- Charcoal study ‘The Savoy’ – Lee Campbell
Drawing – I love it and charcoal is such a fantastic medium to explore ideas and solve problems, so forgiving and suggestive. This is a ‘collage’ of images of the Savoy from photos taken during the refit last year in preparation for a large oil painting. So many ghosts seemed to be lurking in the lovely old building – so many stories of excess and larger than life characters.
Kaspar the Cat
It was in the 1920s that the hotel’s most famous resident checked in and never left. Kaspar the Cat, a 3-foot-high wood sculpture of a regal feline, was expressly created to ward off any superstitions of guests dining at the hotel’s Savoy Grill. Apparently, to dine with only thirteen guests is ominous, and the first to rise from the table will soon meet with tragedy. Kaspar’s role is to be the official fourteenth guest, served with every course as normal, should anyone unknowingly hit upon the unlucky number of diners.
Good to be back in the studio again too now the weather is warmer – it gets so cold in there that ice forms on the inside of the skylights.
Studio in snow - Lee Campbell
Old boat winch
Would like to pretend we had ‘two feet’ of snow but it was only about 6 inches – however this is what my feet felt like working in there until I treated my self to some seriously solid and waterproof Ugg boots. Fabulous!
Two Feet of Snow
Lost in Music
Xmas was a delightfully cosy and musical affair with champagne and a CD of Dylans’ radio show choices – ‘Theme Time Radio Hour’ – an excellent selection of early American music. This was enhanced by reading ‘White Bicycles’ by Joe Boyd which provides an overview of the birth of Rock n’ Roll. I also accompanied Steve to the radio station where he helps out with mikes for the live recordings – Radio Wey (named after the river Wey) where Martin Clarke runs a blues show on Friday nights (9 – 11pm). The live act that night was Marcus Bonfanti – who writes his own songs and sings them with the conviction and experience of someone many years older -
I also revisited an old favourite of mine John Prine and watched this video of him – what a lovely person he is with a rare mixture of humour and compassion in his song writing. Was lucky enough to see him in the 80′s here in London. Also revisited a favourite from the 80′s – great lyrics about ‘dealing with the hazards’ by King Trigger it was the soundtrack of my migration back to London from Melbourne in 1983.
Other favourites from this period were ‘Modern Love’ by Bowie, Joe Jackson’s ‘Stepping Out’ and ‘London Calling’ the Clash.
All this and Huey Morgan on BBC Radio 6 current on 6 times a week!
Peace Pagoda – Battersea Park
Last weekend we were visited by Reverend Nagase the Buddhist Monk who is the guardian of the Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park. I first met him when he visited my shop on Ebury Bridge Road in 1998 and despite not speaking English very well his delight in art was obvious and we have been friends since then. Sadly, he is being ‘terrorised’ at the moment by a particularly tenacious vandal and is particularly vulnerable due to cut back in park staff. He lives alone and needs support more than ever so please help if you can – he welcomes visitors and can be contacted on 0207 2289620.
The Rev. Nagase spends his day in Buddhist meditation, ‘other works’ and in maintaining the pagoda, a job not made easy by the fact that people climb up it and make a mess on the second floor, an area forbidden to the public. He relies on donations to live and is grateful to the bread he gets from a local Caribbean bakery and vegetables from a Chinese vegetable shop. Any help is welcome, not least with his heartfelt pleas for assistance in cleaning the pagoda.
The idea of Battersea Park being home to one of Japan’s foremost Buddhist sects may strike the casual visitor as incongruous – to say the least. But to early morning joggers and dog-walkers it will not be a surprise. A saffron-robe clad Buddhist monk, gently beating a drum as he does a daily perambulation at sunrise from his temple to the Peace Pagoda, is a familiar sight.
The Reverend Gyoro Nagase first arrived in England in 1978 from Aichi prefecture, near Nagoya, in Japan, to assist in the construction of the first Peace Pagoda in the UK in Milton Keynes. In 1984 he moved to London, as part of a team of 50 volunteers and Buddhist monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order, to construct the Peace Pagoda in the park, which was completed the following year. They were living in what is now the Children’s Zoo but, as the site was expanded, the Buddhist order was offered a storeroom, in the trees near the Old English Garden, by Wandsworth Council, on the understanding they carried out all renovations and the conversion into a temple. Gratefully the offer was accepted, the work was carried out by volunteers and today, with just one remaining monk, that temple has developed into a successful centre for the sect, attracting Buddhist followers from not just London and Japan, but also people from China, Sri Lanka, India, Burma and Taiwan who are now living in the UK.
The Peace Pagoda stands about 33.5m high, and is made of concrete and wood. It has four large gilded statues of the Buddha, one facing North, one facing South, one facing East and one facing West. A small temple has also been built nearby, with just one monk of the Nipponzan Myohoji order as permanent resident. The monk currently occupying this position is Rev Gyoro Nagase, who came to England in 1978 from Aichi prefecture in Japan. Each morning at sunrise Rev Nagase makes the short journey from the temple to the pagoda, beating his drum and chanting the Daimoku. He spends his day in Buddhist meditation and maintaining the pagoda, among other tasks. Rev Nagase is a regular participant in the annual London Peace Pilgrimage, organised by Westminster Interfaith, under the auspices of the Catholic Church.
Gathering Battersea Park
Each year in June a ceremony for peace is held at the Peace Pagoda. Monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji sangha are joined by monks and nuns from other Buddhist traditions, in chanting and offering prayers in front of a temporary shrine set up in the environs of the pagoda. Representatives of other faiths and of secular peaceseeking organisations also offer prayers for peace. The ceremony finishes with traditional dances from India and Sri Lanka, and music of various kinds.
Peace Pagoda, Battersea Park
Nasty Scam – Artists Beware
This scam is currently targeting artists and people selling goods on line and from web sites.
It was quite a convoluted scam that took place over 5 weeks from the initial contact from a chap in Denmark asking about the artwork on my web site. This is quite normal I get a lot of genuine enquiries, and after many e mails he finally selected paintings to the value of £6,000 and said he was also buying some furniture from Manchester and asked if the paintings could be transported there.
He then sent a cheque despite being asked to use Pay Pal or BACs transfer but alarm bells rang when I saw it was a UK company cheque – with someone else’s name.
Then he requested that I send him £2000 to cover transport – by Western Union – and this is where he came unstuck as I’d not agreed to pay for that.
I notified the bank and despite the cheque clearing initially it proved eventually to be stolen. Easy come – easy go! It seems that this scam is being used worldwide and they are particularly targeting artists at the moment. Such a waste of time but good lesson.
Points to look out for:
The amount offered not same as price of goods
Offer to send cheque only – they are stolen and will bounce
Poor English that becomes increasingly worse
Requests for money
Please pass this on
