Pussy cat,
Pussy cat,
Where have you been?
I’ve been up to London to visit the Queen.

Pussy cat,
Pussy cat,
What did you there?
I frightened a little mouse under a chair.

None of this is true of course, except I have been up to London and I have visited the Gallery at Buckingham Palace and the old nursery rhyme is going around in my head.

I visited the exhibition of the drawings done by Maria Sibylla Meriam that are in the possession of the Queen.  What an amazing woman Maria was, travelling to Surinam in 1699 with her daughter and drawing the plants and insects she found there.

The lady at the entrance desk whispered conspiritorially that David Attenbough was viewing the exhibition, but sadly I did not see him.

I guess the copyright belongs to the Queen and I hope I am not treading on her toes by posting this image.

We were allowed to photograph the images (no flash) which surprised me as the rule nowadays seems to be to prohibit photography, I am posting this amazing drawing, what fun she had observing these creatures, the audio commentary commented that these not entirely accurate but mostly she drew from life.

I also visited the Society of Botanical Artists exhibition (no photography allowed) which is on until 23rd April, and I must say, nothing grabbed me as much as Maria’s work.  Maybe it was the lack of creepy crawlies!