Atleast in China...Spring must be coming...

Eewww.

The minimum forecast for today is -4. It was bitterly cold as I walked down one hill and then up another on my way back from work. If I stood still for a few minutes, or so I thought, I would turn into one of those characters in Narnia, frozen till doomsday with icicles dripping from every surface. Brrr.

The weekend was another story altogether. We were in London on Saturday to see an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts - China : The Three Emperors. What a display of 16th-18th century artefacts on loan from the Palace Museum in Beijing. Gorgeous costumes, porcelain, calligraphy and portraits. Simply stunning and in such good condition. We took about 3.5 hours to complete the exhibition and I picked up a lovely animal jade bracelet from the RA shop to commemorate the visit. (No, that's a lie: picked it up because I liked it!)

It was a lovely day to be out. The sun was shining brightly and although it was cold, it was a cosy kind of cold,not the want-to-curl-up-and-die kind of cold. Mr R took some nice pictures of the quiet London morning. Funnily enough, the traffic wasn't heavy although it was almost noon. No cameras were allowed inside the exhibition , so we couldn't bring you that. Never mind. You'll have to trust me on the fact that its worth seeing. If you're in London, make a beeline to the RA at Picadilly.

Bamboo shadows criss-cross the window
the moon must have risen.
The scent of flowers waft indoors
Spring must be coming.

(Poetic couplet, in running script by The Yongzheng Emperor 1678-1735)

Painting the Sky.
An unusual portrait of the statue outside the RA entrance.

















Bazaar scenes: Images of the market at St.James' Church, Picadilly (Mr R's orchestra have their concerts there)



From Russia,with love.