Charing Cross Station Decoration - murals of history

 

Charing Cross Station platform mural. Photo by Angela Lansbury.  Copyright.

For a quick free introduction to London, stop for 5 to 10 minutes on Charing Cross station platform to read the murals about the history of the station, and the historic events of the area.

Charing Cross station is next to Trafalgar Square. On the north side of Trafalgar Square if the imposing National Gallery of Art. Behind that, looking north, is the National Portrait Gallery.

In the station, the underground railway station, on the Bakerloo line platform, are murals showing the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.   

I took the above photo on the Bakerloo line platform on arrival (from north London, West Harrow). The mural shows an historic scene. 

The twelve men were wearing large white ruffs around their necks. Their clothes are all black. 

The elaborate tablecloth is coloured red, which would hide stains such as blood stains from meat. The pattern would also help to hide stains.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Violet Oon Restaurants at Jewel, Singapore, Clarke Quay, National Gallery, Singapore - just watch the opening and serving hours

Entrance to the Violet Oon restaurant in Clarke Quay. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

We were looking for somewhere to eat after a film show in the Warehouse at Clarke Quay. 

We liked the look of the Violet Oon Restaurant in Clarke Quay, Singapore. Satay bar and grill, just what we wanted. 

I later looked up Oon to see who the Oons were, where they came from and what the name means. The Chinese name Oon is popular in Malaysia and Singapore (once both part of Malaya). The name means warm, soft or tender. A suitable name for a restaurant. I have friends named Oon as a family name (followed by the two one syllable first names). I am glad I looked that up.

We were shown to a lovely table for two by the window. Perfect.

Table for two at Violet Oon restaurant, Clarke Quay. Photo by Angela Lansbury

However, before we could order, the waiter told us, "I am so sorry. We are  that serving only desserts and coffee." 

Desserts 

Now, I am a desserts person. Typical British, with a sweet tooth, from years of eating Cadbury's chocolate every day, not knowing that daily sweets, or sweets several times a day, is bad for teeth. The Swedes have known that for a long time and have a sweets only on Saturday policy. They sell huge volumes of sweets on Saturdays, yet have perfect teeth, according to a recent report. 

I have since looked up the desserts. The set menu which you must order days in advance costs well over 100 dollars!  So a chance to sit in a swanky restaurant and to try just a dessert at 10 or 15 dollars plus plus would have been a bargain. For ten dollars I could have had coconut ice cream. With cashew nut crumble. Does that mean crumbled cashew nuts, or a crumble with scattered cashew nuts? Either suits me. I love coconut. I love cashew nuts. Other desserts, of which I saw four listed, feature Gula melaka (sugar syrup). Yum.

However, meanwhile, my husband was intent on the kebab promised in the name of the restaurant. Clarke Quay has so many places. So he immediately jumped up to depart.

Alas, we have to try them another time. We and you, if you are ever anywhere in Singapore, have lots of opportunity, as they have branches at Ion, Orchard, right in the centre, by Orchard MRT station, and the National Kitchen  in the National Gallery, 1 St Andrews Road.

Now that I know the meaning of the name I shall find it easy to remember them. Oon, like on, the O and the N in Ion, and O for Orchard. O for soothing. Oo, oon, soothing, soon.

I recall the good old days in Hatch End in North West London, England, when the little Italian restaurants were owner operated. If they closed for lunch at 2.30 pm or 3, but you were lunching and sat there drinking up your coffee, or ordering another cup, you could continue doing so. They never shut until the customer left. The same in the evening. Arrive early, sit by the bar and choose your drinks and order food. Ask for food which was not on the set menu, they would cook if for you, or suggest something similar, also off the menu. Sit beyond 11 pm or even midnight, the owner would stay, the chef would stay, you would get a free drink and the owner would, if you asked him, sit down at the table and talk. 

I think that things have changed worldwide. Staff want to go home. Licensing hours are restricted. Workplace hours and rules have changed. Unionised thinking of that's my job or not my job has imposed a mindset. Or maybe I am used to effusive staff in Italy, England and the USA, rather than the Japanese and Chinese style of 

I must say that the staff at this branch were prompt to approach us, told us what we needed to know immediately, and were polite and apologetic.

Despite this disruption, I did well out of my foray. Two venues in one hour. I love seeing new places. We found another outlet, Warehouse, which you can read about in my subsequent post. And still Violet Oon outlets to look forward to.

Violet Oon Opening times at Clarke Quay

6.00 to 10.30 pm. 

