Planning for London!

by William Blake

As some of you may know, I was originally planning a trip to the UK for February 2013. Circumstances have changed a countless number of times and I thought I wouldn’t be able to go at all. But, thanks to The American Pavilion Cannes Film Program, I think I’ll be able to make my dream of seeing some of William Blake’s work in person come true (among other dreams of screenwriting, filmmaking, etc.). I’ll be in France for about two weeks, and I hope to tack on a few days in London during my journey back to the States!!!

I’m currently in the process of figuring out my travel arrangements. There are so many different routes to Nice, France, it’s difficult to decide the best way to go. Possibly, I could stop over in New York or Amsterdam or even Paris. I’m hoping my dad (Mr. Globetrotting Lawyer himself) will be able to find me the best deal. Or perhaps I’ll try a travel agent.

The wonderful Naomi Billingsley at The Blake Society sent me a fabulous e-mail detailing all the best ways to see Blake’s work and historical sites in person. She suggested that I make a list of what I want to see, so I’ll be making a number of lists on my blog in an attempt to figure out how to schedule everything into two or three days.

1. The Tate possesses an impressive collection of Blake’s works, but I believe many pieces just returned from Madrid and are not currently on display. I’m hoping that by May this will change. My #1 dream is to see The Ghost of a Flea in person — so I guess I’ll try contacting the Tate and ask them for more information. Naomi pointed out that there are a number of “view by appointment” Blake works at the Tate’s Print Room and that I could make an appointment to see them. I’ll have to browse their online catalogue.
2. The British Museum has some Blake works in their Print Room as well and they are accessible without an appointment.
3. According to Naomi, The Victoria and Albert Museum has four of Blake’s “fresco” paintings on permanent display and a collection of Blake’s watercolors in their Print Room, accessible without an appointment.
4. Naomi also recommended a really amazing page on the Tate’s website detailing Blake historical sites (http://www2.tate.org.uk/williamblake/lambeth/london_intro.html). All these sites seem like they’re in a pretty concentrated area, so I think I’ll be able to see a lot of them!!

From here, I’d like to further explore the museum websites/online resources and figure out how much I can see and what I want to see the most in the few days I’m in London!

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Updates

January 28th

Today, finalized my travel arrangements! On the way from San Francisco to Nice, will be stopping over in Frankfurt. And on the way to London, will be stopping over in Belgium. Will be staying in London for three full days, staying at a decent hotel not far from all the museums and Blake historic sites. Can’t believe this is really happening!!!

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas

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