One & Other

Last Monday lunchtime, as I was leaving one job and walking to the next, I remembered that I had not been to Trafalgar Square to see Anthony Gormley's art project One & Other since it had begun back in early July so I thought I'd better get there and check it out.

Anthony Gormley explains the idea of One & Other far more eloquently than I can and the website is well worth looking at so I suggest you go and take a look at. It doesn't matter if you are living thousands of miles away from Trafalgar Square because you'll get a much better view of the fourth plinth than you do when you are standing nearby as I found when I ate my picnic lunch sitting on a wall near the National Gallery.

There has been a debate running for years now about what to do with the empty fourth plinth in the north west of Trafalgar Square. There is the famous statue of Lord Nelson on top of his column with four lions at the base of the column protecting it. There are two fountains with mermaids and dolphins that people like to paddle in on hot summer days and there are three bronze statues of General Sir Charles James Napier in the south west, Major General Sir Henry Havelock in the south east and King George IV in the north east.

So Anthony Gormley came up with his idea and frankly I find the idea much more interesting that the reality. The hour I went to visit the plinth there was someone on it trying to have a party all by herself: it was extremely tedious and a bit sad - it was much more interesting watching passers by. Any way as I write this there is some bloke on the plinth dressed up as a daffodil and wiggling his bottom! Enjoy.