A few days away in London staying with Richard and Nicola is an opportunity to appreciate the culture of the city with very knowledgeable guides.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/matiise@RAsep17.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-4518" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/matiise@RAsep17-300x211.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="211" /></a><a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/matisse@RA2sep17.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-4517" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/matisse@RA2sep17-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>First stop was the <a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/matisse-in-the-studio?gclid=CjwKCAjw87PNBRBAEiwA0XAIr5lNa145bWXItvbv_JnVhro7GQeqgVrdLRIbPzzugjYb9r1eohrK-BoCcwsQAvD_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matisse exhibition at the Royal Academy</a>. It was a collection of the items Matisse had in his studio and how he included them into his works of art. It was a crowded event and at times it was almost impossible to step back and appreciate the work.

After a picnic (courtesy of Pret a Manger) on deck chairs in Green Park we walked up to the <a href="http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/bp-portrait-award-2017/exhibition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Portrait Gallery</a> for the BP exhibition. It struck me that none of the portraits depicted people smiling and I haven't been to explain why this might be. Any artists out there with an explanation I would appreciate hearing why this might be the case.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/American-made-filmsep17.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4516" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/American-made-filmsep17-189x300.jpg" alt="" width="189" height="300" /></a>We finished the day off watching Tom Cruise in American Made.

It was based on the true story of a TWA pilot who goes to work for the CIA initially photographing communist insurgents in South America and then gun running for the CIA and returning from his trips with drugs for the cartels.

He makes so much money he doesn't know what to do with it and struggles to launder it. Not a great movie but worth seeing when it arrives on our TV screens.

On Saturday we went for 9 mile walk through the Chilterns around Berkhamsted. I don't think I've walked so far for several months. The beech woods were very special and it wasn't unusual to see deer. We stopped for lunch in the shadow of <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Bridgewater+Monument/@51.8083672,-0.5942888,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipNMy5qhxfkqayoe7AvVopFMR-EUqicT7lEgRDx9!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNMy5qhxfkqayoe7AvVopFMR-EUqicT7lEgRDx9%3Dw156-h277-k-no!7i2988!8i5312!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x48764331de4f38d7:0xce00ed56ae5060aa!2sBerkhamsted!3b1!8m2!3d51.759766!4d-0.5678569!3m4!1s0x0:0x3af148c42092961e!8m2!3d51.8083096!4d-0.5942823?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bridgewater Monument</a> which was delightful.

Sunday and we started the day with a swim - another activity I haven't done for nearly a year and I still found the energy to complete a half mile but it took a lot longer than it used to. I need to get fitter and make time to go swimming at Louth.

Richard and I then drove into the wilds of Essex to <a href="https://www.hedinghamcastle.co.uk/event/classics-at-the-castle-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hedingham Castle</a> to view classic Porsches. There were some beautiful cars with matching prices.

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A fabulous weekend...