MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY

 

9am and it’s about time I got dressed and took some exercise.  Forecast to be mostly cloudy today and about 15 degrees, but no rain. Checking the weather is a new feature in my life as I gradually develop new daily routines. Quite pleased with myself for getting a couple of hours in on San Carlo over morning coffee. And enough images now for another LinkedIn post, composed as I take my meds.

At last I have part of the floor plan shaping up into something reasonable. This is a challenging building; we knew that from the start. I always enjoy coming across the limits of the floor plans that have been copied from book to book. I have a section that seems to be based on measurement, and my own floor plan is going to be highly speculative, but it certainly is invigorating to piece together the puzzle and develop a solution that is at least plausible.

To what extent is the undulating façade a premeditated stylistic move, as opposed to a solution to the out of square street junction. A way to mask shifting angles as the bulk of the interior is orthogonal to the side street.  Of course the intersecting ellipses are deliberate and clearly baroque. Progress made, but daunting challenges remain.  Time for a walk.

 

The story of yesterday. My morning walk took me to St Mary's church. I photographed the exterior on a previous visit, but had never been inside. The services are mostly held in a modern addition, square in plan, but on the diagonal. There is an in between space that acts as a coffee shop, very welcoming. I had a small square of ginger cake and a peppermint tea. The old church was built in phases, but all in the gothic revival style.

Walked on to the mall, sorted out my Internet/mobile contracts and stopped off at Wimpy for a fish and chips lunch.

 

More photos from the interior of St Mary's Basingstoke (Eastrop). Ages ranging from Georgian to Edwardian (Let's say 1750 to 1914 or birth of John Soane to the First World War) So not medieval, but still quite a sweep of history. I think it represents the town expanding to the East along the route of the canal. The beginnings of the industrial revolution which brought a surge in population growth and eventually in prosperity.

 

 

Then another Mary from another age. Queen Mary's sixth form college is just a short walk from my place. Very modern (late 20th to early 21st centuries) with an emphasis on the arts. I went their to see my younger grandson playing football with his scouts group. The pics here show some of the later buildings which perhaps try a little too hard to be geometrically adventurous. The older work is strictly rectilinear and with a limited materials palette. I think it's good to have that sense of built history on a campus, even if few of its current users notice at a conscious level.

Quite a lot of sun around lunch time and I was feeling the effects by the time I trudged home. Just OK I think. Probably it's good to push the stamina envelope slightly, but not too far.

 

 

TECTONIC SHIFT

And just like that, my life is transformed again. Emirates flying pretty much on schedule. Half empty airport, half empty flight. Seems like most everyone I know blames Trump. Sorry to differ, but the IRGC is the greater culprit in my book.

So much for politics. The flight was fine but I took a day or so to come round, then there was the unpacking. This morning was more active. Walked around the park and into town. My sense of the seasons will need to be relearned. A bit of a surprise how many trees are still bare of leaves.

Dropped by the library and spotted this sketching group. Who knows?

 

 Nice 75th birthday present today. All my air freight came in two separate deliveries. I had to bring the little guitar amp on the flight with me. Some kind of rule 👀

It's all unpacked now and provisionally spread around my small flat. The small Lowry print belonged to my dad and the little framed etching is by him I think.

The wooden plough plane has been in my possession for about 50 years. Came with a set of blades of different sizes but I no longer have these. All the same, like many of the items I shipped it has sentimental value.

 

 

I managed to put a bit of time in on my Borromini model today. In between walking in the park with my hearing aid on. Birdsong returns to my world.

I'm working on the courtyard. Curved re-entrant corners and arches between paired columns. The Baroque feeling is very subtle and underplayed, but it's there sure enough.

The columns in my model are generic. I will customise them to the project in due course. Hopefully I can take this work far enough to set up one or two sheets that convey the essence successfully.

 

 

Watching Cranford on Netflix. BBC historical dramas were still a thing of beauty in 2007. You can see the wokery starting to creep in, but not enough to spoil the genuine artistry.

Judy Dench who I saw playing Shakespeare at Stratford when I was still a teenager. Sixty years ago near enough. When I had no inkling of wandering the world for 45 years before returning to embrace my Englishness.

The pic is Basingstoke market square with statue of Jane Austen. Seems she was very small. Nice chunky tuscan columns in the sunlight.

 

 

ALL WRAPPED UP

 

The pattern of life in these "end times" of my Dubai period. Lots of rain, missile alerts, exploring a famous Baroque church with my BIM pencil, sifting through the final remnants of accumulated possessions and a final dermatology appointment with visit to the excellent Plaza Cafe at American Hospital Dubai.

Was Baroque architecture a response by the Catholic Church to the shock of austere Protestantism? The schism in Christianity that reflected a deeper north /south divide in Western European history. The fluid Romance languages versus the guttural Germanic tongues.

What is original and what was added later in this church? Was it a virgin site when Borromini began his work? Should I model as suggested by drawings (far from original) or be guided more by Google earth and photographs? These are just questions that bounce around my head.

I'm looking for a model that feels right, expresses the Baroque spirit and gives me a deeper understanding of how the building works.

 

Last few days. Starting to treat myself to things I would never order on Talabat. Today it's Mr Kunafa. The eponymous sweet plus fresh mango juice. Yum.

Eucerin was prescribed by my dermatologist. I will miss my health care plan, but I think I have used the past year or so quite well. Too many long days out in the garden in Zimbabwe just wearing shorts. This cream seems to be doing a decent job of repairing some of that damage.

Today the air freight guys came to pack my guitars and paintings. Could have sent it by sea for half the price, they offered free storage. But who knows when the straits will open up? Worth the money to remove that uncertainty.

Finally an email from Basingstoke Blues Club. A new life beckons.

 

To all my BIM buddies in Dubai. I will be at GAJ HQ today at 4pm. It's my last chance to meet up with you guys before I leave.

I know it's short notice and I promised some of you to go for a cup of coffee. If you can make it let me know. From there we will figure it out. In any case I will miss you all, too many to name.

The pic is my countdown schedule of Prostate Cancer meds. FYI although it was caught late and had spread to my pelvis, it's been stable now for 3 years. So if your urine starts coming out dark red, get to a urologist straight away. It's treatable.

Love you all and I will still be here on LinkedIn for many years yet. 😎