To celebrate Rich's 46th Birthday we decided to take a trip to London, just like we did in the good old days (before the pandemic messed everything up). As it happened I found out that Nathan Sawaya's 'Art of the Brick' was returning to London (Rose and I saw it years ago) and since Rich is keen on Lego I figured this was perfect timing. Rich's birthday was actually in March but due to scheduling we had to wait until near the end of April to go.
April was very wet, so were pretty damned lucky in the end that we managed to go a whole day without seeing any rain at all. In fact it was reasonably sunny, but not too hot (thankfully) and so we managed to go the whole day just wearing a very thin coat - which gave us plenty of pockets to keep all our clobber in!
I picked Rich up at 8:10AM and we headed off to Northampton, ready to catch the 9:18 train. Of course we got there at 8:50AM so after buying the tickets we still had a little while to kill, but better than a mad panic to catch the train I suppose!
As usual the train down was one of the lovely new ones with two seats per side, arm rests and everything and we had plenty of seats to choose from, even as the conductor was telling us the train was shorter than normal and would fill up quickly as we travelled down to London.
In the days prior to our trip I had spent quite a lot of time creating a plan of attack for this trip as we had a lot we wanted to get done and only a limited amount of time to do it...
We arrived bang on time and after a quick bathroom break (which I forgot to factor in) we headed off to the tube and Leicester Square. We walked through the square, past the Lego store and through Piccadilly Circus to Regent Street and arrived at Watches of Switzerland pretty much on schedule.
WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND
Since out last trip here together in 2019 WOS had undergone a massive makeover so everything was new to Rich, and also on our previous trips we hadn't visited the top floor so we made a beeline for it, starting with the MB&F boutique.
I actually visited the MB&F boutique in Geneva way back in 2018, but as I recall they didn't have an awful lot of actual watches in there (it was more wall clocks and cool gadgets). The boutique here isn't exactly overflowing with watches either, just three on display when we arrived, plus a bunch of desk clocks and weird things around the walls. I don't really have any strong feelings about MB&F, I know they are a lot of people's favourite watch company and I'm sure the workmanship is superb but it doesn't really do much for me if I'm completely honest.
Another brand that doesn't do a lot for me is Jacob & Co, but I took a picture of these Epic-X watches (as seen on Producer Michael's YouTube channel) which were in a cabinet in the middle of the store (next to the Ulysee Nardins and a bunch of pre-owned Rolex).
There was also a Blancpain boutique and in the window display was this solid gold chronograph.
We had already spent 30 mins just on this floor and I had only budgeted 70 minutes for the whole store, so we made our way to back towards the stairs and stopped off to look at a long cabinet filled with blingy Patek Philippe models. A friendly guy came out of the PP store and made himself known to us, asking us to let him know if we wanted to try anything on, while conceding that they had hardly any men's watches to try on...
We thanked him anyway, and then as soon as he was out of sight we darted back downstairs. But not before I snapped this picture. The watch in the middle was totally iced out (including the dial) and you could barely read it for the glare off the diamonds!
On the ground floor we saw the Oris Kermit which is kinda cool but a) the green is so bright that you can't actually read the white hour markers, and b) the Kermit in the date window is so small you can't even see it. The case and bezel are cool though.
Bulgari had a decent selection on show, including several Octo Finissimos and a selection of the more classically styled 'snake' watches.
We also visited the Cartier boutique at the back of the store, which was more interesting now that Rose has her Cartier Pasha.
We actually despatched the ground floor fairly quickly, ignoring the Omega boutique completely and just poking our head into the (very small) Vacheron Constantin boutique, where we saw this Overseas.
Then we headed downstairs and now it was time for the serious business of the day - TAG Heuer!
Brand new were these two green and blue Calibre 16 chronographs, which were surprisingly nice though whether I'd pay £3300 for a Formula 1 is debatable. Maybe when they turn up pre-owned I might be tempted.
Jim's favourite, the 36mm (too small for a man) 'Barbie' Carrera. Sadly 36mm and thus far too small for a man to wear.
