Its finally summer and while the big heat wave has gone, the evenings are just right to sit outside and enjoy the night with some friends and a drink or two. If you are looking for a place to do just that, look no further and head to the Brunel Museum on Fridays or Saturdays. Not the place for a drink? – it sure is. Since the opening of the roof garden on top of the Southern Shaft of the Brunel tunnel, they have been organising Midnight Apothecary.
The sun has finally decided to make an appearance this weekend and I used the opportunity to spend a lazy Saturday in Shoreditch / Hackney with some friends. Even though my picture-taking activity was on the low side, it was so much fun that I thought I share our route with you nevertheless. So here it comes…
Your lazy weekend tour through Shoreditch / Hackney
Note: for the “market” part of the stroll, the market will depend on whether you go on Saturday (then you’ll experience Broadway market, left picture) or Sunday (Columbia Road Flower market, right picture). Both streets are also great without the market, as there are nice shops and good food opportunities anyway!
Good Morning Art Lovers! If you do only one thing this week….get in line at the Victoria Miro Gallery in Wharf Road (at the Old Street Basin of the Regent’s Canal) – to see what might be the most popular Gallery Exhibition of the summer, if not the year.
Yayoi Kusama is one of the most important Japanese Artists of the 20th Century and even though she is 87 years already, this is all new work on display. Kusama is most famous for her Polka Dots and has become known to the London public through her exhibition at Tate Modern in 2012 and her collaboration with Louis Vuitton, transforming Selfridges Windows in 2013.
In this exhibition, there are a few of her sculptures and paintings, but the true draw are the large installations, one in the garden (see above) as well as 3 “infinity rooms” – mirrored rooms where one feels like Alice in Wonderland. They are absolutely stunning in their visual effects reflecting pumpkins and chandeliers millionfold (the pictures below don’t do it any justice).
Last but not least, the gallery space as such is also stunning to experience, a transformed wharf house at the canal basin, making the most of its large spaces and the canal-side garden.
If you want to know more about Yayoi Kusama, check out her Website or Wikipedia. If you want to really know more and see her art in a new context, her autobiography, titled “Infinity Net” is an impressive and touching read.
If you want to visit, the exhibition is open until 30th of July on Tuesdays- Saturdays 10am-6pm. On Saturdays, it can get very busy and there will be a “one in-one out” policy, meaning you’ll have to stand in line (could be up to 1 hour) to get in. Inside, there is more waiting, as the infinity rooms can be viewed only by a handful people at once (but its absolutely worth the wait).
More information on exhibition and gallery can be found at the Gallery Website.
Wow, time is flying, London Baby is getting almost a year old, and one of the first posts was on the “Boat Race vs. Goat Race”, two annual institutions in London (one very old and one new institution :))
Now, tickets for the Goat race 2016 have been released and they are going fast! The event takes place on Sunday, 27th March (at the same time as the Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race on the Thames). But, let me refresh you on the Goat race….(picture credit http://www.demotix.com)
After almost a year of London Baby (wow, time flies!), I am happy to announce the LondonBaby Social Media Family has welcomed another member: @thatslondonbabyblog on Instagram! Check it out (and follow, if you like) here!
Also, feel free to share great pictures – I am sure they might be better than mine 🙂
The days are getting slowly colder, so what could heat spirit and soul better than some hot Jazz? Probably the most unusual Jazz Venue of London is hidden underneath this church on Trafalgar Square (Image taken from Wikipedia).
The Crypt of St. Martin in the Field does not only completely modernised housing an excellent cafe and shop, but on Wednesday nights, the Crypt Cafe hosts a long-standing series of Jazz concerts. The line up varies for all tastes and prices are a bargain at normally £3.50 -£12. Concerts start at 8pm every Wednesday. All info, the program for the next weeks, ticket etc. can be found here.
Not into Jazz? St. Martin hosts many other concerts, mostly classical almost every day. Several times per week they will even have free Lunch concerts and their Friday evening Candlelight concerts present seminal classical pieces in a unique atmosphere at reasonable prices. Oh, and you can also stop by the Crypt Cafe any time during the day to escape the hustle and bustle of Trafalgar Square.
Happy Sunday everyone! Time for a new guest blog, this time from London Baby’s favourite London Guide. Rob Smith is a London walking guide with Footprints of London and his guest blog looks at Literary Locations in London. In October Footprints of London are holding the Literary Footprints Festival – a series of walks celebrating London’s literary heritage. Continue reading
Dear all,
August Bank Holiday almost marks the end of the London Summer Season, so its time to get back from London Baby’s Summer Break! Thanks to Ramallah Baby for a few lovely guest posts (see here and here) – she is a London Baby in disguise!!!
London Baby used the break to go on vacation, but also many “staycations” in London during the weekend – can’t wait to share many new discoveries here. For starters, the Capital Ring has now been conquered- stay tuned for some posts on this.
Anyway, back to this post – its literally fresh off the press. Yesterday, I finally went to the King’s Cross Pond – the much talked about Pop-up swimming pond (not pool!) in the construction area of King’s Cross. According to the people behind it, its much more than a humble pond- no! In the self-marketing of the place, Icon Magazine sums it up as:
“Part art installation, part leisure project, the pool of naturally filtered water allows swimmers an unusual perspective on a rapidly changing part of London”
and-” ‘Of Soil and Water’: the King’s Cross Pond Club, the piece encourages visitors to enter the water and participate in the installation as a piece of experiential art.”
Big words! But lets see…
Dear all,
after the first 3 months of operations, I hope that London Baby has passed the probation period of sharing a bit of London with you. I certainly learnt a lot in those three months (especially that blogging costs time :))) and I am very excited and looking forward to evolve and change the blog as it continues. Feedback is always more than welcome so please let me know what you think about it.
Before continuing, London Baby is taking a small summer break but that does not mean nothing will happen. On the contrary, I am very excited to announce that the editor of our “sister baby blog” Ramallah Baby will be taking over, sharing her London knowledge and even inviting a guest blogger or two!
So stay tuned for some new and exciting posts! And in case you are finding yourself missing Baby Power, check out http://www.thatsramallahbaby.com !
Happy Summer!
Confession time: London Baby has a weak spot. For the Royal Family. Of the UK, of the Netherlands, and probably for most countries if I ever move to it and they have a royal family.
The bad news: even though I am so obsessed with them, I still have not managed to get a personal meeting with the Queen or to have married Prince Harry. Yes, the title is a pure attention sucker!
The good news: Living in London offers you countless opportunities to SEE members of the Royal Family in real life! and even better news: one of the best opportunities of the year is coming up TOMORROW (Saturday 13th June)!
That's London Baby! 