our london adventure: Open Garden Squares

Even though I went to sleep pretty late after yesterday's adventures, I was out of the house at 7:30 A.M. today--early for a Saturday, but on the plus side the bus got me to Waterloo Bridge very quickly at that traffic-free time of the morning. As part of the weekend Overture celebrations, the Hayward Gallery was offering free pre-opening-hours admission (my ticket was for 8:00 A.M.) to its Antony Gormley exhibit, and since I was interested in the exhibit and had not yet been to the Hayward, I figured the early hour was worth it. I was right! The exhibit includes a variety of striking sculptures (many of which are visible outside the gallery), drawings, and an assortment of walk-through installations, including Blind Light, which is straight out of a sci-fi film:

It gets even more eerie:

Entering this bright glass room filled with cool steam was amazingly disorienting--I couldn't see anything (even myself) and could hear about a dozen other people stumbling around me in the same state. I spent the first few minutes blinking over and over, convinced that my vision would return if only I blinked just right. Of course, I was wrong and the most startling aspect of the installation was that people only became visible when they were less than an arm's length away, which made them seem like ghosts reaching out from another world. I really can't describe the sensation--Gormley likens it to "being at the bottom of the sea" and that strikes me as a pretty evocative place to start. I emerged from the box a bit short of breath (participants with asthma, claustrophobia, or "a nervous disposition" are advised to be cautious, and the incredibly humid environment is indeed a difficult place to stay for long), positively dripping with water, half-surprised to find that regular air even existed anymore.

Even though there were more events I wanted to see at today's round of Overture, they weren't until later in the afternoon, and I had plenty of other things lined up in the meantime. This weekend was London's annual Open Garden Squares Weekend: 162 gardens, most of which are either closed to the general public during the rest of the year, or only hold very limited openings, opened for the weekend and I wanted to see at least a few while their gates were open to us commoners. At a cost of £7.50 for the weekend if you bought tickets on the day, it was a fantastic bargain if you bought an advance ticket for £6, which included a £5 voucher for plants or flowers at a chain of garden shops. This is just the type of event I love, since I always enjoy seeing new parts of a city or (maybe even better) seeing familiar parts of a city in new ways. I started out in Bloomsbury, at The Academy:

Their small tranquil garden, usually only open to guests of the hotel, is surrounded by five 1776 townhouses, and feels far removed from the busy, wide street that runs in front of the hotel.

On my way to the next garden, I noticed some papers on the ground, beside a bench. Perhaps a left-handed person who was after cheap eats, a bit of the tourist track, and a good dose of Bloomsbury was currently wandering the streets, confused and hungry? Or maybe they simply decided to see where the day would take them without their painstaking list?

In some parts of London, private garden squares are very common--only residents of the surrounding townhouses are given keys, and properties on such squares have predictably high prices that go along with such exclusivity. Here's how such squares usually look to non-keyholders:

But not today!

Completed in 1786, Bedford Square is a lovely example of a Georgian square.

As I exited the garden, I noticed this odd door--I don't know if I've ever seen two door knockers at one address.

On my way to the next garden, I noticed this plaque commemorating T.S. Eliot's work at Faber & Faber.

My next stop was the rooftop garden of the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. A Japanese garden, dedicated to forgiveness, the public garden is a calm space

with some cosy nooks overlooking the street below.

I especially liked the way water drainage is incorporated into the garden's ambiance.

By now, it was getting close to lunchtime, and I wandered in search of some picnic food. Along the way, I came across this double-plaqued residence:

I'm not sure what I think of the Shaw plaque ("From the coffers of his genius he enriched the world") in contrast to the less effusive Woolf plaque. From the coffers of her genius, she enriched the world! I understand that the blue plaques follow rather dry guidelines, while the brown ones seem to inject more personality into their commemorations, but still. Anyway, one M&S salad later and all I needed was a place to eat it; Russell Square was nearby, and as I entered the square, I realised that I hadn't been there before, which was a strange thought, since I'd walked by it many times. As I ate my lunch, I watched this dog run repeatedly into a fountain to fetch sticks thrown by its owner:

Russell Square is a lovely large public square, and if today was any indication, many people already know that!

There's even a Punch and Judy show, although I was too early to witness any antics.

After I finished my lunch, I noticed quite a crowd gathering on the other side of the square. When I went to investigate, this is what I found:

This birds of prey display (put on by a group strangely named Birds of Bray) was put on in conjunction with Open Garden Squares. The Tawny Owl (fourteen-year-old Orion) spent most of his time on this woman's hand

but he really wanted to be on her shoulder, and kept bobbing up and down to show his desire. She kept saying, "No, I'm sorry love, you can't go up there today," and when someone commented that his talons would hurt her shoulder, she said they'd be fine, but she wanted to wear the same shirt again tomorrow and Orion might, um, "do" a little something on her shoulder that would prevent her from doing so! Other birds on display included a Harris Hawk (on the right) and a Peregrine-Lanner Falcon,

Great Grey Owl,

Common Buzzard,

and this American Great Horned Owl, who hopped down from his perch when I knelt down to take this photo. Then his pupils dramatically changed size and focused right on me, like a manual camera lens quickly adjusted by a professional. It made me feel like food!

Some of the birds tried to fly, but only made it a short distance. (The people working the display assured us that the birds fly every day.)

This Snowy Owl was gorgeous

and this pair of Kestrels had funny names (Pepsi and Cola).