Last orders for food 9.30 pm. Last orders for drinks, 10 pm.

Useful Website

www.violetoon.com

https://violetoon.com/festive-offerings/

I like the look of the white coconut log cake. If price were no object. 68 Sing dollars. 

Come back soon to see more photos.

About the Author

About the author of this blog

About the Author of this blog, Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books, including: Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

I  also have a blog on comic poems.

 Please share links to your favourite posts. 

Winning Popular English and American Aritsts: Banksy, Caravaggio, Hopper

Problem
I seen to be out of sync with the popular vote for the best artist at the mall galleries in London. The winning artist has two pictures which contain no people and look to me like technical drawings of soemthing yet to be built. Lifeless.

They remind of an exhibition I saw in London, England of works by Edward Hopper. At least he had figures. But they were lonely little people in vast empty landscapes. They conveyed depression and made me despressed.

Edward Hopper Nighthawks Wikipedia Public Domain (1942)
Friends of American Art Collection. Art Institute of Chicago.


I was never a fan of still life. However, I can see that stiff life serves two purposes. It focuses our attention on fruit and plants which are beautiful. They are easy for the artist for hours.

I prefer people scenes. Maybe because I am an extravert. I like people and movement and smiling faces. I find their emotion catching.

Lowry, for example. Even stick figures can convey animation.

I can admire the technique of showing light containing shadows. Even so, I like people, such as the chiaroscuro pianting s by Caravaggio.

I also like humour. That's why Banksy with his murals catches the popular imagination. He takes blank walls and adds people, life, movement, surprise.

So there you have it. Winners from the past and the popular winner from the present.

Where can you see the pictures?

The gallery in the Mall in London, England.
City centres worlwide have art galleries offering pictures for sale. They are shops and want people to come in and buy, so entry is free.
Walks and talks about Banksy.
Lowry at galleries in the north of England.
Classic artists like caravaggio in national art galleries such as the National Gallery in London.
If you prefer to see faces of people, especailly famous people, The National Portrait Gallery in London. Scotland has another.

If you are going to London and like art, you will want to visit The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, and the National Portrait Gallery which is behind it, doing thee attractions in one place. Another popular venue is The Tate Gallery.

Useful Websites
LONDON
https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/
 https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/fba-futures-2019?utm_source=Arts+Press&utm_campaign
Horniman Museum and Gardens
100 London
SE23 3PQ
Tel:020 8699 1872
horniman.ac.uk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horniman_Museum

BRISTOL
https://visitbristol.co.uk/things-to-do/banksy-walking-tour

Travel Information
visitbritain.com
visitbritainshop.com
https://www.tate.org.uk/

Useful Information and Websites
Travel and Tourism
visitlondon.com
visitbritain.org

Transport
For directions to galleries such as Forest Hill underground and overground station for the Horniman Museum.
citimapper.com
tfl.gov.uk (transport for London)
rome2rio.com
google maps
streetview

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

See Singapore By MRT train: art galleries, museums, gardens, swimming pool, shopping underground

Singapore flag

See Singapore by state-of-the-art MRT, on driverless trains.

Maps of Downtown Line
At Cashew MRT station, one stop before bukit Panjang at the north end of the line, I picked up a handy map of handy things to do near stations on the Downtown MRT line.

Here are my top picks for things to do on the Downtown and other lines

The St Andrews Cathedral by City Hall MRT station, facing the National Gallery of Singapore.

Orchard Road MRT shopping at the centre
This is the centre of Singapore. Orchard MRT brings you out into ION shopping centre. When it is too wet (raining) or too hot (July and August) you can walk underground at basement level when its raining all the way from under Orchard to Ngee Ann City skyscraper.

Little India MRT
Get out for the Peranakan Museum. Shop for souvenirs in the Peranakan Museum shop. then check on the shop with MRT designs.

Souvenirs of Singapore from the MRT train lines

Newton MRT - waterfall, five star or cheapo food
See the Sheraton Towers Hotel with waterfall. Good for a business meeting on expenses as it isn't cheap. Evening pianist on ground piano provides background music so your chats are not overheard. Cheaper alternative, evening meetings of Toastmasters International the first three Mondays or most months, $20 for a mini buffet before meeting and in the interval and an evening's entertainment. Arrive before 6 pm to photograph the waterfall by daylight and check in early to the Toastmasters to network and get a seat to hear speeches from people who work in Singapore but come from all over the world.

