On Thursday I was lucky enough to be in London for the opening of Hew Locke's exhibition at the British Museum, 'What Have We Here?'  It's a brilliant and illuminating exploration of the history of slavery and empire, using objects from the Museum's collection mingled with objects made by the artist. Overlooking it all are the 'Watchers', a series of figures, part human, part animal, clad and decorated in an assortment of materials that variously represent different cultures, the occupying and the occupied. A few of the Watchers have escaped into the permanent collection, such as those in my photograph.
We also saw the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery. The range, scale and quality of work he produced in his last two years is quite astonishing. Needed two hours to begin taking it in.
The main purpose of the trip was to see the double revival of Wesker's Roots and Osborne's Look Back in Anger in rep at the wonderful Almeida Theatre, and it absolutely did not disappoint. Both plays are flawed and of their time, but they still speak to us in many ways, and the company performed them with energy and pace.
Both plays and both exhibitions warmly recommended, for those who can get to 'that London'.