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DRINKS & CONCERT AT LANSDOWNE CLUB
9 JULY
We enjoyed a beautiful Piano Recital by prize-winner Callum Mclachlan playing work by Handel, C.P.E Bach, Haydn and Busoni in the magnificent Ballroom of the Lansdowne Club.
Callum Mclachlan will participate in the well-known Leeds Competition in September and we wish him success.
ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF CONSTANCE SMEDLEY WEST WYCOMBE
30 JUNE
Organising an excursion with a picnic in June is a risky endeavour in England, but we managed to dodge the rain and were rewarded with a beautiful day that was not too hot.
We started with the Hellfire Caves, a network of man-made chalk and flint caverns which extend 260m underground. They were excavated in the mid 18th century by Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the Society of Dilettanti and the Hellfire Club, whose meetings were held in the caves. They run into the hillside above West Wycombe village and directly beneath Saint Lawrence’ Church and Mausoleum.
Back on the surface, we enjoyed the warm sunshine after the damp caves and walked up the hill. We had a picnic near the Mausoleum, then proceeded to Saint Lawrence Church. The grade I listed church, which belongs to the Church of England was gradually built in its current form by Sir Francis Dashwood. The original 14th century tower was raised to be more visible from afar and was crowned with a wooden golden globe, which has become a landmark. We found out that there are eight bells in the tower, the oldest one dating back to 1581 and that the churchyard contains eleven Commonwealth war graves. We laid a bouquet of flowers on the grave of Constance Smedley, our club founder who died in 1941 and is buried here. St Lawrence Church has been used as a backdrop for the series Downton Abbey and the movie Bridget Jones’s Baby.
We then drove down the hill to visit Dashwood house, home of the Dashwood family for over 300 years. It was built by Sir Francis Dashwood in the neo-classical style. We visited the richly decorated rooms on the groundfloor, an eclectic mix of Baroque, Rococo and Classical style with painted ceilings, marbled walls and ornate fireplaces displaying family-heirlooms portraits and handcrafted furniture, as the upper floors are still occupied by the family. The house is set in 45 acres of landscaped gardens featuring classical temples, ornate bridges and beautiful lakes, managed by the National Trust.
We concluded the day with a very pleasant stroll through the park before heading back to London.
ANGELICA KAUFFMANN AT THE RA & DINNER AT THE CLUB 14 JUNE
14 JUNE
Angelica Kauffmann RA was one of the most celebrated artists of the 18th century. She was known for her celebrity portraits and reinvented the genre of history painting by focusing largely on female protagonists from classical history and mythology. She painted the ceilings of 138 Piccadilly, the second house of the original London Lyceum Club.
The exhibitions covers her life and work : her rise to fame in London, her role as one of the two female founding member of the Royal Academy and her later career in Rome where her studio became a hub for the city’s cultural life. One of her contemporaries described her as “the most cultivated woman in Europe”. She was also a ground breaking role model for the many female artists who followed in her footsteps.
The exhibition is about neoclassicism from a feminine perspective, a view that we are so rarely given and that is rarely made the main attraction.
We ended the evening with dinner in the lovely setting of the Courtyard Brasserie at the Lansdowne club.
london open gardens weekend walk
8 JUNE
Once a year, Londoners have the opportunity to visit exclusive private communal gardens, which are normally only open to residents living on the square. Most of them are protected by Act of Parliament and this is why they are so beautiful and well maintained.
This year, we selected Cornwall Gardens, Queen's Gate Gardens, Cadogan Place North and South Gardens, Eaton Square Gardens and Belgrave Gardens.
Highlights included London tallest plane trees dating from 1870, a 300-year old mulberry tree, pergolas overhung with roses and wild flower meadows.
Despite the weather, it was for our members a delightful bucolic walk in the west part of London.
BERMONDSEY ART GALLERIES TOUR
18 MAY
Following our guide, art historian and writer Sabine Casperie, we started our tour with the Peter Layton London glass blowing studio and gallery where we watched the glass blowers in action and admired the unique and exquisite craftmanship of the vibrantly coloured glass objects on display.