If you'd rather see how ordinary Singaporeans entertain and educate themselves, take the exit to the other side of the road and look at Cairnhill Community Club. Cross the Road to Newton outdoor hawker centre, (food court).

Botanic Gardens
Botanic Gardens MRT is underneath the Botanic Gardens. Huge free gardens with bridges reflected in ponds, great photo spots on a sunny day, open until late in the evening, two or three restaurants (must book) at high prices, one with good alcohol and one halal and alcohol free. Big souvenir shops. See my posts.

Bukit Panjang
End of the line. For a public swimming pool with lots of children's slides, this is the place. Shopping malls all around. Allow half a day. Check the exits. Allow for a walk underground or overground.

Cashew MRT
Students serve a three course lunch in term time at the training college in Assumption Pathway School opposite the MRT. Must book.

Chinatown
Chinatown Heritage Centre.

Bencoolen
Singapore Art Museum
National Museum of Singapore

Changi Airport
Go all the way to the airport which has a free Butterfly Garden and numerous shops and eating places both airside and before checking or after landing. See my posts on the Butterfly garden and Terminal 4 Parisian Bagette and sticky rice with mango and Terminal 3 Kaya Toast. If you have a long stopover there's an airport hotel with a swimming pool for its guests, and a free bus tour of Singapore if you have enough hours to spare.

LRT light and dark train windows
If you are in Singapore longterm or have more hours to spare, go out to the Light railway (LRT), for an outdoors, overhead view of Singapore. Yes, you are still on a driverless train. You will pass close by the HDB housing Development Board blocks, but if your train is too near windows the train windows go dark so you can't see in, and the train windows clear again so you can look back.

More Information from:
www.sbtransit.com.sg
1800 287 2727

Travel Tips

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

australia.com

visitbritain.com

visitbritain.shop.com

visitbritain.org

visittheusa.co.uk

visitsingapore.com

Singapore Airlines: 

singaporeair.com

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/12/secret-travellers-seen-on-newton-station.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/01/cute-musicians-in-cartoons-on-toilet.html

See also my posts on Waterloo Street, The National Gallery, and Singapore's big attractions.

Seen in Singapore - arty sleeping place

To me a stone slab for a resting place looks hard and uncomfortable. But for one man it was ideal.
He has not collapsed. He had chosen this place and taken off his shoes. The shoes are placed neatly together on the ground.

On closer inspection of the photo, he seems to have something under his neck. Supporting his head. Protecting his valuables.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

National Gallery, Singapore, with Corinthian Columns

National Gallery, Singapore. Exterior front with Corinthian Columns. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Notice the Greek-style Corinthian columns with the elaborate leafy capitals. I learned about Greek style columns at school. Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.  The Doric ones are the plainest. The Ionic have a spiral to the left and right. The Corinthian ones are the most complicated.

Travel Tips

Art shop in Singapore:  Overjoyed

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/11/overjoyed-at-overjoyed-art-supplies-shop.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/11/overjoyed-art-shop.html

https://www.nationalgallery.sg/visit

$20 for adults from overseas. Concessions. PR (Permanent Residents with NRIC identity card and citizens free.

Urban Sketchers of Singapore on Facebook

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/from-doodles-during-their-commute-to-artworks-at-train-stations-and-bus-interchanges

https://www.facebook.com/usksg/

https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/public-transport/mrt-and-lrt-trains/art-and-architecture/art-in-transit/gallery/dtl.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_MRT_(Singapore)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_World_MRT_station

https://landtransportguru.net/beauty-world-station-art/

visitsingapore.com

Singapore Airlines: singaporeair.com

Author

Travel writer and photographer, Angela Lansbury 

Illustrator and caricaturist name shortened to Angella.

See my posts about artists on the train, artwork displayed at Beauty World MRT, Singapore.

Please bookmark and share your favourite posts.

Singapore by night outside the National Gallery art museum - near City Hall MRT

Beautiful view.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Travel Tips

https://www.nationalgallery.sg/visit

$20 for adults from overseas. Concessions. PR (Permanent Residents with NRIC identity card and citizens free.

https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/public-transport/mrt-and-lrt-trains/art-and-architecture/art-in-transit/gallery/dtl.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_MRT_(Singapore)

visitsingapore.com

Singapore Airlines: singaporeair.com

Author

Travel writer and photographer, Angela Lansbury 

See my posts about Singapore and beautiful places around the world, 

Please bookmark and share your favourite posts.

