Archive for the ‘London’ Category

« Older Entries

Don Quixote at the Royal Opera House

Monday, August 9th, 2010

We didn’t know what to expect, but we did know it would be a nice night out, and so Saturday evening proved. The Royal Opera House in London was the host for the evening, while Don Quixote was the ballet performance that played out on the Covent Garden stage. Danced by the Bolshoi company, if Geoff hadn’t explained the – simple yet strangely complicated – love story of Kitri and Basil and Kitri’s other potential suitors, then I’m not sure Nik and I would have followed quite what was going on.

We would still have enjoyed the dancing, though. You don’t need a story to be in watch in amazement and wonder at the endless pirouettes, leaping and choreographed movements going on under the red velvet curtains. The costumes and dancing were spectacular, and the three acts and two intervals whizzed by. We were up in the Amphitheatre’s fourth-floor tiered seats mixing it with the arty, posh types and opera buffs, and arguably got a bigger sense of grandeur than those sitting on the floors below.

None of the 19th century spectacle of the Royal Opera House has been lost at all in the most recent renovations at the end of the 20th century, and it really is a place to visit should you get the opportunity. It certainly made up for the Paris ballet miss (we had aimed to go to a performance at the Palais Garnier earlier in the year but were unable to get tickets), and seems to be a never-ending maze of corridors, halls, and bars. The terrace balcony gives the best view of the Covent Garden Piazza, too.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Culture, Journal, London | No Comments »

Postman’s Park piano

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

I knew I should have learned how to…

Seen on the way into work this morning. More information here.

(Apologies for the low quality picture.)

Tags:
Posted in London | No Comments »

Birthdays, Battlesbridge and Best Buy

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Primarily as we’re there all week for work, we rarely want to journey into London at the weekend, but we made an exception on Saturday for Pippa’s birthday. Celebrating her 30th yet again, she’s back from a four-year long residency in Jersey, and though it perfect to celebrate her special day with friends, some who had visited her across the Channel and some of us who hadn’t.

It was a fun affair, with copious amounts of sparkly stuff to drink, lots of warm finger nibbles and dips, and as her living room filled up, lots of varied people and conversation. The journey to Island Gardens on the DLR was surprisingly easy, while a lack of engineering works on our line meant that we might not be quite so wary next time.

One of the many highlights of the afternoon was Poppi (above), the 10-month old Jack Russell, who can jump as high as a small child, and whose excitement knew no bounds. Another memorable moment came when the same young Nathan asked Steven if he had a girlfriend (clue: he doesn’t, and isn’t interested in females in the slightest). All in all, a fun way to spend an afternoon.

And quite different to the way we spent the latter half of yesterday. In the morning, we walked around a grassy field and took in the Battlesbridge VW Weekend Show at Battlesbridge Antiques Centre (full report at PoloDriver, picture above), while in the afternoon, we headed down to the shopping centre behemoth that is Lakeside, off the M25 at Thurrock.

The main reason for our impromptu visit was a mooch around IKEA, but on the way, we meandered around Decathlon, What! (exactly what we asked ourselves when we saw some the rubbish it sold) and Best Buy, which has only just opened at the Essex retail park. The US-based retailer isn’t as ground-breaking as you might have been led to believe from all the advertising, and we left the store disappointed. The only downside to both a social and busy weekend.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Essex, Journal, London | No Comments »

ABBA World, Earl’s Court, London

Monday, February 15th, 2010

As cultural juxtapositions go, there can’t be many like this one. At opposite ends of the London cultural spectrum, we watched Cirque du Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday night, and visited the ABBA World exhibition at Earl’s Court on Saturday morning. Both full of brightly-coloured costumes, stage acts and singing, only one had acrobatics of the high-wire kind. The other boasted voice acrobatics that have become known the world over as the sound of the Swedish supergroup.

