Tag: london

Bankside – London



(~35mm, Sony DSC-FX77) – click for larger version)
Every time I venture down town London I get reminded that I should do so more often. London is a breath taking city but this fact is easily forgotten during the every day working life.
This splendid view was from a Greek restaurant, just by the Shakespeare Globe Theatre.
In the foreground you can see the (controversial) Millennium bridge and in the background the magnificent St. Paul’s cathedral.
PS Brownie point if you can guess what the light/item in the top left corner is…

BBC Proms in the park (Hyde Park)

We have watched Proms in the Park occasionally on TV and were always amazed by the amount of people that showed up and how much they seemed to enjoy them selves. This year we decided to have a look.
The 4pm opening of the gates was delayed to 5pm, most likely due to additional security checks.
Björn Again performance was as tacky as expected but people around us seemed to love it. The band was bellowing out crowd pleasers like Waterloo and Super trooper. Spontaneous group dance routines broke out in various places around us.
The classical parts of the concert were performed by Ramon Vargas, BBC Concert Orchestra, Denise Leigh and more. Ramon Vargas braved the windy conditions and sang well know pieces from Tosca. The strong winds distorted the various performances a bit but were very powerful nevertheless.
Some people were prepared; others were very well prepared. Most had their blankets and pick-nick baskets with them including plenty of booze. Others had in addition brought foldable tables, inflatable sofas and portable lanterns. Clearly, it wasn’t their first time at the proms.
I suspect that most people in the park, certainly our party, had been waiting for The Corrs finale as a highlight of the evening. It was loud and captivating as The Corrs can be. It was the first time we had the chance to see them live and it was worth the (5.5 hours) wait.
We didn’t want to leave our golden retriever Ginger at home alone all of the day. Especially since weekends are her quality time days. So she came along, and was the only dog on ground, and behaved extremely well, and made many new (drunken) friends, and was fed to the bursting point…

Luisa Miller, Opera Holland Park

The heroine Luisa and “Carlo” fall in love but Carlo is really Rodolfo, the son of the powerful count Walter. In jealousy Wurma, the counts servant, revels the true identity of Carlo to Luisa’s father Miller.
When Walter finds out of son’s plans of marrying Luisa he feels he needs to intervene. Not only is Luisa just a farmers daughter, Walter also has plans for Rudolfo to marry the now wealthy duchess Frederica who has loved Rudolfo since he was a little boy.
The scene is set for a tragedy of love and jealousy. A tragedy that comes true.
(Spoiler below but in true Opera fashion, it’s good to be aware of the whole story so that you can appreciate the music and the singing)
Rudolfo overhears Luisa denouncing her love for him and is in despair. He doesn’t know that Luisa wasn’t telling the truth, she was only trying to save her father that had been put into prison. Rudolfo is desperate and decides to poison both Luisa and himself. Only after Luisa finds out they are both beyond saving is she able to once again proclaim her love for him.
The wardrobe was very bizarre; if not ugly. It was a modernised, 80s wardrobe. Think yellow cardigans and light blue skirts for the girls, big shoulder suits and skinny ties for the men. This in turn did not work with very well with the story. Terms like castle, villagers, count, stables and servants.
One of the highlights for me was the fact that the orchestra was on the same level as you. Playing at a mere arms length away. Normally they would be tucked away somewhere below the stage but at Opera Holland Park you can watch them every moment.

Walking capital

London sees yet another tube strike. The union rejected London Underground’s offer of a 3.5 percent pay rise and a reduction in the working week from 37.5 to 35 hours (what’s wrong with that?). Instead the scene was set for a traffic mayhem.
So this morning streets were full of walking, cycling, rollerblading people and grumpy people waiting for crowded buses. Londoners took out their rusty old bicycles or put on comfortable walking shoes.
All that is relatively good – bonus exercise – the bad side is all the extra cars in the streets. Traffic jams and pollution ahead, the traffic is at a standstill. Earlier last week Ken Livingstone had specified that the congestion charge would not be lifted in the event of a tube strike nor would parking restrictions be lifted, not exactly a helping hand is it.
I can only sympathise with the commuters that depend on the tube to get them to and from work each day. They are already paying very high monthly charge and are now left to their own devices. Some of these commuters are able to work from home but the rest are looking forward to a long and complicated journey with alternative public services or a 1-2 hour hike.

La Boheme – Royal Albert Hall, London

La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini is (once again) a story about love and despair; life and death.
The opera is set in Paris, circa 1840. Central characters are the four struggling artists painter Marcello, poet Rodolfo, Colline the philosopher and the musician Schaunard. Marcello has a jealous relationship with the popular cabaret singer Musetta while Rodolfo falls in love with the already dying Mimi.
Royal Albert Hall offers a big area for the stage and it was used well. The stage had a circular composition where sometimes the action was focused to the middle and other times things were happening in various parts of the stage. Something that would not have been possible at a traditional opera stage, e.g. at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
The biggest downfall of the performance is that it is sung in English. While I don’t speak much Italian, an opera is always much more powerful in the original language. Especially such beautiful language as Italian. Further more, when an opera is sung in a foreign language, there are always subtitles that let one follow the dialog if necessary.

