London Living @ It's Your London

Leaving London!

2012-01-04T11:12:00.002Z

I'm going to be away for several weeks now so just wanted to wish you all a very happy 2012.

This is shaping up to be a great year for London with the Royal Jubilee and then the Olympics and Paralympics so watch out for lots of blogs from March onwards.

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon

A Winter Wonderland in London this Christmas!

2011-12-19T14:06:00.002Z

Christmas time in London is great fun with loads of thing to do and see. One of our favourites is Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park so we took some friends who had not been before to enjoy an evening of Christmas cheer. They couldn't work out what Winter Wonderland was from our description - is it a theme park, is it a Christmas market, it is a food market, is for kids or adults? Well, it's all of these and it takes up a huge space right in the middle of Hyde Park!

You enter through a massive arch through which you can just see the beginings of the fun fair in the distance. The first section is made up of several alleyways of Christmas market chalets but the best thing here is the talking and singing moose! I've attached a video but in case that doesn't work for you, there's a photo as well. I hope the video runs for you as he is wonderful and one of my highlights. (If it doesn't download right away, come back to it)

You can linger for ages checking out all the gifts in the chalets of the market section as it is extensive and tempting. Once through with shopping you are surrounded by food stalls and into the fun fair. There's everything from the old fashioned but beautiful helter skelter and big wheel, to incredibly fast whirling things, all looking very festive, to dreadfully scary rides that were too fast to take a photo of and I have know idea how people were not sick on them but it seemed fun was being had! The roller coaster was popular, looking a little slower than the super fast rides but still resulted in a good few screams.

There are some traditions about Christmas ghost stories so there was the obligatory haunted house with a huge violin playing skeleton outside. On the cuter side, I loved the snowman, the sweets and the massive balloon

We managed to eat and drink our way round the whole experience, tasting the warming mulled wine and by the time we got to the burgers one friend was so hungry he ordered two, making the stall holder so excited that he shouted for all to hear 'he's going for 2'! There were stalls full of churros and chocolate, candy floss, any type of grilled sausage and colourful sweets.
We almost went for the ice skating but after a wonderful dry evening, the rain started to come down so we escaped to a nearby pub to keep dry and warm.

We're all going again next year and perhaps someone will be brave enough to try the scary rides but I don't think it will be me!

Bye for now,

Sue

www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

@itsyourlondon

More gorgeous London Chrismas lights!

2011-12-12T14:25:00.001Z

There are so many fabulous Christmas lights in London this year I just had to put up another selection for you! I still have some lights left to visit, so there could even be part 3...

Not quite fitting the heading of lights, but very Christmassy none the less, were the sights on show this Saturday in Trafalgar Square where I stumbled upon a massive Santa gathering! Hundreds of Santa were streaming out of the tube stations and off the buses to hang out together, sing songs, do congas and (shock - horror!) drink beer! Everyone was having such fun it was infectious, although the tourists who had come to check out the Olympic clock were rather bemused. They kept asking 'why'? It seems the only answer was to have fun...

Nearby Covent Garden always looks beautiful at Christmas and I was eager to see if the giant reindeer was there again. Yes, he was although he had set up camp round the other side of the piazza. I missed the real ones who had been there during the day but I love this chap with his proper red nose! There was also an intriguing and beautifully lit chalet which turned out to house a digital installation work by Martha Fiennes called Nativity. The market sections were decorated with enormous baubles and the whole area looked wonderfully festive, as I'd hoped.

Regent Street is a posh shopping street but they have a habit of putting up the most commercial lights with product placement to the fore. This year, however, they have been more restrained and have some lovely lights about sledges and elfs!

All the big shopping areas in London are great for lights, festive window dressing and decorated trees - even skating rinks! Here is the last set of photos showing: the window at Selfridges, the tree at Whiteleys; and the skating rink at Westfield Shepherds Bush.

I hope you've enjoyed more Christmas in London!

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon

The Christmas lights in London are brilliant!

2011-12-07T16:20:00.001Z

The Christmas lights seem to go up earlier each year but by December we are all getting into the swing of the festive season. Huge numbers of people come to visit to big shopping areas in London like Oxford Street, Regent Street and Covent Garden to buy presents but also to enjoy the wonderful Christmas lights.
This will be a 2 part blog as there are so many to show you. Here's part 1 and I hope you enjoy a trip around London with me!

