London: Tea Time in Wonderland

You will need, for this one, to step aside from the heart of London.
There is nothing around but cute Victorian Houses. No trendy shop, no touristic attraction.

It is nice, sometimes, to just wander to an unknown part of the city, not knowing what to expect, a twilight zone not covered by glossy books.
Maybe because you opened you guide at random. Maybe because you know someone around and you arrived too early, wanted to kill the time.

I may talk about trendy places a lot but those green asylums I cherish as well. This one is getting a bit wild, vegetation is taking over a little but it has charm. At the week-end, you’ll probably meet of of the passionate volunteers working discreetly. Or a friendly robin. Who knows.

Empty your mind, bring a book, take of the many narrow paths around, breathe, escape.

Harleyford Community Garden
Harleyford Rd/Bonnington square
Lambeth
London SW8 1TF

Every year, the British Museum and Kew Gardens work together on a themed garden.
Why? To put forward one of the countries present in their historical collections and make it more real to the public – for example by highlightinh a particular tree used in a sculpture.

Australia is joining the party this year, bringing a touch of exotism. This is the best one yet -  colourful and truly different. Fern trees, eucalyptus but also desert everlastings (bright yet completely dry blooms) or kangaroo paws (shaped as the animal’s foot).

Don’t stay too long: the more you look at it, the more you feel like jumping on a plane!

British Museum
Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3DG
Until October 16, 2011 -  free

This week-end will be a nice party with a long-time-no-see-but-never-forgot-you friend.
And so, there will be a shower of anecdotes from the good old times, a flow of pints in atmospheric pubs, walks till the end of the night. With or without umbrella, take your bets.
In a nutshell: make new memories.

For inspiration, we’ll choose a few of those:

* On Thursday, take your little artists to Covent Garden – they will have the opportunity to build an art structure with Louis Vuitton.

* Burlesque class anyone? I have always wanted to try…

* A gourmet pop-up on Southbank will serve very poetic food – rush there.

* Or would you rather go for a barbecue van?

* Dancing time at the Tate Modern.

* How about a free jazz concert in the V&A garden to start the week-end?

* Beware, naked cyclists on the go on Saturday. Litterally.

* Keep your eyes open -  yarnbombing is on the programme!

* Dare. Try this fish-therapy, you have been dying to.

* Discover London secret gardens and squares -  a beautiful opportunity to push usually closed gates.

* Brunch time! Our favourite is Dishoom, for its exotic touch.

* Street art tour? Yes, but on a bike.

* Londonus Dinosaurus.

* Circus and Cabaret united? Click this way to know more about this festival.

* Red, white or rosé? Fill your own bottle!

Of primroses, we mostly know the basic ones, simple and weather resistant.

However, hundreds exist, all more refined and elegant than the others. They look like jewels, almost painted upon. Fragile however, they suffer easily from too much wind or sun. Gardeners tended to plant them in narrow and higher terracota pots to move them easily. Then came the idea of shelving to shelter them better… which worked out perfectly to present their beauty as well, preferably close to the reading room window. With time, competitions take place. The Theatrum Auriculae becomes a little stage with a black background for the colours to stand out even better.

You can discover a lovely collection till May 06th at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Each blossom is ever so fine, some flowers are double and I can imagine them unfolding ever so gently, petal after petal like the rose in The Little Prince. Even their names are poetic: Old Irish Blue, Cherry Pie, Toffee Crisp…

The gardens are at their best in spring -  wander like a butterfly, discover the greenhouses, get a glass of wine at the café (cash only), take your lunch to a sunny spot on the lawn…

Chelsea Physic Gardens
66 Royal Hospital Road
Chelsea
London SW3 4HS
£8/adult

Also in Chelsea:
- The Chelsea pensioners
- Their elephant
- Partridge’s
- Saatchi

Impossible to take two steps in London without being face to face with a picture of the royal couple… Of course, most of the merchandising is pretty kitsch and will leave you smiling. I saw cardboard masks of Kate, William and the Queen at Waterloo. Even the kiddies book range is invaded: Angelina Ballerina has been invited to the big event, the Mr & Mrs has launched a princess edition, little girls learn they can be Princess Catherine’s bridesmaid, let alone cut paper figurines of the love doves (I’m amazed Mattel hadn’t worked on proper Barbie and Ken versions? Or is that yet to come?). Bored ? You can doodle the wedding away or why not, knit your own (not kidding). And if really, you don’t understand what’s happening, just grab the Royal wedding for dummies. Not a single object will escape that label! Let us know what you come across (chocoralie@ttiw.co.uk)…

Meanwhile, it’s almost week-end time and we should be able to enjoy London under the sun. Now, where did I put that picnic set…?

