Art in the Big Smoke

We’ve just got back from a few days away on a city break in London. We’d orginally planned a list of things to see and do, but for whatever reason blew out on most of them. Top of the list was a “secret” trail of noses in Soho – yes, really! around 30 sculptures of noses, plus a few ears, were hidden in the streets as a protest to security cameras operating in the area, and about seven of them are supposedly still visible today.

Sadly, we couldn’t find any of them! However, London is still stuffed with historical and artistic gems including sculptures, murals and street art, as well as the famous “blue plaques” showing where interesting or important people lived. While tramping around the back streets of Kensington en route to the Science Museum, we came across this beautiful row of mews cottages and one bore a blue plaque commemorating the fact that the artist Francis Bacon lived there. I wondered whether this was where the infamous burglary took place (which led to him, um, sleeping with the burglar, apparently!) But the blue plaque was strangely silent on that detail…