A few minutes away was the Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery “Mirror, Mirror” showing various artists like Stephen Chambers, Eileen Cooper and Robert McNally whose work explores the rich symbolism of mirrors and examines how reflection can be used to evoke ideas around narcissism, truth, trauma and identity.
We followed with the German figurative and expressive artist Georg Baselitz’s solo exhibition “A Confession of my Sin” at the White Cube. The exhibition brings together large-scale paintings and a selection of works on paper ranging from portraits of himself and his wife to an array of different animals. Baselitz, now 86, uses a trolley that serves both as a walking frame and a container for brushes and paint pots. The outline of the trolley appears as paint spillage in several of the works on show, a vivid reminder of both his commitment to his calling and his physical vulnerability reflected in a large number of canvases depicting frail lonely seated figures. This feeling of dwindling strength is underlined by the large number of spidery drawings, in red of black ink. Baselitz is well known for inverting each painting, he challenges in this way the notions of shape and colour, form and composition and thus the viewer.
We continued our tour with the Cecilia Brunson Projects, an art gallery which supports contemporary Latin American artists. The solo exhibition “Rites, Seeds and Refuge “features works by the Venezuelan artist Lucia Pizzani drawing from her background as a conservation biologist and her involvement in the environmental movement.
We ended with the Drawing Room, a unique gallery and library that is dedicated to opening up the world of drawing to everyone. Every year, the gallery puts on a Drawing Biennial where they invite well known and up-and-coming artists to create a unique work on A4 sheets of paper. The works are exhibited and then auctioned to raise money for the gallery’s programme of free exhibitions and activities. In the Drawing Biennial 2024 we saw works by Cathie Pilkington, Antony Gormley or Julian Opie to mention a few.
Twelve of us enjoyed a good conversation and very reasonably priced food in an Italian restaurant “ Café Amisha” just across the road.
GEORGIAN WINE TASTING AT THE EMBASSY OF GEORGIA
30 APRIL
The Embassy of Georgia jointly with the International Lyceum Club of London hosted a Georgian wine tasting with typical Georgian food : Khachapuri, Khinkali and Pkhali.
H.E. Ambassador Sophia Katsarava gave a very interesting talk about Georgia whilst the Head of the Georgian Chamber of Commerce Mrs Mako Abashidze showcased some delicious wines from Georgian women winemakers. The wine industry has been dominated by men for centuries, so it is exciting to see women making significant strides in the field.
The wines carefully selected by Sarah Abbott, Master of Wine and available online included :
· Demi’s Marani – Chinuri : an amber wine fermented in Qvevri.
· Kardanakhi Estate – Mtsvane : an amber wine fermented in Qvevri.
· Mosiashvili’s Wine Cellar – Tavkveri : a rosé wine fermented in Qvevri.
· Tinatin – Saperavi : a dry red wine fermented in Qvevri.
· Aleksandreuli – Kindzmarauli : a semi-sweet dessert red wine.
The event gave us a taste of this beautiful and small country located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia with its renowned vineyards and traditional wine-making practices, its stunning landscapes ranging from the Caucasian mountains to the Black Sea Coast and so much more as well as its warm and friendly people.
To mark the special relationship between women of Tbilisi and London, we were honored that HE Sophia Katsarava accepted our invitation to become Honorary Member of our Club.
FITZROVIA ART GALLERIES TOUR
27 APRIL
Following our guide and art consultant Jolanda’s excellent choice of galleries, we started
with Peter Schlesinger’s work at the Tristan Hoare gallery located in a beautiful Georgian House on Fitzroy Square. The Language of Vessels is the first major solo exhibition in London of this New York-based artist since 1976, presenting his stunning works on paper and his ceramic sculptures using a rustic palette of faded greens, blues, golds and browns, the shapes reminiscent of ironwork, bronze and ceramic artefacts from antiquity.