The British Barn Owl had a fantastic face

and the American Great Horned Owl who previously looked like he wanted to eat me turned out to have a lovely temper. (I patted him and the shoulder-wanting Tawny Owl; both were lovely and soft.)

Some of the birds called out in their ominous shrieks, but the other birds didn't seem to care,

and this White Faced Scops Owl was probably the cutest of the lot.

Even when it was time for tea, the Tawny Owl stayed on his perch.

I finally managed to tear myself away from the birds and went in search of my next garden, down this City street. Doesn't look promising, does it?

Salters' Gardens is surrounded by part of the old Roman city wall

and a good dose of office buildings--it's a lovely spot for a bit of an escape.

As I walked toward the tube, one building of the Barbican Estates hovered above me.
Dare I say that the Barbican is growing on me? Then I made the mistake of going above street level to the immensely confusing Barbican Walk. I don't know what it is about this network of walkways and passages, but I always, always get lost. This time was no exception, but losing my way meant that I found another great assortment of contrasts:
Although there were many more gardens to see, most of the ones I was interested in were only open tomorrow, so one tube ride later I arrived at my next destination:

Springwatch is a BBC show that chronicles, well, spring, for three weeks at various UK locations with the help of cleverly hidden cameras (most of them in nests or near habitats). Many of the images were incredible (a film of a kestrel hovering over a motorway was unbelievable, as he hunted while remaining perfectly in place), impossibly cute (take your pick, but coming from Vancouver, badgers are a real novelty), or simply horrifying (as poor weather hindered the parents' hunting, one baby owl ate his smaller, weaker siblings whole to compensate), but whenever I caught the show, I always learned something. (And I'm happy to know that there's a sister show, Autumnwatch, to look forward to in later months.) In conjunction with the programme, environmental garden parties were being held in various cities across the UK, and I popped into the London one. One thing that would have made the event more comfortable would have been more shade!

Sheep

butterflies,

and birds were on display.

With the heat of the afternoon, this bathtub looked pretty tempting,

but I settled for a bit of watching BBC London broadcast from outside an old routemaster.

On my way back to the tube, I noticed this sign:

London has some high-tech paint that is meant to discourage vandalism and even loitering, but "non-drying" paint was new to me. My favourite signs are the ones all over town that declare paint to be "anti-climbing" . . . which I think might be the same as "non-drying." In any case, I didn't test the paint! Two more tubes and some six hours after I left the Hayward, I was back for more Overture. This time I started at the back of the Royal Festival Hall, where numerous shed installations were on display.

This shed very cleverly featured two holes on its more accessible side. When you peered in to have a look,

this was the resulting sight for viewers on the other side of the shed, made of transparent plastic.

Most people instantly pulled away when they realised what was beneath their heads, but others seemed to enjoy the experience.

In the middle of the sheds, kids were decorating biscuits using incredibly huge vats of icing,

and this nearby show of puppets playing bells

with live saw accompaniment

was very, very odd. The next shed I noticed was this one:

What could be going on here? An army of cute and cuddly "guard" dogs, evidence of a gardener with a Huxley bent,

and a less-than-subtle sign on the shed itself. Entitled Poltershed, whenever someone got too close to the surrounding fence, the entire shed burst open with red anger and rocked as if it were going to walk over to you and strangle you.

As I wandered around the sheds, I spotted this man, seemingly sitting on his dog,

but it turned out they were just cuddling. Near the sheds was Back in Time, a display of British cars from the time of the Royal Festival Hall's birth in the 1950s. A group of appropriately attired people held a tea party in the centre of the display to add to the atmosphere. (I, of course, loved the big dog, but thought he looked familiar. When I got home, I checked and it turns out I have seen him before! What are the odds?)

As I made my way to the stairs to move to the front of the hall, I was surprised to see that one of the cars had a silent occupant

or two!

As big as the other dog was, he was very well-behaved, resisting all the food on display

until he was given some by one of the participants.

I took some time to explore more of the hall itself, and found some wonderful views from inside

and outside the building.

Back outside, I noticed some turf had been set up for those who wanted to go shoeless

and I tried to find a place to sit and listen to Portico Quartet, but it was far too crowded. I realised that quite a few people were watching from atop Waterloo Bridge, and although I thought it might be a bit noisy up there, at least I'd be able to see and have something to lean against, so up I went.

I was only up on the bridge for two songs before I noticed that everyone around me had turned around to face the bridge instead of the band. I wondered why and turned around to find out. What's this in the distance?

It's the 2007 World Naked Bike Ride! Taking place in seventy cities around the world, the ride is in protest against society's dependence on cars and lack of respect for bikes. Strangely, I managed to live in Vancouver's West End for several years, very close to the beginning of Vancouver's Naked Bike Ride, and somehow never come across it, but today 1,000 riders passed by on the bridge,

some even getting off their bikes to have their photos taken with the equally naked Gormley statue on the bridge! Some participants were okay with being naked, but chose to remain disguised,

and some spectators were caught more off-guard than others. It definitely would have been strange to have been this young girl!

After that distraction, I continued watching the band (the people sitting below seemed to have no idea what had just passed above their heads) and then went down to grab a seat for the next event, a poetry showcase put on by Apples & Snakes. While most of the performances weren't exactly my style, the final poet, Kat François, was fantastic. World Champion Slam Poet 2005 and BBC3 Slam Poets 2004 winner, she connected well with the audience, made her poetry come alive, and (my favourite of all) pointed out that since she was the only woman on today's bill, she was going going to make up for the imbalance by doing some poems especially for the women out today (which went down very well with the audience).