"London is Bonkers!"

'London is bonkers!' Overheard on the Southbank yesterday and I agree, we are eccentric and that is why we are so special.  Where else in the world would you find this young chap, wearing just shorts and sunglasses,  busking with his electric guitar on the city beach?

The tide was so low yesterday that it revealed a very wide beach, so sandy that this man decided to create a sand sculpture which thoroughly entertained the crowds having lunch in the Gabriel's Wharf restaurants.

Further along, outside the Festival Hall, the Lego map of the world had disappeared and been replaced by a performance group rehearsing a show which celebrated disabilities.

                                               


Later in the day the cast were teaching the audience how to join in the dress rehearsal with sign language and handing out a small gift of seeds, signifying that 'tomorrow is just a bloom'.

Taking a five minute rest on a bench in St. James's park, who should I see but Batman return a young child to his surprised mother, as you do!

Even the Goose is rather confused!

Trafalgar Square has the BT London Live big screen set up under Nelson's Column and a chance to see wheelchair tennis skills up close and personal, getting a chance to see how difficult it is to manoeuvre and hit the ball at the same time.

Can you believe how quickly everything has returned to normal. Just over two weeks ago this was the arena for beach volley ball with tiers of seating high above the buildings.  Now all is calm, as though nothing had happened.

The Mall is still closed, and preparations are underway to make the area ready for the Victory Parade on Monday.  This will be a ticketed area for family and friends of the athletes, volunteers, blue light services and the military, along with team coaches and support staff and groups of schoolchildren from London boroughs.

The parade of over 700 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, will start at 1.30pm from the City of London and the British Airways flame-coloured Firefly A319 aircraft will lead a flypast with the Red Arrows during the afternoon.

A stroll back over Hungerford bridge, yet another bizarre incident left commuters stunned as they had to make way for a giant white urinal as it was carried over the bridge, closely followed by Will Gompertz the BBC Arts Correspondent! It all happened so quickly, no time for a photo as I watched this 'vision' hurry across the bridge!

Where else in the world? !!

Piccadilly, the real circus!

Photo: Getty

Piccadilly Circus lived up to it’s name on Sunday, as thousands of shoppers and tourists were treated to a surprise street circus.

Photo:  PA

The thrilling show was part of the Cultural Olympiad London 2012 festival celebrations and members of the public stopped in amazement as performers began zip-wiring from buildings and costumed actors paraded down Regent Street.  Chinese pole artists, clowns, hula hoopers and jugglers transformed the area into a bustling playground.

Photo:  PA

 The grand finale came at sunset ,when a pink flare on the old HMV building sent a white cherub down a zipwire towards the statue of Eros.  As a group of winged figures gathered above the crowd, Eros appeared to be taking aim with his bow and suddenly 1.5 tonnes of feathers exploded out of the sky!

Photo:  Tristram Kenton, Guardian

 This was the UK premiere of  Place des Anges, a performance by Les Studios de Cirque, including over 200 international circus artists from 17 different nations.  

Photo: PA

The final week of the 2012 festival culminates with Bandstand Marathon - Communities in Tune on Sunday 9th September, when hundreds of bandstands around the UK strike up at the same time!  Coldplay have endorsed the playing of their song Viva La Vida for the simultaneous performance at 2pm and we will be able to see them later in the evening, when they perform at the Paralympics Closing Ceremony.

Coldplay's Chris Martin  Photo: Getty

The Games have come home

Photo: Getty

London has that special buzz about it again.  This time it is for the Paralympic Games which opened on 29th August with a spectacular opening ceremony in the Olympic stadium.

Crunch Time!  The whole audience bit into an apple at the same time, with reference to
Sir Issac Newton's theory of gravity   Photo: PA

The show entitled Enlightenment, thrilled the packed audience with both disabled and able bodied performers working together to deliver a celebration of the past and vision of the future.  Under the light of a brilliant full moon in the sky, the ethereal voice of Britain's greatest scientist,  Professor Stephen Hawking spoke of the origins of the universe and humanity's wish to understand how everything came to be.  He delivered his message that everyone should 'look up at the stars and not down at your feet, and be curious'.

Professor Stephen Hawing delivers his message.  Photo: Getty

The theme of the umbrella ran through the whole show and a black dome was the source for the Big Bang which evolved into a world map on a giant umbrella. The evening was a journey of discovery of the wonder of science, intended to transform perceptions into a world of people sharing the same human kindred spirit and explore all the possibilities that lie within us.

Photo:  AP

Athletes from 164 countries paraded into the stadium lead by girls in costumes representing the colours of their national flags, carrying on with the umbrella theme which announced the name of each country.

The GB team arrived to a huge roar from the crowd and as tickertape and fireworks exploded, they enjoyed the crowd's ovation with David Bowie's Heroes song played in their honour.