We then went to the Ecuadorean artist Sofia Salazar Rosales solo exhibition of unique
hanging, slumping, drooping installations made of glass, beads, wax, casts at the newly
opened (June 2023) Alice Amati Gallery.
We continued with the second solo exhibition Leave Love Behind of the US-based artist
Rebecca Manson at the Josh Lilley Gallery exhibiting a stunning display of large-scale
ceramic works of moths wings latched to the walls. Her subject is nature and its ecological life cycles observed in gardens and the countryside.
A few minutes away was the Rebecca Hossack Gallery showing works inspired by the life and writings of Dante Alighieri. Behold your heart brings together contemporary works inspired by two of Dante’s poems : The Divine Comedy and La Vita Nuova.
We then went to the solo exhibition The Age of Effluence of the painter Farley Aguilar at the Edel Assanti gallery. His colourful and unsettling paintings depict noteworthy scientists alongside vulnerable communities victims of ecologically unsustainable scientific practices showing how creativity prioritising growth and profit can have catastrophic effects.
Our last stop was the Gillian Jason Gallery exhibiting the works of Jenya Datsko in
Crossroads. Her paintings address the themes of loneliness, melancholy and hope. Through the use of a soft colour palette and the recurring presence of fictional female figures, she invites us to reflect on the complexity of our inner world.
We ended the tour enjoying good conversation and food in a cosy and reasonably priced
local Thai restaurant The Greyhound Café.
DENNIS SERVER'S HOUSE & DINNER
12 APRIL
On April 12, 2024, eight members of the Lyceum Club knocked on the door of Dennis Severs' House in Spitalfields for a candlelit 'Silent Night Tour.' This authentic Georgian home is staged in such a way as to give visitors a glimpse of what the domestic life of an imaginary 18th-century Huguenot family would have looked like. Each room in the house contributes to this in a rather theatrical way, through meticulous arrangements of both mundane and decorative objects.
Following this immersive experience, participants walked to Delamina Kitchen, an excellent Mediterranean restaurant, where they dined in an intimate private room.
MACKENZIE MELEMED'S PIANO RECITAL
27 MARCH
Multi-winner of International Piano Competitions (2018 Arthur Rubinstein Prize, 2017 Maj Lind – Finland-, 2019 Leo B. Ruiz Carnegie Hall Recital Prize, and so on…), 29 year old American pianist Mackenzie Melemed gave an exceptional performance at 22 Mansfield Street, demonstrating remarkable virtuosity and musical sensitivity. The challenging programme included works by J.S Bach, A.Scriabin, L. van Beethoven, A.Beach, Sir Stephen Hough, J.Brahms and N.Medtner and took us on new level of musical dexterity and emotion. Mackenzie’s interpretation of J.S.Bach Partita No1 in B flat major was particularly remarkable.
Following this mind-blowing concert, we shared a moment of conviviality with Mackenzie, other guests and our hosts, Mr and Mrs Boas, with drinks and canapes in this magnificent Adam house.
lonely londoners jermyn street theatre
19 MARCH
The Lonely Londoners, a World Premiere adapted by Roy Williams from the eponymous semi autobiographical novel written in 1956 by Trinidadian novelist Samuel Selvon (1923-1994).
This powerful and moving production tells the story of Black immigrants mainly from the West Indies arriving in London in the 50’s. Selvon wrote it shortly after moving from Trinidad to London aged 27.
Thanks to a talented cast, a great theatricality with slow motion expressions, dance, songs and music, light effects, this play expresses the emotional side of this storytelling. It expresses the animosity, loneliness and the sense of failed promise of living in almost total isolation in a foreign city far from their homeland. It shows vividly the struggles of Black immigrants against discrimination in housing and job searching in London, not to mention their battle against the London weather.
A powerful subject, a great production with an amazing cast contributed to have a wonderful and friendly evening at the theatre.
