Plinth Charming...?

Usually eager to 'accentuate the positive', Mr Gnome is uncharacteristically disappointed by a new piece of public art.

This less-than-life-size portrait bronze stands on the South Bank of the Thames in central London, immediately outside the National Theatre.

It shows the great actor Sir Laurence Olivier as the Prince of Denmark, in costume and pose drawn from the 1940s film of Hamlet, which he also directed.

Mr G says: 'From my point of view, this work misses every target, capturing none of the energy, stature, presence and sheer dramatic oomph of this remarkable thesp - and it makes nothing of its site. Bland-tastic, really.'

Pop to Mr G's post on the new statue of John Betjeman at St Pancras Station for a cheering-up view of a tip-top piece of public art.