London trip

Daughter's image of Manchester Piccadilly platforms.

Recently my daughter (23) and I went on a trip to London. Initially, she had planned to take me to a concert by an artist I like for my birthday, but seeing how eager she was to attend a Korean pop music festival; I suggested the trade for her birthday celebrations.

Travel from home was 2 trams into town, 2 trains to London, and 2 tubes to the hotel, one overground. Approximately 6hrs travel. Plenty of opportunities for Zen practice. I had mixed feelings about the travel, what with the pandemic and being jostled! It was interesting which Zen techniques were discussion points between my daughter and I. For example in planning the journey; we had deliberately scheduled things so that there would be time to come up for air. To the point that Friday was dedicated to travel: we worked on accepting that being rushed leads to anxiety, which leads to mistakes, which can accumulate and spiral.

During the day I took plenty of sacred pauses; connected with the breath and meditated when it was conducive to do so. Monitoring my body sensations to hear myself; is a very useful practice, especially with my list of ailments; sometimes labelling these as "I have... tension in my shoulders" (for example). Previously I would have said to myself "Ooh, I am in pain" - which just trapped me in that; limiting my range of options in my narrowed view. In saying I have tension, I acknowledge and accept it, and then the brain is that bit freer to come up with several options, to handle the unpleasantness of the discomfort.

Saturday's plan was to drop my daughter off at her event and then find a way to entertain myself for the next couple of hours. I had ideas of what I wanted to do but hadn't set my heart on anything; allowing for the weather and the tube strikes that were due.

This was only my 4th trip to London; previously there was one with my daughter when she was 15, to sight-see with a friend who lives that way, and then twice whilst I was at university - to visit art galleries and museums for artistic inspiration. I only knew before leaving Manchester that I wanted to revisit some of the places we had visited whilst I was there, OR take in Greenwich observatory, the hotel base would have allowed for that.

Red pin was our hotel location, Greenwich Park bottom right

Having done so much public travel the day before I decided that it would reasonable for us to walk, at a slow and steady pace, to Southwark Park where her Kpop event was. (The green area between the labels of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe.) Kpop is Korean pop music, something that she has been into for a good number of years.

Perhaps walking wasn't my best decision given the heat of the day. However, the lineup for the concert was under review as the band "Billie" had to pull out due to members testing positive for Covid. Walking gave us the time to talk and take in the day. Gates were open from 12.30, we had no need to rush.

Observing cobblestones, an old electric boat lift, construction work, people coming and going, graffiti on the railway arches, plant life reclaiming and striving for space.

One foot in front of the other. Breath in, breath out. Pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, mixed. Deliberately choosing not to take photos but rather remain with the moments as our footsteps fell. Arriving at the venue, I ensured she got through the gates ok; rules were tight on what they could take in with them, down to the size of the bag to carry items in.

Then, the decision, where to go; what to do? I decided that sitting on the grass and just taking in the moments, would be good; the answer would arrive when it was meant to. Children playing, people talking, the wind in the trees. Grass prickly under my hand. An ant crawling through the sky-scrapers of its world. Sun on my back. Grass parched and sun-faded. Breath in, breath out. Pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, mixed. Once at peace, a clearer path was there. The decision: to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum IF the tube strike wasn't to inconvenience the journey too much. We had passed a tube station less than 5 minutes away from the park venue, so I did a quick Google map search of the route: it was possible to travel from this station to the one nearest the V&A. Off I tootled. Arriving I discovered that the tube strikes affected the staffing on the network from this particular station, I had to travel to another.

The instructions; walk back on myself, pass the park continue to another tube station, that had more network links - delays possible. No firm plans, no stress. Just enjoy the day as I had been. The only factor that was of any concern was the closing time of the museum or any nearby alternatives. A new station, to me. A far more modern design. In being different it was appreciated. Part of the Jubilee line - which my mum and I contributed to! We both worked for an air ventilation company, I chopped and filed, and she wielded - TIG and MIG. Somewhere there will be a number of vent facings that she and I made. Squares inside squares. I measured and cut the angles as part of my first job out of college. Mum passed away this last October and it was a nice little connection with her as the day moved along.

Concrete and metal.

Cooler. Reflective surfaces. Sounds sharper but not harsher. Platform barriers. Station etiquette was the same - keep to the right, left for fast movers.

Compare this to the older ones: Tiled, hot, frequently stuffy and cramped.

Euston is considerably cleaner in appearance, and smell than some of the stations.

Travel was across London, on 2 tubes and all underground.

I'd also not been to South Kensington station before - again it was different, in the style of the older stations but with a long underground subway to a variety of local sight see-ing spots/

Why the V&A and not somewhere closer? Besides revisiting somewhere I have been before, the Victoria and Albert Museum is the "world's leading" museum of Art and Design. From its early beginnings as a Museum of Manufactures in 1852, and the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1899, its mission was to improve the standards of British industry by educating designers, manufacturers and consumers in art and science. Acquiring and displaying the best examples of art and design contributed to this mission. Henry Cole, the V&A's first Director, declared that the museum should be a "schoolroom for everyone". For me the architecture is stunning and there's plenty to see. I'd also done a little research about the collections and there was plenty even on the ground floor that I hadn't seen that tied in with my Zen studies. https://www.vam.ac.uk/

The entrance carries the quotation from Sir Joshua Reynolds: The excellence of every art must consist in the complete accomplishment of its purpose, which was chosen by Webb in 1906.