GUIDED TOUR OF THE CULT OF BEAUTY
9 MARCH
The galleries of the Wellcome Collection are little-known to Londoners, and yet they are a fascinating respite from the mainstream of London museums and galleries. The Cult of Beauty exhibition, which spans across millennia to explore humanity’s constant devotion to and exploitation of the ideal of beauty, was both a playful and edifying experience. Ancient artifacts (classical busts and beauty manuals in manuscripts) were thought-provokingly placed beside modern-day objects (contemporary makeup tools and artworks).
Our guide, Sarah, took us through the history of three objects in the exhibition. These included a fifteenth-century alchemical scroll devoted to harnessing the powers of the Philosopher’s Stone and an eighteenth-century etching by William Hogarth demonstrating the alleged discovery of the perfect ‘line of beauty’ which defined what made any given form beautiful. Finally, we were instructed to unwind in the ‘Beauty Sensorium’, a room full of reconstructed beauty products from the Renaissance we could smell and touch.
The Wellcome Collection is a modern, aesthetic, and inclusive space designed for ease of access. We made the most of the beautiful Wellcome Collection café on the ground floor, and walked freely around the reading rooms, which are a haven for students and artists alike.
PRIVATE TOUR OF THE SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM
24 FEBRUARY
The Sir John Soane's Museum, the former home of Sir John Soane himself, stands as a remarkable London institution, unique not only for its extensive collection and innovative architectural design but also for the visionary spirit of its founder.
Sir John Soane was an extraordinary individual who rose from humble beginnings as a bricklayer to become one of the most celebrated British architects of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is best known for designing the iconic Bank of England, a neoclassical masterpiece, which was, unfortunately, completely destroyed in the 20th century.
In addition to being an architect, Soane was an avid collector of art and historical artifacts, amassing a vast and diverse collection that includes the sarcophagus of Seti I, hundreds of ancient Roman and Greek sculptures, countless architectural models and drawings, and several paintings by Canaletto, Hogarth, and Turner.
The design of the museum itself is crucial to the collection on display. Soane used the house to experiment with space, light, and structure, making ingenious use of skylights, mirrors, concealed lighting, and hinged panels that maximise display space and literally spotlight the art on the walls.
Today, the museum is equally renowned for its extensive library and collection of architectural drawings by Soane and other prominent architects of his era.
As we navigated through this extraordinary home, with its myriad small rooms brimming with artefacts, our knowledgeable guide, Phillip, helped us understand the mind of a visionary man. Soane was not only instrumental in shaping the architectural landscape of his time but also left behind a legacy that continues to inspire and fascinate almost two centuries later.
[For those of us who like the idea of following in the footsteps of those who came before us: Sir John Soane negotiated a private Act of Parliament in 1833 that stipulated that the house and the collection that it housed would be preserved exactly as it was arranged at the time of his death, in perpetuity. Constance Smedley and Lyceum members of the original Lyceum Club should therefore have been able to gain access to this house just like we did and should have been able to admire the museum’s collection displayed in the exact same way that we did too. Chances are that they did...] .
PRIVATE GUIDED TOUR OF ROH
10 FEBRUARY
It was a fascinating tour of the areas behind the velvet curtain, that are normally off-limitsto the public, led by our friendly and knowledgeable guide, who gave us plenty of time to see everything and ask questions. The tour made us realise how complex the opera house is behind the scenes. We saw storage areas for scenery and a rabbit warren of rooms storing costumes, sound and lighting equipment etc. We found out that most costumes and accessories are made in the specialist workshops within the ROH Production Wardrobe Department and that the new ROH costume store facility, which is in Essex, provides a controlled environment achieved with ventilation and low humidity levels. We saw a small room, with an ozone generator that destroys bacteria and odours, where the costumes are treated before going into storage.
