Sailing Cancelled!

South Dock, Rotherhithe 11th January 2015 Boff! I was really looking forward to a long weekend away sailing to the Medway but had to bottle out when the best forecast I could find (after shopping around) was westerly gale force 8 becoming severe gale force 9. That may just have been workable but the wind was forecast to remain strong westerly and I didn’t fancy getting a train back. The Thames can be a tricky little sail if the wind is gusting strongly, especially on the nose. I’ve been knocked down twice in the Thames but never anywhere else.

North Cape by Peder Balke
North Cape by Peder Balke
North Cape by Peder Balke
North Cape by Peder Balke

So instead I took the river bus from Greenland Pier into town to see the Peder Balke exhibition at the National Gallery. Peder Balke is a Norwegian artist and I confess I was rather saddened to be confronted with about 20 fine paintings of the North Cape. The reason it made me a bit miserable was because I should have been sailing round the North Cape this summer but this was another sailing trip that I had to pull out off earlier in the year. I could just imagine the good ship Sumara sailing close by such a wonderful cliff. I do like small exhibitions like this one. I went to the Turner exhibition at the Tate earlier in the year and decided blockbusters aren’t my thing. Some of Peder Balke’s paintings border on being kitsch but others are really inspiring especially the small black and white seascapes. If you like seascapes or like Norway then this exhibition is well worth a visit. What’s more, it is free!

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