One of the loveliest and yet very simple Christmas lights are the blue arches in South Molton Street:

I'm not usually a great fan of Oxford Street as it's so busy and has mostly chain stores but their lights are great this year and really lift the mood in the crowds:

St Pancras Station have cornered the market in lego and have this massive tree made completely of lego! I've put a close up so you can see some of the pieces - it must have taken ages to put together!

Carnaby Street is often the best of the lot and this year they have gone all loved up with their mistletoe and holly branches and Kingly Court looks magical with its fairy lights:

Just one more for today! The tree in Trafalgar Square is very special as it is sent to us each year from the people of Norway to thank us for our help during the Second World War. It's a huge and beautiful tree and each evening you can listen to the carol singers gathered underneath it.

I hope you've enjoyed a short trip round the London Christmas lights. I'll try to squeeze a few more in very soon.

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon

Exploring London - Brixton Village Market

2011-11-21T14:47:00.001Z

One of the best things about living in London is that there is always something new to see and do. I've lived in London for longer than I care to mention but I can still be delighted by finding a new area to visit. Last week a group of us went exploring to Brixton Village, south London.
We headed there on a Saturday morning and entered the Village which sits under the railway arches. I didn't know what to expect from the title 'Village' and especially from this entrance. However, as soon as we walked in, we were greatly entertained by an amazing range of stalls and cafes in an old covered market.

This once run down arcade with an empty unloved corner now houses over 20 new cafes and shops according to Time Out but I'm sure that number has grown massively since their article. It's a foodie's paradise with great independent cafes and restaurants and food stall groaning with great produce. This link gives you the chance to 'be there' via some videos of the

http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1543/brixton-village-market-restaurants-and-cafes-guide

We made use of the wonderful array of eateries and tasted the burgers at Honest Burgers which were very good. This tiny cafe with a few tables inside and outside has constant queues outside which are testament to its quality - so we went for take-away. Simply walking around was fabulous sight seeing and this selection of photos will give you a feel of the place.

What else is there? Upstairs there are artists' studio and as there was an open day when we went, we could go up and chat with artists about their work from photography, to model making to printing.

Nearby I need to mention the Ritzy Cinema, a fabulous building, showing great films with a wonderful history. Those of you who read my last blog post will know my love quirky local cinemas. I've not seen a film at the Ritzy so it couldn't make my list. Dating from 1910 it offers 4 screens, bars and restaurants and a lively social centre.

Finally, for music lovers with a good memory, one of the local streets brought about an outbreak of bad singing - remember Eddie Grant's Electric Avenue? Well it's here and was so called because it was the first market street to have electricity in the 1880s.

I'll be going back to Brixton Village Market, that's for sure!

Bye for now
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon

London is tops for cinema lovers!

2011-11-07T15:36:00.001Z

I'm a great fan of cinema and much prefer seeing a film on the big screen than on the TV with all the fun of the movie going experience. London has an amazing range of cinemas, from the swanky thousand-plus seaters in Leicester Square like the Empire and Odeon, through to the many intimate local and boutique places.

London has great movie credentials as it hosts one of the world's top film festivals in October every year when over 200 films are on show and the stars come to town to parade on the red carpets. As a venue for shooting of films there are too many to mention but from the top of my head come 'Notting Hill', 'The King's Speech', 'Harry Potter', 'Bridget Jones' and of course the recently released 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'.

My favourite cinemas are the small, boutique and quirky ones and here are my top 5, not in any order as it's too hard to chose! Those of you with a working knowledge of London cinemas will notice that these are all around the Notting Hill area. This is not just because I live there, but we have an amazing concentration of great movie houses and I celebrate that!

1. The Electric

This is the last word in luxurious film viewing with extra wide seats, a bar with snacks in the auditorium, plenty of space for drinks by your seat, a footstool, bed sized seats at the back for - well, best leave that there.... All this and up to the moment films and a long and interesting history as they have closed and nearly gone under many times since opening in 1910! They are one of the oldest working cinemas in the UK

2. The Lexi

This a wonderful warm hearted little cinema, staffed by volunteers and sending their profits out to an amazing project in Africa, the Sustainability Institute. They show you a film about their work with kids so you are in no doubt as to the good they do. You can catch the latest films here and it's well worth heading out to find them.

