A curiously British Jubilee

It wasn’t jolly boating weather, but we made the most of it. In true British style, and with stiff upper lips, we partied in the rain and battled against choppy waters to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The River Pageant was a colourful spectacle, though I can’t imagine what it must have been like down there on the water. Fortunately, we were able to enjoy the proceedings from some of the best seats in town – in an apartment overlooking the River Thames.

We didn’t have huge flags (unlike some of our neighbours), but I hung up some bunting, and wore an original vintage Union Jack flag fashioned into a dress – plus my nails were painted red, white and blue…

 Even the men dressed up in patriotic colours.

Foodwise, my Coronation chicken (see ShopCurious post above) was a great success. Mounds of sandwiches were consumed, cake stands emptied, and Scotch Eggs scoffed by the dozen. Curiously, my token tin of Spam remained unopened.

Towards the end of the party, I was flagging as much as my dress. I was so relieved to eventually take off my shoes. Unfortunately, unlike the Queen, I hadn’t had anyone wear them in for me. And I’d creatively customized them with red rose hair accessories, which cut horribly into my toes…

 

But it must have been a good party, because when the flag-waving masses departed I was still smiling… just like Her Majesty.

I’m left thinking how lucky us Brits are to have such a wonderful (and reassuringly resilient) monarch.

Are you?

Jubilee jubilations!

 



So, the Diamond Jubilee weekend is upon us. My curious triffid-like plant has suddenly sprouted a flower, which is standing to attention to honour the occasion.

Nothing new for us Brits, but (as noted in today's post at the Dabbler) everyone is talking about the weather. It’s set to turn rather nasty on Sunday, just in time for the River Pageant on the Thames. Such a shame as I’m having a bit of a party. In fact I spent all day yesterday putting up bunting and shopping for my 1950s themed lunch/tea.










Rather than spend ages preparing the sauce for my Coronation chicken, I discovered a ready-made version by Sussex Valley, which I shall embellish to 'make it my own'…This will leave more time to get ready. I’m looking forward to wearing my specially designed Diamond Jubilee dress (of which more later).











I was also thinking that this curiously kitsch and collectable Swarovski crystal studded British bulldog bag from ShopCurious might be rather cool for the occasion too. What do you think?

Do you?

Fireworks and reflections

With rain forecast, I was expecting Bonfire Night to be a total washout. But I was pleasantly surprised to see one of the most spectacular fireworks displays ever (well, since the last most spectacular one anyway). And not a drop of rain.

London’s Hurlingham Club fireworks take some beating – especially if viewed from across the river. Best of all, you don’t have to be a member of the club, and second best of all, you get to see twice the fireworks for your money (in fact for no money, as it’s free).

The reason I say twice the fireworks, is because there’s also a reflection in the River Thames. It’s not quite the same as being there, but these photographs, which remind me of something from a Turner painting, will give you an idea…



























And here's what the fabulous finale looked like:

By the way, shadows, reflections and outlines are some of the curious trends that ShopCurious predicts we’ll be seeing much more of in fashion and interiors over the coming seasons. It’s all to do with having the curiosity factor…

Do you?

Fishing around for Father's Day?

I was sorry to hear about the flood of sewage, caused by heavy rain last weekend, reportedly killing around 20.000 fish between Kew and the Albert Bridge. When the tide’s out, I’ve occasionally seen the odd angler bravely wading out into the River Thames – a tradition that must stretch back to time immemorial. According to a local fishing club, The Wandle Piscators, even Nelson fished the Wandle (a tributary of the Thames), with his good arm, until his death at Trafalgar.






I can see the appeal of fishing in the event of being marooned on a desert island - but why do people, especially men, become so obsessed with this curiously uneventful pastime? I decided to have a go myself – in an attempt to discover the allure of the strange sport… though being a fair-weather sort, I opted for a deep sea fishing trip in the sunny Caribbean. Not such a great idea if it’s not sunny, but STORMY.


Bravely overcoming my strong desire to bug out, I spent several hours inhaling stomach churning diesel fumes and foul fishy aromas, as the boat pitched at crazy angles. The vessel was equipped with all manner of curious fishing paraphernalia, which the captain and his mate put to use with professional nonchalance, even when the boat was at 45 degrees in a squall.




















Despite feeling a little queasy, I was determined to maintain my sartorial elegance throughout - but, boy was I glad when I saw the beach rapidly zooming towards us, as the boat accelerated back to shore at breakneck speed. And we actually brought in a reasonably decent catch - including a 25 pound Wahoo - a very tasty trophy.






















