Tate to Tate

Today was certainly chilly after that snow last night. I went to London today as I had an arts society event and I was very warmly wrapped up. 

The event today was one I had organised, called Tate to Tate. We met at the Tate Britain where our guide for the day went through a selection of art works, from 1500 to the 1930’s and discussed each one. It was the first time I had used this guide and he was outstanding, so knowledgeable and he knew exactly which level to pitch it so that we all learnt so much, giving us interesting facts and also fascinating snippets about the artist so that we never reached that stage where one is over saturated with boring dates and details and one's eyes begin to glaze over. 

After about 2 hours, which seemed to fly by, we caught the boat from the Tate Britain to the Tate Modern, and what a great way to travel. The boat was cosy and warm and we had a great view of the city from the water. At the Tate Modern we had an introductory talk and then broke for lunch. 

After lunch our guide showed us a selection of modern works of art. Modern art is usually not to everyone’s taste and yet this museum is the 2nd most popular attraction in London. Some of the art certainly raises eyebrows, like the Sainsbury’s till receipt that they paid £30 000 for! Or the bog standard urinal that cost $500 000. Personally I enjoyed the Rothko room, and all that art was donated by the artist for free.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and we all learnt so much. He was one of the best guides I have ever met and will certainly book him again. 

This is the view from the 10th floor of the Tate Modern, and I thought I would enter it into the Wide Wednesday challenge which has a theme of 'A place I love'- I certainly love London, it is my most favourite city in the world! This was taken just before sunset. I have also added some extras of two contrasting staircases from each museum. 

Today we also received the very good news that Adam has been offered the PhD program he interviewed for yesterday. It’s a very generous grant from the Wellcome Trust that covers all university fees, lab costs with a very generous living allowance. It is also in his preferred area of research (infection, immunity and inflammation) so he has accepted the offer. It was very competitive and there are so few placements like this so we are very proud of him. 

Tonight it is book club, and as our Scottish member is hosting we will be enjoying a delicious Burns Night supper. A very good end to a terrific day!