In the early afternoon of this bitterly cold February day a second visit to the Paul Nash exhibition at Tate Britain was very enjoyable.

There probably won’t be another retrospective of Paul Nash’s career for at least a couple of decades, so it was good to make the most of the opportunity to admire this wonderful artist’s work again before it gets packed up and dispersed back amongst its various owners.

From Tate Britain we scurried through the late afternoon twilight to our next port of call – Clos Maggiore restaurant in Covent Garden.

We hadn’t been able to get a table in the much sought after conservatory but the table we were given was very good, cosily tucked into an intimate corner.

The meal was superb, washed down with a couple of glasses of excellent aromatic Malagousia dry white wine from northeast Greece.

Happily fed, we made our way to the Empire Leicester Square cinema for the evening showing of T2 Trainspotting.

It was on in Screen 7, a small auditorium that was sold out for this showing.

From first minute to last ‘T2 Trainspotting’ was superb – funny, vibrant and gripping, with terrific performances from the reunited Renton (Ewan McGregor), Sick Boy now partially domesticated as Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewen Bremner), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle).

One of the most entertaining scenes in the film is the one set in the Scottish Parliament where Renton and Simon go to make a presentation to try and secure funding for their business.

Although the reality is that they intend their venture to be a seedy sauna, their presentation makes out that it will be a wholesome business featuring local arts and crafts, the epitome of gentrification.

Jonny Lee Miller’s face is a picture as Ewan McGregor delivers his bullshit spiel.

T2 Trainspotting is an exhilarating couple of hours, in my opinion just as good as the original.

Roll on T3.

Related Post: ‘Uncut Gems’, Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA)

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As you exit Pimlico Underground Station there are some great tiled murals lining the exit ramp, showing paintings by artists such as LS Lowry and others whose work is held at the nearby Tate Britain gallery.

Public art like this certainly adds something to the quality of city life.

At Tate Britain I ascended the steps of the grand and imposing entrance and headed to the Paul Nash exhibition.

I spent more time at this exhibition than I thought I would, so wonderful were the works on display: his nocturnal landscapes convey the magic and mystery of the English countryside, his war paintings are brutal and beautiful at the same time, and his surrealist paintings such as ‘Harbour and Room’ (1932-6) thrust open the doors of perception in a manner similar to, if less spectacular than, the art of Giorgio de Chirico whom Nash greatly admired.

Now that I have a Tate membership card I will definitely be back for a second viewing of the Paul Nash exhibition.

But today’s Tate-ing was not over yet.

After the Paul Nash exhibition I headed down the spiral staircase to the museum restaurant for a superb meal. The food, wine and service were terrific.

After the great exhibition and meal at Tate Britain it was over to Picturehouse Central to see an afternoon showing of Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.

Amy Adams was very good in the recently seen Nocturnal Animals, and Renner and Whitaker are good too, so I was moderately hopeful about this film.

The first half of ‘Arrival’ is very good, with Adams’ character interestingly drawn and the story told in an intriguingly downbeat tone. Well, as downbeat as it could be given that the subject matter is an alien invasion.

But then in the second half of the film everything just falls to pieces.

What had been a subtle and intelligent film quickly degenerates into just another Hollywood multiplex piece of rubbish, with ludicrous plot points and cheesy dialogue that made me cringe.

I can only assume that the makers of the film lost their nerve – they started out with the intention of making an intelligent film that did not pander to the lowest common denominator, but then they caved and shovelled on cliché after cliché as the film rapidly went down the tubes.

What a shame ‘Arrival’ turned out the way it did – it started so well.

Related Post: ‘Blade Runner 2049’, Empire Leicester Square, London

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