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London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony

Posted in Fun Stuff, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, tagged london2012 olympics, olympic fireworks, olympic opening ceremony, the olympic bell on August 27, 2012| 1 Comment »

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The Olympic Rings at St Pancras Station

After all the hype and hurrumph about the London 2012 Olympics last month’s opening ceremony was absolute genius. Danny Boyle is to be commended for capturing the spirit of Britain’s past; her quirky characters, her obscure humour, her rebellious nature, her natural reserve and cleverly incorporating it into one evening of extravagant, quirky and totally amazing scenes all gathered together into one.

I had planned my schedule around the Opening Ceremony and made absolutely sure that I was going to be at home to watch on TV. We had been told that the best views would be via the TV, so I took them at their word, although to be sure…I would so have loved to be at the Olympic Stadium for the atmosphere….nothing beats that. However, since we were not, I made a traditional meal of Bangers & Mash with peas (not mushy) washed down with a bottle of sparkling wine (JC leRoux – a nod to my roots) and for dessert we had…ice-cream!! 🙂

our celebratory refreshment!!! 🙂 JC le Roux

I prepped and planned, and as the day sped by my level of anticipation grew! We had decorated the house with flags and bunting; red, white & blue!

olympic opening ceremony, london2012 olympics, the olympic bell, olympic fireworks, 3 days in london

flags and bunting galore……

With mounting excitement we settled down in front of the telly at 8pm, and tuned into BBC1 to catch the build-up and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss a second! I had been up with the sparrows that morning, headed to Hampton Court Palace to join the Yarmouth Belle and travel behind the Olympic Torch on the final leg of the relay to London. (another blog will follow on that escapade!!).

london2012 olympics, danny boyle, olympic torch, greatest show on earth, 3 days in london, royal barge gloriana

following behind the Royal Barge Gloriana and the Olympic Flame enroute to London

Finally and with a huge hurrah the Opening Ceremony began! I was beside myself with excitement, making my daughter laugh at my silliness. What an magical experience to watch the opening bell being rung by Bradley Wiggins,

The Olympic bell

and then the scenes of Britain played out, quirky, funny, amazing, awesome, brilliant and overall humour aplenty!!! I mean WHO could ever forget that moment when The Queen, our Queen Elizabeth II turned around to greet Bond!!!!! Have you ever!!! It was beyond brilliant. Certainly my highlight. And the fun didn’t stop for a moment. How proud we were to watch our teams walk by, all so proud with their flags held high. We were lucky enough to be able to cheer twice; once for South Africa

the South African Olympic Team

and again for the UK!!! Our GREAT Britain.

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#TeamGB – whoo hoo!!! and didn’t they do us proud!!

Pastoral scenes, the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Brunel, Miners, gold from the mines beaten into 5 rings, Glastonbury Tor, The NHS, GreatOrmondStreetHospital, Mary Poppins, Mr Bean, Chariots of Fire, music across the decades, Tim Berners-Lee, our national Anthem, “God Save The Queen”… for which I made my daughter stand and my sister sent a text to say (I bet your Mother is standing for the Anthem!) LOL, damn right I am – spot on!! The lights, the energy, the noise, the excitement…..the stadium a heaving kaleidoscope of colour and energy, a swell of sound that must surely have been heard in outer-space!

a kaleidoscope of colour

That unforgettable scene of David Beckham speeding along the Thames in a luminescent speedboat the flame proudly flaming up front, under the magnificent Tower Bridge accompanied by a magical explosion of fireworks, enough to dazzle the eye!!

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Olympic Torch speeds along the waterways of London 2012 to the Olympic Stadium

Sir Steve Redgrave waiting at the quayside inside the Olympic Park, and so finally we knew who would carry the flame and light the cauldron…but no, another surprise in store….the flame, very fittingly was handed over to the next generation – the London2012 motto “Inspire a Generation” – nominated by the athletes of past generations – 7 young athletes , who then carried the torch triumphantly in a final relay around the stadium! Brilliant!! The Olympic Flag and the Union Jack carried with pride and raised aloft amongst the other countries carefully placed on the Tor…inspirational!

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the Olympic Flag being carried up the Tor

And then, the lighting of what is most assuredly the most magnificent of all Olympic cauldrons! 204 copper petals, one for each country, cupped and ready to accept the light! What a wonder to behold as the stems all rose up into the night sky, a beacon seen from afar!! Sheer inspiration!

