Cambridge trip

My father has not given up the fight to secure the BG for his alma mater and this year,recognising the scientific bent of the BG's mind,I acted against my own interests and booked a visit to the home of Fenland Poly. Sadly, my father's campaign was hampered by the holiday closure of pretty much all of the colleges and the science museums. There were three treats for us....well,four if you count the joys of Heffers,which even my Pa acknowledges to be inferior to Blackwells. Treat 1: the Fitzwilliam Museum. Glorious building,very fine Vermeer exhibition plus delightful mini exhib on graphite. Treat 2 was the permission to wander through two of Magdalen's quads. I always feel a powerful yearning for the academic life when in Oxford. The sight of an aged staircase and a lofty casement window makes me want to be back in a college room,slaving over an essay.I experienced the same emotions here. I think the BG feels something,too. I hope he manages to get in when the time comes.
Treat 3 (probably the highlight): Kettles Yard....not the Bridget Riley exhibition...those nausea-inducing patterns and revolting germolene pinks do nothing positive for me...no,the house itself with its fabulous collection of 20th century art..especially St Ives school plus Brancusi and Gaudier-Brzeska sculptures. Visitors are encouraged to sit on any of the many chairs in any of the many rooms to contemplate the work. I am not crazy about Alfred Wallis (several of his in the upstairs rooms), but I do love Ben Nicholson and was thrilled to discover a new name....well,new to me,anyway: William Congdon. An amazon trawl revealed that he is too obscure at the moment for any books/monographs to be affordable,sadly. We were also able to spend a very pleasant half hour browsing the extensive collection of art books bequeathed by the house's owners. Delightful.
All in all, a lovely sojourn in the flatlands.