Picasso At Tate Modern Overlooking London's Thames River and Picasso worldwide

Problem
A Picasso exhibition is at the Tate Modern in London. What will it cost? Do I need to queue? (Americans would say line up), can I eat at The Tate, and what else could I do in the area? If I am not even keen on Picasso, should I accept an invitation to go and see it? Where else can I see Picassos? What else can I see in London?

Answers
Before reading all the comments and reviews in assorted newspaper, it would be a good idea to look straight at the website of the Tate to see what their experts have to say.

The exhibition features Picasso's prolific output of paintings in the year 1932. He was fifty years old. He lived  (25 October 1881 in Málaga, Spain – 8 April 1973). In 1932 he was juggling between his wife Olga, their 10-year-old-son and his girlfriend, Marie-Therese Walter, his much younger girlfriend, 28 years younger, and his muse who sat for paintings.

Marie-Therese? The French Catholics call girls Marie, after the Virgin Mary,  and hyphenate it with another name, as in the magazine Marie-Claire. Marie-Therese might strike you as a long name, if you are used to English language speakers who are happy with plain Mary. However, her name is nothing compared to the length of Picasso's own full name, so long that I can't even type it from memory but would have to copy it.

If you are interested in art, it's no good getting hoity-toity about the private lives of artists. What I find interesting is that so many of them were not untrained at all. Picasso's parents had an artist background. His father was a painter. (Lowry went to art school.) They hung out with other artists.

If you want to buy reproductions of Picasso paintings, you will find postcards, prints and books at Tate. I find the building, inside and out, rather austere.

Once inside, however, you get good views over the more charming buildings of Lodnon looking out from the Tate Modern over the bridge across the River Thames to landmarks. Try plotting them in advance of your visit, perhaps printing out a map to check them off. Any big hotel is likely to have free maps of London.

Where to see Picasso's Paintings

UK
Exhibition at Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG, England.
The postcode is handily easy to remember TG which also stands for Tate Gallery.

If you have a tripod and flash you cannot use them and may be asked to check them in. Is there any point taking your heavy camera equipment, if you can't use it? Yes, because you might want to take some shots of the river Thames and landmarks.

FRANCE
Museé Picasso, Paris, France

SPAIN
Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain
Museo Picasso, Malaga, Spain

Picasso's Guernica in Spain. Photo by Joaquin in Wikipedia's numerous editions in various languages.

USA
Numerous galleries including:
NEW YORK
(Solomon) Guggenheim Museum, Manhattan, New York
Metropolitan Museum of Art
OHIO
Cleveland, Ohio
WASHINGTON DC
National Gallery of Art

Other artists' art in London, England:
National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London.
National Portrait Gallery, behind the National Gallery, London.
Free exhibition of Victorian paintings in the upstairs gallery at The Guildhall. (see my previous posts.)
Heath Robinson exhibition of cartoons in a house containing a ground floor restaurant beside the lake in the pretty park in Pinner. (Walk through the park opposite Pinner station on the Metropolitan line from Baker Street.)

Useful websites
http://www.tate.org.uk/press/press-releases/tate-modern-stage-landmark-picasso-exhibition-spring-2018
http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/cafe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso

Rossetti's Redheads At Guildhall Gallery

Guildhall. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Problems
1 Where can you see London's traitional historic buildings and paintings for free?
2 After you've seen the national Gallery and the Tate, where next?

I had no idea that London's Guildhall contains an art gallery. A visit here offers several delights:

1 Even at night when everything is shut, enjoy the atmosphere in the pedetrian courtyard in front. The lights inside the church reveal the stained glass windows from outside. You can see busts of Shakespeare and wren on the front wall of Guildhall.

Rossetti's Redheads
If you have time, go inside. The shop on the right has a delightful cushion for sale at £30 showing Rossetti's Redhead, his redheaded girlfriend who he married when she was dying. She's the one who he buried with his poems; then he dug up the coffin to retrieve the poems.

Her long red hair had supposedly grown after her death (and filled the coffin according to one account I read). If you must know, I'll tell you what I found. I investigated. I am always keen on finding a practical and scientific explanation for any supersititions or supernatural nonsense. I assume that the people concerned are not entirely nuts and overcome by emotion. They must be observing a fact and attributing a bizarre cause. I recall reading the simple but slightly yukky explanation that after death your hair and nails appear to grow because the rest of the body is dehydrating and shrinking.

Let's end on a more cheerful note. Rossetti coined the word stunner to describe the redheaded subject of his paintings. He made redheads popular. (Natural in those days, no help from supermarket hair dyes.)