3. The Gate

The Gate is a very comfortable stylish cinema dating from 1911 with a splendid Edwardian interior. It is an independent cinema showing big name films as well as more hard to find gems and live screenings of opera and plays from the National Theatre, which is pretty cool of them!

4. Portobello Pop Up

This is a brilliant place - a digital non profit microplex, the antidote to multiplexes, made of recycled materials, sitting under the Westway. The box office is made out of - you've guessed - cardboard boxes and the seats are a collection of odd reclaimed seats. They show a range of films, of with director's Q&A. This year I saw My Beautiful Launderette with a chance to chat to Michael Frears. There's no booking, no tickets, you just turn up - how refreshing! Just check when their season is....

5. The Coronet

Lots of history associated with the Coronet as it started as a theatre in 1898, featured in the film Notting Hill (remember the scene where Hugh wears his snorkel goggles - of course you do!) and I recall it being the last cinema you could smoke in - upstairs only! The interior gives away its theatrical background and the tickets for all the latest films are good value too.

London has loads more great cinemas but these are my top 5 - which are yours?

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon

LONDON'S SMALL AND HIDDEN THEATRES

2011-10-17T14:37:00.000+01:00

London is the home to hundreds of theatres from large and glitzy famous West End ones like the Palladium and the Palace Theatre (long time home of Priscilla Queen of the Desert) to the very smallest room at the back of a pub. In between you will find the National Theatre ,a home fine productions both new writing and revivals, as well as the excellent range of 'off West End' theatres such as the Old Vic, the Royal Court and the Donmar.

The Donmar Warehouse deserves special mention as it is a wonderful small space with just 250 seats where you can see the big stars of stage and screen - currently Jude Law is in a sell out production. As with many of the small theatres, its entrance is easily missed on the street and if you are lucky you can get hang around these doors and get close to the stars - here's my favourite photo of me and Dominic West!

What about the 'hidden theatres' then? Well there is an amazingly well hidden small theatre in Notting Hill called The Print Room which is down an alleyway, through to a welcoming reception area and is a converted 1950s warehouse. From these unexpected premises they put on great plays and if you like to meet the cast, they are usually in the bar opposite, the Commander! Their staging is amazing, one production was set inside a disused tennis court and another on a huge mound of soil which actors had to climb across (well the play was called 'Kingdom of Earth'!

Another very small theatre well worth a visit is the Gate just off Notting Hill Gate. They have a really small room, with about 70 seats, above the Prince Albert pub but manage to pull off the most imaginative use of space and I hardly recognise the room from one production to another. New writing is on show and it specialises in international work. Their last production, Wittenberg, was fun, challenging, incredibly well staged

Much grander and more famous is The Old Vic which currently has a wonderful artistic director - Kevin Spacey! He often stars in plays there and most recently was Richard 111 and previously in Speed the Plow with Jeff Goldblum and Inherit the Wind. It is a treat to have him regularly on stage, but the Old Vic was great before him and will be great when he leaves.

So many more theatres worthy of mention but hopefully this has given you as taster for some of London's less well known off West End delights.

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itysourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon

Looking for a weekend away from London? Try Rome!

2011-10-10T17:09:00.000+01:00

I love London, it's my favourite place but sometimes it's good to go away for a weekend. London is a great transport hub so getting away couldn't be easier whether it's to somewhere else in the UK or to Europe. So this weekend it was Rome!
So you leave London early (very early!) on Friday and are back in time for Downton Abbey on Sunday, how much can you squeeze into an action packed few days? Here goes:

The Colosseum and Constantine Arch. We walked around these, felt the grandeur and imagined the gladiator fights inside - helped my numerous men dressed up in gladiator gear.No time on this trip to go inside but it's pretty good from the outside. Nearby is Trajan's Forum, Market and Column which you can walk by, again saving time on a tour but leaving plenty of time for photos. There are ruins everywhere and every corner and turn is a delight. Rome is compact and easy to walk around especially as many sights are very close to each other. Also located just by the Colosseum is the Vittorio Emanuele monument which is absolutely huge, very white not universally popular with Romans, it goes by the nickname of 'the typewriter' and they say the best view of Rome is from the top as you can't see it!

