"Gosh what funny names" he said, trying to bring the tone down.

Pretty successfully I think, Gordon.

But Carlisle doesn't sound all that strange does it, even in Glescae?

Well, that was a neat speed guide to the history of European Art through the Middle Ages. A sort of *beneath the tempura* pastiche if you will.
I'm with you on the golf kart thingies as well.

That Courtald installation looked rather interesting. That Rubens thing in the Princes Gate Collection? Man, I'm always getting Rubens and Van Dyck confused. I can never tell their stuff apart.

The Courtauld is certainly worth a visit Scooterdeb - I'm ashamed not to have been before. Mind it's a bit of a drive from LA. Rubens vs van Dyck? That's tough. My take, purely personal: van D is sort of northern European, a bit sparser/Dutch/Protestant, while R is more southern/Italian/warm with chubbier women and babies. Actually there are a couple of Rubenses at the Courtauld which made me catch my breath for their frankness and reality - no glamourisation, just humanity. Van Dyck loved the clothes and the drapery at least as much as the faces. I have been told that his father was a silk merchant and I can believe it. Oh, you've got me going now...