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Sunday 26 July 2015

July outing for Laura

Laura likes her travel bag made by Lorraine, it means she can come on outings with us.  Yesterday we went to London for the afternoon and evening.  We made a short visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington which we have visited once before (but without Laura that time).  It is a vast place and despite the map it is still easy to get lost or distracted along the way to a particular gallery as every gallery contains so many interesting artefacts.  We were trying the find the Theatre and Performance gallery but somehow got side tracked by the Architecture gallery where Laura encountered some model houses.

Laura admires the model of a traditional Japanese House and wonders if Miss Happiness and Miss Flower live here
The model Japanese house at the V&A museum
Laura is impressed with the model of a suburban house
the information about the model Suburban House at the V&A museum
We found the Theatre and Performance gallery and Laura was delighted to meet Joey the horse from War Horse as we entered the gallery.

Laura says 'hello' to Joey, the War Horse
The information about Joey at the V&A museum
In the same gallery were 16 of the poppies from the amazing display which 'grew' around the Tower of London last year.  It was interesting that these were featured in the Theatre and Performance gallery - they were part of an art installation which triggered an immense and moving public reaction because of its scale and dramatic message.
Laura and my younger daughter look at the poppies up close
Some of the artwork for the poppies art installation at the Tower of London
Laura is interested in the orchestra in the wonderfully detailed model of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
the information about the Theatre Royal Drury Lane model at the V&A museum
The side view of the model of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, showing how scene changing is done
We had a meal in Giraffe again, so added some plastic giraffe's to Laura's collection.  Then it was off to The Royal Albert Hall for the first ever prom of the whole musical 'Fiddler on the Roof', performed by Grange Park Opera with Bryn Terfel in the lead role.

Laura at the Proms again with my younger daughter
View of the stage during interval, it was a shame this prom wasn't filmed as the production was outstanding
During the interval while the girls went to get ice cream (expensive but it was a family outing) a voice behind me said "is that a Sasha doll?" I turned around and had an interesting conversation with a woman who admired Laura.  She recognised the Sasha face but was puzzled by Laura's legs as she remembered her daughter's Sasha having 'soft' (she actually meant curved) legs.  I didn't immediately realise that she was talking about a baby girl Sasha (an early 70s Trendon girl) until her daughter returned (I momentarily thought she was talking about a studio doll).  It was clear that that the baby had been cherished for years, she had kept her name of Sasha, though was no longer with her owner.  They did not know that Sasha dolls are not made any more and had come across the Gotz name in Harrods and Hamleys when looking at dolls for grandchildren (they liked the modern Gotz faces they'd seen).  I told them a bit about Sasha collectors and assured them that our little collection is small compared to some.  They were fascinated that Laura comes on outings and that Sasha collectors get together for social and creative gatherings.

It was a very good outing, Fiddler on the Roof was done wonderfully well at the Proms and the hall was packed.  The girls want to return again and again to the V&A as there is so much to see in that wonderful museum.



6 comments:

Sharon said...

I wasn't able to see all of your photos as we have a poor wifi connection here at the coast but what I did see was enjoyable. I love the surburban dolls house, so cool! And the Proms sounds great, I love watching the proms on the tv....I love anything about musicals too, so am sure this was a super performance.
Laura certainly gets about, what a lucky girl to have such great outings.
xxx

Dee said...

What a wonderful trip to London Laura and you all had! The V&A is a fabulous place their displays of dress through the ages were a favourite of mine when I visited, always there is something to grab and hold the attention. It's a place you could never tire of visiting, so I am not surprised the girls want to go back.

And Fiddler on the Roof, a wonderful musical and to see it at the royal Albert Hall ! a wonderful place to soak up that musical and performance.
And to meet a person whose daughter had a Sasha baby as a child, just proves how small the world is! Looks like you had A perfect visit to London :)

Ginger said...

A very wonderful post Dollmum! I love Fiddler on the Roof and grew up singing the songs at home to the playing of the piano! I watch the movie when I get a chance and I have seen a local play of the Fiddler and it was delightful but certainly not as grand as seeing it in the royal Albert Hall! Very wonderful!

It looks like Laura had a wonderful time and it is nice that you were able to talk Sashas with another person that had a Sasha doll years ago. A very lovely outing! :) xxx

Kendal said...

Oh how I would have loved to have been with your family on this truly fabulous outing! Just 'up my street!' (With finding walking very hard these days maybe I could have squeezed in alongside Laura in her special Sasha carrier bag and then just got out at those various stops of extra interest?

Seeing the replica models of those houses reminded me of my second doll's house when I was about nine/ten which was actually an architect's model of a real Canadian bungalow that was built later.

What a treat it must have been to have seen the War Horse too. Little Laura is a very lucky Sasha and definitely following Lorraine's Henry with all these marvellous outings and adventures.

I have been to the Dury Lane Theatre twice when living in Queensbury, Edgeware but never to the V&A Museum. I had only been married at that time for two years and had already had my daughter so money was always scarce for these kind of visits.

I had really wanted to go to see the London Poppies but again couldn't due to the walking involved, but one of my nieces went and showed me her photos and my daughter sent for and bought one of the poppies.... which I saw and handled when she was last up here. Hadn't realised just how heavy they actually are.

Another outing on my wish/bucket list is attending the last night at The Proms....and another is seeing the New Year in in Trafalger Square.....but thinking that due to aging drastically they will no doubt have to remain 'in my dreams!'

DollMum said...

It was definitely a great outing, we all enjoyed it so much. I've dreamed about the Last Night of the Proms too, but it means attending lots of Proms then putting in fo the ballot, so we enjoy watching it on TV instead.

Serenata said...

Oh we missed this one somehow! Another wonderful day out indeed, and what great things you saw. Loved the dolls houses. Oh and seeing War Horse as well, what a great experience. Did you get to see the actual play when it was on? We missed it unfortunately, it is something I really wanted to go to see.