A particular highlight was the chance to watch a Royal Ballet rehearsal through a side window. We were lucky enough to get a peek of Sarah Lamb, Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano, three principals at the Royal Ballet. Even Kevin O Hare, director of the Royal Ballet was attending the rehearsal. We enjoyed a view of the stage from the Royal Box. The Box has a secret private dining room “the King’s Smoking Room” designed for Edward VII with its private Victorian water closet dating back to 1858.
We finished the tour with a little bit of history and learnt that the magnificent Royal Opera House, with its grand classical portico fronting Bow Street, is actually the third theatre built on the Covent Garden site. Both the previous theatres were destroyed by fire, a serious hazard in the era before electricity. The original theatre, the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, opened in 1732.
The tour was followed by lunch at the beautiful Piazza restaurant on the 5th floor. The tour certainly sparked the desire for most of us to book a future event at the ROH, a symbol of artistic excellence.
MUSICAL MOMENTS AT THE POLISH CLUB
5 FEBRUARY
We enjoyed a friendly and relaxed evening of contemporary Broadway songs performed by eight young and talented 3rd year Musical Theatre students from the Trinity Laban
Conservatoire of Music and Dance. In the programme were works selected from musicals
written over the last 30 years, that were nominated for, but did not win the ‘Best Original Score’ Tony Award like “Serious” from “Legally Blonde” or “Raise your Voice” form Sister Act.
The lively performance was followed by a buffet supper served in the beautiful venue of the Polish Club in South Kensington.
FASHION CITY AT THE MUSEUM OF DOCKLANDS
27 JANUARY
We started the visit with a very informative presentation of the exhibition exploring the impact of Jewish Londoners on British fashion. The guide showed us photographs and told us stories about some of the people who shaped the fashion industry.
The exhibition is staged as a walk through the streets and shops, in which the Jewish community lived, with a Central line tube tunnel linking East and West. The exhibition begins in the East End and is immediately very personal. It starts with a trunk, suitcase, and handbag carried by immigrants as they travelled to the UK, including a tiny brown leather case belonging to a 5-year-old, who arrived here via Kindertransport.
The exhibition also highlights the broader cultural immigration within the East End and how communities worked together. We read stories about a Jamaican tailor who worked for a Jewish tailoring firm and a Bangladeshi seamstress, Anwara Begum, whose sewing machine is on display.
The exhibition crosses over to the West End, and the blossoming of the high street under the eye of Jewish entrepreneurs like Marks & Spencer, Moss Bros as well as Wallis and Chelsea Girl (which would become River Island).
What is so refreshing to see in Fashion City is the spotlight placed on overlooked immigrant practitioners who were integral to the development of London’s reputation as a fashion capital.
Our visit was followed by a friendly lunch and good food at a nearby Restaurant, which was surprisingly busy on a Saturday in a business area like Canary Wharf.
ROSSETTI ENSEMBLE AT LEIGHTON HOUSE
17 FEBRUARY
The magnificent Leighton House, famous for its unique Arabic Hall and art collections, yesterday hosted a beautiful performance by the Rossetti Ensemble. Members of the Club were lucky to attend this sold-out concert where the Rossetti musicians played piano quartets by Beethoven and Dvorak as well as a contemporary composition by David Matthews.
During the interval, members enjoyed an opportunity to chat over drinks and nibbles.
MAYFAIR ANTIQUES AND FINE ART FAIR
11 JANUARY
For the second year in a row, we had a great time visiting the Mayfair Antiques and Fine Art Fair with our glass of bubbles in one hand and the map of the exhibition in the other, ready for our exploration.
Exhibitors were all very keen to share their knowledge and to show some exquisite pieces of art. We met our friend Shanshan who this year decided to display some of her unique antique ceramics with works by two contemporary artists. This combination highlights the beauty and the uniqueness of the potteries. We had time to admire jewelry, beautiful watches, and exquisite paintings. The Fair is not only about Antiques with one artist exhibiting his creative work made from pewter.
The visit was followed by a dinner at the RAC, in the very elegant Art Deco Brooklands Room. An excellent and friendly way to end a cold day in London.