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.
ReplyDeleteI was very happy about the rain, though I imagine all the moisture will burn off in the hot weather.
Delete"the shape grief takes when it refuses to disappear"
ReplyDeletepowerful. accurate.
Right?! I never thought of it that way.
DeleteWe had the rain but no thunder, though it was humid and oppressive.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you didn't get thunder. It was very active here!
DeleteI’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.
Ha! Yeah, that would be a hard argument to make to the Made In people.
DeleteWhen 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 remember you're a Donovan fan! Thought you'd enjoy that. I never walk on Goodge Street without thinking of that song.
DeleteI 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
ReplyDeleteAt least you're getting rain, which hopefully helps break the temperatures. (If it's anything like Florida, where intense afternoon rains often break the summer heat.)
DeleteWhat absolutely joyful photos, thank you. xx
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked them! It's nice to have some optimistic images for a change!
DeleteThe rainbow is everywhere. And it kind of is the shape grief takes.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting observation, isn't it?
DeleteWanna trade cities for the next three weeks?
ReplyDeleteHa! Not really! :)
DeleteThe Eros info is one of those things old blokes used to write in to the Times about! Angrily denouncing people's ignorance about it. Along with arguing about who heard the first cuckoo and birds pecking milk bottle tops to steal cream. Field and Fen types. IYKYK.
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeah, the curmudgeons always need something to grouse about. Not that I'm calling you a curmudgeon. :)
DeleteWow -- this description: the shape grief takes when it refuses to disappear. Brilliant. I love the flags on the church steeple and that rainbow is pretty amazing. I'm glad the pan was a hit -- the risotto sounds good. (I made risotto on Sunday but I bet Dave's is better!)
ReplyDeleteDave makes a mean risotto, I must admit, but I'm glad I don't have to be the judge in a risotto competition. :)
DeleteI love the rainbow! When I was in college, I kitted my dorm room out in all rainbow gear. Which is fascinating to me now because I went to a Baptist school & by all accounts was a good little conservative girl (but really all you had to do was talk to me about religion for about 5 minutes to realize I was a borderline heretic). I feel like I've come full circle with my support of the LGBTQIA community (I feel like I have something in the wrong order there but I can't be bothered to google it).
ReplyDeleteRainbows in the '80s didn't have all the LGBTQ associations they do now, though. When I was in college in the mid-'80s the gay "symbol" was the pink triangle. Rainbows were widely adopted later, don't you think?
DeleteI would have really enjoyed a walk with you, and perhaps the Tube ride.
ReplyDeleteCome on over! LOL
DeleteHurray for the Brits' support of LGBTQIA+ rights! And let's add Spain to that too, while we're at it. Meanwhile, here in the land of the free and the home of the brave, we're barely hanging on to the rights that have been so fiercely fought for.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are great and thanks for the reminder that there are places in the world where sanity prevails.
Dave and I often comment that we're so happy to be in the UK when it comes to protections for sexual minorities. I do think we're more secure here, sadly.
DeleteJust shows how far back in the past the MAGAts have dragged us. School classrooms here can no longer decorate with rainbows.
ReplyDeleteSo ridiculous! A rainbow doesn't HAVE to be a gay thing, but of course all the right-wingers would immediately perceive it that way.
DeleteWhat a colorful whirl around the city. That info about the fountain is news to me. I always thought it was Eros. If I had been in that neighborhood, I would have had to stop for a luscious dessert at Cakes and Bubbles!
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was Eros too! I don't know Cakes and Bubbles. Have to look that up.
DeleteYou have such a good eye for interesting things to photograph, Steve!
ReplyDeleteLondon is a great city for photography!
DeleteDespite all the blowback from #47 and his minions, Pride is being celebrated in my rural largely liberal town in MA. Our schools embrace everyone as well. All are welcomed.
ReplyDeleteThe Brits know how to celebrate! The Pride flags flying proudly speaks very well of London.
How wonderful that Dave loves his new B-day pan. Perfect gift SR!
Massachusetts is an island of sanity in the USA. If I moved back to the states that's one place I'd consider living. (Even though it's cold. LOL)
DeleteThe artist says a rainbow is "celebratory and optimistic, but it is also the shape grief takes when it refuses to disappear." I had never considered a rainbow in that regard, but it really fits!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it?! It's definitely a new way to think about rainbows.
DeleteI loved seeing all of the Pride colors. I envy you living in London as it seems as if things are going backwards here in the USA.
ReplyDeleteI worry about the "backsliding" coming to the UK but I don't think it will, as we don't have the fierce evangelical Christian element. (Though the American evangelicals are doing their best to ignite it here!)
DeleteI love the flag display on the steeple! It fills me with hope! Rainbows always make me happy, whether Pride related or not. 🌈
ReplyDeleteI've always thought of them as optimistic, which is why I found the artists's statement about grief so interesting.
DeleteI like how you placed people in front of the large paintings.
ReplyDeleteI find that it always helps to get people in a photo, to animate the scene and give a sense of scale.
DeleteWhat a moving and beautiful description of that rainbow! I love risotto and am happy that Dave's new pan works. He's also an excellent cook; I don't think any pan could help me much. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! Well, I can't dispute his cooking skills, that's true!
DeleteWould you be able to return a used pan? I am glad you won't have to. I love the colours in today's post.
ReplyDeleteOh, probably not. I was just joking. :)
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