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aflame; the London2012 Olympic Cauldron

and then the piece-de-resistance…the fireworks…no Olympic Opening Ceremony would ever be complete without a magnificent explosion of fireworks!! These did not disappoint!

the London2012 Olympic fireworks

And so the Games began!!

let the games begin!!!

I had tried ever so hard to resist taking photos of the TV screen as each scene rolled out, coz as you know photos off the telly are anything but good….but eventually I caved in and although they are no good from an artistic angle, for me they symbolise what was one of the most amazing events! And I was here….in London, in 2012….awesome!! I also have tons of newspapers to sort out! 🙂

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living history #London2012 & the biggest sporting event in the world!!

Posted in Fun Stuff, Historical, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, things to do in London, Travel, tagged kew gardens olympic torch relay, london 2012 olympic games, olympic torch relay richmond on July 25, 2012| 8 Comments »

London 2012

#London2012 and I am here!!! Thrilled to be part of what is the cremé de la cremé of sporting events, one of the most amazing events in sports. I am living a part of history that for some folks (me included) is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We live history every single day, some impacts on us and much doesn’t….depending on where it happens and what happens and whether or not we are involved in some way.

My personal history was written the day the company I was working for back in South Africa went into liquidation…little did I know just how much that was going to change my life; the radical shift that was pending…and I didn’t even know. My only concern on the day was…”let me into the building I have work to do…don’t have time for this BS!!” (they did and I got on with my job 🙂 ), my next concern was whether or not I would get another job….those were the days of the new South Africa where to be Old/er, White, Man/Woman was not conducive to getting a job and then the worry about the mortgage popped into my head.

Then I had a stroke of genius….I would visit my sister in Ireland 🙂 What a great idea…. I didn’t have to ask for leave..I would be free to go on holiday for as long as I liked! So I booked my ticket and the rest is ‘history!’…..and here I am living in what is the greatest city in the world and just about to be part of one of the most momentous events of this year…and we have had quite a few! I bought/ordered tickets for my daughter and myself and thankfully we were awarded tickets for 2 events; one at the Olympic Stadium and one at Excel.

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Oliver Golding, just before they lit the flame for his section of the relay…up close and personal

The buildup was initially slow, but over the last few months the excitement has mounted and when the Olympic Flame landed in the UK on 28th May, we really got into the swing of things as it travelled around the country, drawing ever greater crowds to watch it go by! And yesterday it travelled through my home town!!! Hooray.

I was so excited the night before that I hardly slept!!! I went to bed at about 1.30am; the adrenaline racing through my body & my mind popping about all over the place. I finally fell asleep only to wake at 5am. Unable to go back to sleep, I got up, had a cup of tea and a biscuit then dressed and ready to go by 6:48. I kissed my daughter goodbye. She is usually out the door well before me (I don’t do mornings) and by 7:12am I was at Kew Gardens….no-one else was there. I thought for sure I had the wrong place. I quickly got onto twitter (via my brand new wonderful little mobile computer (aka a phone) and saw tweets about the traffic being interrupted and that they would be handing out maps and info at Kew Station…so I whizzed over got myself a much need cup of coffee and waited. They got there at just on 8am and map in hand I strode back up the road to the gates…..the Marshalls had just arrived and were amazed to see someone already there. LOL I was in the right place, at the right time…okay, well still a tad too early!

london 2012, olympic games london, kew gardens, olympic torch relay

Kew Gardens gates…..open at 9.30am 🙂

Then while I sat and waited an old gent joined me on the bench and we chatted awhile. I was too excited to sit still for long so made my excuses and off I went to hang around in front of the gates in the hope they may opened them sooner….they didn’t!

Finally they opened the gates……..and I was in. By then the crowd has grown as more and more folks arrived. My friend Peter joined me and we set off, taking photos along the way to find a good spot.

london 2012, olympic games london, kew gardens, olympic torch relay, anjula wilson

Anjula Wilson – at Kew Gardens after her stint carrying the Olympic Torch in the relay

Yesterday was seriously awesome…to see the Olympic Torch from such close proximity. No barriers, no policing, just UK citizens and visitors enjoying what is a momentous occasion. To see a flame that has travelled not only across our country but from another land, with a history that goes back aeons…this is a must see. Personally, despite all the hiccups, all the negativity and all the problems we have had…I think we should be proud to hosting this amazing event. #London2012 I am so grateful that I am here to experience it.

