Tuesday, January 23rd, 2017 - From Lowbrow to Highbrow

Tuesday was my last day to explore London further, which led to me feeling like a version of Lewis Carroll's White Rabbit (Not enough time!..... Not enough time!..... What to do.......? What to do......?) My AirBNB host, Jason, mentioned that St. Pancras and Kings Cross Stations had been re-furbished and also told me of the British Library with it's Treasures Collection. I was scheduled to be in Covent Garden in the evening, so I decided to check out his suggestions, as they were relatively close to my evening venue and were also new sights for me.

It became a day in which I came to appreciate the benefits when public institutions make beauty in everyday places which can be accessed by all. You'll see what I mean.

First of all, St. Pancras Station.....

From the outside, the facade of St. Pancras looks about the same as ever - but is definitely clean and sweeping. The size of the building defies the technical limitations of both my camera and photography. The morning sun gave it a wonderful vibrancy. The impact of the £800 million renovation can be seen inside however.

I love the vast sweep of the arched roof, the way the light filters through the translucent roof covering and the interplay of light, metal glass, concrete and brick. The lower levels are bustling with movement through stores, restaurants, supermarkets, information displays and ticket booths.

The platforms themselves are at the higher level and bespoke gleaming efficiency and modernity. These are the platforms where the bullet trains leave for Europe.

Then on to King's Cross Station which is right over the street - here is the view from St. Pancras.

It also looks nicely cleaned up and gleaming. But the real treat is in the back in a new addition...............

........not so impressive yet.........looks somewhat like a cheap canvas tent type thing.........or football stadium.......






........but when one steps inside.... it is a thing of soaring beauty!

This renovation came with a £500 million price tag! There is a wonderful simplicity to it. Is it a tree or a soaring Gothic ceiling? Without the blue lighting, it might be ordinary, but instead the color and shading caps the whole thing off..........and the rounded, organic flow of the upper terrace adds an element of grace and interest. I was really impressed by the space. Again it was bustling with people shopping, eating and many watching the notice boards to see the platform posting for the train they want.

From here it was a short walk to the British Library. I was interested in the exhibit called the Treasures collection. It contained many historic documents including one of the four existing copies of the Magna Carta. I was most impressed with the journals that Jane Austin had written as a young girl and the many copies of ancient sacred books - Bibles, Torah's, Korans and scripts from other religions written and decorated with loving care. The exhibit did not allow photography, so you just have to believe me on that one......! But here's a picture of the library.

Not a very attractive building in my opinion. But the lovely surprise was downstairs, near the bathroom. A little display entitled 'Housing is Not Enough' with these lovely ceramic creations.

 

The explanation tells us that these are finials which had been placed at the top of the laundry lines in the St. Pancras House Improvement Society - a slum clean-up project in this area in the 1920's. The inspiration was that of Father Basil Jellicoe who wanted to demonstrate that even the poorest tenants could have high quality homes. It included a picture of the finials in place!

You can see the sailing ship on the left post. It would be a pleasure to hang laundry here! My heart loved the idea of using public spaces to display art work. Feeding the spirit and heart as we go about our daily lives is something I really appreciated seeing here. In my world today it is more probable that commerce and corporations decide on these elements around us. I liked seeing them incorporated in public works - uplifting the 'commons'. Hence my comment about 'creating beauty in everyday moments which can be accessed by all'. No entry fee required!

From here, it was a walk on to Covent Garden.

Those red British phone boxes add just enough highlight to make pictures interesting.........I think this is St. George's Garden.

And the red of the buses........on Bow St (I think).



However when I arrived at Covent Garden Opera House, I was underwhelmed! It had a ballerina spinning around in the plastic bubble that sticks out of the building and it looks more like a ship!

 At least from the back it looked more like the structure I had seen in movies. 

There was lots of bustle around Covent Garden Markets.........and how beautiful it was to see the last rays of the sun in the wan winter sky.

Then it was off to the opera (after a cup of tea!) to see Der Rosenkavelier at the Covent Garden Opera House. More beauty for me - excellent singing, excellent surroundings, but not 'common'. It came with a price tag, but one I was happy to pay for the experience.

Again, it had been a wonderful day of wandering and discovery. How fortunate I have been to enjoy these sunny and energetic days in a city that has grown and transformed since I was last there. The population is far more mixed, the food is much better, there is a much more European 'feel' with street cafes and there is much more color around. I remember armies of suits, derby hats and brollies dominating the streets of the city. I didn't see a single brolly the whole time I was there and I left hoping that I will get back again before too many more years go by,