How do you like them apples?

Back in London we started our day at Borough Market and had a nice breakfast before continuing along the South Bank to the Tate Modern. We wanted to see the Cézanne exhibition, but it was a pricey £25 per person and was also fully booked for the day. So we just purchased an annual membership of the Tate (£114 for 1 person plus guest) which allows you into all exhibitions and you don’t need to book. If we go to another exhibition over the next twelve months either there or at the Tate Britain it will justify the cost. Upstairs we went and into the exhibition. Well, Cézanne can certainly paint apples extremely well. Mainly red, some green, sometimes with a few oranges and lemons too, usually spilling out of a dish onto a cloth, his apples stand out very attractively. I would however comment that it was his best skill by a long chalk; his landscapes were very good, his bathing figures were just ok, but his apples pop out of each still life, they are definitely his speciality. I wonder if he enjoyed eating them as much as he enjoyed painting them? 

Later we had a pre-theatre dinner at Bill’s (very pleasant with excellent service) before strolling round the corner to the Apollo Theatre to see The Upstart Crow, starting David Mitchell and Gemma Whelan. It’s based on the tv series and was cancelled right at the beginning of lockdown in 2020, so we were very pleased to book it on its return. It’s written by Ben Elton and the dialogue is very funny. It’s all about Shakespeare so of course I loved it, and it is cleverly written so that it’s funny even if you only know a bit about Shakespeare, but also appeals to people who know a lot about Shakespeare’s works because it’s stuffed with references to various plays and plots. James really enjoyed it too, and my only slight criticism is that it’s a bit “shouty” especially if you’re sitting near the front of the stalls, as we were. It was an excellent evening.