One of the advantages of being up that early was that I got to see the river with the morning sunrise. I have photgrpahed this particular scene hundreds of times, but this was the first time so early in the morning…..I guess I am going to ‘have to do mornings’ 🙂

london 2012, olympic games london, kew gardens, olympic torch relay, twickenham bridge

early morning at Twickenham Bridge

After the Torch had left, we meandered about exploring the gardens and having a look at the new David Nash exhibition and walking around the Treetop Walkway which is seriously cool. After an hour or so we headed over to Twickenham for tea and cupcakes, then strolled along the Thames pathway to Richmond and finally to the station at 5.45pm. What a brilliant day.

I have posted some photos of the Olympic torch and Kew Gardens on my facebook page.

Just found this new post with a brilliant photo of the Olympic Rings at Kew Gardens

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the great Olympic rip-off

Posted in interesting things that happen in London on July 15, 2012| 4 Comments »

I was one of the people that cheered as loud as possible when it was announced that London has won the right to host the 2012 Olympics. How thrilling. I even went so far as to buy tickets to 2 of the events. The build up to the event has been tremendous and very, very exciting, a lofty aspiration and an opportunity for the UK and London to benefit from this event…..and yet….

How is this even possible?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/city-news/olympic-corporate-partners-can-avoid-943011

How is it even possible that a company; namely G4S can secure a million pound contract without any checks or vetting to ensure it could meet it’s commitments:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/14/london-2012-olympic-security-g4s

And why is a fast-food chain being allowed to dictate what food people are allowed to sell….they sold the idea that UK businesses would benefit from the games:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2172168/London-Olympics-2012-McDonalds-force-Olympics-bosses-ban-restaurants-selling-chips-unless-FISH.html

The real winners are the large overseas corporations that gained the main contracts.

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a nautical London tale

Posted in Fun Stuff, Historical, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, Travel, tagged admiral of the port boat challenge, admiral of the port challenge race, river thames events, trinity house history, trinity tide, what to see in london on May 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

admiral of the port boat challenge london, london traditions, boats races in london

Big Ben and with minutes to go till 7pm the boats head out

Admiral of the Port Challenge Race 2012. Just over a week ago I received and invitation from a friend of mine whom I met via Twitter to attend this historical race. To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement…I love this history of the city and anything to do with events in the City gets me all excited…..needless to say I accepted.

Admiral of the Port Challenge Race 2012

Monday 14^th May at 7.00pm

The course will be from

The Palace of Westminster

the Westminster Boating Base,

a distance of 1.33 statute miles

The event is open to all Watermen’s four oared cutters in full livery regalia with canopies

carrying the coxswain and two passengers.

Trinity Tide heading out

“Our boat, which is the Trinity House Cutter “Trinity Tide”, will be the beautiful white cutter with the green canopy”.

(Trinity Tide is one of the few Thames Waterman Cutters that will end up taking part in the Round Canvey Island race later in the year.)

And so, Monday afternoon saw me set off, all dressed up for the Champagne reception that would follow the race, with butterflies in my tummy and delighted to be heading into London central.

When I arrived at just after 5.30pm I noticed a number of small water-craft tied up alongside Westminster Pier and headed on down to have a look around. It was really interesting to see the boats up close and there was an excited buzz of chatter and laughter as the rowers and passengers milled about either putting the bits and pieces together or just catching up.

attaching/installing the flag….no doubt there is a technical term for this 🙂

It was really interesting watching the oarsman setting up the canopy and the seating area, the different flags, the oars and all the bits and bobs (which I am sure all have professional names 😉 ) and in no time at all it was ‘all aboard’ and off they went into the middle of the river to catch the fast flowing tide and a race to the finish line.

the boats gathering and heading to the start: Westminster Bridge

I had met up with Joe and his wife Jan, and as a guest of theirs had been invited to the champagne reception after the race. The plan was for us to see the competitors set off and then race up the stairs of Westminster Bridge, dash across the road and hail the first taxi that came along, then make a mad dash (or as fast as London traffic will allow) to the venue for the finish and the reception.

one quick photo as I dash up the stairs

So as soon at the boats got to the bridge, we ran along the pier, along the Embankment, up the stairs, hesitated briefly at the traffic lights, ignored the red signal, checked for traffic…none…and ran across the road….dashed along the sidewalk and lo and behold there was a cab…almost as if it had been waiting. We hailed madly, checked that he could go our way, jumped in breathlessly laughing and urged yer man the cabbie to race to the finish line. It all felt very 007’ish and my heart was racing with excitement (or exertion)!! 😉

We got to the pier (finish line) in good time to watch the boats arrive; very exciting to watch that!!!

there in the distance you can catch a glimpse of the boats. at this point I switched over to video, so no stills of the boats coming in…. (p.s. the boats in the foreground were not in the race)

