Civil disobedience

Today, the plan was to enjoy brunch at the Holly Bush. Unfortunately, the Holly Bush had other ideas. They stopped serving food just before we arrived. Plan B ended up with us going to the Frensham Garden Centre and having the most delicious bacon sandwich I’ve ever had…though, according to Mirinda, I’d had one there years ago with the same reaction. I have no idea how I could possibly forget such a taste sensation.

Apart from the bacon sandwich (did I mention how amazing it was?) the garden centre welcomes dogs, so we could eat and drink with Day-z and Emma with us. It was lovely to see lots of other people with their dogs there as well. Very country.

Before we left, I popped into the farm shop for a few favourites when I was accosted by a woman giving out tasters of a new local pale ale. The Frensham Brewery is just behind the garden centre and I was tasting their first brew. I was instantly sold. A lovely, full bodied pale ale which went down with extreme ease. I couldn’t help but buy a two pint milk bottle straight from the barrel.

The biggest event of the day, though (the bacon sandwich and beer were both great events) was Emma walking almost the length of the Avenue of Trees. And back.

She had a wonderful time, running and exploring, sniffing and hiding from other, annoying dogs.

Annoyance was on the agenda at the V&A yesterday. Civil annoyance, to be exact. At lunchtime I popped over and explored a new exhibition called Disobedient Objects.

It explores civil disobedience in all its glory (and, sometimes, gory). The exhibition itself is very interesting but what makes it especially brilliant is the way it’s laid out and displayed.

The exhibition space is beautifully used, the way through perfectly guided. There’s a feeling of crowding without being crowded. This almost gives the viewer a feeling of being part of a mass demonstration. This is further enhanced by the videos and their soundtracks.

It’s not enough to just display items these days, it’s also important to engage your audience. The CERN exhibit did it brilliantly at the Science Museum as did the Rubbish Collection. This was another one that had been planned and laid out with meticulous attention to the viewer. If there’s awards for museum exhibits, all three of these should get one.

I noticed a few changes in the V&A – it’s been months since I last visited. The information desk at the Exhibition Road entrance has now become a small gift shop and they have once more instituted a bag search at both entrances, something they’d stopped doing for a while. Not that that bothered me as I didn’t have a bag.

In the garden, the architect firm of Zaha Hadid have designed and installed a huge bridge like structure across the pond. It’s called The Crest and, according to the information board, it “…invites an intriguing dialogue between its own sleek, streamlined structure and the historic backdrop in which is situated…” It will eventually be a permanent sculpture in Dubai.

Crest by Zaha Hadid Architects

And, finally, to answer my mother’s question…the girls spent the day with Sue, as they will each week so I can go to work.