Reading the captions on the paintings in Guildhall is a wonderful revelation and insight, into the lives and fashions of Victorian England. The comments on the paintings inspired me to look up the painters' and models' lives in the internet.

That picture of his girlfiends as the dying or dead Ophelia floating in the river, was painted with the model lying in a bath of water. Rosetti, as his romantic name suggests, was of Italian origin on one side, but is now firmly part of the history of England and the whole world.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker.

Relics and Reproductions of Noah's Ark, Jesus, John The Baptist and others - true or fake

Problem
What is true and what is fake? Does it matter?

Answers
Whether you are hunting for the Loch Ness Monster or a lock of hair from a saint, people are often polarised into those who are awed and those who are incredulous (non-believers in the bible stories and sceptics about particular relics).

Stories
It's hard to get the truth of events in our own lifetime, let alone long ago. However, I find programmes like the Discovery Channel fascinating.

Ten Plagues In The Bible
The Discover Channel showed a great programme on the ten plagues affecting Pharaoh's people and leading to the exodus of Moses and his followers. If I remember rightly (itself a cause of some confusion) the result was the discovery that the death of the firstborn was due to contaminated corn eaten only by the wealthy Egyptians. (Slaves living in another area had a different diet). The firstborn received couple portions. The contamination was caused by heavy rain leading to mouldy grain (which in later eras causes St Vitus's dance).

Loch Ness Monster
I went to the Loch Ness Monster museum in Scotland. I saw lots of interesting research on surveying under water and different types of marine life and identifying fake photos.

Noah's Ark
If you look into the story of Noah's ark, you learn a lot about different types of boats and how boats have been built through the ages in different parts of the world. You also learn about: survival at sea; surviving a flood; floods through the ages; evidence of floods from remains of sea life (crustaceans) inland.

Scientific Research
Whilst I remain somewhat sceptical, I can learn more from both the researchers who believe they will find positive research and the debunkers giving arguments against conclusions from discoveries.

I am all for scientific investigation of anything, which often leads to discoveries separate from or additional to the original question.

Tips

What can the traveller see where?

1 Israel. Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel. See the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. You can take tours featuring only sites associated with Jesus and baptism and John the Baptist; or tours only on The bible (called the Old Testament by Christians after they introduced the New Testament - which refers back to some passages int he Old Testament, fulfilling prophecies); or do a tour encompassing both times from BCE and AD and modern Israel kibbutzim, art deco in Tel Aviv, four quarters of Jerusalem, Ein Gedi, Masada, Solomon etc.
2 Jordan. The hilltop where Moses reputedly viewed the promised land. Reputed biblical account, reputed event, reputed exact location). What you can see in Jordan, I've seen it, is six adjacent churches of different sects alongside on the hilltop, plus the place where Moses reputedly struck the rock and water emerged (now encased in a building). Some stunning Roman cities in ruins.
3 Turkey. Several suggested locations for Noah's ark, including a hill in Turkey.
4 USA. Reproductions of Noah's ark and animals in the USA.
5 Europe. Reproduction of Noah's ark in Europe.
6 UK. Many toys showing Noah's ark, modern as well as from Victorian items in toy and childhood museums - several in the UK and other worldwide. British Museum. Books and photos of relics from the Pharaohs, Romans, medieval times. Reproductions of ancient jewellery.
Religious paintings in the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square in London, England.
7 Italy. Turin shroud. (Italy). Might be away on tour or hidden from light. Check availability. Numerous paintings of Jesus, his mother Mary, Mary Magdalen, the resurrection, the Last Supper Statues of biblical characters such as David.(Check out Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
8 Scotland. Loch Ness Monster.

 Loch Ness monster reproduction of supposed original, outside the Museum of Nessie.

9 Greece. Roman cities and tombs associated with Alexander the Great and his family; the city where Mark Anthony was killed (after he and his fellow Romans killed Julius Caesar).

Souvenirs to admire and buy
Israel:
Jewellery and tableware showing Moses' two biblical 'spies' carrying a huge bunch of grapes back from the land of milk and honey, as evidence.

Jordan:
Postcards and books about the history of the era.

Turkey:
Food from the days of Noah and named after Noah.

USA:
Work in progress on reproduction Ark and animals.

Europe:
Reproduction Ark.