Another good batch of sightseeing delights is the area around St Peter's which gives you the church itself, the wonderful piazza in front of it and the Vatican. Together these would fill a good half day but the friends we were with had booked a Vatican tour for after we had to leave and I'd been already on a previous whistle stop visit. I still remember the sheer scale of the Vatican City and was awe struck by the Sistine Chapel. We had every intention of having a look inside St Peter's but the queue was at least an hour long so we wandered along the Tiber and enjoyed the wonderful October sunshine instead.

I love the Pantheon, built by the ancient Romans, it's their most complete building in the city and is still used as a church despite the hoards of camera clicking tourists that flock in. It is an architectural wonder with its height (43m) being the same as its diameter and has a domed roof with no visible support. Nearby is the Trevi Fountain which is enormous and takes up most of the square where it is squeezed in along with tons of tourists, many throwing a coin in the fountain which is supposed to ensure their return to the eternal city. From this iconic sight, it's not far to another, the Spanish Steps which we reached at sun down giving it a mellow feel.

What else did we manage to fit in? Several drinks stops, lunches, dinners and ice creams! A visit to the Botticelli and Lippi exhibition, several churches,some window shopping and some great catching up with long missed friends. Could we have stayed longer - definitely? Did we fit in as much as possible - absolutely!

One final sight to leave you with - in Rome, even gladiators need to do their shopping!

The next blog will be back in London so bye for now.

Sue

www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

@itsyourlondon

5 big reasons why we love the River Thames!

2011-09-29T11:11:00.001+01:00

Here at It's Your London we love the River Thames and this week's blog will give you 5 big reasons why:

1. Number one has to be Tower Bridge, one of the most iconic sights in London. If you are lucky you can catch it as it opens and here are 3 shots of the levers up to allow passing traffic. One of the shots is really unusual as the sides are completely open to allow a tall ship through.
Tower Bridge was built in 1894 and the design is an amazing arrangement which allows traffic to flow by road and by river with the minimum disruption and they can open and close it in just a few minutes. It is situated next to the Tower of London making an amazing pair of sightseeing treats.

2. Number two reason is that there is always a great event going on. In the last month we've had the inspirational swim by David Walliams. He swam the full length of the Thames, a daunting 140 miles, for the charity Sport Relief, raising over £1 million pounds for his efforts. We rushed down to catch him coming out of the water for the last time and then could see him being interviewed by Lenny Henry holding a bottle of dubious looking water! The Thames does has fish in it in now so it reasonably clean but definitely not for drinking!

Then on the south bank of the river a set of beautifully decorated life sized gorillas appeared to publicise their plight as endangered species. They were fabulous - just another day on the river bank!

3. Number three is the Thames Barrier - an extraordinary feat of engineering that saves London from major floods and keeps the river under control. It's out in the east of London and you can visit to see how it works and also see what a beautiful construction it is. Without this barrier London would be in great danger as climate change brings higher waters surging up the Thames estuary. Built in 1983 it is the second largest of its type in the world (after the one in Holland).

4. Number four reason why we love the Thames is the brilliant views you get from so many angles. The river bank is lined with historic and fabulous buildings and where ever you look there is a great photo opportunity. I have hundreds of photos to chose from and have picked out just 2 here. One is taken from the top of Millbank Tower and shows the sweep of the Thames past the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. The second is at dusk with the sun highlighting the bridge with St Paul's and the Gherkin behind.

London is a photographer's dream and the Thames is at the heart of that dream, so do come and visit and get snapping!

5. Our number five reason was hard to chose as there are so many more..... However we went for Richmond as it is one of the lovely towns along the Thames which are easy to reach from the centre of London. It has a wonderful old bridge, great walks along the river banks, excellent bars and restaurants. It also has an outstanding view of the Thames, across a meadow showing the curve of the river, one of its islands and the countryside stretching out in the distance.

Hope you enjoyed the Thames as much as we do!

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

Behind the scenes at some of London's great buildings!

