Visit to the Scooter Caffe and Lower Marsh, Waterloo on Tuesday 14 April 2026

Seventeen artists made their way to the Lower Marsh Road behind Waterloo Station, and the Scooter Cafe on the 14th April.   It was a bright sunny day and the majority decided to stay outside and sketch the many fascinating aspects of the road, which is charmingly unreconstructed by developers.  A few, however, spent the day in the dark interior of the equally enticing Scooter Caffe, mainly sketching the antique Lambretta, (or possibly it was a Vespa), and consuming the specialty coffees and hot chocolates on offer.  

We had lunch outside on the street tables, but had it been wet there were many cafes offering food.  A pedestrianised street, we enjoyed the largely total absence of traffic.    Lower Marsh offers much for the artist, from graffiti, painted buildings, market stalls, people, as well as the eclectically decorated Scooter Caffe, as far removed from international airport lounge decor as it is possible to be.     Altogether a location to return to in the future.  

Please enjoy our artwork.

Image above by Janet Payne

Image above by Do Burgess

Image above by Peter Colley

Image above by Priscilla Worley

Image above by William Hicks 

Image above by Janet Perkins

Image above by Elaine Kleinen

Image above by William Hicks 

Image above by Do Burgess

Two images above by Cathy Burkinshaw

Image above by Gill Steiner 

Image above by Michelle Cowan

Two images above by Gafung Wong

Image above by Betty Wang

Three images above by Diana Butement 

Two images above by Sue Lees

Two images above by Michael Hill 

Image above by Diane Umemoto

 

Art in the Park: Tuesday 10 March 2026

Covent Garden

The plan was to use the Royal Opera House as a venue but as it doesn’t open til 12.00 pm some of the group started at 11.00 am in the Covent Garden market area. It was a fine day but with an edge to the wind so most of us sat at tables in the Lower Ground courtyard where it was more sheltered. We drew to the sound of a busking string ensemble and a distant magician.

At 12.00 most migrated to the Royal Opera House where other colleagues were making a start. The images give a sense of the ‘Floral Hall’ with its wonderful window and light, of the costumes and masks that are placed around the shop and the café and of the view down from the top balcony.

We had lunch in the ROH café – a lovely bright space with long tables. Surprisingly busy.

 

Diane Umemoto
Sue Lees	Gafung Wong
Cathy Burkinshaw
Tricia Sharpe
Janet Payne
Diane Umemoto	Peter Colley
Betty Wang
Do Burgess	Cathy Burkinshaw
Audrey Rapier	Sue Lees
Diane Umemoto	Audrey Rapier
Gafung Wong	Gafung Wong
Janet Perkins

Tuesday 14 April: Scootercaffe, 133a Lower Marsh, Waterloo, London SE1 7AE

On Tuesday 14 April, we will visit Scootercaffe at 133a Lower Marsh, round behind Waterloo Station.  This cafe has at least one lambretta in its window, and lots of other fifties-sixties-related decor.   A fun and quirky indoor location.   For  further info and images see here  and here

Outside Lower Marsh has street food stalls and lots of pretty shops, so if the day is nice people may want to sketch outside, more info here  

We will  meet at 11 outside Scootercaffe.   They serve coffee and cocktails, but we don't think food, so we shall have to find lunch outside.

A map of the area can be found here   The red pin (teardrop the wrong way up) marks the location of Scootercaffe.   For those arriving by tube at Waterloo,  you should exit via the Waterloo Mainline Station entrance and go along to Leake Street, which we think goes underneath the railway lines.  Lower Marsh is very close to the other side of the mainline Station, and Scootercaffe is very close to the Westminster Bridge Road end.

We suggest that you bring your sketching stools.   

Sue's mobile number for the day is 07975 864 142.  

Images from our pleasant and productive day in and around the Royal Opera House will be posted on Sunday or early next week.   

Tuesday 10 March: Visit to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD

UPDATE:  We have discovered that the Royal Opera House does not open its doors until 12 noon, so we suggest that everyone arrives at 11 o'clock at the rear door as arranged, and then sketches outside until 12.  (You can of course arrive earlier and carry on outside for longer if you wish.)

 

On Tuesday 10 March we will visit the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.  We last visited it in February 2019 and you can see what we did last time by clicking here:  There is quite extensive public access to the building, and in particular there is public access to the 5th floor  rear of the building, next to the smart Cicoria restaurant, where people can look over the balcony at Covent Garden, a stunning view.  Roofed, but no windows.  You may have to stand by the balcony, but you may be lucky and get a chair.  Inside there are views looking down into the Floral Hall, now renamed, but the window facade is still there, and there are costume displays scattered around, particularly at one side of the ground floor cafe.  The ballet costumes have gone from the entrance to Cicoria restaurant, and have been replaced by heads similar to those in the recent tv production of the Lord of the Flies, very atmospheric and scary, and interesting to sketch.  

Alternatively, if the weather is reasonable, people may wish to sketch outside.  There is a covered walkway at the rear of the Opera House with ground level views of the Market and piazza, hopefully far enough away from the Market to avoid the noise.

We will assemble just inside the rear entrance to the Opera House which is at the north east corner of the piazza, as previously, at 11 o'clock.    It is close to the entrance to the ground floor cafe where we may have lunch (central London prices).    The nearest tube station is Covent Garden, on the Piccadilly Line, or Leicester Square station on the Northern Line is not very far away.  

Bring your stools, as your selected view may not have seating.   Previously, the House was relaxed about watercolours being used, hopefully this is still the case.

 Sue's mobile number for the day will be:07975 864142.   We look forward to another pleasant and productive day's sketching. 

 

 

 

 

British Museum, February 2026

The weather was dreary but the British Museum was full of buzz. Mornings are popular with school groups so the galleries were busy with primary school children as well as tours.

Our main focus was the monumental Egypt Gallery (Room 4) but artists roamed beyond this to try to find locations that were quieter and less crowded. Most of us stayed with Egypt and enjoyed our conversations with curious and enthusiastic children, and eventually the crowds thinned.

By dint of elbows and hard stares we managed to get an entire table for lunch in the Great Court.

In this month’s collection you will see the same sculptures captured from different viewpoints, as well as images from the Greek, Assyrian, Chinese and Cyprus Galleries, the Wellcome Gallery, the Nordic Noir exhibition and a view from the stairs of the Great Court. Only dry materials are permitted in the museum so the work has a different feel from the usual range. 

	Diane Umemoto
Betty Wang
Janet Perkins	Peter Colley
Gafung Wong
Gill Steiner	Diana Butement
Janet Payne	Avis Dennis
Tricia Sharpe
Sue Lees	Priscilla Worley
Diana Butement	Priscilla Worley
Do Burgess
Alice Holt	Janet Payne
Ruijunh Hu
Do Burgess
Sue Lees