Then for the champagne…hmmm yum.

champagne 🙂

I was very impressed with the food provided and a great evening was had by all. But…..my curiosity was piqued! I wanted to know more about this race, so yesterday I sat down and did a bit of research and this is what I found:

“Admiral of the Port’s Challenge
This race was inaugurated by the Lord Mayor to mark his dual role of Admiral of the Port of London. It is contested by traditional Thames Waterman’s Cutters.
The Thames Waterman’s Cutter is 34 feet long with a beam of 4 feet, 6 inches. In keeping with the concept of traditional rowing, it has fixed seats for up to six rowers and room for a cox and passengers. It is also simply adapted to the role of Ceremonial Livery barge with extra seating for passengers under a stern canopy. In this form the Cutter closely resembles the decorated craft often seen in historical scenes of the Thames in earlier centuries.
This event is raced from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Boating Base, a distance of 1.33 statute miles. The rules require that the Cutters are rowed by four oars, must be rigged with their ceremonial canopies and flags, and must carry two passengers.
Such is the growth in popularity of Cutter racing (there are now more than 25 on the River) the race is often subject to a “staggered start”. The Cutters are set off in waves so their crews are not only racing against those in their starting rank, but also against the clock, as the winners are the crew that record the fastest time over the course.” for more on that click here.

I also did some research on Trinity House and the reason for that is coz Joe and his team row the ‘Trinity Tide’ which belongs to Trinity House.

“Henry VIII and Pilotage
It is often stated that the origins of Trinity House date back to a charitable guild of sea Samaritans established by Archbishop Stephen Langton in the 12th Century. The first official record is the grant of a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1514 to a fraternity of mariners called the Guild of the Holy Trinity, .. “so that they might regulate the pilotage of ships in the King’s streams”. At the time of inception, this charitable Guild owned a great hall and almshouses, close to the Naval Dockyard at Deptford on the River Thames. In 1604 James I conferred on Trinity House rights concerning compulsory pilotage of shipping and the exclusive right to license pilots in the River Thames. Until our responsibility for District Pilotage was transferred to Port and Harbour Authorities under the 1987 Pilotage Act, we were Pilotage Authority for London and over 40 other Districts, including the major ports of Southampton and Harwich.
Today the Corporation is comprised of a fraternity of approximately 300 Brethren drawn from the Royal and Merchant Navies and leading figures in the shipping industry. Its Master since 1969 was the Duke of Edinburgh, the longest serving Master in Trinity House history. He was succeeded in 2011 by HRH The Princess Royal.” and for more about Trinity House, click here.

So there you have it, another exciting day in the life of a Londoner, and once again I am reminded of just how much there is to see and do in this marvellous city.

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in the footsteps of Charles……

Posted in Fun Stuff, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, things to do in London on April 28, 2012| 4 Comments »

charles dickens, charles dickens museum, pickwick papers, the centre page pub st pauls, historical pubs of london, recommended pubs in london, where to eat in london

Charles Dickens lived here 1837-1839 - now the Dickens Museum

Last week Thursday; April 26th, I set off on a magical #walkabout through the streets of London to discover more about Charles Dickens (blog to follow shortly 🙂 ). We started off from the Charles Dickens Museum and the route we followed took us through some amazing areas, areas full of history where we crossed paths with the ghosts of London. After about 5.5 hours of walking (we took a lot of diversions and stopped at loads of places), my companion and I were famished, and since this was a Dickens walk we were doing, we decided to stop off at one of my favourite pubs in the City of London; especially as the tour ended nearby and the pub was mentioned in The Pickwick Papers: When Mr. Pickwick was visited in Fleet prison by his friends Winkle, Snodgrass and Tupman, they ordered “a bottle or two of very good wine, for which a messenger was dispatched to the Horn Coffee House “

The Centre Page

Every time I visit St Paul’s Cathedral or go #walkabout in that area I always stop off at The Centre Page Pub for hot chips which I usually have as a take-away and then sit on the steps and enjoy the sunshine and hustle and bustle of folks walking by while I eat my treat. Yesterday I decided to have the ‘Charles Dickens Posh Pie and Mash’ specifically the Steak Ale and horseradish, and we requested to eat in the Dickens Room downstairs. 🙂

Charles Dickens Posh Pie & Buttery Mash - steak ale and horseradish

The last time we ate there I had the fish & chips which were just delicious and this meal was even better. I do not normally eat beef, but I have to say that the meat was tender and juicy and just yummy. So if your’e in the area and need something quality to eat in a historical setting, I can highly recommend this delightful pub; The Centre Page, 29-33 Knightrider Street, just down the way from St Paul’s as if heading towards the Millenium Bridge and Tate Modern. Every photo in the slideshow has a link with Charles Dickens.

