Art and Other Art

I started today at Trafalgar Square.  I was about 45 minutes early for what I was there for, so allowed myself a touristy selfie.

Note the lid.  And the blue sky.  Crisp weather today, but it wasn't trying to take me out. 

I was there for a Van Gogh exhibit at the National Gallery.  (I bought the accompanying Audio Tour. Which is just a link and you listen to it on your phone, with your own earbuds.  This, my friends, is a welcome innovation.)  Over 60 of his works - largely from Arles and the hospital at Saint-Remy.  You could totally see the development of his style as the exhibit progresses and the paintings venture more into expressionism.  Cool shit.  I didn't take many pictures because that's not my thing.  Also because I kept trying to capture some of his greens and my camera kept washing them out.  I for reals had an emotional reaction to this intense bluish green he had going, but the Pixel's camera couldn't capture it.  So I stared at it for a bit and let it wash over me and that's pretty much how I appreciated this art.

I did snap this one, though.  I mean, we know he did Sunflowers and Irises, but I hadn't known he painted roses!

I did a close-up because Look At It!  That paint is so thick it's damn near three-dimensional.

After I left the exhibit, I went back to Trafalgar Square because the Christmas Market was there.  And while I had been underwhelmed with the crafts for sale, I had my eye on the hot chocolate.  Which was dark and Belgian and covered in whipped cream (and more chocolate) and zero regrets. 

My evening activity was a show.  (I know, you're shocked.)  The Old Vic does an annual production of "A Christmas Carol."  I've never gone to it before, but this year, John Simm was playing Scrooge, and he's definitely a favorite of mine, so I was in. 

The whole nine yards, man.  They had seats on the stage and I got a front-row stage seat - it was a package deal complete with a programme and beverage.  In my case, a cup of mulled wine.  AND the production gives out mince pies before the show.  So I'm sipping my mulled wine and chomping on my mince pie and they're playing pre-show Christmas music and, yes, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but I got into the spirit. 

The adaptation is...  Look, I generally consider myself a bit of a Dickens purist.  (My tradition used to be seeing Patrick Stewart's one-man production where he starts with the book and doesn't stray too far from it.)  This particular adaptation was pretty loose-ish.  I could complain about lines from the original that I missed here, but, honestly, it was true to the spirit of Dickens if not the text, and it was presented with such heartfelt enthusiasm and holiday magic that I was all in. 

At the interval, I had to run to the bathroom (the mulled wine will do that to you) and left my programme on my seat.  Upon my return:  no programme.  It hadn't fallen behind or anything; damn thing had run away.  Nice folks next to me immediately gave me one of theirs.

Simm's performance was better in the second act than the first -- his Scroogey Scrooge had been pretty standard, but his Scrooge Who Kept Christmas Better Than Anyone was a portrait of unbridled joy.  And we all felt it and shared in it. 

When the show ended, I thanked my seat neighbors again for their programme.  We mutually gushed about the show for a bit, and they said they hoped I enjoyed the rest of my visit.  They wished me a Merry Christmas and I wished them one back.  And we meant it.