This is the 2024 Indy 500 Formula 1 also released a couple of weeks before at Watches & Wonders. This was very nice in person and might actually be my favourite Indy 500 F1! Even so the Heuer 01 Indy 500 is still the absolute pick of the bunch for me.
Next it was Tudor and I spied these two Pelagos FXD models, alongside the spectacularly UGLY P01! Jesus Christ that thing is hideous. I bet they only made about ten and they are still available 5 years after they came out.
Next it was time to visit the Breitling boutique, and impressively despite there being 50 or more watches to chose from they managed to have almost nothing I'd actually want to own. They seem to have thrown any semblance of taste completely out of the window with every other watch having a shiny green dial and a super-shiny bracelet. Supposedly Breitling are doing well these days but it's hard to believe looking at the absolute shite in this boutique.
The nicest watch they actually had in there was the white ladies watch in the picture below. That was actually quite cool, though I have no doubt it would be too big for Rose's slender wrists.
This one is hilarious. I mean I like a big watch, but this must be 50mm and it must weigh an absolute ton on the wrist.
Thankfully next door we had Zenith, who had a much more.... refined selection. One could even say a certain level of sophistication after the embarrassing 'blingfest' that was the Breitling store.
Ever mindful of the ticking clock we soon moved on to Panerai. Not a brand I'm massively fond of, but they do have some cool pieces, like this carbotech model (available in a variety of sizes from large to massive). Still can't help thinking it would look better without that bloody stupid crown guard though.
And finally we came to Hublot. Nothing particularly special here to look at save for the Watches of Switzerland 50 piece Limited Edition 'BIG BANG UNICO ALL BLACK GREEN!' What a ridiculous name... cool though and I love the camo strap.
The Breitling boutique was a distraction we didn't need on such a busy day, and judging by the Breitling collection we'd seen in WOS there probably wasn't going to be anything particularly inspiring in there anyway!
So we headed up Bond Street in search of the Richard Orlinski gallery, but before we knew it we had arrived at Gallerie Bartoux and Orlinski was nowhere to be seen. I thought we'd probably missed it but having checked his website it looks like it has actually closed.
GALLERIE BARTOUX
As ever Gallerie Bartoux was one of the highlights of the day, with so many super cool and amazing things to see. In particular today the swimming ladies were absolutely incredible, so lifelike, especially the large 'head/shoulders' piece. Even the photos don't really do these justice...
ARTIST: Carole Feurman
ARTIST: Carole Feurman
ARTIST: Carole Feurman
ARTIST: Carole Feurman
ARTIST: Roberta Coni
ARTIST: Antoine Dufilho
ARTIST: Antoine Dufilho
ARTIST: Michel Bassompierre
Same goes for these canvases (available in large and smaller sizes) which were super vibrant and would look amazing in the right surroundings.
There were also a couple of huge (2M across) works made of glass, huge circles of butteflies, kinda similar to ones I'd seen in there before but more colourful. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of those... but the Gallerie Bartoux website can supply one.
ARTIST: Annalu
EDEN GALLERY
Next stop was the 'Eden Gallery', which I must say wasn't as good as Gallerie Bartoux. I did quite like the large Alec Monopoly picture by the front door, but overall it wasn't that inspiring, which is probably why I only actually took two photographs!
It would have been nice to have been left alone to look around the gallery on our own but this sales guy kept popping up time and time again. I guess he was only doing his job but I could have done without it to be honest. He claimed to be a metal-head (I don't even remember how this came up) and he asked if I'd ever been to Download. No, but I had been to Monsters of Rock before it was called Download!
TAG Heuer Boutique (Oxford Street)
We arrived into the TAG Heuer boutique slightly earlier than anticipated, and were immediately greeted by Leo, who was very animated and keen to talk about the brand. Almost immediately though I noticed someone come in behind us and they were immediately asked to take a seat and wait until someone was free. I don't like this idea to be honest, because a) it makes you feel like you are keeping someone else waiting and b) if I would have been asked to wait I would have walked straight out the door again.