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History Note: The Centre Page began life as The Horn Tavern founded in 1660 after the restoration of King Charles II. The origins of the name may have come from the King’s celebrations or as there were several coaching inns around St Paul’s the sound of the coaching horn may also have given inspiration.

Nearest tube: St Paul’s on the Central line

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the day the Dragon kissed St George

Posted in Fun Stuff, Historical, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, tagged leadenhall market, morris men dancers, patron saint of england, St Georges Day on April 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

st georges day, leadenhall market st george, morris dancers

St George and the Dragon

One of the bonuses of coming to live in the UK was discovering that not only did I share a birthday with Shakespeare but my birthday falls on the same day as the Patron Saint of England; St Georges day…..all those years and who knew?? 🙂

In the past I have endeavoured to be in another country on my birthday but since I am London bound this year I decided to investigate ‘what’s on in the city’ and head out to participate. To my delight I discovered that one of my favourite places in the City of London; Leadenhall Market was hosting a celebration of the day with Morris Men dancers and attempting to set a new World Record for the greatest number of people to toast St George…..how could I resist.

leadenhall market london, st george world attempt

Leadenhall Market decked out with the English flag for St George's day

I set off relatively early and made my way along streets, not paved with gold but splattered with rain…yes you guessed…it was the wettest and coldest 23rd April in something like 26 years….why!!!!!!! LOL Ah well this is London after all 🙂 So I arrived at the venue and meandered about taking photos and then discovered that the 12noon dancing was in fact at 1.15 pm so I decided to visit the Bank of England instead. Maybe get a loan from yer man….Melvyn! hahahaha. Seriously though the Bank’s museum is a brilliant place and I managed to lift the gold bar…shame you don’t get to keep it if you pick up, but there you go, win some; lose some!

bank of england, old lady of threadneedle street, london history

The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street - The Bank of England

It’s really interesting to read about the beginnings of the banking system in the UK and how bonnie Prince Charlie bankrupted some banks by not paying back his loans… tut, tut. Thankfully our present Monarch has more bucks in the bank and seems to be quite comfortably well off. ‘what! what!’ Now it’s the Politicians who seem intent on bankrupting the country, never mind the banks. But I digress…..

So after the museum visit I set off once again through the streets of London back to Leadenhall Market and along the way I visited the Heart of the City, the Royal Exchange, St Mary Woolnoth Church (The church’s site has been used for worship for at least 2,000 years), Pope’s head Alley, the site of Lloyd’s Coffee House 1691-1785, Mitsubishi trust House (has the most amazing sculptures above the entrance), the Crosse Keys Pub (A plaque on the front of this pub recalls that a famous coaching inn, called the Crosse Keys, stood near this site) and thence to Leadenhall Market and behold the Morris Dancers!

: Heart of the City

: The Royal Exchange

: St Mary Woolnoth Church

: Pope’s Head Alley

: Site of Lloyd’s Coffee House

: Mitsubishi Trust House

: The Crosse Keys Pub

: Roof of Leadenhall Market

: Morris Men dancers

Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers. In a small number of dances for one or two men, steps are performed near and across a pair of clay tobacco pipes laid across each other on the floor.
Claims that English records, dating back to 1448, mention the morris dance are open to dispute. There is no mention of “morris” dancing earlier than the late 15th century, although early records such as Bishops’ “Visitation Articles” mention sword dancing, guising and other dancing activities as well as mumming plays.

Most entertaining and I was delighted to finally get to see a performance. Then it was time for the World Record! A toast to St George

“I see you stand like
greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start.

The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit,
and upon this charge

Cry ‘God for Harry,
England and St George!”

Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, scene 1.

And I believe that a new World Record was set 🙂 hee hee and I was a part of it! Loud cheers followed this lusty outburst.

Just before I left I decided to buy a red rosebeing sold by some chaps in fancy dress……one of whom was St George. When I mentioned that it was my birthday, he said ‘go on! give us a kiss’, and so the Dragon kissed St George 🙂

St George circa 2012

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would you be interested in a prize worth £100,000?