The Grand Entrance on Cromwell Road hosts the V&A Rotunda Chandelier, created in 2001. One of a number of works from Chihuly's 'Chandelier' series which he began in 1992. Chihuly works extravagantly in richly-coloured blown glass, drawing on the historic techniques of the Murano glassworks in Venice. He was initially intrigued by the space-changing potential of the chandelier form. His pieces succeed in massing colour, shade and light alongside a driving sense of movement.

Made by Chihuly and his studio team in Seattle, Washington State, USA, each separate glass element of the V&A Rotunda Chandelier was either free-blown or mould-blown into ribbed moulds. Each element is coated inside with polyurethane adhesive and was tied on individually with stainless steel wire to an armature welded from a steel rod. A team of six started wiring pieces on from bottom to top and it took over five days to complete the work. It's a stunning piece, especially in the sunlight and though I have seen it a couple of times now; it's still thrilling to see people happy at work on the helpdesk below it.

If you'd like to look at the digital map it can be found here

My route took me through the following collections; China, Buddhism, Japan, Korea, Cast Courts, Sculpture 1100-1400 (Christian), Buddhism "The Way", Sculpture, South Asia, and South-East Asia.

I also saw the beni-safflower-red-in-Japanese-fashion display: The Japanese dye 'beni', made from safflower petals, produces red hues and iridescent green. The display revealed its many uses in fashion, from heel-less shoes by Noritaka Tatehana (beloved by Lady Gaga and Daphne Guinness), to textiles, cosmetics and ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

- Not on display here but a throwback to my Chiyono's "No bucket, No moon" blog. Yoshitoshi Tsukioka was active in ukiyo-e from the end of the Edo era through to the Meiji era.

Among his works, “One Hundred Phases of the Moon” is a masterpiece of his latter years. His image of Chiyono is but one of the images in this series. - Saikaku‘s “Kosuhoku ichidai otoko (Life of a Amorous Man)” (published in 1682) describes that Ukiyo-e was drawn on a folding fan with 12 ribs, and this is the oldest literature in which the word “Ukiyo-e” can be found. When the days of Kiyonobu Torii began, there appeared a type of Sumizuri-e coloured with an ink brush. These were coloured mainly with red pigments, but one with tan (red earth) being used was called Tan-e and the one with beni (rouge) used was called Beni-e. Furthermore, one with a few colours being added to Beni-e was called Benizuri-e. Since that time, the Torii school of Ukiyo-e has closely been associated with Kabuki (traditional drama performed by male actors) and works on Kabuki billboards even today.

Beni is made from the safflower, said to be native to the Middle and Near East and Egypt, and introduced to China via the Silk Road. The safflower and the extraction method for Beni are believed to have arrived in Japan sometime around the mid-3rd century. Safflower petals contain only around 1% red pigment. Extracting Beni is a time-consuming task and sophisticated skills and knowledge are required to produce Beni-based dyes. The Mogami River area in Yamagata has grown safflowers since the 16th century and is now Japan’s largest producer. Petals are dried and pressed by hand into flat ovals called benimochi for dyeing high-quality kimonos. In the Japanese Heian period, the colour made from repeated dying with safflower was a special colour reserved for high-ranking people.

Since ancient times, Japanese people have associated the colour red with the sun, fire, and blood, therefore believing it symbolizes life. As such, red has taken on ritual significance. One example is that the red of Beni was believed to be effective in improving blood circulation, therefore seen as a form of medicine protecting the body from illness. As such, red dye, makeup, and food colouring were used to add colour to major life events, such as childbirth and marriage. Some Beni used in makeup shines iridescently when dry. This iridescence is said to be proof of good quality, and the technique to achieve this has been kept a trade secret by the respective Beni merchants so as not to be leaked to outsiders. Beni fascinated women of the Edo period, who favoured a makeup called “Sasa-beni” made from iridescent Beni, which shone green when applied. Even modern-day science can’t fully clarify the mechanism behind this iridescence. With all of its mysteries, Beni appeals to people all the more.

Afterwards, I sat outside the museum, and just soaked in the sounds as rush hour started. Again there was no need for me to rush about, and I had no particular interest in getting crushed, jostled and crowded in the underground. Nope, nope, nope.

Whilst underground I was able to pick up a light picnic for the evening meal and caught the tube back to the park. I was early enough to meditate a little, watch the sunset and see 2 sets from the K-pop festival with a small crowd that was gathered outside the venue; Suho and Red Velvet. After the event, my daughter and I caught the tube back to our hotel. Diverted again by the strike.