Frankly I am a grown adult, I don't need to be shown around the boutique. They probably think they are giving the customers a 'luxury experience', and maybe if this was Audemars Piguet or Richard Mille then okay. But it kinda reminded me of the pandemic when you needed an appointment to go in the boutique or you had to queue in the hope of a free spot. Which is not something I want, especially as I wasn't intending to buy anything that day.
Bizarrely I ended up only trying one watch on in the boutique, probably the least ever - so that wasn't very successful if the idea was to get me to try things on. This Carrera is only available on a bracelet in the London boutique (it usually comes on a black leather strap). It was okay, but the bracelet seemed very wide and made the 42mm watch look oddly small.
So, despite setting aside 40 minutes for the TAG Heuer boutique we actually ended up back on the pavement at 1:15, which meant we had plenty of time to look around the Wonder Room just across the street.
SELFRIDGES (Oxford Street)
Selfridges is a place you could honestly spend all day, such is the vastness of it... but again we were on the clock and so we confined ourselves to a look around the watch department. So many different brands in this place and best of all the staff leave you alone unless you go looking for help!
This was the second Jacob & Co display we'd seen today, having already perused a bunch of them on the top floor or Watches and Wonders. I sort of like them, but sort of don't. And I definitely don't think they are worth the prices, not when you think what else you could buy for that kind of money.
One whole section of the floor is now dedicated to the sale of pre-owned watches. This Cartier was the pick of the bunch - pity it was only 32mm or I might have been tempted to empty my bank account!
I always like to have a look at the Chopard Alpine Eagles when I go to Selfridges, the original blue dial is probably still my favourite and I still remember how impressed I was the first time I tried one on in the Chopard boutique in Harrods. Maybe one day I will get one...
I made a point of showing Rich the Chanel J12s (the first ceramic watches IIRC) and much like Jim last year, Rich felt they looked 'cheap'. Unfortunately white ceramic does very much look like plastic, and so these do rather look like the sort of thing you can buy for £50 in Argos or H Samuels, despite costing thousands and in some cases tens of thousands of pounds!
As we left I clocked these Carl F Bucherer watches, mainly because they reminded me of the 'stop light' TAG Heuer Formula 1s. These were not only very large in diameter but also monstrously thick and I kind of struggle to imagine exactly who these are aimed at. Bodybuilders perhaps?
It was now 1:35PM and even though we were half an hour ahead of schedule (how did we manage to go round the Wonder Room in 25 mins?) we decided it was time for lunch and so headed towards Marble Arch and the Cumberland Hotel.
CUMBERLAND HOTEL / SOUND CAFE
My last visit to the Sound Cafe had been slightly disappointing, but despite that Rich and I decided to try again because a) the place is so damned cool, and b) we didn't really know anywhere better to try (since Richoux, where we ate last time has closed down again). I'm glad we stuck with it because it was excellent. Rich had the pulled pork burger (pulled pork/red cabbage coleslaw) and I had the 'Sound Burger' (burger/cheese/bacon/onion ring/tomato). We would have had a pudding too but we were both stuffed to the gunnels by the time we had eaten our mains and so resigned to missing out this time. Rich did make one small mistake, he ordered sparkling water which unfortunately doesn't get you free refills like Coke does!
TATE MODERN
We left the Sound Cafe ahead of schedule and actually managed to arrive at the TATE by 3:40PM. On the way we paused to take a photo of this crazy looking skyscraper!
The TATE is another place that eats time, just because it's so vast. It takes about three hours to get through the foyer and up to the second floor where the first gallery is! Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but it's hardly the work of a moment.
It must be said though that there is a wide variety of art on display that transcends the infinite spectrum between absolute genius and utter shite. Actually, now I think about it, a lot of it tends towards the utter shite end of the spectrum. But a lot of it is quite funny... and some of it even intentionally so.
The Handsome Pork-Butcher (1924-6/1929-35) by Francis Picabia
Deification of a Soldier (1967) by Yamashita Kikuji
This is very metal! And very weird. Not sure if I 'like' it or not, but it stands head and shoulders above most of what was in the same room...
I assume the artist did this when he was a very small boy, because this is the kind of shit you find on fridges all over the country...