Posted in Fun Stuff, interesting things that happen in London, tagged action for children, elephant family, faberge big egg hunt, guiness world record easter egg hunt, things to see in london on April 3, 2012| 2 Comments »

faberge big egg hunt london, guiness book of records

the big egg hunt; north, south, east and west

Aiming to break a Guiness World Record – The Faberge Big Egg Hunt in London made great strides!!! And kept us entertained.
With tantalising titles like ‘Scramble for giant eggs is set to begin’ & ‘Humpty Dumpty sits on a wall’ or ‘Egg beats crime’, you could not fail to be curious when opening your newspaper of an evening in London in February.

The first of these titles had a fab photo that showed a group of girls sitting on an open-topped bus, amongst a group of over-sized decorated eggs with Houses of Parliament in the background…..how could you not be curious.
Then a group of beautifully decorated eggs in Potters Field with Tower Bridge behind and the by-line: Ready for the great London egg hunt! & the hunt is on. Sponsored by Fabergé and organised Mark Shand, a number of artists have designed and created 210 wonderful 2.5ft fibre-glass eggs to raise funds for Elephant Family organisation and Action for Children.

Amongst the delightful collection are characters like Humpty Dumpty, who does indeed sit on a wall at Clarence House; commissioned and signed by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, there is also a Busby, a red letter-box a Union Flag and many, many other delightful and beautifully decorated eggs.

It was hoped that 10,000 or more Londoners and visitors would join in the hunt with an aim to break the Guiness World Record for the biggest egg hunt. 30 of the eggs have since been auctioned off to raise funds and you can bid online for the others; with a starting price of £300 the value of these eggs have climbed considerably.

Along the way a couple of the eggs have been stolen and retrieved and returned to their rightful place, and between the 3rd and 9th April they will all come together at Covent Garden to amuse and amaze us.

The eggs were scattered about London, mostly in zone 1 & 2 and the hunt has taken us from Canary Wharf in the east to South Bank in City of Westminster, the City of London, St James’s Park and Green Park, through Mayfair and Covent Gardens, Trafalgar Square, Berkley Square, Grosvenor Square, & Sloane Square to Covent Garden, Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials, Carnaby Street and St Christopher’s, along side streets, into buildings and shops and fancy pants stores (think Fortnum & Mason’s and Liberty’s) and along the way some of the eggs were very cleverly hung up high and unless you are observant, you could walk right on by……I did; a number of times 🙂 This usually entailed a return to the area!!!

The best fun ever, this egg hunt has taken me to places I have never visited before, into buildings I usually walk by and back to places I love…again and again. In my quest to find them all, I confess I have returned to some places a number of times! And others I have walked around till my feet fell off determined to find them all in one go!! You would be amazed at how easy it is to miss a 2.5ft egg that is displayed on a big black box that is at least 2ft high and 2ft wide…..just walk right on by!

how easy to miss this! 🙂

I have been amazed and amused by the number of people who have joined the hunt, some folks found all 209 within a week, and others are still discovering them. I have met folks from all over the world and it is amazing how many are going at this with guns blazing….the prize; a Fabergé Egg with £100,000. One lass did a 24 hour marathon to raise funds for Action for Children and found 207 of the eggs (2 were not at their posts); very impressive. I have done the hunt in stages and finding 48 on one day nearly killed me! My legs and feet were decidedly unimpressed! I managed to find 187!!! Will I find them all? Not likely!

However they will all be together in Covent Garden starting from today and then I shall get to see them all. 🙂 for your pleasure and delight I have made a video of some of the eggs

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join the Fabérge Big Egg Hunt

Posted in Fun Stuff, interesting things that happen in London, things to do in London, tagged faberge big egg hunt, london big egg hunt on March 4, 2012| 1 Comment »

my favourite so far 🙂 #77 Blackberry Moon

Okay, so if I don’t kill myself finding these eggs, I am gonna have to #RIP my feet.

There is nothing I like more than a challenge, and boy has this easter egg hunt been a cool challenge. There are over 209 eggs dotted about the city from Westminster to Southwark, Canary Wharf to the City of London and Bloomsbury….and I am determined to find them all.

Last weekend saw me scurrying about Westminster for 6 hours, here and there across the city, I crossed the river more times than I can recall. Some I found, and some, to my dismay I walked right passed! Which means of course that I have to go back again. In all I found 27.

Today was no less exhausting as I travelled for miles in my quest to find some more. After 5 hours I had only tracked down 19 😦 and next weekend will see me walking the length and breadth of Bloomsbury and Westminster to track down some more. Thankfully many are clumped together in close proximity, but that is no guarantee you will find them. Some are so cleverly hidden as a window display that you can walk right passed and not even see them

So here are the photos.

Last weekend

Today.

