It is always great to visit London, whatever the reason. In my case, I was there to do some research for my novel (visiting galleries, and places to help me imagine certain scenes from the story). I also enjoyed seeing friends, colleagues, and some former students from my teaching days in London and Hamburg, many years ago!

One of my first places to visit was the Mayor Gallery, opened in 1925 by Fred Mayor. Mayor was quite a player in the early years by providing space for avant-garde art from Europe and Britain, at a time when taste was still very conservative in England. Although the gallery has moved several times, I was very kindly given access to their archives so I could look back at original programs and reviews from the period I am interested in (1930s). The current artist on display was a Japanese minimalist, Tadaaki Kuwayama (‘Radical Neutrality’), and it was interesting to hear how current displays and sales of international art are managed through a combination of space, gallery and online.

Apart from galleries and archives, I wandered through locations I had found in research, and amid the endless cranes and rebuilding that is the nature of a modern city, I tried to use my historical imagination! After six days in London, it was time to return to France (Paris and Cassis). More on that, next time …