- Add a surprise to you mail…

- Join the Time Out Film Club to go through the best classics…

- Mother’s day getting near… Cath Kidston is proposing free workshops for the kids!

- Fancy some Chinese noodles?

- I think it is the first time I have seen sunshine for the Oxford / Cambridge boat race. Who are you supporting?

- Get green fingers at the Gardening festival…

- (Re) Discover Terry O’Neill’s pictures – 50 years photographying stars, including James Bond and the Rolling Stones…

- Get your loved ones something else than chocolate for Easter. This way for spring-themed shopping!

- A new bar dedicated to gin for tonic evenings!

- Royal atmosphere? This way for a new pop-up shop…

- A theatre play at the Tower of London? Nice change of scenery – book your tickets for Richard III quickly!

Each day brings a few more minute of light – don’t you love it, makes you feel so alive! Camelia are blooming like little fireworks, cherry trees will soon be covered in sweet cascades of white and pink. And if we arlucky to have a little sun this week-end, I might go and enjoy spring with a Jasmine tea and a good book in the Phoenix Garden. Want alternative ideas?

- Wold book day soon with a give-away on Friday evening on Trafalgar Square!

- Hey girls, fancy a free makover?

- Have a musical time in a pub…

- Explore the Barbican center -  two days of creative workshops -  great ones for kids too. Symphomic music and even a free nail bar for grown upsor why not the strangest Barbican tour ever?

- Discover secret galleries…

- …or a theatre play in the most unusual place…

- Marvel at a new version of Alice in wonderland -  all in elegant danced steps…

- Sail away!

- Letter posting just turned musical…

- Yes, royal weddings can be ever so fun!

- Remember Slinkachu’s small but ironic world? The artist’s back…

- Enjoy your Sunday Russian style!

- Or have a perfect family Sunday…

Pssst:
- March the 08th is pancake day: race it!

- Why not try to win a Royal Wedding street party, hey?

Alissa is the one who made me discover this little gem… Yes, hidden in Wimbledon village.

Buddhapadipa was the first buddhist temple built in the UK and the only one in Europe based on Thai architecture: not bad for this adorable pagoda, so little known of the public!

Do stop to admire the white walls, enhanced by the gorgeous red and gold roof. In such a rich neighbourhood, the big houses suddenly lose all charm…

Photos are not allowed inside but you will be amazed by the explosion of gold and details. Buddah’s life is painted from floor to ceiling, a whole wall is dedicated to the shrine with various statues, sparkling from the sunshine rays… Difficult to believe – we spent a long time just sitting there on the floor, hypnotised, soothed from the calm atmosphere.

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The monastery is nearby and welcomes monks and nuns. Have a walk through the tiny forest with its arched wooden bridge and pond so quiet that, looking back on the pictures, I wondered longly whether they were a reflection or not…

…At the back, you will find a small garden dedicated to prayers, Gods statues, symbolic coins in offering, pictures of loved ones to be protected…

A zen and regenerating walk…

Buddhapadipa
14 Calonne Road
Wimbledon Parkside
London
SW19 5HJ

If you love moderne art, there is  no doubt you saw the Anish Kapoor exhibition @ the Royal Academy of Art. Walls of wax pushed through rooms, giant megaphones invaded them, strange pigment sculptures seemed to magically hang in the air.

On of the artist’s favourite basis is this metal like stainless steel. A whole room was dedicated to those mirror-sculptures with their air of transparency. Adults were like kids in a funfair…

Being a regular Kensington Gardens visitor, the artist carefully chose 4 location to set, or shall I say free?, pieces. Each plays of reflection, adding dimension to the park, bringing a notion of infinity. Limits fade away, trees grow larger. The geometry will erase shapes and add to the confusion with optical illusions.

