I spent the day on my own at Tate Modern, one of my favourite exhibition spaces, as there are so many shows on that it would almost be negligent to miss them.

I must confess to not being a great fan of Damien Hirst but went to see his exhibition as he is a figure in the art world that cannot be ignored.  I was pleasantly surprised by his cabinets of pills - ethereal, reflected in the mirrored backs, shimmering and dangerous.  A similar display with cigarette butts was striking.  His butterfly creations were skilful but I felt they were rather gimmicky.  And as for the flies in resin.....

The Munch show was wonderful. He was not a painter of close detail but of great emotion and atmosphere.  Seeing the same subjects painted in several versions was interesting.  They are similar but different as each one builds on earlier experiences.

Tino Sehgal’s installation in the Turbine Hall was intriguing and beautiful.  Fifty or so men and women of all ages running, dancing, coming together, moving out, singing in the light and in the dark; dispersing to speak to visitors, relating a story about themselves then going on to do something else.  It was surprisingly moving. 

The Tanks are now open until October.  They are imposing spaces - bare concrete, atmospheric lighting, and a welcome cool contrast to the external heat.  Rather womb-like. Or tomb-like?

I spent the day at the V & A to see all the current exhibitions as it is so easy to miss them and then regret not having made the effort.

The first was British Design 1948-2012.  It was good to see my life encapsulated in the exhibition!  It was also somewhat disconcerting to see in display cases artefacts with which I grew up...

The exhibition of Ballgowns was spectacular.  Each dress was a work of art with, no doubt, hundreds of hours of hand work on each.   I admire the vision of the designers but would like to know about the makers of each dress...

For me, the biggest surprise of the day was the Thomas Heatherwick show.  His work is visionary, from buildings to small items of furniture and bags.  The Seed Cathedral, with rare seeds fixed in acrylic attached to long poles, is a shimmering miracle.  Do look at his website www.heatherwick.com when you have the chance.  And I have no vested interest in making this suggestion.

Well, I did return to the exhibition and was very glad to have done so.

Grey 2012, a sculpture of a wolf in straw and plaster by Nicola Hicks was beautiful.  It seemed alive and fresh and I half expected it to move off.  Another animal piece was Spike, a cheetah, made out of coat hangers by David Mach - powerful and tactile, despite the spikes of its title.  Imaginary animals were the theme in Sweetly the Air Flew Overhead, Battle with the Unicorns No 11, an astonishing piece by Cathy de Monchaux, made out of paper, copper, brass and elastoplast.  The energy seemed real, complete with impalements!