The Conservatory, Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, London SE 23 - 23 May 6 2012 12 noon
The vast sprawling mass of London seems to be endless and would take a very long lifetime to master. I was reminded of this when I went for the very first time, I am ashamed to say, to the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, a London neighbourhood in the Borough of Lewisham - but London nevertheless. It is a brute to get to, especially on a weekend day when so many of the rail lines are disrupted for upgrades or general maintenance. This is a rail network which is 150 years old.......during today I went on no less than 15 different trains or buses. Just to get to the Horniman from where I started took 9!
But it was absolutely worth it to come to this charming place. There is a wonderful collection of musical intruments for a start. I was delighted to see the lovely Baryton, an instrument for which Haydn wrote some splendid things. His great patron Nikolaus Esterházy played it enthusiastically and presumably rather well. The Horniman specimen is seen at the far left in my somewhat blurry photo below.
An important feature of this museum is its garden. And the location benefits from a lovely view to the city - below you may be able to detect St Paul's Cathedral, the Shard, and the Gherkin! And as you can see there is also a charming small bandstand. If you have a chance to go there do take the trouble - there is lots to see and do for all the family.
Next stop was the Wellcome Collection - a return visit actually specifically to see The Brain. This is a remarkable show and is on until June 17. If you are near Euston just pop in for an hour - and its free!
So Sarkozy is out - yet another casualty of the events of 2008. Who will be the next to fall?
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