Art in a Coffee Cup

Art is all over the place, and the other day at the cafe in the View Tube, I was treated to this:

Its amazing what these baristas can do. It did seem a shame to stir it, and even more of a shame to drink it. But it was worth it – it was delicious.

The Street Artist Known as Stik

This is probably a picture of the work of the most recognisable street artists in London:

The artist’s name is Stik. Despite most of his work is done illegally, being completed on sides of buildings etc, he has recently been commissioned by organisations such as the National Health Service, British Waterways, The Barbican and the British Council. Through the British Council, his work, which is mainly comprised of murals, have been shown both in London and abroad.

He has also since lectured on the social importance of Street Art as London’s Central Saint Martin’s College of Art.

Not bad for someone that has no formal art training, and has spent 10 years creating art on the streets of East London.

 

Urban Greenery

On a recent photo walk around East London, I encountered this scene:

The weather was not that great, the sky was very grey, so I thought it would be better to avoid capturing the sky. I was quite pleased with this picture, as it has many layers. I must try and remember where I took it, as I would like to go back when the light is a little better.

 

Olympic Park – 3 Months to Go

Over the last few months, there wasn’t too many changes at the Olympic Park to report. However, on my most recent visit, with just over 3 months to the London 2012 Olympic Games, there seems to be a hive of activity.

There is a lot of clearing up to be done, as well as landscaping work.

You can also see work being carried out in erecting, what will be food outlets and concession stands. I am sure it will all be ready with time to spare!!!

Sergi is Getting Better

I thought I would share with you the latest installment of our friends from Merkova:

King’s Cross Station

 London is going through a transformation in readiness for both The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympics.

 The latest new build to be unveiled is King’s Cross Station. As with other new structures, the architects are mixing the older existing buildings with new ideas on design, as well as new technologies and materials. The effect of which, is creating new spaces and making buildings that have a functional purpose, a place worth visiting, just to look.

 

King’s Cross Station has a new departure hall:

 

 

The architect has created a two level space, full of curves and interesting light.

 

 

Off course, King’s Cross station has become very famous thanks to Harry Potter and the departure point for the Hogwarts Express from platform 9 3/4, so I was pleased to see that the developers have seen fit to commemorate this:

 

 

These new spaces are making London an even better place to visit, and its great that these places are multi-functional.

 

Toby

It has been a long time since I posted any pictures of Toby. We had a great morning out with a couple of friends and their dogs:

This is, from left to right, Toby, Maisie and Kayla.

Maisie and Kayla spent most of the walk chasing after each other, going at speeds that Toby could never keep up with. I do wish I had video footage to share, but I think this picture illustrates how fast they were running:

Toby, meanwhile just wanted to play stick:

The following picutre is one of my favourites ever of Toby:

I keep forgetting how old Toby is. He is coming up to 9 years old, and all the running around he did here took its toll. He was totally exhausted, but I am sure thoroughly enjoyed himself.

The Big Egg Hunt – Final Day

Today is the last day of London’s Big Egg Hunt. All the eggs have now been moved to Covent Garden, ready to be sold to the highest bidders. I popped along the other day to see the eggs for a final time, and it was a great chance to see a few that I had wanted to see when they were located around town.

I’m not sure if those hanging eggs are part of the Big Egg Hunt, but they do look rather impressive.

Where’s Wally, or if you are from the United States or Canada, Where’s Waldo? Here he is:

The final egg I am going to post here, has turned out to be one of my favourites. It’s a duck egg:

So that is the end of the Big Egg Hunt. I wonder what we will find on the streets of London next?

 

Inside the Olympic Stadium

I was lucky enough to get tickets for one of the first test events inside London’s new Olympic Stadium. The event was a celebration of charity work inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Gold Challenge, has challenged people to take part in the 118 different Olympic and Paralympic Events, encompassing 30 different sports, to raise money for charity.

 I have been recording the building of the Olympic Park since construction started in 2008, so to actually be able to visit the stadium before the games was a treat. The entrance to the Olympic Park is via Westfield Stratford City Shopping Centre. This is a real boon for the shopping mall, as permission to build the centre was granted before London was awarded the Olympic Games. The shopping centre, actually helps to thin the crowds, and made the flow in to the Olympic Park that much quicker.

 To enter the Olympic Park, you have to pass through, what is like Airport Security. Once through this area, you get your first view of the venues:

 I am still struck how close everything seems to be. I think it’s only about 400 metres between the Aquatic Centre and the Olympic Stadium. There is still work to be done on the site, mainly all landscaping work, however you do get some idea of what it is going to look like in a few months time:

 

 We now arrive on the island that the Olympic Stadium stands on.  The stadium is a giant bowl. The bottom tier of the stadium is below ground level, so what we have been looking at is the top tier of the stadium.  The stadium is very basic, with no amenities actually attached to it. The bathrooms are pods, which flank each entrance to the arena, and all the concessions (food, souvenirs etc) are going to be in cabins that will encircle the outside of the stadium. All very good when the weather is favourable, but spectators are going to get wet if it is raining, as there is no where really to shelter.

Once in the Olympic Stadium, this is the view:

 It does look rather spectacular. It is not completely finished inside, the cauldron where the Olympic flame will blaze during the games is not there. We did try to figure out where it could go, but cannot see anywhere obvious for it to reside. I have a feeling we won’t find out until the Opening Ceremony on 27^th July 2012.

 One word of warning though, if you are lucky enough to have tickets, take plenty of sun protection. Even on 1^st April, when I visited, with the sun not that particularly strong, I managed to leave the stadium with a very red face.  Despite that, I think the Stadium is going to be a success. The views are great, and I think you would have to be very unlucky to have your view interrupted by the people sitting in front of you.