I would love to describe my walk, about how last weekend was lovely and sunny and the daffodils are beginning to peek through, and today it rained and rained and I got soaked, and how I met a lovely young man from Estonia at egg #9 in Canary Wharf and how he joined me for my hunt through the City of London and how we rushed up and down the streets and jumped in the air when we found another one! About how I discovered dozens of super cool new sculptures, how this egg hunt has taken me to different parts of the city, that believe it or not I have not yet seen……but…….I am toooooo tired…..in fact I am so tired I am falling asleep at my computer. So now I am going to bath and bed, and when I recover, if I recover, I shall set out to find some more 🙂

Oh yes, and before I forget….this is meant to be a competition with the prize being a Fabérge egg worth £100,000-00 but guess who hasn’t entered?? hee hee, yes I am doing it just for the fun of it. Shame I don’t have my super duper new phone yet, then I woulda been able to scan in the code and post it to facebook (on their page). ah well.

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uncovering London’s secrets

Posted in Historical, interesting things that happen in London, things to do in London, tagged dragon and flagon london pub tours on January 29, 2012| 8 Comments »

If there was one thing in life I wish I could do, it would be to convert my passion for London into fairy dust so that I could sprinkle it onto everyone 🙂 I really, really love this city. There are so many layers to this city that it would take several lifetimes to uncover them all. Fortunately we are able to uncover many of them…by joining tours. Of course there is no guarantee that the guide will be any good, but every now and then you join a tour that turns out to be a real treat. I have been on a great number of tours in the city, some guides are great and some are just plain boring. But last night I had the good fortune to join a Pub Tour with Vic Norman of Dragon and Flagon Pub Tours.

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I connected with Vic last year already through my page 3 Days in London. Although Pub Tours are not generally my kinda tour, for some reason Vic’s tours appealed to me. His tours take in some of the most historical pubs in London in some of the most intruiging areas of London.

Last night I joined his Jar & Marbles tour from Holborn station. The first pub we visited was an ancient, tiny pub down a winding alleyway. From there we went to an 18oo’s Gin Palace, then a pub that started life as a pub called ‘The Dog and Duck’ in 1783 just over the road from one of the most famous museums in the world. We visited a pub where a Queen of England stored her husband’s favourite foods when he was in hospital and after one more stop a pub that I can only call ‘drop dead gorgeous’. I never thought I would call a pub drop dead gorgeous but OMWord… I was almost drooling! It is just so beautiful; lofty ceilings that look like the inside of a cathedral, a three-cornered stove and in the cellar the remains of a 15th century pub.

The group were lovely and I feel like I made a few new friends; Vic Norman the tour guide, entertaining and friendly, took a real interest in his group and mingled well with everyone…some of the people on the tour had already done 3 of his other tours 🙂 A good recommendation I would say. Mike, a lovely guy with whom I had some great, albeit short conversations about records (of the vinyl kind) and movies (of the Bedknobs and Broomsticks kind). Amy and Steve, a delightful couple who joined the tour with a friend of theirs Catherine who is a Blue Badge Guide in Tunbridge Wells. Chris, a Swedish, Irish, Englishman! An expert on the secrets of a good brew! I had a taste of his; Norman Conquest and although I am not a beer drinker (normally) I found it quite palatable. There were a couple of other folks in the group and what was really lovely is that we mixed and mingled, the dynamics of the group changed as we walked and conversations ebbed and flowed as we walked the streets of this marvellous city.

I was amazed to discover that despite my many 8hour walks around London, there are still streets that I have not yet walked along! Can’t imagine that now could you! 🙂 One of the streets we meandered along was Lamb’s Conduit Passage. I bet your’e thinking of little white lambs, bounding about….well, no you’de be wrong! In 1577 William Lamb, a clothworker by trade but musician by profession, repaired at his own expense of £1500 the old conduit, or water duct, which fed water to Smithfield, from a spring at Holborn. Neat huh! “The street was named after William Lambe in recognition of the £1,500 he gave for the rebuilding of the Holborn Conduit in 1564”.

In all a fab evening (Friday) and I am now booked onto the next pub tour for 24th Feb, where we will be visiting some even older and in some cases notorious pubs.