If you don’t know the ABBA story, you’re either very young or have had your head buried in the proverbial sand for the best part of the last four decades. There haven’t been many Eurovision winners that have gone on to mega-stardom and have a legacy both as rich and recognisable as Agnetha’s, Bjorn’s Benny’s and Anni-Frid’s. And it’s just as well it’s a legacy worth celebrating, as, unsurprisingly, that’s what ABBA World is all about. Premiering in the UK, the movable exhibition is, just like the band did, going on a global tour and will end up in Sweden as a more permanent reminder of the Swedish super group. But we got it first.

My fear was that it would be a tacky, glittery and money, money, money-making memorabilia fest, taking away the credit that the post-ABBA Gold and Mamma Mia! years have built up. Yes, there is a fair bit of, let’s call it fun, but the one thing the exhibition does do is remind you of how big the four Swedes were. Led down the stairs in what appears to be Earl’s Court’s basement, 25 themed ‘rooms’ let you enjoy the ABBA story, told by new video reminiscences (even by the ever-elusive Agnetha), endless numbers of gold discs and music industry awards, props, puppets and scene set-ups.

Interactive exhibits lets the visitor test their ABBA knowledge (I was quite good on the ‘Fan’ questions but rubbish on the ‘Fanatic’ ones), mix an ABBA track (compared the original, I was 86% correct and quite pleased), appear in an ABBA video and appear with 3D cartoon-like holograms of their idols. Unfortunate and incorrect Swedish to English translations on the exhibit information panels aside, ABBA World is largely well-done and a diverting and interesting three hours. And even I, an ABBA loyalist, learned new things about the other fab four.

Don’t believe all what you see, though; the helicopter in the ‘Arrival’ section (above) isn’t the one that actually appeared in the stunning 1976 Arrival album cover. But, disappointment aside, that didn’t stop me and several others sitting in it…

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Culture, London, Music | 1 Comment »

Cirque du Soleil: Varekai

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

To Cirque de Soleil (and to Romani language), Varekai means ‘wherever’. To us, it usually means a brightly-coloured night of spectacle and wonder at the Royal Albert Hall. An ‘acrobatic tribute to the nomadic soul’, it was a Friday night out with Emma and Adobe, and Varekai was by far the best Cirque du Soleil show we’ve yet seen. With a plot based around the mythical story of Icarus who melts his wings after flying too close to the sun, it’s almost a literal translation of this circus troupe’s name.

If you’ve never popped your Cirque du Soleil cherry, the first time you see a show performed by the Canadian (and increasingly global) family of acrobats, artists and singers, you’ll be amazed at the costumes and be taken aback by the low and high-level acrobatic stunts. Varekai features quite an assortment; triple trapeze, Georgian dance, aerial straps, juggling and Russian swings were all on the menu tonight (as was the delicious nibbly food that we had in our box).

Breaking from the acts of daring-do, the clowns have nothing to do with the otherworldly and mystical story (few real-life things do, but it’s escapism for a couple of hours) but almost upstage the more dangerous acts. The magician and assistant duo perform hilarious conjuring tricks, while the bumbling assistant with her hooped dress and big knickers drew laughs aplenty when she kept falling and tripping over, thus exposing her big bloomers to everyone in the RAH’s round.

This year we had a room at the plush Royal Garden Hotel, just a stone’s throw away from the RAH, and it made all the difference. There was no last-minute rush for the Tube, and no crowded, smelly train full of drunken late-night revellers to carry us home to Chelmsford. We walked back along Kensington High Street with Tim and Kim (who also had a room), before saying our goodbyes and retiring for the night. All very civilised, nice, and relaxed.

The sleep was relaxed, too, the large, comfortable bed setting us up for an undisturbed night (the glasses of champagne must have helped, too), meaning that we arrived at breakfast refreshed, ready to look out at the uninterrupted view of London from the tenth-floor restaurant’s huge panoramic windows. It really was an almost stereotypical view; nearly all of the recognisable landmarks were present and correct, glinting in the late-morning sunrise behind Kensington Palace and Gardens. We didn’t hang about, though; we had a busy day ahead of us.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Culture, London | No Comments »

« Older Entries