2011-09-19T14:33:00.001+01:00

Once a year thanks to Open House London, all kinds of buildings that you can't normally get into open their doors for us to have a good nose around - and it's absolutely free!. The big challenge is to decide which ones and fit them all in. I went for 5 amazing places on Sunday and we squeezed them in despite crowds and road closures due to the final leg of the Tour of Britain cycle race wheeling into London. My choices were: Trellick Tower; Customs House; Apothecaries' Hall; RSA, and the star of them all, The Foreign Office.

So let's start with our favourite, the Foreign Office, just off Whitehall, which was so much more decorative then I expected (wasv thinking dull civil service type offices and corridors) . It's grand, beautiful and must be an incredible place to work from the imposing entry courtyard, to the unbelievable central Durbar Court. There are beautiful ceilings and elaborate staircases to take your breath away with a rich history to match. I expected someone to break out singing 'Rule Britannia'!

In complete contrast is the block of flats called Trellick Tower which dominates the skyline in North Kensington. I've never managed to get inside before so relished the opportunity of a tour given by a resident who showed us in 2 flats and told us about the delights of living in a Erno Goldfinger designed environment. It's 31 floors high and the views are amazing - photos show the west view towards Westfield and the BBC and east along the canal to the City. The flats are incredibly spacious and all have balconies (great for frustrated gardeners) and the corridors are bright and colourful, unlike many public housing projects. This grade 11 listed building is still majority occupied by council tenants - what a flat to have! And yes, the James Bond villain is named after Erno Goldfinger!

The Apothecaries' Hall dates from about 1670, although the lovely courtyard is newer being remodelled in 1786 (!). Inside we were treated to loads of information about the ancient Livery Company and a chance to see their magnificent great hall, their beautiful old jars and one jar that reminded us of older remedies with its caption 'leeches' - ouch...

The RSA building dating from 1770s, just off the Strand, was a strange mixture of conference style rooms with amazing ceilings in pastel shades. It designed by Robert Adam as one building but more were purchased and incorporated including the Adelphi Tavern. The Great Room has the most extraordinary wall sized paintings by James Barry and the roll of honour of Chairman ranges from monarchs, to Olivier, to Crick and Berners-Lee. I really liked the full name of the society on the doorpost - such a worthy aspiration...
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Our last visit to mention was to the Customs House on the Thames by the Monument. Steeped in history as from 1671 every ship's captain coming up the Thames with cargo had to register here in the famous Long Room and pay his Custom duties before he could unload or sell his cargo. The old entrance on the river is not the one we came in but as you step out and smell the river you can easier imagine how it was back then - aided by the excellent displays of paintings on the wall around you.

So that was Open House weekend for another year but we are planning next year's already!

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon

Now a Night Carnival!!

2011-09-12T10:46:00.003+01:00

Just when we had recovered from the Notting Hill Carnival, along came another one! But it was different, it was a Night Carnival. I'd never been to one before so it was a must for a Sunday evening.

The weekend had been full of fun events as the Thames Festival took over the South Bank of the Thames with hundreds of stalls selling every type of food and gifts. Face painting, Korean plays, bands, plays, boat parades, lantern displays, al fresco tango (!), art displays and much much more took over the river bank and thousands of people turned up to enjoy the free events.

As night fell at the end of the 2 days extravaganza, the streets were lined with visitors who were hugely entertained by dancers, floats, music and the most amazing costumes. I'd seen the Notting Hill parades and this was great but different and the entertainers had made brilliant use of lights on their bodies, on their floats, and they twirled their way through the route with shaming amounts of energy! The twirling made the photos a little difficult but here they are - look out for horses, space monsters, turtles, dancers, a lion and even a teapot!

Bye for now.
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon

Notting Hill Carnival 2011 - what a blast!

2011-08-30T17:44:00.001+01:00

Notting Hill Carnival is two days of madness around the streets of this lovely part of London. You'll find: hundreds of thousands of people; amazing costumes in the parade; incredibly loud sound stages; lots of dancing; a fair amount of drinking (!); quite a lot of police; great Caribbean food; stalls; something for young and old; and, a huge amount of fun!

Enjoy the photos and look out for yours truly with a festive face painting!

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

3 top London markets!