Photo: Getty

Joe Townsend a Royal Marine war veteran, flew into the arena on a zip wire from the top of the Orbit to deliver the flame.  24 year old Joe lost both his legs in a landmine accident in Afghanistan and was chosen for   his inspirational battle against his injuries to become an Ironman triathlete, although he very nearly missed the ceremony after developing a leg infection and needing emergency surgery two days before.

The Cauldron, was lit by Margaret Maughan who won gold in the archery at first 1960 Paralympics and was a former patient of Dr. Ludwig Guttmann at Stoke Mandeville.

Photo:  Getty

The entertainment was stunning and colourful, sometimes confusing and wild, but the success of a show is that different people take away different memories from it.  This one certainly had something for everyone, but most of all an ultimate celebration in understanding.

Dame Tanni Grey -Thompson flies across the stadium, one of many athletes and entertainers
in silver and golden wheelchairs, performing aerial dances.  Photo: Reuters

The Weigh-In at London Zoo

Tape measures and scales were out for the animals of London Zoo today.

PICKLE!  Photo ZSL

Penguins form a dis-orderly queue for the scales  Photo: Getty

Photo: Getty Images

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) who run the zoo in 36 acres in Regent's Park, started their annual weigh-in for all it's 16,000+ creatures today.

Photo: AFP

Every single species needs to be measured and weighed and given a general check-up, to provide a basis on which to monitor their health, diets and general well-being. This information is then shared with other zoos and conservationists.  ZSL works with conservation programmes in Britain and over 50 countries around the world to protect wild animals and their natural habitats and.promote sustainability.

Elton the spectacled owl  Photo:ZSL

London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo and was opened in 1828.  Having survived several funding problems and the changing public view of zoos, it was faced with closure in 1991.  However, public support saved London Zoo and the huge task of transforming the cramped conditions was undertaken.  This has resulted in a modern, animal friendly space, which gives visitors an amazing chance to see wild animals in an environment as close as possible to their natural habitat.

Tammy - tree climbing Tamnadua anteater  Photo: ZSL

London Paralympic Games

Photo: Dominic Lipinski /PA Wire

The Paralympic flag, officially called the Agitos (Latin for ‘I move’), was raised over Downing Street yesterday and the Prime Minister wished the ParalympicsGB team good luck in the Games which are due to start on 29 August 2012. 

The Paralympic Games began in Britain following an attempt by a neurologist Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, to make well the war veterans in his care at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. People with spinal cord injuries were given little hope of living more than a year and were expected to be hidden away from society before Sir Ludwig’s revolutionary ideas. He came up with the pioneering idea of using sport as a key part of rehabilitation and in 1948 a competition for 16 paralysed men and women was organised to coincide with the opening ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games. The first competitive sport was archery.

It was welcomed with a wonderful party atmosphere and four years later the Netherlands joined the event, which created the first international sports competition for the disabled. Four years later the first international sporting event for the disabled was held in Italy and since then have continued every four years.

The 2012 Paralympic Games are already breaking records with the number of tickets already sold and more countries and athletes than ever before. 

The Games open on Wednesday 29th August, when we can look forward to another memorable show. This time the Artistic Directors Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings, have planned a show named ‘Enlightenment’. This promises to highlight how people have transformed society through struggles for freedom, democracy and equality and starts with a fly-past from Aerobility, a British charity that trains disabled people to become pilots. It has been rumoured that Professor Stephen Hawkins may be taking part in the ceremony, although it’s not known whether this will be in person or on film.

We are all looking forward to welcoming these brave and courageous people, who have overcome a disability to achieve their goal and hope this will further the understanding of disabled people around the world. It was less than thirty years ago that society did not want to see disabilities on TV.

London is looking fabulous

London is looking absolutely fabulous at the moment.

 These geraniums planted outside Buckingham Palace have been especially chosen to match the jackets of the soldiers guarding the Palace.

The tourist sights have never looked better.

and it is great to see so many tourists enjoying our city, including a group of the Russian Olympic Team and this Gold Medal winning Brazilian athlete, who was lucky enough to be allowed into the grounds of the Houses of Parliament to have her photo taken with Big Ben in the background.

The Southbank has pulled out all the stops to stage a variety of activities to welcome the world.  This massive map of the world has been carefully constructed with tiny Lego pieces.

If you take the bright yellow spiral staircase on the side of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, you will find yourself in a beautiful peaceful space with a fantastic view.  

There is a small bar and pathways which lead to a wonderful cottage garden and vegetable patch, then follow the path over a walkway and you are in a cave, made out of plastic milk bottles! The garden has been designed by the Eden Project and you can find all sorts of unusual vegetables, vines and olive trees flourishing here.  It is planned to be closed at the end of September 2012, so it's worth planning a visit very soon.

 You don't need to be in the Olympic Park to feel the excitement and atmosphere, London is full of happy smiling people at the moment and there is something to amuse around every corner.

A winning display from a Royal Horticultural Society competition.

A massive floral crown in St. James' Park.

A chance to practice your table tennis to Olympic standards in Embankment Gardens!