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Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, interesting things that happen in London, It's my life, tagged 2012 olympics london, goodbye 2011, queens diamond jubilee 2012, Richmond Palace, roxette in concert, spay games, Sweetie Pies Boutique bakery, thames cruise to hampton court on December 31, 2011| 4 Comments »

Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to. Bill Vaughn

Thankfully I am now of the age where I can take it one way or the other.
So I had planned to go into London to the Eye to see in the New Year, but…….I am not inclined to stand in the wet and cold any more so I have decided to do the sensible (old) thing and watch it on telly, then I can go straight to bed after instead of a 2 hour journey to get home. But for that, I would be there…..

fireworks at Big Ben & the London Eye

And so before the year is out…I have decided to put finger to keyboard and write a blog which I haven’t done since the beginning of the month.

The last few months have been quite weird and certainly eventful. I finally quit my job as a carer in August and got an office job only to resign within 2.5 months…..although I am still working there. They asked me to reconsider and stay on. The boss is a pratt and thinks that intimidation is the way to motivate me! Hurrumph…think again mate. So I guess we shall have to wait and see what transpires in the new year.

I have, as many of you know, moved in with my daughter and we are now sharing a lovely house in Twickenham….5 minutes walk to the river

view from Twickenham Bridge of the river Thames...I love this view

and 20 minutes to Sweetie Pies Bakery.

xmas cupcakes at Sweetie Pies Boutique Bakery in Twickenham

I walk to Richmond station in the mornings and have hundreds of photos of the same scene; of the river and boats from the bridge and riverbank and yet surprisingly it is different every day! I also get to walk through the grounds and past what remains of Richmond Palace. Quite awesome really.

Richmond Palace

It’s lovely to have a home again and it was wonderful to celebrate Xmas with our own tree and all the trimmings. Xmas morning was brilliant fun and we both had lots of pressies to open then a walk to Richmond Park and a full xmas dinner in the evening…except I forgot the Yorkshire puds!!!

our enormous xmas tree & lots of pressies

2011 has been a year of development and remonstration, of regret and realisation. I guess you could say I have ‘grown’ in some ways. In fact it’s been quite a stressful year in many ways and I have had to face some long suppressed truths and acknowledge a fair number of disappointments. I have been unpacking my boxes, now out of storage and it has been quite upsetting and yet cathartic…I have thrown out a lot of garbage (metaphorically & actually speaking) 10 boxes of clothes and stuff I have accumulated as well as tons of the personal development paperwork from 2007/2008! I also opened a bottle of 2004 Nuy Muscadel that is now matured and quite sublime…I have a glass to hand as I write 🙂

I have had some fantastic new experiences; a Thames cruise to Hampton Court, an afternoon of Spy Games up in Buckinghamshire where I got to do some target shooting (awesome), went to see Roxette in live concert!! brilliant and an invitation to the Guildhall for the 600th anniversary celebrations,

invitation to the Guildhall London

a drumming lesson arranged for me by my beloved daughter as one of my xmas presents. So cool. I have wanted to learn to play the drums for ever and a day and now I have had my 1st lesson. We are going to arrange for more lessons in April.

learning the drums - my 2011 xmas present 🙂

In the family we have had 1 wedding, welcomed 4 new children into the family, Cémanthe’s brother & his wife had a new baby, my brother & his wife adopted 2 kiddies and gave birth to one of their own!! We visited South Africa in June for a catch up with family and said a sad goodbye to a dearly beloved grandfather.

Cémanthe and her paternal grandparents...sadly Alan is no longer with us.

There have been ups and downs this year as well as some revelations. I have slept on The Mall to watch our future King marry, been to most of my favourite places and events in the city and discovered many more. I have written a book, now published on kindle, developed on-line fatigue, conducted my first tour of London, made new friends, and sadly lost contact with some too. I have supported my daughter through a debilitating divorce and celebrated the growth of her company crowned by a Women in Business Award nomination and was invited to the opening of an art exhibition in my capacity as a ‘Blogger of Influence’…..

me at Hatfield House for the Henry Moore art exhibition (I'm the one in the purple jumper!)

2012 holds the promise of new adventures, new avenues to explore and new encounters. I hope to renew some others and definitely want to start travelling again. My dream of a campervan to travel around the UK and then the world still holds strong and if I work hard enough it may just transpire (2 of my gifts from Cémanthe were campervan related).

We here in London/UK have the Queen’s Jubilee to look forward to – which promises to be unbelievably amazing

visual representation of what the Royal Barge will look like for the Queen's Jubilee

as well as the Olympics…can’t wait.

just over 1 year to go - London 2012 Olympics

We have tickets to 2 of the events and even though it’s not the opening or closing ceremony…there are plenty of vantage points in London where we will be able to see the fireworks. Just to be here is amazing enough for me anyhow.

So in conclusion, I wish you all a wonderful 2012 and may you have 365 exciting days ahead!

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