A Sunny Day In London Town

Yesterday, I met up with my friend to paint the town. Well, we looked at some paintings in the town. From Corot to Monet at the National Gallery showed me I really don't like Corot much, but found a great painter called Daubigny that I hadn't been familiar with before. The one painting that stood out though was a Turner. Once you've seen him, even Monet looks a bit bland. Well I think so, anyway.

Then we walked across one of the Jubilee bridges to the South Bank, where some genius has decided to stunt the mature trees by wrapping them in red fabric with white spots on, secured with very tight ties, just at the height of the growing season, and just when the mindless tourist can amuse itself by signing the white spots.

After a delicious meal at the National Film Theatre it was into the cinema to see The Newton Boys. (I'd been hoping Ann could join us, but a swift phone call later I found she was just home from a meeting, boohoo.)

I've never yet capped this film, so many thanks, Eliza, for the pictures. Seeing Dock's manhood waving at us from the big screen was a memorable experience.

The audience was very appreciative. At the NFT it's customary to applaud when the film has finished. After the film, I heard a man behind us say, "I can't believe they never released this." I couldn't resist turning to him and saying, "Vincent D'Onofrio's in it, they never release his films."

On the way home, I saw a young man perched on a bicycle rack texting. It was one of the more isolated places in my walk home. When I saw his dog in the shadows, I couldn't help myself. I didn't take a detour. I didn't run. I said, "That's not walking the dog, that's sitting with the dog." He laughed.

One day I'll say something genuinely funny and people will split their sides.