National Portrait Gallery with Ealing connections and Fresh Beans

Judith, Keith, Me and Debbie on Lords terrace (photo by Nick)

After a drink on the veranda at the Lords we a really nice meal at The Oxford and Cambridge Club with  Nick and a couple of his friends from his days in Cambridge, we then went for a touch of our Local culture on show in the West End... (read on)

NPG's Ealing Connections

The Public sector workers in the UK have been squeezed by the recent economic downturn and were showing their muscle today with mass walkouts and demonstrations.

Despite this  the biggest day of Industrial action  (so they say) since The General Strike of 1926  the National Portrait Gallery just adjacent to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square seemed to be operating a close to normal service (The National seemed more limited and only the Sainsbury Wing seemed to be open for business).

The interest in visiting the National Portrait Gallery was triggered by learning of  their 'Connections' strand which this year is about residents and/or former students  of Ealing.

The diverse assortment  included a spread of people from the Who's Pete Townsend to Margot Fonteyn and hot property Film Director  Steve McQueen  as well as pictures there was a film made with the involvement of Brenstside High School students that included the inventor of the wind-up wireless Trevor Baylis

Even more fascinating was the revelation that a murdered Prime-minister Spencer Perceval  (a cambridge connection too as he had studied there) was from Ealing - admittedly it was in 1812 that he was murdered by a somewhat crazy John Bellingham.

Another thing that made a connection with me was seeing that Frank Helmut Auerbach an artistic hero of my old school art teacher Tom Davies  had an Ealing connection (as in fact does Tom) - not sure if Frank taught anyone of note in his teaching days?

The show is on in the Gallery (on the Ground Floor), it's free and on  until September - I'd recommend it for Ealing residents with some spare  time while they're in town.

(Also spotted on the day were Baroness Doreen Lawrence , elevated to the Lords at the same time as Nick and in Pall Mall the BBC's John Simpson who as well as having a great collection of names shares my birthday)

Nice trick in Trafalgar Square

He's floating!

 Beans from the Plot - Looking Good Enough to Eat