The Eyes Have It
Feb. 19th, 2018 07:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smokingbootThe worst thing that could be said about last week was that I got no work done. It started with a friendly catch up, moved on to meeting the Speaker of the House of Commons, got sidetracked by a visit to the V&A, resumed its course at the King and Collector exhibition, and culminated in celebrating the year of the dog at Trafalgar Square, whilst the rest of the family bimbled off to the Classic Car Show. I'm shattered before the day even begins.
John Bercow has long been a favourite of mine, and his lecture on parliamentary reform was witty and eloquent. Particularly intriguing were his thoughts on political parties sponsoring more potential political thinkers and parliamentarians from disadvantaged backgrounds. Gender remains a huge divider in our society, but poverty is a cross-society destroyer. Who can represent the Working Class if not the Working Class? And how does anyone get to represent if they can't afford the expensive business that is politics? So the silent remain silent, and politicians become a class of their own, with very little to do with the people of the UK...
His eyes were extremely twinkly. At first I thought it must be the lighting, but on meeting him afterwards it became clear that the twinkles are all his own.
Are eyes really the window of the soul? I was tickled by the Speaker's merry peepers, and remembered them again when gazing at the lugubrious face of Charles I during the exhibition (https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/charles-i-king-and-collector.) There were some spectacular old masters there but as ever, my attention was drawn to the face of the collector himself.He did not seem too plain, but then it would hardly be a wise career move for a court painter to be too honest. Only Goya could get away with that. There is an air of such melancholy around Charles I. Does a single picture exist where he lifts his chops?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England#/media/File:Sir_Anthony_Van_Dyck_-_Charles_I_(1600-49)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Was he afraid that if he smiled, the solemnity of his role might be challenged? Was he mean, was he cold, was he unhappy? Kingship was never meant to be his destiny, the heir was his brother Henry, who died leaving Charles in the position which would ultimately demand his head. It was a bum deal from the start if he took a job he didn't want only to face the most unfortunate sacking in English history.
Eyes featured again yesterday at the Chinese New Year celebrations in Trafalgar Square, where the thanks, speeches, and ritual daubing of the lion's eyes took so long that even Charles would have known not to trifle longer with the crowd's patience. The dances, when they came, were magnificent. The year of the dog is supposedly great for pockets because the sound of barking ('Wa!') sounds like a Chinese word for prosperity.So here's to good times, adventures and plenty of Wa :-)
John Bercow has long been a favourite of mine, and his lecture on parliamentary reform was witty and eloquent. Particularly intriguing were his thoughts on political parties sponsoring more potential political thinkers and parliamentarians from disadvantaged backgrounds. Gender remains a huge divider in our society, but poverty is a cross-society destroyer. Who can represent the Working Class if not the Working Class? And how does anyone get to represent if they can't afford the expensive business that is politics? So the silent remain silent, and politicians become a class of their own, with very little to do with the people of the UK...
His eyes were extremely twinkly. At first I thought it must be the lighting, but on meeting him afterwards it became clear that the twinkles are all his own.
Are eyes really the window of the soul? I was tickled by the Speaker's merry peepers, and remembered them again when gazing at the lugubrious face of Charles I during the exhibition (https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/charles-i-king-and-collector.) There were some spectacular old masters there but as ever, my attention was drawn to the face of the collector himself.He did not seem too plain, but then it would hardly be a wise career move for a court painter to be too honest. Only Goya could get away with that. There is an air of such melancholy around Charles I. Does a single picture exist where he lifts his chops?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England#/media/File:Sir_Anthony_Van_Dyck_-_Charles_I_(1600-49)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Was he afraid that if he smiled, the solemnity of his role might be challenged? Was he mean, was he cold, was he unhappy? Kingship was never meant to be his destiny, the heir was his brother Henry, who died leaving Charles in the position which would ultimately demand his head. It was a bum deal from the start if he took a job he didn't want only to face the most unfortunate sacking in English history.
Eyes featured again yesterday at the Chinese New Year celebrations in Trafalgar Square, where the thanks, speeches, and ritual daubing of the lion's eyes took so long that even Charles would have known not to trifle longer with the crowd's patience. The dances, when they came, were magnificent. The year of the dog is supposedly great for pockets because the sound of barking ('Wa!') sounds like a Chinese word for prosperity.So here's to good times, adventures and plenty of Wa :-)
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Date: 2018-02-20 11:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-02-20 02:14 pm (UTC)