Tag: London

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Attractions

Natural History Museum, London

The Natural History Museum is holding a series of special events on Friday evenings throughout the summer. Each one is different but I suspect that all of them will be awesome! I went to the butterfly ball, which had a number of talks and exhibitions about moths and butterflies. The people involved clearly love what they do, they were interesting and entertaining, we got up close and personal with moths, butterflies, spiders, snakes…

It is a fantastic experience to be in the museum at night, great to be able to wander around the normal exhibits with a drink from the bar. It is a very relaxed way to view the museum … and there are no school parties to contend with.

The talks are wonderful, the general exhibition is amazing, but even if the whole place was empty the building itself is staggeringly beautiful. Think Hogwarts on steroids! It’s incredible that even with the brilliant things on show here, that the ceilings, arches and floors can contend for your attention.

As you can probably guess, I have been struggling for superlatives to describe my night.

Go for the event, go for the general exhibition or just go for the architecture!

 

Categories
walks

Regent’s Park, London

https://www.endomondo.com/routes/731348501

Regent’s park is one of my favourite places to walk in London. This 7 kilometre walk is a lovely route around the park if you have a couple of hours to spare. It starts at Chalk Farm tube and heads up primrose hill, where there are stunning views of London’s skyline. It then heads down round the edges of London zoo and over the Regent’s canal. It gives a pretty view of the London Central Mosque before turning down the side of the boating lake. Near the foot of the lake it crosses the bridge, passing the open air theatre and going into to rose garden. The ornamental bridge has a beautiful wisteria in flower in May. It then heads to eastern edge of the park to walk along Chester Terrace a designed by Nash in the early 19th century. Finally along the southern part of the park to Park Street where you can catch buses to north London or turn left for Baker Street tube and connections to the city centre.

The photos are: (top) Skyline from Primrose Hill, Egyptian Goose by the boating lake, Regent’s Canal from the Broad Walk, (bottom) Wisteria in Queen Mary’s rose garden, Deckchairs and Daisies, The City from the Hill.

This link at the top is a downloadable route, you can download it on to your phone or tablet and follow it in real time as you walk. I am hopeful that you can expand the areas nearby on the map too, so if you decide to stop early, it is possible to see transport options nearby. If anyone spots a difficulty in using it, I would be grateful for feedback as, if it works well, I plan on publishing a list of my favourite walks from around the world.

Categories
Gigs music

Rising Stars at 229 The Venue, London

Saint Agnes

Rising Stars is a showcase for up and coming music artists. The events are organised by Time Out and take place in famous venues around London.

On May 17th at 229 The Venue, Great Portland Street, the bands I saw were: Emily Capell, David Stewart, Saint Agnes and Jackaman.

Emily Capell is a singer/songwriter with a good voice, witty songs and a good stage presence. Her songs are poppy and catchy and have a nice sing-along feel to them.

David Stewart has a really strong voice, writes clever (sometimes harsh) lyrics and has great delivery. He exudes confidence and appears very relaxed on stage.

Saint Agnes are a prog rock, riff heavy band. Their songs were fantastic, great vocals, good harmonies. Their guitar riffs were excellent. They were visually interesting and really got the crowd moving. They got the best reaction of the night and I will definitely go to see them again.

Jackaman are an Indie rock outfit fronted by Lynne Jackaman who used to front St. Jude. They are on the rockier side of Indie and their songs and vocals are strong. Very enjoyable.

Rising Stars nights happen around London about 6 or 7 times a year. They are not expensive to get into and from what I have seen the music is always high quality. It is a great way of getting to see new live bands and a very good value night out.

The photo is of the band Saint Agnes

Recommended.

Categories
Theatre review

Funny Girl, Savoy Theatre, London

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This is Funny Girl without Sheridan Smith.

Funny Girl is one of my favourite films. There is no getting away from the fact that it is a star vehicle and I was worried for any understudy undertaking the role. It has big emotional songs that need a big voice and a big personality to fill.

Natasha Barnes has a remarkable voice and sings the songs brilliantly. She had the audience totally on her side and received a full standing ovation at the end. She seemed genuinely moved by this.

Darius Campbell’s singing is really good. The big set dance pieces are beautifully choreographed. Joel Montague is excellent as Eddie. The Savoy Theatre itself is an Art Deco chocolate box and has to be the prettiest in London.

All in all a good night out. (Get well soon, Sheridan!)

Categories
Restaurant review

Hawksmoor, Air Street, London

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Hawksmoor was a talented architect of the 17th and 18th century; probably not somebody I would choose to name a restaurant after, given the manner of his death.

