The Jubilee weekend is almost here!

The Jubilee weekend is almost here!

The excitement can be felt around town with the shops entering into the spirit with regal displays and union jack flags fluttering across the streets.People are actually talking to strangers, an unusual happening in London!

Carnaby Street have made sure everyone knows we have a celebration in town with their banner transformed with a Union Jack background and further down there is a wonderful sparkling version.

China Town has replaced the usual Chinese lanterns across Gerrard Street with joint Chinese and British bunting and Harrods has covered the front of it's iconic building with fluttering flags and the windows have interpretations of crowns designed by some of the world's leading designers.

Along the road Harvey Nichols have turned their window displays into a patriotic tribute to the nation of small shopkeepers during the past 60 years, with the Knightsbridge Corner Shop displaying tempting jars of sweets, Harvey Nickers which has caused great amusement and more windows showing the simplicity of shops in years gone by  This is my favorite display in town at the moment.

 

Such a sunny day, we can see more of the reflection of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel opposite!

Selfridges on Oxford Street have designed their displays with a bit of an edge taking on the best of British lifestyle and eating in a collage form.

It's not just the shops, food manufacturers have rolled out the flags for everything from eggs and lettuce, to teabags and toilet rolls!
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Marmite have come up with a classic jar, which I will be cleaning out and saving when the contents have been finished.

Well, I think we are ready, the streets are being cleaned, the horses groomed and the boats are shining, my cupcakes have been baked, patriotic clothes have been bought and we are ready to CELEBRATE!

Queen Victoria will host a pop concert!

Queen Elizabeth II’s great grandmother will be in the centre of a concert on Monday 4 June 2012 to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee! The concert, starring an amazing line up of talent including Paul McCartney, Elton John, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Joold Holland, Alfie Boe, Annie Lennox, JLS and lots more, will be staged in front of Buckingham Place on a specially constructed stage around the Victoria Memorial.  Work is almost finished at the Palace for the fast approaching Jubilee weekend in a few days time.

The monument to Queen Victoria, the only other monarch to celebrate 60 years on the throne, was made by the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock out of gleaming white marble and stands 25 metres high in the middle of the road outside the palace.  The surround was designed by architect Sir Aston Webb and was dedicated by George V in 1911 with the fine figure of Queen Victoria facing out towards the Mall. Looking out from all points are the patinated bronze statues of the Angels of Truth, Justice and Charity, topped with a gilded pinnacle which most likely represents peace and victory.

Reference has been made to Britain’s position as a major naval power at the time, with statues of mermaids and sea creatures/  Groups of bronze statues, representing Peace and Progress and Industry and Agriculture, sit along the enclosing wall and by the steps leading down to ground level are imposing sets of lions, one of which was a gift from the people of New Zealand.  
I can't wait until Monday when we see this familiar site transformed into a venue for a pop concert!

The Chelsea Flower Show

The 99th Chelsea Flower Show opened last week in brilliant sparkling sunshine and that is how this first event of the London Summer Season carried on all until the doors closed on Saturday. It is just as much about people watching as it is about the plants, everything is beautiful!  Chelsea in Bloom inspires the shops to join in with the floral themes and this year everyone had worked so hard to give the area a right Royal feel!

Photos:  Martin Pope

The Queen, many members of the Royal Family who have a very keen interest in all things gardening and a number of our celebrities visited Chelsea on Monday evening before the show opened to the public on Tuesday 22 May.

The Show is staged In the extensive grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea which was founded in 1682 by Charles II as a retirement home for veteran soldiers.  So the legend goes, he was persuaded by his mistress Nell Gwynn to find a way to help old soldiers after she had seen an old man begging on the street in the King's Road. 

Chelsea Pensioners add a bit of colour to Diarmuid Gavin's Westland Magical Tower Garden AP

The Hospital was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and the first Pensioners took up residence in 1689.  The 420 men and women who have been injured on active service must wear a blue uniform at all times when they are within a mile of the hospital and the distinctive scarlet uniform is worn for special occasions.

Every year the grounds of the hospital are transformed for the world famous Chelsea Flower Show which is the equivalent of a catwalk show of the horticultural world.  Trends are launched here for the gardening world to choose and adopt, or in some unfortunate cases they are quickly forgotten about.

