What a fantastic day we've had. It started yesterday morning when I realised that this was the last weekend of the Hockney exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. I rang the gallery to try and book tickets only to be told that they were totally sold out. Oh poo. I emailed Elizabeth to let her know because we were hoping that they would come with us then I resigned myself to missing the exhibition, which is said to be an important one for Hockney. Very disappointing.
Well, a few minutes later Elizabeth emailed back to say that her boss is on the board of the NPG and maybe she could ask a favour... By that afternoon Elizabeth's boss had called the museum director and arranged for complimentary tickets to be waiting for us. Very cool. Not only would we get to go but we would go as VIPs with no time limits on our visit. Very handy when you have a total of three children in tow.
This morning we decided to drive into town and parked at the Savoy Hotel. Parking in London is always a challenge and they have public parking at the Savoy along with the valet parking so we dropped off our keys and headed out. We met up with Elizabeth, Andrew and Mary Catherine at the new National Gallery Cafe for lunch. The children's macaroni and cheese was not a hit. The cheddar was too mature and they had added leeks and breadcrumbs on top. Toby wouldn't take a single bite after asking 'Mommy, what's this stuff on my pasta?!' Mary Catherine did a bit better but there was lots of mac and cheese left over. The adult meals were very tasty and the hand-churned ice cream with toppings for dessert was fantastic. Next time we'll just go for extra scoops of ice cream.
After lunch we moseyed on over to the exhibition. The place was heaving. It was obviously a very popular show. When we entered the exhibition Elizabeth and I noticed a very arty looking elderly lady with a lovely wicker shopping basket on wheels. The lady was obviously in her 80s or later and was very well dressed in a black and white houndstooth jacket and big black hat. She was a tiny woman but you could tell she was a real character. Elizabeth was admiring the shopping basket and as we passed I overhead the lady talking to her companion about the time she shared a lemonade with Picasso! Obviously a real character.
The exhibition was fantastic and had works from each of Hockney's periods including many paintings owned by the artist himself. Mary Catherine had brought her sketch pad and pens and the museum had given the children crayons and activity books so whenever we found a bench we would stop so the children could draw. We had stopped in my favourite part of the exhibition, Hockney's recent portraits, and Toby was drawing away when I heard someone say 'How wonderful! You must always encourage them to draw!' I turned to see the arty elderly lady from the entrance. I was so pleased because I had hoped to speak to her. I love slightly mad eccentric older people as I absolutely hope to be one myself one day.
The lady was really charming. She's half French, half Aussie and has lived in London for over 50 years. She started drawing when she was seven and has been drawing and painting ever since. She illustrated children's books for a while and has had a few shows of her paintings. She spent seven years perfecting a painting of St Paul's Cathedral but the recent cleaning of the building has completely changed the look of it so she's not sure she'll ever be able to complete it. You can tell that we chatted for quite a bit and she asked about the children and said that I must encourage them to be artistic. Such an interesting woman.
When we were leaving I heard a voice saying 'Goodbye Tobias! Goodbye Rosamund!' and turned to see our lady again. Very kind and what an amazing life!
After the museum we strolled around Trafalgar Square and the children climbed up to the lions. Toby loves the lions. Then we all went to Villiers Street for a coffee. As we were leaving the coffee shop J suddenly realised that he couldn't find his keys. He went back into the coffee shop and searched the floor. I searched through the other coats and bags but no keys. For some reason I hadn't brought my keys out today so if we couldn't find J's keys we were in for a very long night. We had checked our coats at the museum so J sprinted off to see if they had been turned into lost and found. Just as J ran off Toby asked what was going on and I explained that we had lost the keys. Toby said 'I know where the keys are.' 'Really darling?' I said but I was more interested in what he was going to say than actually thinking he knew where the keys were. 'We left them with that man where we parked the car,' Toby said. What a brilliant boy! He was absolutely right!
Andrew sprinted off to try and catch J but Jason was long gone. I told them that we would catch up with J at the gallery and said goodnight, laughing at our forgetfulness and Toby's amazing memory. By the time the children and I found J at the museum he was wild eyed with worry about the keys. I told Toby to tell J where the keys were and I swear Jason actually blushed when he heard. We had both just completely forgotten about leaving them at the carpark with the attendant. Thank goodness our gorgeous boy was with us. Toby really did save the day.
So we made it home with no problems and the children fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows. Such a great day out with great friends. Couldn't really ask for more.
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