Free fun along the Picadilly line

Here's all about my budget trip to London this week, I stayed on the Picadilly line so thought I'd explore a bit of what it had to offer that was free.

First I went to the Saatchi Gallery and looked at the Abstract American show. I really liked Jacob Hashimotos Continent, a massive wall based sculpture made up of hundreds of different sized wooden hoops covered in thin paper with designs and objects stuck to them, it was really neat. Here's a close up of the bit where the hoops have grass on them.

I also loved this tiny maple sculpture by Matt Johnson. Staircase upon staircase, as though they were eaten away by a really particular caterpillar.

Back on the tube I sat in the same carriage as a lady called Debra and her teddy bear, she helped him wave at me as I got on the tube. She told everyone about their website, which shows where they had visited (you can see by their photos they really get about), their diary and information about Aspergers. I didn't look up while she was telling us all this as it was quite unexpected as it isn't usual for anyone to talk or make eye contact on the tube let alone acknowledge a waving teddy bear.

Then I went to the Royal College of Surgeons of England to see their exhibition dedicated to John Hunters specimens. In a section dedicated to amputation I happened upon these tiny stitched samplers made by a young girl who had to have her leg removed after a bad fracture (such was the practice long ago) I found it moving to see the stuff of Sunday School teaching used to commemorate such a drastically life changing event.

Then onto the Natural History Museum. Amongst other things they have a great collection of stuffed animals and I noticed that despite a radical face lift to the exhibitions they had still managed to still keep some of the interactive educational games that were there when I visited 25 years ago. I was really surprised to see the whale skeletons fins had fingers in them, like actual tiny hands on the side of their great bodies, how strange. I only managed to get around one eighth of what was there as it's absolutely huge plus I had to stop in their cafe and sample one of their yummy brownies washed down with a pot of fresh elderflower and lemon tea.

That evening I stayed with Jill and attended her first Lovely London Ladies Social Evening where I made some new friends whilst making a necklace. I'm sure Jill will post about it so I'll just say it was a very nice evening and it was lovely to see Jill and Daniel in their first home together, topping off a top day of free fun in London.