Blake at Tate

Blake at Tate

It is necessary for most people to be a bit picky when it comes to appreciating William Blake, who is the deserved subject of a large exhibition at Tate Britain (a "Blakebuster"?). Very few are those who have the patient scholarship to follow his art and writing through all their intricate visionary philosophies. Not many more, I should guess, fall into the category of general readers that, with the help of those scholars, have a good understanding of the preoccupations of his esoteric works.

Montreuil-next-the-Tunnel

Montreuil-next-the Tunnel

Just the other side of the Channel, less than hour’s easy drive from Calais, lies an enticing destination for a weekend visit (or even a day trip from southern England). This is the town of Montreuil sur Mer, a small but intricate and intriguing place a few miles from the coast. Once upon a time, up to the late Middle Ages, its river was a coastal, navigable estuary- hence the town’s now misleading name. That was also the reason for its original strategic importance. The strategic position led to Montrueil’s natural escarpment being continually fortified, and re-fortified (because occasionally sacked) over the centuries, culminating, after a final sacking by a Spanish-English army, in the C16 citadel and walls which still distinguish the town. The old part is enclosed by high ramparts, unbroken except by one road, with a goodly fort at the South West corner.