A trip to Wimbledon to watch the tennis is a must for every summer in London, so I was very excited to have a day out on court 2 last week. The weather is such a crucial factor of any Wimbledon experience, unless you are lucky enough to have the golden ticket which gets you into the Centre Court where the roof ensures all day play. Otherwise you are at the mercy of the rain and court 2 is exposed to the elements so we were keeping our fingers crossed. Continue reading
I was luckily enough to go to the Oval last week, one of the two cricket grounds in London which hosts international matches, Lords being the other. England were playing South Africa in a tournament of one day matches and we were taking a visiting American friend who had no idea about this strange game but he was really relieved it wasn’t the five day version of the game! Continue reading
It was a rainy day on Sunday and the tennis at Queen’s tennis club was suffering with the covers over the grass of its centre court for several hours. We were waiting for Andy Murray to take centre stage and hopefully beat Marian Cilic as well as the weather. The good people of Marylebone Summer Fayre were waiting for a break in the rain to attract the crowds to enjoy their great annual event. Continue reading
London is so full of hidden treats that even those of us who live here don’t know about them all. One special annual event called Open Garden Squares Weekend is a brilliant way to get out and about and see some special places, many of which are closed to visitors the rest of the year. One ticket gives you access to over 200 venues all across London so the race is on to see as many as possible!
It was a very busy weekend so I’ll just bring you the highlights here: Continue reading
You can find street art all over London but if you head out to the east you can’t turn a corner without bumping into murals, stickers and street art that wasn’t even there the day before! Continue reading
I’ve been watching the Shard grow from a hole in the ground to an amazing finished building which catches the eye where ever you are in central London.
This week I finally got round to going up it and it certainly lived up to all the hype I’d heard since its opening in February. I awoke on Monday nervously looking at the sky as I really wanted a fine day. Western Europe’s tallest building can be hidden in or even above the clouds as I’d seen during the Jubilee river parade – that famous day of dreadful weather when the top of the Shard disappeared into the clouds! However, it turned out to be a fine morning and I reckon having been there that a visit would be fun even in poorer weather. Continue reading
One of the sure signs that spring has arrived in London is the annual Canal Cavalcade in Little Venice. On the first weekend in May brightly decorated canal boats from all over the UK gather in the Grand Union Canal basin as they have been doing this since 1983. I live just round the corner so always make sure I drop in to see what’s going on. Continue reading
In 2013 the winter seemed to go on forever and it was chilly through much of March but April saw the blossom come out at last. The Brits are famous for being obsessed by the weather and this blog seems to be confirming that! Continue reading
There are always great exhibitions worth visiting in London, often at smaller, less well known museums. However, sometimes blockbuster shows hit town at the same time and this is one of those times. Londoners and visitors are frantically trying to get their hands on much sought after tickets for this spring’s top shows. I’ve been away from London for 2 months on my volunteering trip to Africa (read more here) so I was really keen to catch up. Continue reading
BBC Television Centre has a special special place in British hearts and many of our best loved television shows were made there. But last week it closed its doors for good and will be handed over to the developers. Sometime in the future 3 of the studios will reopen so TV programmes will be shot there again, however it will not be a beating heart of TV production again. Continue reading