2011-08-15T22:38:00.021+01:00

My 3 favourite markets in London are Camden, Portobello and Spitalfields. They have a different feel and are in different parts of London but beware, don't ever try to do more than one in a day or you will have a severe case of market overload!
Let's go to Camden first. It's in north London and is made up of several markets that cover a huge area around the Grand Union Canal's lock which is why you'll see many references to the lock and this can be another name for the markets. Camden market grows every time I visit and has mushroomed from being some stalls around the canal area to the massive redeveloped Stables area which is full of huge bronze horse statues as it was once a stable and horse hospital. There is always something new and one area which burnt down a couple years ago has been rebuilt and incorporates a fun cafe of Vespas (see photo)
One thing hasn't changed in all the years I've been coming, is Camden fashion's love of black and leather and outrageous visuals. There are tons of food stalls, clothes stalls, jewellery stalls but most of all clothes stalls. My last visit was rather sad as the news of Amy Winehouse's death spread through the crowd while we were there and as fellow local, the stall holders felt a great affinity with her.

Camden is full-on over the weekend when they reckon 100,000 people visit, especially on a Sunday, but you can visit during the week tho' don't try going in the morning as no one is up! The streets leading to the market are amazing too, trading on the image of Camden of black leather and tattoos - see photo
Photos are: the lock and the market; Vespa cafe; classic shop entry!; Camden fashion; and, the street leading to the market.

Next we are off to east London to Spitalfields market where Sunday is the big day, tho' again there are some markets during the week but unlike Camden, they are much smaller. On Sunday the square is humming with stalls manned by new designers just starting off with their creations - mostly clothes but other items too. They are always keen to tell you about their work and tell you about the creative process. Of course there are the food stalls and stalls with stuff you'll see elsewhere but there is still a good selection of one offs. This market has grown recently and is now surrounded by large shops and well known restaurant chains but it has kept its buzz and is a great Sunday out.

There has been a market on this site since 1638 when fish, fowl and roots were sold here. The original market, specialising in wholesale fruit and vegetables was moved to new premises out of central London in 1991 and now it is at the centre of a busy market area. Close by is Brick Lane, Petticoat Lane and Truman Brewery so on a Sunday you can wander from one to the other and experience the amazing range of cultures and styles in London.

A key landmark in the area is the beautiful Christ church built in the early 1700s which is the first photo. The others show the busy market trading .

Our final stop today is my favourite market because it is round the corner from where I live - Portobello Market. In fashionable west London this market is best visited on Saturday, as the other days of the week are a shadow of the bustle of the main day. The market lines both sides of Portobello Road and it changes character as you move down from antiques at the beginning, to fruit and veg, to general items, to a new designers section, a major second hand clothing section, a farmers market (with a seasonal pop up cinema!) and finally to the north African/Portuguese/Spanish section as you get to Golborne Road. The area where the antiques are is where you see the classic views of the brightly coloured houses that typify the road.

Portobello Road was the setting for Notting Hill the film and we still get lots of visitors trying to find the famous blue door and the travel bookshop. The market is also famous as a favourite Saturday activity for Paddington Bear who lived locally! Trading however dates back to the early 1900 when it was mainly fresh food with the antique traders arriving in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Photos are: busy market day ; a quieter day with the food stalls and the Electric cinema; the beautiful coloured houses; and, the famous travel bookshop.

I hope you've enjoyed my favourite London markets - there are loads more, but that's for another day.

Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

What a performance!

2011-08-11T14:56:00.000+01:00

It's been a difficult week in London with the riots in several areas of the capital but we are really hoping these disturbances have finished now. Londoners are carrying on as usual as much as possible - it's the way we do things here!

I've been going to the theatre several times recently and there are some great performances to tell you about. Firstly there was the trip to Shakespeare's Globe, the extraordinary building which is a faithful representation of the original Globe where Shakespeare's plays were performed in the early 1600s. The American actor Sam Wannamaker launched an amazing campaign to build this theatre on the South Bank as he was astounded there was nothing to mark the site of the Globe. After overcoming major battles the work started although it was not completed in his lifetime. The result is wonderful from the outside and also as a place to perform - only the sound of passing planes disturbing the sensation of being back in history. You can sit in the wonderful galleries or stand as a 'groundling' for just £5.

