When Dave and I were down in Piccadilly on Sunday, we passed the closed gates of the Royal Academy of Arts. I could see this big rainbow artwork standing in the courtyard, and though I took some pictures through the gates, I only had my phone and they didn't turn out so well. Yesterday I went back down with my big camera, when the Academy was open, and I took some proper shots.
The art is by Ugo Rondinone, who says a rainbow is "celebratory and optimistic, but it is also the shape grief takes when it refuses to disappear." His first rainbow-themed work, "Cry Me a River," was produced in the 1990s, inspired by the AIDS crisis. Since then he's made 17 rainbows using different phrases. This one seems properly joyful, perfect for Pride. (Which will be celebrated in London in just a couple of weeks.)
The Eros fountain at Piccadilly Circus is sheathed in scaffolding and plywood. I'm not sure what's happening there, and a quick Google search didn't turn up any answers. (It did inform me, via Wikipedia, that the fountain is erroneously known as Eros and that its proper name is the "Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain," topped by a figure of Anteros, who was the brother of Eros. Who knew?!)
I walked up through Soho, where I encountered some amusing graffiti, as always.
Tesco is already flying its Pride colors, in preparation for our Pride celebration and parade on July 4. Yes, America, on the same day that you'll be celebrating the founding fathers and the Declaration of Independence, we'll be marching in the streets for LGBTQ+ power! (I do plan to attend, as usual, barring unforeseen circumstances.)
I wound up into Fitzrovia and walked down sunny Goodge Street before winding around All Souls Church near Oxford Circus, where the steeple carries an optimistic multinational message.
I then caught the tube at Bond Street to come home, having been out a couple of hours. It was good to get some walking in, because I'll probably be sticking close to home for the next few days, given our impending heat wave. This morning, as I write, it feels comfortable but humid. We had rain all night, including thunder and lightning, which I assume has something to do with the hot air from this "heat dome" colliding with and displacing our previous cooler temperatures.
Last night Dave made rissotto in his new Made In pan, and pronounced it a winner. Whew! I won't have to return it!
We missed the thunderstorms here along the south coast, they were heavy in the southwest as well, shame it would have been good to have the rain. Love the rainbow, plenty of time for reading.
ReplyDelete"the shape grief takes when it refuses to disappear"
ReplyDeletepowerful. accurate.
We had the rain but no thunder, though it was humid and oppressive.
ReplyDeleteI’d hate to see you try and return the pan because Dave’s risotto sucked. Good thing it turned out!
ReplyDeleteUplifting photos today. Fascinating (odd) about the “Eros Fountain.” I had no idea.
When it comes to Pride, Tesco are proud of their profits and supporting LGBTQ pride is a way of ensuring shoppers keep on board. As for Sunny Goodge Street - thanks for that one Steve, I hadn't heard that song in years though I once owned it as a single. I was very much "into" Donovan Leitch in the late sixties.
ReplyDeleteI have been staying in a tropical island here in Indonesia, West Kalimantan. Its absolutely so Hot and humid at the same time, however pouring down unfolds anytime with and without thunder
ReplyDelete