By the way, if your Dad’s a keen fisherman, then look no further than these fabulous vintage fly fishing cufflinks from ShopCurious, which would make the perfect Father’s Day present.



Anyway, there was I thinking that a more sedate form of fishy activity, like a trip to see Selfridges Project Ocean, might be a little less dangerous than deep sea fishing – but my curiosity to capture these strange chaps on film caused me to fall off the end of the escalator:

Will you?

PS If your Dad’s into something other than fishing, check out my special selection of unusual gifts for Dabbling Dads.

Curiosities of snowy London

These were the views I woke up to this morning. One of my windows was iced over – thankfully only on the outside. The terrace was covered in snow, though only a few inches.












Nevertheless, with a biting north-easterly wind, it was pretty cold outside... but I was still determined to have a little walk along the river to see if anyone was out and about.





As it happened, there wasn’t anything much going on in the park, and not one illegal barbecuer in sight.

Someone had obviously ventured down the riverside slipway, though there was no evidence of their tracks coming back up again.



It was altogether very quiet - perhaps everyone had cleverly stayed in the warm?




And then I noticed something decidedly odd…







What looked suspiciously like a body was dangling from a rope in the River Thames. I tried to get a closer look, but my hands were shaking so much from the cold I couldn’t focus my camera.




I inspected the curious corpse from above and considered my options. Should I call the police? Should I see if I could somehow climb down to take a closer look, or pull the hanging body out of the water?











I thought about it, but then spotted a sign on the neighbouring building.






Perhaps this was just down to some kids being ‘nauty’?







On the way back there were more signs of those intrepid enough to brave the icy conditions, but still no barbecuers.










Anyway, if you’re going out today, I can only suggest you wear something suitably warm.






These eco-friendly, ‘snow bunny’ sheepskin boot covers from Romp London at ShopCurious should keep your feet and legs curiously cosy.

Just be careful on the slippery pavements – and beware of children and boats.

Will you?

Earth, wind, fire and water (part I)

Firstly, many apologies for the curious layout and arrangement of photos in this post. This is due to current difficulties with uploading images to Blogger.

Open House London, the major annual showcase of the capital’s architecture, has recently changed its name to Open-City. Over the course of the weekend, many of London’s buildings were open to the public, encouraging people to learn more about architectural design, and appreciate the amazing variety of buildings within local communities all over the capital.

 





I’d strongly urge anyone who wishes to see the huge variety of architecture in London to take a trip on a Thames Clipper from The London Eye to The O2 at Greenwich. I recently took one of the high speed catamarans to see an Earth, Wind and Fire in concert at the O2 Arena, so I thought I’d share some of my photos with you. This is just a very small selection, so you get an idea – sorry I can’t replicate the sounds, or that ‘wind in your hair’ feel of a blowy day on a boat (I could have done with one of the new feather hair bands from ShopCurious).






The pier where you set off on the Clipper offers some amazing opportunities to get a close up look at the London Eye, and there are some classic views of the Houses of Parliament too.

You’ll pass tons of well known landmarks, of course, but what I really love are the quirky curiosities like old warehouses and pubs – the buildings that give you a sense of London’s history as a port and a centre of commerce.

Once you get further down river, there are more expansive views, like this one of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich.

Arriving at the O2 was the best part of the journey for me. I have a curious passion for desolate places and mud flats. To me, the river always looks better when the tide is out. Here you’ll see dilapidated wharves and old gasometers alongside modern sculptures, and there’s quite a lot of new building going on too.

There’s also a spectacular new office complex, called Ravensbourne (see below), at Greenwich Peninsula. Designed by Foreign Office Architects, it’s due to open at the end of this month and will house the latest techonologies in HDTV studio, prototyping facilities and collaborative technologies. The Open House brochure describes it as “an inspirational new learning environment, over interlinked floors around an impressive central atrium.”

  The O2 atrium is actually quite impressive too. I treated myself to dinner on the upper terrace at Gaucho (a rather curious combo of seafood and spinach with garlic and chilli oil – Mmmm.. )

Going home by river was even more impressive. London is looking more like Hong Kong than ever, and Canary Wharf looks stunning lit up at night.

More traditional sights included popular favourite, Tower Bridge. But the piece de resistance was the London Eye, which bathed the water in electric blue light.

Oh, and there’s something I omitted… I expect you want to hear about the concert too...

Do you?