Days out in London north and south of the river - Sutton House and Dulwich Picture Gallery

When you live in a city like London (or anywhere for that matter) it's easy to become complacent and think that you have all the time in the world to see the sights, go to galleries, the theatre etc. And maybe you do, but it's only when you decide to do something that you realise how enriching it is to make the effort and how much is actually on your doorstep.

A week or so ago, my pal and I had two days free to play so we decided to take a walk to visit the National Trust's Sutton House, the oldest Tudor house in the East End of London a mere 15 minute walk from our respective front doors. Sutton House was built in 1535 by Ralph Sadleir a courtier of Henry VIII. It's an interesting place to visit but don't expect a fully renovated stately home. It has undergone various alterations in it's history and although it retains some of it's original features, it is a progression of various eras and supports community projects and exhibitions. It was occupied by squatters in the 1980's and there is a room that bears witness to this. 

Getting there .. no parking nearby, the closest station is Hackney Central and it is also served by various bus routes .. click on the link for more info.

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On our second day off, we headed off to the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London. Designed and built by Sir John Soane "it is the world’s first purpose-built public art gallery: it was founded in 1811 when Sir Francis Bourgeois RA bequeathed his collection of old masters “for the inspection of the public”." 

I had been there before but quite a few years ago so was interested to go back again and see the water colours of John Singer Sargent. It's a wonderful collection of his work and booking is recommended as you may not get in if you just turn up. We were lucky as there was a slot within an hour of us arriving so we took the opportunity to have some lunch outdoors first as it was a beautiful day. 

Getting there .. free car parking, bus, rail and underground .. again, click the link for more specific info.

I hope this inspires you to check out galleries and historic venues in your neck of the woods. There's so much out there to see and learn about. Next stop for me, Tate Modern to see the Giacometti retrospective which finishes on September 10.

Both Sutton House and the Dulwich Picture Gallery are available for hire for weddings and other events.

Southport and The Open Championship, Royal Birkdale

In my day job role as a TV make up artist, I occasionally get to travel and I recently went up to Southport to work on an outside broadcast for The Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale for Sky Sports. 

I don't know the area very well - the closest I had been before was to Liverpool and that too was for work. There is usually little time to see and do much outside of the working environment on these jobs although this time I was lucky enough to get an afternoon free on a beautiful sunny day to explore a little of the town and get a sense of it's Victorian heritage. There are many buildings still intact from days gone by - I felt as though I had stepped back in time.

"Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte lived in exile on Lord Street, the main thoroughfare of Southport, between 1846 and 1848, before returning to France to become President and subsequently Emperor of the French. During his reign, he caused much of the medieval centre of Paris to be replaced with broad tree-lined boulevards, covered walkways and arcades, just like Lord Street. On the strength of this coincidence, it has been suggested that the redevelopment may have been inspired by memories of Southport's town centre." Source Wikipedia

Having worked on The Open at Royal Troon last year, Royal Birkdale golf course was similar in that it was situated on the west coast with views of the seemingly endless beach and the sea. The Golf Club is over a hundred years old and has a beautiful Art Deco clubhouse built in 1935. Our studio was situated on the 18th fairway with gorgeous views of the 18th hole and the Clubhouse - the perfect location to witness the winner take his prize at the end of the championship.

Our first few days were occupied with set ups in the studio, The Open Zone and preview shows, finally kicking in the long hours on set from day 1-4 of the main event which started on air from 6am. Our call time was 3am for transport to the ground where we would grab a quick breakfast and head to the studio where make ups could be anytime from 4.30am.

Glamorous? It really isn't! However, the upside of early starts is getting to see the sunrise every day .. and we didn't have much rain to contend with either.

We were so lucky to have such a great team of people who all worked well together to create a fantastic job. Teamwork is everything in these situations and makes a huge difference.

 

Last year we won the BAFTA for best Sports Production - can we do it again?

Just some of the many people it takes to make this happen

Next year's The Open championship will be back in Scotland in Carnoustie 45 minutes away from St. Andrews. Tickets are already available!