The Fitzwilliam

On Sunday I visited the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, which has a special exhibit on the poet and artist William Blake until the end of May. The exhibit, which was mainly artwork, included some drawings by Blake and select plates from his illuminated books (mainly his Prophetic Books). Work from other artists who were Blake's contemporaries or who influenced his style was also a part of the exhibit. I found most interesting: Blake's largest surviving painting "An Allegory of the Spiritual Condition of Man," "King and queen on a lily" from The Song of Los (because in the explanation it says: 'Its meaning in the context of the book is unclear.'), "Job and his family" from Illustrations of the Book of Job (because, just look at the faces on those sheep!), and "The Soldiers casting lots for Christ's Garments." In the description for this piece, it notes: 'Blake depicts Christ on the cross from behind. Despite emitting heavenly light, much of the scene is still in darkness, showing, according to Blake, humanity's indifference to the divine.' Also in the museum's collection are paintings by the Pre-Raphaelites! I also got to visit Heffers bookshop, and I rounded off the afternoon with a classy cream tea at Fitzbillies.

Fitzwilliam Museum

Entrance hall ceiling

To the galleries

Blake's largest surviving painting

King and queen on a lily

Job and his Family (note the sheep)

The Soldiers casting lots for Christ's Garments

John Everett Millais "The Twins"

D.G. Rossetti "Girl at a Lattice"

Fitzbillies

Dragon Hall

Last week I toured the historic Dragon Hall in Norwich and attended a poetry event there hosted by the Poetry Translation Centre. This medieval building was built around 1427 on the site of a previous structure and was owned by Robert Toppes, a merchant who used it to store and display his goods. The fact that its wooden timbers are so close together is a sign of his wealth, because although the materials were expensive, he used more than was needed to hold up the building. The National Centre for Writing has been based in Dragon Hall since 2015. You can read more about the Hall and writing centre on their page: Dragon Hall. At the Polylingual Poetry Open Mic, eleven poets shared work in languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Burmese, Finnish, Japanese, Swedish, French, German, and bird! (Yes, one poet performed in birdsong.) I read a couple of poems by Ingrid Sjöstrand that I translated into English.

Historic Dragon Hall in Norwich

Great Hall

One of the dragons

Doorway to nowhere

Fathima Zahra at Polylingual Poetry

Midori Takahashi

Ko Ko Thett

My reading

And here's Saint Julian's church in Norwich, where I stopped on the way to Dragon Hall. Thanks for reading!

St Julian's, Norwich

London Book Fair

On Wednesday I attended the London Book Fair at the Olympia in West Kensington. I met new friends at the fika for Nordic translators, attended a couple of the events, and spent most of the time browsing the exhibitor booths. One highlight was receiving a picture book in Swedish that I've wanted to read! 

London Book Fair 2024

Children's book publisher Nosy Crow

 

Walker Books booth (Candlewick in the US)

ARC from Kate DiCamillo!

Illustrator Awards

From the first floor

Literary Translation Centre

The British Library

Bodleian and Ashmolean

Bloomsbury

Greystone

Floris

Need to find this Beatles book!

Love this!

Classy Kensington

Also, it's hot cross bun season! I have tried two varieties so far—from the Two Magpies Bakery on Timber Hill in Norwich and from Bread Source. I was expecting the bun to be sweeter, but it's more like a plain dinner roll with fruit in it. They do love dried fruit here. There will be a longer post from me about tea soon—I promise! 

Tea with hot cross bun

Another instance of a hot cross bun

Cherry and magnolia are blooming at this time of year, snowdrops, daffodils, and violets, too. I heard from two ladies at church that the hedgehogs are active in their gardens. The regional word for hedgehog is 'hodmedod.' Norwich Cathedral's herb garden was open this afternoon, and I walked through on my way to the book group I'm part of during Lent. There are nettles out already as well. I plan to find a safe spot to pick them!

Norwich Cathedral's herb garden

Herb garden

Smultron!

Daffodils

Stinging nettle

Thanks for reading! 

Sheringham

I visited Sheringham on the coast of the North Sea on a cloudy Monday this week. The weather was a bit chilly, but I had a flask of tea to warm my hands—and at least it wasn't raining, nor had it just rained, so there were places that were dry enough to sit. I heard a couple of wrens singing nearby where I had lunch. Here are some photos I took of the beach and coastal path. There's also a high street in Sheringham with many shops (including thrift shops) and a charming library where I warmed up after my hike.

Beach huts

North Sea coast

Grey clouds over the beach

Waves

Stones

Cliffs

Cliffs

Gulls riding the wind

From the coastal path

Parachuters

'Beeston Bump'

Sheringham

Lunch spot

This is a recent sound escape episode from The Plodcast in which you can hear the sound of the North Sea and a seal colony at Horsey Gap, Norfolk, about 30 miles south of Sheringham: Norfolk Beach.