This is actually quite cool, another bizarre Death Metal album cover perhaps?
Painting 23 (1953) by Pierre Soulages
This looks like the perfect piece of art for a 2002 industrial Black Metal album if you ask me. Or perhaps a slip case to cover up a Slayer album cover that's too religiously insensitive...
This piece is actually titled 'Brown Painting'. I mean, if they can't even be bothered to think of some ridiculous title then why should I even care?
Guild (1982) by Robert Wyman
A masterpiece or talentless crap? You decide. For me, it's talentless crap all the way.
Cage 1/6 (2006) by Gerhard Richter
-?.h% (2018) by Jacqueline Humphries
These two were actually quite cool, again much better than 90% of what can be found in the TATE.
Machine No6 (1967) by Shinkichi Tajiri
Freaky, weird Japanese machine gun art thingy. Kinda cool, sort of... but very odd!
Babel (2001) by Cildo Meireles
Always fun to see 'Babel', though unusually it seemed less an abstract wall of noise and more Lady Gaga this time...
Institution vs. The Mass (2019) by Anna Boghiguian
God only knows what this was all about. Something to do with chess and war and politics and chess I think...
Having seen most of everything that was free (though I'm bloody sure we missed out some rooms in the middle) we decided to head up to the viewing platform that Rose and I had visited last year. Unfortunately it seems the nearby tower blocks had taken the TATE to court and had the platform branded a public nuisance and so once again the views over the city were off limits to the public. What a shame!
We left TATE MODERN just after 5:30PM, pausing to take a photo of St Pauls, before heading along the riverbank to 'Blackfriars' tube.
But for some reason, the tube entrance was gated and locked up, which left us unsure as to whether the station itself was closed or whether we could still access it by crossing the Blackfriar's bridge. But since we didn't have any better ideas we decided we might as well go and see and then if not we'd have to keep on walking I guess! As we walked across it dawned on me that this was where the terrorist attack happened a few years ago (actually 2017), hence the new barriers to protect the pedestrians from similar situations.
Thankfully when we got to the other side the tube station was clearly open, so quite why the one on the other side of the river was closed I do not know. At least the station was open though...
This part of the day was a little bit chaotic mind you, since we kept getting on Circle line trains instead of District line trains. It didn't really matter as we still got most of the way to where we wanted to go, but we ended up at Aldgate rather than Aldgate East. But since these two stations are literally three mins walk apart we decided not to bother trying to get another tube train and walked instead.
It was a good fifteen minute walk to the 'Art of the Brick' exhibition, and unfortunately due to the time of day we were hounded at every step by restaurant owners trying to get us to come inside and eat. What a massive pain in the arse that was!
Brick Lane seems to go on forever and you can't quite believe you are ever going to get to the end of it, but eventually we saw a sign and it transpired that the exhibition was in the exact same place the Dali experience had been in last year.
THE ART OF THE BRICK (Brick Lane)
Again we were a bit ahead of schedule, arriving about ten minutes before the planned 7:15PM and we passed into the gallery with little fuss (nor the need for the flexible ticket barcodes, strangely!).
I'm not sure how much of the show was new, but I think it was largely the same as when I saw it in 2014. Wait, that was TEN YEARS AGO!!! Wow... time flies, hey.
Pretty cool, though strangely I think my favourite parts were not the big, impressive pieces like the dinosaur, but actually some of the flat panels and the small 'Scream' piece. Admittedly the human figures are very impressive, but after a while they do get a little bit repetitive (and this may also be because I'd seen them before). I also feel like if things were more spaced out it would be better and perhaps rather than this moody lighting a nice bright white gallery space would be more fitting, because... again, this place is a bit of a dump honestly.
We left at 7PM and headed back down Brick Lane, our feet were killing now and we just wanted to go home, but first of course we had to run the gauntlet of the restaurant owners again. Joy!
We made it back to Aldgate East just in time to see the doors close on the tube and then had to wait ten minutes for the next one to turn up. Oh well, at least we would be able to get the 8:03PM train home.
All in all it was a great day, and we packed a hell of a lot in... but it really was exhausting!