However, the food here is high quality and well prepared. We all had steaks and they were all excellent. The set cuts on the menu seemed large (400g – the rib eye) but when I said this to the waiter, she offered us smaller sizes – or larger ones if we wished to share. The chips were delicious as was the spinach.

The wine list is comprehensive and the bottle we chose was very good.

The décor is low key, art deco. The restaurant is cleverly laid out because the surprisingly large room still manages to feel quite intimate. The service was perfect; always nearby but never obtrusive.

It is quite expensive, even for London, but the experience was distinctive, right from going through the door and it does deliver value for money.

Categories
Theatre review

The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre

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I have to say that I felt a bit sorry for Cornley Polytechnic drama, after all the rehearsal and effort that went into the production, that they should have a night like this.

I suppose that we could have guessed it wasn’t going to be their night when the dog went missing even before the show began! However they struggled on manfully and the understudy that came on for Constance after she was knocked out did very well ……. considering.

If I were them I’d probably sack the sound engineer, I mean how much can he know about sound, given his love of Duran Duran.

I applaud the cast for (mostly) making it through to the end of the show unscathed.

I’m going to recommend that you go to see this production because they surely could never have another night like this. The acting was brilliant, with hand gestures and everything, and I’m sure that once they get their difficulties sorted; there is a wonderful murder mystery in there, just waiting to come out!

Categories
walks

A walk along Regent’s Canal

https://www.endomondo.com/routes/725067575

A walk from Warwick Avenue tube to Angel tube along the Regent’s Canal is a fine way to spend a summer day.

It starts off in leafy Little Venice with houseboats all along the canal. It skirts the edges of Regents Park where grand houses have manicured gardens that run down to the water’s edge.

The canal cuts through London zoo – you can look up to see the birds in the Snowdon aviary and see animal enclosures on the far side. Soon after you will come to busy, buzzy Camden Lock – you can walk through a door in the wall of a building on the side of the canal if you fancy a detour into Camden market.

Next up is urban King’s Cross, where it is interesting to see the inventive rejuvenation, for example the new circular apartment blocks being built inside the frames of 19th century gas holders.

Finally, Chapel Street Market is one of the few remaining old fashioned London street markets. It still has a wet fish stall and even a ribbon and haberdashery stall.

The walk is almost 10k; so expect to spend a few hours but it is varied, interesting and well worth the time.

Categories
Attractions Buildings Days Out

Eltham Palace, London SE9.

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If you like historic buildings and Art Deco furniture and style, then you will not find anywhere better in London.

Many of the Kings of England lived here, including Henry VIII. It was lovingly redeveloped in the 1930s by Stephen Courtauld.  He restored the palace and added a new Art Deco house, decorated and furnished in the fashion of the time.

Currently it is in the care of by English Heritage. The circular entrance room is stunning and the art deco decoration and appliances are exquisite. The gardens are beautiful and have lovely views of the house and over London.

This is a fantastic day out within half an hour from central London.

Eltham Palace Bathroom 2

The photos are of the house from the garden and a marble bath in on of the en suite bathrooms.

 

Categories
Restaurant review

Joanna’s, Crystal Palace, London

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This is a great place for a smart leisurely brunch.

Joanna’s is an institution in Crystal Palace. Since the 1970s, everyone local knows that it  is good for an evening meal, but fewer people realise that it opens at 10am to serve brunch. The full English is high quality and their smoked salmon and scrambled eggs are lovely, my personal favourite is the poached egg and Canadian bacon served on an English muffin. The tables near the window have a beautiful view over the city of London, which looks particularly good on a cold sunny morning.

It isn’t quite caff prices – but it has lots of papers, great coffee and you are never rushed.

A lovely weekend treat.

Categories
Theatre review

The Suicide, National Theatre, London

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This is an update of a play for which, Nikolai Erdman, the original author spent time in Siberia, in the 1930s. This version is set in current UK with social media, local politics and hip-hop slam rap being lampooned.

On the day I saw it Adrian Richards, the understudy, played Sam and was excellent.

It is funny and the characters are well written and recognisable. There are bits that could go, I’m not sure what seeing Maggie Thatcher in the afterlife added to the proceedings. I will look out for Suhayla El-Bushra’s writing in the future. The set was great too, it cleverly moved back and forth between the inside and outside of an authentic looking tower block flat.

While the state here is not going to feel threatened by this play, it was entertaining, interesting and showed promise.

Recommended.