UK:
Noah's Ark toys.
Postcards of classic art from medieval times in art galleries such as The National Gallery, London.
Huge number of books on the bible, bibles with concordances (indexes and commentaries in the margin or footnotes) and the New Testament. Books on who was the real Jesus and did he exist. (I read dozens when I was a teenager and later as a student of Philosophy at University College, London.

Italy:
Italy has the highest number of UNESCO monuments in the world. Greece seems to have Roman pillars on every street corner as well as Greek Orthodox churches with relics, but Italy also has huge churches and many paintings and painted walls. I did a trip to Umbria which has whole trails about St Francis of Assisi, birth here in Assisi, death here in Assisi, slept in hovel here, preached outdoors here, mural showing him in church here - highly recommended.

Websites for further information
Italy:
https://theconversation.com/can-we-ever-find-jesuss-dna-i-met-the-scientists-who-are-trying-to-find-out-72296
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g187855-d599349-Reviews-Museum_of_the_Holy_Shroud_Museo_della_Sindone-Turin_Province_of_Turin_Piedmont.html
Umbria Tourist Board
umbriatourism.it

See my previous posts in the bible and Israel and Noah's ark and relics and the Loch Ness monster.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer

Singapore's National Gallery Illuminated At Night

In Singapore, the National Gallery is as much a work of art as its contents are.
This is often the case worldwide; it should always be the case worldwide,

Photo copyright Angela Lansbury
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Charing Cross Station Decoration and Information On The National Gallery

 Charing Cross station in central London has the best decoration and information panels I've seen in London, in fact anywhere in the world. Near the station are London's National Gallery of art and the National Portrait Gallery.

If you are visiting either gallery, and, indeed, if you are not, make time to stop and read about both of them from the information on Charing Cross underground station.

I was interested to learn how holes were used to copy pictures. Our first thought was that you copied the picture's main feature such as a face or body or house, same size on see-through paper, moved the tracing paper over the sketch paper or canvas, then pricked holes around the silhouette, then treated the holes like a stencil and used the tip of a pencil to make a mark through the hole. 

This could also be a way to copy photos onto drawing paper to do a sketch or water colour. However in medieval or Renaissance times the medium would have been oil colour or if you were important, grand murals on the interior walls of churches. 

The Romans and others had decorated homes previously with murals. The exteriors off buildings are still painted today in some parts of Europe such as German.

Nowadays we have murals on the outsides of buildings in: London, England; Banksy in Britain, and the USA; murals in Philadephia, USA; plus graffiti worldwide.

But back to the system of copying. Read more on the National Gallery website.

The National Portrait Gallery displays oil paintings, photos, caricatures and sculptures or people such as Shakespeare, the royal family, the Brontes, Churchill, and many more characters from history, science and the arts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virgin_and_Child_with_St_Anne_and_St_John_the_Baptist

Pricking holes to copy a picture

http://www.npg.org.uk/learning/digital/portraiture/perspective-seeing-where-you-stand/drawing.php

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, researcher, author, speaker.

Singapore's New National Gallery of Singapore (Art)

The building is old, with an impressive Greek revival of Palladian columned front. Like the national Gallery in London and town halls worldwide.  You know the sort, with the triangular piece above and a flight of steps (designed for nimble young athletes, not people such as retired tourists in wheelchairs).

Inside a huge central entry hall and galleries up the side. But it has cost millions to renovate.
Even the escalator looks impressive. Typical of Singapore, the best of the old and the best of the new.
Go now while it's free.

Not just art, sculpture and photography. Singapore has a special gallery. But it's not just Singaporean artists. Philippines as well. The aim is to be a showcase and centrepiece for the region. Huge, wide paintings, reminding me of the Monet in France.

Admission to the museum's galleries and exhibitions is free during the opening fortnight, from Tuesday 24th November to Sunday 6th December. 

The building is the old City Hall and Supreme Court, on the Padang.
The flagstone in the middle says the floor was laid/opened in the r e i g n (spellcheck changed this to right to I inserted spaces) of George VI.
 (I remember who was who by the alliterative first letters,: George Five First world war, George Six Second world war.)
http://graphics.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/Interactives/2015/11/national-gallery-singapore-opening-interactive-feature/index.html
Visual tour of the gallery, starting with the foyer.

How to get there? City Hall MRT (mass transit which is the underground and overground railway). City Hall is a huge station and junction. A walk way leads from the station right to the gallery.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34909019
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/national-gallery/2288938.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/eager-early-bird-visitors-check-out-national-gallery-singapore-on-first-day-of-public

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer