has been demolished and redeveloped.

After exploring the street and checking out the guitars at No Tom Guitars we were in pursuit of lunch. We walked down some small streets with very trendy shops and we ended up in Covent Garden.

By the time we decided on Buns and Buns for lunch it was already mid afternoon so we only ordered a couple appetizers so that we wouldn’t spoil our appetites for dinner. A bit pricey but very tasty. https://www.bunsandbuns.com/

A Surprise Visit to Abby Road

then lunch in a pub and a walk through Hyde Park

Kevin decided to surprise me with a secret itinerary into central London today. We walked to the Arsenal Station and took the Piccadilly line to Green Park and then transferred onto the Jubilee line. Three stops later we got off at St. John’s Wood.

As we started walking Kevin hesitated for a moment and checked his phone for directions. A kind man asked if we were looking for Abby Road. Our destination was no longer a surprise but I was very moved by Kevin’s plan. He knows that I was and still am a big Beatles fan.

The famous crossing on Abby Road

The actual studio is heavily guarded but there is a gift shop that is open to the public.

We considered going to some of the other iconic Beatles landmarks but they were all very far apart and not easy to walk to so we opted to get some lunch instead.

We headed to Bakers Street and had a nice meal at the Allsop Arms. I had the steak sandwich and lemonade and Kevin had the chicken BLT and a non alcoholic Peroni.

The forecasted rain held off and we made our way south to Hyde Park. We entered from the north east side and continued along the path towards the Serpentine Lake. As we got closer to the lake we were happy to see benches to rest our weary feet.

After a short rest we continued heading south to the south end of Hyde Park.

On the way out of the park I saw the rose garden and suggested to Kevin that he could rest some more while I quickly checked out the flowers.

All in all it was a great outing and when we got home Brendan cooked us dinner and Sevin set up her hairdressing parlour and gave Oma and Big Papa a makeover. If our son shares his photos with me I might share them with you. All I can say is that it was crazy fun and there was a lot of laughing.

Saturday Sculptures from Kew Gardens

the Queen’s Beasts

At Kew Gardens there are a series of 10 sculptures that were created by James Woodford, OBE, RA in 1958.

According to the Kew Gardens website:

Each of these ten statues represent the heraldic badges of Queen Elizabeth II’s royal ancestors. They are Portland stone replicas of the plaster models that were placed outside the Westminster Abbey annex for the Queen’s coronation in 1953.  — Read on www.kew.org/kew-gardens/visit-kew-gardens/trails/art-architecture-trail

The Collection at the Royal Academy

a gem in Piccadilly Circus

After seeing the Victor Hugo show we made our way to the first floor to check out the main permanent collection. We were blown away when we rounded the corner and came across two giant murals on opposite sides of the room.

One was a replica of the Last Supper.

I had no idea that the original painted by Leonardo da Vinci had deteriorated very quickly and many of the features seen in the replica are no longer visible on the original. Several of da Vinci’s students painted the replica roughly 20 years after the original was completed.

These threes paintings are replicas of Rafael’s work created by Sir James Thornhill, almost 200 years after the originals were made.

The rest of the gallery housed everything from classical to contemporary sculptures and paintings.

Futuristic work station installation made with aluminum

We ended our day with a lovely soup from the RA café.

Pull Up a Seat at the V&A East Storehouse

thanks to Xing Fu Mama for hosting the Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge https://xingfumama.blog/2025/05/30/pull-up-a-seat-photo-challenge-2025-week-22/

The V&A East Storehouse officially opens to the public this weekend. Kevin and I were given a private tour of the facility on Thursday by our son Brendan.

Vivienne Chow from Artnet News has written an excellent article about this amazing space and one press release said that ´the museum is the exhibit’ . https://news.artnet.com/art-world/inside-va-east-storehouse-2651021?amp=1

One place where you can actually pull up a seat is here where you can recline back and enjoy this wooden Spanish fresco from the 15th century.

Here are a few more seats to enjoy.

If you live in London or are planning a trip to this great city, the V&A East Storehouse is a must see.