Charlie (2004)

I was not impressed with this movie, not at all. The cheap production was very noticeable and the movie gave an impression of a TV documentary. Possibly something from National Geographic.
The only reason I went to see this movie was because of an user on IMDB. He/she compared this movie with my all time favourites ‘Lock Stock…’ and ‘Snatch’. Don’t be fooled though, ‘Charlie’ cannot be compared with the said movies in any way whatsoever.
The only thing worth seeing in this movie was Luke Goss performance as Charlie Richardson. Very realistic and performed with a lot of passion.
The lingering images in my mind are the gory and realistic torture scenes of various individuals.
I would not recommend this movie to my worst enemies;even less to my friends.
Looks like there is some controversy surrounding the movie. Looks like it might have been a movie about gangsters made by gangsters.

Asia de Cuba – London

What a treat it is to visit this exotic yet elegant restaurant in the heart of London. Asia de Cuba is situated in the beautiful St Martin’s Lane hotel, giving you a chance to see one of the coolest hotel lobbies around. Look around and enjoy the slightly surreal entrance, the oversized chess pieces, the ambient lightning and odd furniture.
As the name suggests, the food on the menu is a (brave) mix between Cuban and Asian flavours and traditions. The colourful descriptions will fire up your imagination but the food will surpass it. My standing favorites are Seared tuna with Wasabi mash and Surf n’ Turf so try these if you are having a hard time deciding.
The portions are deliberately large to be shared. They are a key element that makes Asia de Cuba unique and every dinner to a social event. For a group of four, two starters and two mains are more than enough.
The staff is the best I have experienced in London. A very good balance between personal, knowing, recommending but never in your face. Always making sure that the customer is fully satisfied. You will often be served by two or more individuals; one of them being knowledgeable about the wines while the other about the food and the rest. Don’t be shy starting a conversation.
If I have to find something negative about Asia de Cuba it would be the prices. It is simply above my everyday budget and some people find it over priced. It’s nice to start the evening with some drinks and they are around £9. The good wines are in three digit price range and thus unreachable. The sharing of the food helps a bit and I think £50 / person is a rough price tag for the superb experience.
45 St. Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, London, WC2N 4HX [Map]
Tube: Covent Garden
Tel: 020 7300 5588 (book early!)

Necessary evil

It had to be done; most of Sunday was spent on Christmas shopping.
I limited my “attack” to Oxford St only, especially the department store Selfridges since everything is under one roof. The area was heaving with people but I was doing good progress despite that. Around 1 present every 30 20 minutes I reckon.
This was until Carla joined up with me and through that pace out of the window. Immediately the focus was on window shopping and touching-but-not-buying. I am not so much into skirts and blouses but I was surprised that I enjoyed browsing tall leather boots and handbags.
Also I learned that orange is the new grey. Funny, it feels like yesterday when grey was the new black or was it black that was the new green? What’eva.
Highlight of the afternoon was Fortnum & Mason, where I was once again remained that this is the real McCoy in department stores. You can feel the some 300 years of history while walking around the store and you realise that Harrods is just a copy in comparison.
There was an exhibition of old Chinese items in the Dragon Room. You could pick up a Ming dynasty china (a larger than life stucco head) for a mere £2,750. Top of the line were the Lung-puos (dragon robes), with one specific and beautifully colorful summer chao-fu (circa 1850). Now that’s what I call a Christmas present; but it will set you back £19,210.
Pounding head ache in the evening was my reward but nothing that a few pills could not cure. Even managed to dooze of to Breakfast at Tiffany’s from the Carla’s newly purchased DVD box set with Audrey Hepburn.

Turkey stories

I have some good news and I have some bad news; which one would you like to hear first. Bad? Well, there is no more left of the impeccable pumpkin pie. I finished that last piece, that was rather large, this morning. HAH!
The good news is that the Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday was a success with plentiful of friends, even more food but most of all, a cozy atmosphere.
Carla cooked up a storm, once again, and Claire helped out with the above mentioned pie. Malte and Kristina brought bagfuls of red wine and Pedro contributed with the crucial ice cream.

Frida stood out, as always, with her eloquent knowledge of the history of Thanksgiving, brownie points your way girl!
We would not have made it without Ginger, who dutifully went through one unfinished plate after the other. Just like me, she was eating like there was no tomorrow.
Surprise guests were Malte’s parents who had made it all the way from Sweden; ain’t that something.
In other news, there is some turkey and mash left for whoever makes it home first. GO!