A Cheshire garden in summer

A Cheshire garden in early August

11.5" x 17", coloured pencils and pen and ink in Large Moleskine Sketchbook

copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is what's known as incredibly lazy sketching - done entirely while sat in an armchair next to my Mother's glazed door into her garden.

It was very satisfying to do as it's a scene I know well and yet had never drawn - possibly due to the number of trees in this view.  

Intermittent showers meant that the planned gardening wasn't a great idea.  Plus the image of the doves sitting on top of the bird house meant that it was absolutely necessary to sketch!  My other cat Polly sat next to me at the open door absolutely transfixed by the doves as they preened and pecked.  I think she was only a quarter of the way through the door when they took off - having teased her for quite a long time.

What was slightly amazing to me on my journey north was to find that while London and the Southeast now closely resembles scorched earth due to lack of rain (shades of the summer of 1976), North West England has been getting a lot of rain - hence the garden was very lush with multiple variations on the colour green.  However even there they are having to close down sections of the canal system as the reservoirs which feed the canals lock system are so low.

Last week I came to the conclusion that there's an "English garden green" that I need which I didn't have with me as I was continuously mixing greens.  I'm still trying to work out which is the missing green......

Cosmo weighs up the escape routes

I've been up north this week in Cheshire and Scotland.  My cats went with me and as always spent a long time trying to work out different ways in and out of my mother's garden.  Variety is after all the spice of life and my cat Cosmo does like to ring the changes.......

 Cosmo pondering the escape route options

11.5" x 17" coloured pencils and pen and ink in Large Moleskine Sketchbook

copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This sketch was done one morning as Cosmo tried to decide whether it was best to break out of the garden through the trellis, tangle with the blackberry brambles or dislodge the clematis which covers the loggia....

Mind you I reckon he was indulging in wishful thinking about it really as he's now ten, carrying a bit more weight than he used to and doesn't race up and down vertical surfaces quite the way he did when younger.  Although he still makes regular appearances on the top of the doors at home.

St John Bread and Wine, Spitalfields

St John Bread and Wine, Spitalfields is an offshoot from the awardwinning St John Bar and Restaurant restaurant in Smithfield which I rather like.  Both are run by Fergus Henderson who's a big believer in nose to tail eating and has created what's regarded by many as a bit of a foodie favourite.

The Smithfield Restaurant opened in 1994 and is located in a former smokehouse.  It's rather splendid for not looking at all like other restaurants and it also has a menu quite unlike other restaurants.  This is the restaurant to go when you want to experiment with food you've never eaten before like chitterlings and trotter!  Last time I was there, there were rather a lot of "people off the telly" dining there except the only one person whose name I could remember was Sir John Birt

Tim Hayward (The Guardian's food blogger on Word of Mouth) spent the morning with Fergus at St. John recently preparing, cooking, and eating a pigs' head.

See also The Guardian - Word of Mouth Blog live web chat with Fergus Henderson

Brunch - St Johns, Spitalfields 
11.5" x 17", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Large Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

However, the focus of the Spitalfields branch of the St. John empire (see above sketch) is on baking the bread for this cafe restaurant and the one in Smithfield.  It's at 94-96 Commercial Street London E1 6LZ and is on the same side of the road as located right across the road from the old Spitalfields Market (now a very buzzy traders and arts market)

St John Bread and Wine opens for breakfast and progresses through elevenses to lunch and then supper.  In fact one could actually stay all day.  Tracy Emin who lives in Spitalfields did just that and has written a review of St John Bread and Wine - although  to be honest I can't out whether this review is by her or whether the site is compiled by a fan of Tracey.  There again it could be both!

I was there with my drawing group and as they got up to go and sketch in and around Spitalfields Market I decided to sit and have another cup of coffee and do a quick sketch.  It turned out to be a bit longer than a quick sketch as people came and went - and I never left until it was time to meet up for lunch!

What I really liked about it was that it has all white walls so I had to find the colours in the shadows.  I also very much enjoyed the matrix effect of the kitchen area - and the fact that all the chefs and kitchen staff came out to eat their meal in the restaurant before the lunch trade got going.

The chap who writes the Spitalfields Life blog has done a review of Hot Cross Buns from St John

I see from their website that they're opening a hotel at 1 Leicester Street, London WC2H 7BL in the bulding where Manzi's Fish Restaurant used to be in October.  I'm sure I shall find time to pay it a visit when gallery visiting!

The above sketch is of course another addition to my Interior Landscapes collection of sketches of places where people eat and drink.