LondonLife – Sunset over Bishopsgate…
LondonLife
LondonLife – Scenes from the Platinum Jubilee celebrations…
Four days of celebration were held from Thursday to Sunday to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. Here’s a short selection of images from the events…
LondonLife – Superbloom at the Tower of London…
Twenty million seeds have been sown into the Tower of London’s moat to create a floral display known as ‘Superbloom’ as part of the celebrations surrounding Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
Paths, walkways and viewing points have been installed throughout and in a first at the Tower, a four lane slide has been installed to provide an unusual entrance to the display.
Those visiting the display – which features wildflowers such as red poppies, yellow corn marigolds and blue cornflowers as well as garden plants including sunflowers, cosmos and rudbeckias – will hear a score by Scottish composer Erland Cooper – Music for Growing Flowers – while other attractions include a willow sculpture by artist Spencer Jenkins and a swarm of intricate copper insects by sculptor Mehrdad Tafreshi.
The centrepiece of the display is the “Queen’s Garden” which has been installed by Grant Associates – the lead designers for the Superbloom project – in the Tower’s historic Bowling Green.
Inspired by the Queen’s Coronation gown, this garden features a combination of meadow flowers, topiary and summer-flowering perennials, bulbs and ornamental grasses and draws on the colours, shapes and motifs used by designer Norman Hartnell in the 1953 gown.
Rising above the garden are 12 cast glass forms by glass artist Max Jacquard which represent the national emblems featured in Hartnell’s design and in their centre sits a glass crown, a reminder of the Tower’s role as home of the Crown Jewels.
Tower Wharf, meanwhile, has been transformed into a food and drinks venue, with street food and bars from KERB and fine dining available riverside in ‘The Glass Rooms’. The flowers are expected to gradually bloom in June and will continue to evolve until September. For more, including how to purchase tickets, head here.
LondonLife – Scenes from the State Opening of Parliament…
Queen Elizabeth II didn’t attend the State Opening of Parliament last Tuesday for the first time in almost 60 years with Prince Charles delivering the Queen’s Speech for the first time. In an event that’s all about pomp and pageantry, more than 500 soldiers and 125 military horses took part in a variety of ceremonial roles over the day.
LondonLife – Green spaces form part of ‘Green Canopy’ for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee…
City of London-managed open spaces Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches and Ashtead Common have been selected to be part of a nationwide network of 70 ancient woodlands to be dedicated to The Queen in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee. At almost 6,000 acres, Epping Forest is London and Essex’s largest green space and is known as the “green lungs” of London. Burnham Beeches, located in Buckinghamshire, is only a square mile in size but is described as a “New Forest in miniature” while Ashtead Common in Surrey’s 200 hectares of open public space is home to more 1,000 living ancient oak pollards. For more on The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative, see www.queensgreencanopy.org. For more on the City of London’s green spaces, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do.
LondonLife – Hammersmith terrace…
A row of terraced houses overlooking the Thames in Hammersmith.
LondonLife – Sunrise silhouette…
LondonLife – ‘The Arks of Gimokudan’…
The Arks of Gimokudan, the first large-scale installation by Philippine artist-designer Leeroy New, has taken up residence in Somerset House’s central courtyard to mark Earth Day later this month. The installation features a fleet of three ships – made using reused and recycled materials and plastic waste – which appear to float some three metres above ground, inviting visitors to imagine themselves underwater and looking up at the vessals which draw on the history, culture and mythologies of his home nation of the Philippines, the country most at risk from the climate crisis according to a 2019 report. The ships represent a Spanish imperial galleon highlighting the Philippines’ long history of colonisation, a contemporary, military battleship, referencing continued territorial conflict and international tension in the region, and a futuristic spaceship, inspired by New’s fascination with sci-fi and world-making while the overall work also references Mebuyan, the Goddess of Gimokudan (Death and Fertility). Earth Day will be celebrated on 22nd April and the work can be seen in the Edmond J Safra Fountain Court until 26th April. Meanwhile, the first in the series of Morgan Stanley Lates at Somerset House with The Courtauld will take place on Wednesday (13th April) with Leeroy New in which visitors are invited to take part in a free live sculpting workshop in the courtyard. There will also be food from Hackney’s Bongbong’s Manila Kanteen, dance performances from 2022 Olivier award nominee Julia Cheng, a DJ, drinks and more. For more, see www.somersethouse.org.uk.
