Some daffodils were out in the wilderness, but most were still to come. Plenty of crocuses and plenty of cyclamen, with those left bordering the path which led from the wilderness to the gardeners' private domain. Winter aconites not much in evidence (while those on the end of our own new daffodil bed are nowhere to be seen. At least not presently).
Privy garden and the two sunken gardens in good form, the latter in a green way rather than a showy, summer way.
Tea and cake in the privy kitchen café. Maids of Honour present and in good form.
Very taken with the handsomely restored clock in the clock court. While the next door base court was a pleasant place to sit in the sun. It could be rather a good place for cafés and street food, perhaps served by buxom wenches done up in Tudor gear. Considering how revenue conscious the palace people are, a bit surprised that they have not thought of it already.
Quick visit to the Canaletto room - the room containing a sequence of a dozen of them, painted over a number of years as a single commission - and was ticked off by a lady trusty of a certain age for walking through the gallery without regard to its one way system. This in a gallery which was more or less empty and I think she was being serious, not trying to be funny. Canalettos rather good, the only pity being that it was a small room, making in necessary to hang them two up, which meant that the top tier were further away from one than was ideal. Interesting to see the painters' code with which Canaletto did, for example, the figures, creating an impression with just a few brush strokes, quite crude looking at close quarters.
It did not seem to matter that the compositions were mostly based on a diagonal cross: water down, left bank of canal left, right bank of canal right and sky above. A ticket explained that Canaletto helped things along, within this basic framework, by taking quite a few liberties with the vérité.
I hope that one day soon we will take the time to walk up and down the long water, something we have not done for years.
PS: the car park, on this occasion cheaper and more convenient that the network rail alternative, was policed by machines which read one's number plate on entry and exit, with the exit barrier failing to rise if you have failed to pay the proper fee. A lot quicker than the ticket machines that there were there last time and a significant plus when the place is busy,
Reference 1: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=clock+hampton+court.
Group search key: hcf
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