We went to see Ann Boleyn, a riveting play which kept us royally entertained and made us forget the strain of standing for 3 hours! Incredible performances from all the lead characters and a fascinating telling of a familiar tale. By standing you are so close to the stage you really feel you are in the action. Before the performances start, you can take a tour of the Globe to learn more about its history and workings and I took one a few weeks ago which was fascinating, especially to hear about the awful conditions of the groundlings - open to the elements and no toilets!! I'll say no more... You can also see the actors warming up for the performance, testing their voices and positions on the stage which is a real treat.

Photos are: the evocative exterior of the Globe; the wonderful galleried seating and standing areas; the actors warming up and a scary noose (!); and, the stage set for Ann Boleyn,
Performance is not just theatre! I was invited to a private evening of performance typewriting - how amazing is that! The talented Keira Rathbone was doing live typing of people's eyes - you just sit in front of her and using an old manual typewriter she will skillfully and rather mysteriously manage to type your eye so you can recognise it. She also does more substantial work such as a triptych of Hammersmith Bridge or whole faces. Have a look at the photos showing Keira at her typewriter in front of a subject and an eye emerging on the typewriter from the flying fingers.

Some theatre is staged in the most unlikely settings and this was certainly true when we set off to see an outdoor performance of The Tempest in Coram's Fields. This is no ordinary park and during the daytime you must abide by the sign which says ' Coram's Fields is not a public park and adults may only enter if accompanied by a child'! Thomas Coram was shocked by the state of children in London and in 1739 set up the Foundling Hospital to care for their health and education. The site of the hospital is now a huge 7 acre space is the park which is also used for theatrical performances and a makeshift set of tents became the backdrop for Shakespeare's The Tempest, although the cast also ran around the park and at times through the audiences by climbing over the seats. Photos show the stage before and during the performance which was full of fun. One more performance to tell you about, but without photos this time, is War Horse. This is the story of a horse and a boy who trains him and what happens to both of them in the First World War. It is amazingly told using moving models as horses - a small one for the pony and a huge one for the fully grown horse which is strong enough to carry riders. The life sized model has people within it so it can move around the stage and they make the horse noises too. It's a sad and shocking tale of the horrors of war but well worth a visit for the brilliance of the horses which really get to you. Tears have been known all around the audience...

Bye for now,

Sue

www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

Standing on the home turf of cricket

2011-08-04T15:13:00.005+01:00

We had a special treat this week thanks to a friend who is a member at Lord's - a trip to the famous 'home of cricket' and a chance to nose around the private members' areas.

It was Ladies' day and Middlesex were playing Derbyshire and it must be said, the match was a bit one sided in favour of Middlesex. However, we were excited to be there and have a tour around this iconic sporting venu. The day started with champagne in the outdoor garden area and then we were allowed to walk onto the hallowed turf, once play had stopped for lunch! It was amazing to walk around and see the ground from pitch level and get very close to the wicket. These first photos show you what we saw: the very proud score board; the wicket with the amazing JP Morgan media centre behind; and, the original Victorian stand - built in the shade as those good folk were so heavily clothed they couldn't manage any direct sunshine!
After a spot of lunch we had a wander around and even got to see the famous 'Long Bar' where I took a quick photo as I'm not sure it's really the done thing...... Until relatively recently the only women allowed in were the Queen and the cleaners but things have moved on, not least thanks to the lure of lottery funding, and since 1999 as long as you have a member is there to sign you in, women can wander freely! We stood on the balcony which is reputed to have the best view of cricket anywhere in the world and also has the bell which starts the play. Have a look at these photos: the Long Bar (quick snap); the great view of the ground; a match in play - bowling and batting; and, yours truly ringing the bell (almost)!

The current venue has been the home of the MCC since 1814. MCC stands for Marylebone Cricket Club and the ground is called Lord's after Thomas Lord who established the private ground for them although this was originally where Dorset Square is now. The MMC set the laws of cricket for the world and still retain this role The wonderful Victorian pavilion dates from 1890 and the ground has seen many developments since then including the JP Morgan media centre in 1999. I'm sure they are already looking forward to celebrating an incredible two centuries on the present site in 2014!

You can have your own tour of Lord's by contacting them directly on www.lords.org - tho' yours won't be a free visit with champagne - sorry!
Bye for now,
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

Outdoors London: going to the ball and a huge flower show!

