Bronze and the Gunners

It being a very wet Monday morning, I thought I would profitably use my day off going to the new Bronze exhibition at the Royal Academy. A decision that paid off royally.

This is a wonderful exhibition. And by getting there at opening time on a very unpleasant day, I had the place virtually to myself by the device of just getting three galleries ahead at the start, thereby getting away from my fellow early birds, before doubling back at the end to see the first galleries, now slightly more full.

Anyway, this is a superb exhibition, of the sort of sweeping scale the RA quite often does. As it has no permanent exhibits of its own (or very few anyway) it doesn't have the same temptation as the British Museum say, to call up most of the exhibits it has on display anyway, plus some unattracive stock from the vaults and add a few bits from around the world and make a whacking charge. At the RA you probably will never have seen some of the exhibits, and maybe never will again as they may come from pretty obscure places. This one had some bronzes from Sicily and a particularly stunning Hellenistic bust from Bulgaria that I am unlikely to see again.

The theme of the exhibition was, of course, bronze artifacts, and so rather than a group of exhibits from one time or place, they were grouped by subject matter, allowing a compare and contrast thing. The best were by far either the classical or the neo-classical, especially the statues or portrait busts. The few modern pieces just look rather dull and boring, and most of the African and Chinese a bit crude by comparison. But it was just wonderful.




Bronze parade helmet found in Cumbria realtively recently



Etruscan chimera



Beautiful releif in bronze by de Vries



Incredibly fine Thracian king's head in Bulgaria. Magnificent piece in perfect condition, right down to the coloured stones used for the eyae. You can't really see how to produce a finer bronze but, and this is 3rd century BC



Best of the Nigerian bronzes

Brancusi's Daniade

Picasso's baboon with baby

I went out into the rain thinking that I might just have lunch at a Lebanese restaurant in Shepherds Market, but I got sidetracked into fancying a curry so turned up like a drowned rat at the Mayfair Tandoori. Rubbish restaurant - probably wordst biriani I have ever had. Felt a bit deflated, and wet, leaving.

My Tuesday was just another day in the office, but Wednesday night was my first football match of the season. An obvious mismatch between my team, Coventry City, and Aresenal, in the League Cup. I had hoped the Gunners might put out an incredibly junior side, (I suppose Arsenal Ladies was too much to hope for!) but they were unsporting enought to lace the side with players of the calibre of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott and Giroud. Actually Coventry held it all together quite well in the first half and were unlucky to go in a goal down, Arsenal having created very little. Unfortunately, they created a lot more in the second-half and scored some cracking goals, mostly by having the temerity (ok, confidence) to actually run at Coventry defenders and shoot at goal. Using this slightly unsporting tactic, they went on to slip 6 past the hapless Sky Blues, although we did get one neat score ourselves.

But given my slim to zero hopes beforehand, it was actually a fine entertaining game to watch, at least in the second half. The Emirates is a lovely stadium to watch a game in - good sightlines and comfy seats. It is all possible if you start with the aim of treating fans well, as opposed to providing the worst you can get away with. The Emirates is a big notch above the new stadia that have sprung up in the last 20 years.

Great view from our seats at the Emirates



A rather half-hearted "streaker" being led away - not a full monty

On top of that, I went with a couple of my work colleagues, and enjoyed a couple of pints beforehand and a couple after. Most enjoyable. Above all, football  is a social game. Much more important to see a game with mates than say a concert or a play. Not least as you can chat away while watching, which is rather discouraged in the theatre!