The C-Curve does cover an interesting them. What can art be without a public to admire it? Just come closer -  it seems this sculpture wants to swallow you whole, make you her own…

Have a closer look. See that yellow jacket on the last picture? Well, security will be guarding them 24/7 for the coming 6 months. Not only to keep them safe from theft or any damage. Kapoor is very precise in the lines he chose -  they have to be pure, perfect, polished. Let passers by come to close and there is no doubt they will be covered in fingerprints in no time… They are meant to melt into the landscape and only natural influences (rain, dew…) will be tolerated.

Trace your way to the Round Pond. In the 90ies, the artist experimented with Sky Mirrors, like those. His sculptures can be considered non-objects -  they either swallow or disappear in their environment. The colour can likewise be called a non-colour, it reflects but has no name of its own. What you can see here is his first attempt at colouring them. The red is in constant evolution. Dark, glistening, foggy, angry depending on the height of clouds, violet when the sky is really blue. See it as an everlasting sunset, a Japanese red aura…

Further still is the amazing Spire -  a more dramatic effect. The axe stands up along the tree tops and the Albert Memorial triangular roof – as if it was trying to bring the gardens up, or listening to the ground, or is it maybe a drop of rain splashing in the grass?

The last one probably is the most hypnotising. It was presented last year in New-York, trapped between skyscrapers. This time, it seem strangely alien, a suspended world between earth and sky, almost a moon, a twilight zone opening on a different place… You can spend hours watching the clouds go by in it.

Anish, between two interviews, encourages visitors to come back, see those sculptures come alive under the sun and change with the seasons…

Pssst: Anish Kapoor will also be exhibiting in Paris in May 2011…

Turning the world upside down * Anish Kapoor
Kensington Gardens
London W2 3XA
Until March 13, 2010 -  free!

Clear your agenda, my friends, there is so much on this week-end I hardly know where to start!

- Have a Malaysian dinner on Trafalgar Square, transformed for a night… On Sunday, change of theme, come and celebrate Eid there…

- Rush to the V&A late opening. This time, two’s a pair and games are on! Oh, and don’t miss this lovely poetic piece…

- Get ready for 2012 -  do your shopping here!

- Say hi to Andy Warhol and friends…

- Get a glimpse of the  Lion King’s backstage…

- Eat British! 2 weeks of celebration. And if you do have a garden, why not bring some of your harvest to St Paul in exchange for a free lunch?

- Forget what your parents said -  it is fun to play with food!

- Track the street artist Roa in Shoreditch…

- Add a touch of design in your shopping…

- Applaude the gorillas running this marathon!

- Fancy playing dominos?

- Sunday is party time on Regent Street, all on foot!

- Love adventire? Do you dream of kayaking along the Thames or doing some mountain bike in the cobbled streets? The rat race is for you.

Join me… @ a lingerie party… trying a tweet-up for the first time… and at Windsor castle. Where will you be?

What do you love best in the Royal Parks? Here’s mine:

I measure the year through those iconic green and white stripes. When they appear in March, I start dreaming about spring. When they disappear in October, I wave goodbye to any hope of a longer Indian summer and to the last autumn sunshine rays.

If you’re a local, you know they do not come for free: they are rented £1.50 an hour, £3 for 3 hours, £7 for the day. From time to time, a guard will come and check on you, asking for a few coins. Tourists tend to pay for the privilege, Londoners… will migrate to a different side of the park to gain a few more free minutes of siesta.

This year is a festive one. In 2006, 2007, 2008, the parks foundation had worked with artists, painters, illustrators, fasion designers… for wonderful editions. 2009 had skipped a beat – I guess the economical crisis had refocused the projects. But with 2010, new works of art are blooming – 14 new ones:

Shanghai gardens is exchanging with the Royal parks, hence the Asian touch. So elegant!

There is no way to walk out with one of those, you will be stopped within 10 steps of the lawn. However, get a hammer and your piggybank and buy one from the website! The profits will help supporting the gardens and the foundation. count £86 + £20 pp. Models from the previous years are still available and o joy, it counts artists such as Agnes B, Alexander Mc Queen, Quentin Blake, Blek le Rat, Polly Morgan, Raymond Briggs…

Deckchair dreams
The online shop

Pssst: get one of those to go with your chosen park!