2011-07-18T13:45:00.015+01:00

It's mid July and outdoors London is in full swing even if the weather is not keeping up but I'm hopeful it will improve very soon. I was at 2 major outdoors event last week - a live screening in Trafalgar Square from the Royal Opera House and Hampton Court Flower Show - both good fun and luckily we escaped without getting rained on at all!

A really big screen was put up overnight in Trafalgar Square for a live screening of Massenet's Cendrillon (or Cinderella as we know her) from the Royal Opera House. This was in panto style with great costumes, sung in French with subtitles. Although it would be wonderful to be in the Opera House, the outdoor version does have 2 great advantages: it's free as the Opera House can be very pricey; and, as it's televised you get some great close ups. They followed the story pretty closely and in the tradition of panto the principal male role was played by a woman which was rather strange as it resulted in soprano wooing soprano, where the spoken voice is less obvious, this was unexpected especially as the Prince looked like a young KD Lang!
The Square was completely packed with a lively crowd all sitting on the hard floor but eased by free blow up cushions courtesy of the sponsor BP. We enjoyed the show and look forward to next year already.
Photos take us through the first half of the event as we saw them on the screen (with Nelson's Column in the background): the intro from Deborah Bull with crowd in the Square behind her; the ugly sisters before and after they are dressed up for the royal ball; our first view of miserable Cinders who has to stay home; Cinders and the Fairy Godmother after she has waved her wand; the wonderful carriage with horses (Carosse in French); Cinders arrives at the ball in her dazzling white dress while everyone else is in red; and, finally, the first kiss.

Hampton Court Flower Show is a major annual event in the gardening calendar and also for those who like a good day out! We were kindly invited by friends who had a stall in the massive Country Life tent where you could buy a huge range of lovely things - none more so than on their stall of course - Floreat was best! This show is absolutely enormous and you could spend all day walking round without going back on yourself and some of the tents were the size of the centre court at Wimbledon! We saw show gardens, amazing flower displays, everything you could ever need in your garden, and everything you will never need in your garden! As we were there on the last day, there were great bargains to be had as they began to close up and they pulled the show gardens and sold the plants off for a few pounds. As a result people were struggling out with huge plants and it's a long way to the car or train station so goodness knows what state the plants and their owners would be in by the time they got home!
Photos show: Hampton Court's Long Walk with tents all around; flower displays; a garlic garden(!) ; fabulous colours x2; blue and white agapanthus; and, a cactus garden, looking a bit like a cake stall!

Bye for now, Sue

http://www.itsyourlondon.co.uk/ @itsyourlondon

Hyde Park, a great place on a Sunday morning..

2011-07-05T16:49:00.009+01:00

It's summer in London, it's a lovely Sunday morning, my sponsored half marathon is looming so what could be better than a full circuit of Hyde Park? It turned out to be an excellent idea and I zoomed round taking in all the sights in no time.
I saw the work going on to completely reinvigorate Kensington Palace and give it a grand garden entrance; the wonderful formal fountains on the north side of the park; people take a horse ride around the park, those jogging and more unusually those ski-ing! The Horse Guards were returning to their barracks and the Albert Hall and Albert Memorial were looking at their best. The photo in the order listed here and you can see what a wonderful morning it was!

After completing a full circuit I decided to treat myself to a visit to the annual Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. Each year this fine gallery holds a competition for the best design for its summer outdoor pavilion - this year's competition was won by Peter Zumthor, a Swiss architect, with his design Hortus Conclusus, meaning Enclosed Garden. It has a plain dark exterior with several doors through to an interior garden and cafe via interior dark passageways. The garden is conceived as a peaceful place which is enclosed and protected. The cafe bustle somewhat disturbs the peace but it is an impressive and interesting structure. Here are some photos: of the Serpentine Gallery itself; the Pavilion exterior with people entering and a view taken further back to give more perspective; and, the interior garden.

London has great night life so I should mention a visit to a venue completely new to me - the Bush Hall in west London. As part of the inaugural London Blues Festival Ray Gelato was playing a set here and it was a great night. Ray was born close by but has had a long and illustrious career playing with many bands as well as his own Giants so he can put on a really fun show as the singing and saxophone playing lead man in a band with plenty of good brass. The hall itself is a star - a small ex theatre decorated in a wonderful Victorian music hall style and I'll definitely keep my eyes open for future events there.

Bye for now

Sue

London Living @ It's Your London

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