Furzey Gardens win a top prize with their first ever entry. Photo: BBC

Contractors work all hours for weeks before the event to ensure stunning show gardens are completed on time for the first day of the show.  This year conditions have been particularly difficult with torrential rain across much of the country in the weeks leading up to the show.  Ironically, there was a strong theme of water conservation running through the show gardens, following the two very dry winters many of us in the UK have experienced.

The world’s most famous flower show is an exciting, bustling, frantic experience which attracts major sponsorships due to its world wide coverage, giving charities a fantastic marketing opportunity.  The next local flower show will be Hampton Court, where the pace is a bit more relaxed in the vast  acres of Henry VIII's back garden. 

The Flame has arrived!

Princess Anne, London Mayor Boris Johnson, Lord Coe London 2012 Chairman and David Beckham arrived at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall this evening with the lantern containing the Olympic flame.

BA2012, the specially painted gold plane arrived at 7.30pm with its precious cargo firmly screwed onto a table in a seat of its own!  There were 4 golden lanterns, each containing the flame leaving nothing to chance just in case any problem should occur.

Getty Images

Princess Anne carried the lantern from the plane and handed it over to one of the Torch Security Team who prepared it for David Beckham to light the golden cauldron and the crowds cheered the moment when the Olympic Flame was actually burning on British soil.

Photo: AP

The flame will be taken to Land's End at dawn on Saturday ready for the first leg of the Torch Relay which will start at 7am.  The first torchbearer will be Ben Ainslie CBE, the triple Olympic gold-medal sailing champion who grew up in Cornwall.

There were great cheers and broad smiles all round this evening from the welcoming crowds and former Olympian Lord Coe was beaming with relief that his 10 year project had reached this stage.  David Beckham was excited and proud to welcome the Games to his country and especially to the London borough where he grew up.  Boris Johnson was so excited, he treated himself to a haircut for the occasion!

Boris Johnson, The Princess Royal, David Beckham and Lord Coe during the official handover ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium on Thursday

The Olympic Flame is classed as a symbolic flame so is permitted to be carried in the cabin of an aircraft, after being  given special permission by the Civil Aviation Authority.

The Orbit Tower

The UK’s tallest sculpture designed by the Turner prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor and structural engineer Cecil Balmond was unveiled on Friday 11th May.

Photo:  PA

The spiralling steel tower stands at 114.5m tall with two observation floors giving panoramic views across the London skyline. Visitors will be able to go up the 35 storey structure in a lift and if they wish, descend the 455-step spiral staircase to enjoy the spectacular views and take in the artistic detail. The artwork will be brought to life with 250 colour spot lights which can be individually controlled to give a stunning display after dark.

The cost of this unique attraction has been largely funded by ArcelorMittal, providing £19.6 million, with the remaining £3.1 million from the London Development Agency.

Photo: AP

Reaction to the structure has been mixed.  The Mayor of London described it as “a piece of truly spectacular modern British art”, whereas critics have commented that it was “like the Eiffel Tower after a nuclear attack”!  Anish Kapoor said he was “glad it was controversial”.

No doubt this lattice of tubular steel will be the focus of many photographs during the coming months, along with heated debate about whether this tangle of scarlet steel is a cutting edge work of art or a blot on the landscape.  Critics may like to remember that it took at least 50 years for the Eiffel Tower to become accepted and now it is the iconic landmark of Paris, just give this new London landmark a bit of time!

The Olympic Torch is on its way

The rays of the Greek sunshine, reflected in a parabolic mirror in front of the Temple of Hera, lit the Olympic torch and it started its journey to London yesterday.

Photo:   AAP

The torch was lit by an actress playing the role of a High Priestess in the ancient Olympia stadium, birthplace of the original Games.  It will now journey over 2,000 miles around Greece and the islands before arriving at Land’s End in Cornwall on May 18th, to begin its 70 day tour around the UK..

The flame, an Olympic symbol meant to represent purity, was placed in an urn then transferred to the first torchbearer, Spyros Gianniotis who is a Liverpool-born Greek long distance swimming world champion. After running through the stadium with torch in one hand and an olive branch in the other, he then handed it over to Alex Loukas, the first British torchbearer.  Alex is a 19 years old boxer from Newham in London and was part of the youth delegation who travelled to Singapore in 2005 as part of London’s final bid for the Games.