LondonLife – Climbing the rigging…
Visitors to the Cutty Sark now have the opportunity to climb the ship’s rigging for the first time since the ship arrived in Greenwich in 1954. The ‘Rig Climb Experience’, which was launched last weekend, sees those bold enough to do so stepping up from the main deck onto the ship’s ratlines, climbing up its shrouds and traversing one of the ship’s lower yardarms to reach the tops platform where they’ll be able to take in magnificent views over Greenwich and The Thames. One of the fastest tea clippers of its day, the Cutty Sark – which was built in Dumbarton in 1869 – had more than 11 miles of rigging, 32 sails with an original sail area of 32,000 square feet, and a 152 foot main mast. Prices start at £41 for adults and £26 for children for a ‘Standard Rig Climb’ and £51 for adults and £36 for children for the Rig Climb Experience Plus. For more, head to www.rmg.co.uk/cuttysark.
LondonLife – Spring has arrived…
PICTURE: Francais a Londres/Unsplash
A parakeet admires the cherry blossom in St James’s Park.
LondonLife – Changing of the Guard, Horse Guards…
LondonLife – Protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine…
Demonstrations in support of Ukraine have taken place in numerous places in London since Russia launched its invasion on 24th February, including in Trafalgar Square.
LondonLife: Trafalgar Square fountain by night…
One of two fountains in Trafalgar Square, this one commemorates Admiral of the Fleet, Earl Beatty, and unveiled by the Duke of Gloucester along with its counterpart commemorating Admoral Earl Jellicoe in 1948. Busts of both admirals can be see in the north wall. The fountain’s bronze sculpture and its counterpart were designed by Sir Charles Wheeler.
LondonLife – Bridges over the Thames…
The Hungerford Bridge, flanked by the two Golden Jubilee Bridges, and the north-west bank of the Thames.
LondonLife – Moon over London…
LondonLife – Buckingham Palace…
Buckingham Palace is among the sites across London which will be hosting events to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee this June. The Queen’s 70th year on the throne will be marked with four days of celebrations across the June bank holiday weekend which will include the Queen’s Birthday Parade (known as Trooping the Colour), the lighting of Platinum Jubilee Beacons – including the principal beacon at Buckingham Palace, a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, the ‘Platinum Party at the Palace’ – a celebration concert in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, The Big Jubilee Lunch in communities across the city, and a special Platinum Jubilee Pageant, part of which will see a moving river of flags rippling down The Mall. For more information, head to www.royal.uk/platinum-jubilee-central-weekend.
LondonLife – Christmas comes early at ZSL London Zoo…
Christmas came early for some of the residents at ZSL London Zoo this week. Asiatic lions Bhanu and Arya discovered brightly wrapped boxes scented with seasonal spices in the Land of the Lions while in the Gorilla Kingdom, the zoo’s troop of Western lowland gorillas found gifts of their favourite festive vegetables. “Gorillas Alika, Gernot, Mjukuu and Effie are always keen to clean their plates of all the festive veg at Christmas – they loved digging into their presents to find juicy carrots and tasty Brussels sprouts,” said head zookeeper Dan Simmonds. “And while lioness Arya carefully picked up her gifts and carried them off to play with later, Bhanu opened his all at once, rolling around in the boxes to release his favourite seasonal scents – nutmeg and cinnamon.” The zoo is open every day apart from Christmas Day. For more, see www.zsl.org/london-zoo. PICTURES: ZSL London Zoo.
LondonLife – A Christmas menagerie at the Tower…
The Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London has been decked out for Christmas with an array of glittering decorations. Animals including a polar bear, elephants and lions were kept at various times in the Tower’s menagerie which started thanks to a royal penchant to giving exotic animals as gifts to fellow monarchs. King Edward I created the first permanent home for the menagerie which, after hundreds of years, closed for good in 1835. The Christmas display the Tower, which centres on the Tower Green Christmas tree, can be seen until 3rd January. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk.
LondonLife – Lone tower…
LondonLife – Parliamentary silhouette…
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