Life in London – February 2010

Your February 2010 Sixtblog of life in London is in fact mostly from southern Africa as I spent a large part of February  on a wonderful overland trip from Cape Town to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe! We had an amazing time – the scenery takes your breath away, the animals are extraordinary and you can get really close to some, the skies go on forever and there are adventures to be had as well as the great city of Cape Town to explore.

I’ve attached just a few snaps at the end to give you a flavour of southern Africa but will turn my attention to London first and let you know what the remaining few weeks of February have been like.

A weather update to start with. Returning from the heat of Africa to the on-going winter in London was a real shock although everyone kept saying that it was much warmer than it had been. Snow was still falling all around London, if not inside it, so much that a long awaited visit from a friend in Oxfordshire was cancelled as they were snowed in and that’s only about 30 miles away! Since then we’ve been rained on, daily, so thank goodness for lots of indoor things to do in London!

One of the big events in London in February this year was the Chinese New Year and the arrival of the Year of the Tiger – supposed to be a good year thanks to the tiger. It’s always a big event in our ‘must do’ calendar and the weather was kind to us this year. The area from Trafalgar Square through to Soho was packed with visitors and residents enjoying the explosion of red lanterns, firecrackers, Chinese music and the massive choice of restaurants packed into that small area. There were also the dancing dragons who visit each business in the area to bring them good luck by eating the salad left hanging for them, accompanied by huge drumming!  I’ve attached a few photos to give you a flavour of the day and the area – it really is a fun time of year to be there.  London is brilliant in this way, the world comes to us and sometimes a day out can feel like you’ve travelled far away!

Chinese New Year Street Decorations

Chinese New Year in London

One of my favourite shops in London is the Travel Bookshop, made famous by the film Notting Hill and I rarely visit there without buying something as my bookshelves will testify. They have all the guide books and travel literature you could ever want, and maps and CDs. For the movie buffs here’s a little Notting Hill the film info – this shop was the inspiration and you certainly get that feeling when you go in. However, the interior filming took place in a studio and the shots from the inside of the shop onto the street were taken in Portobello Road, round the corner from the Travel Bookshop itself as you can tell when you look out from the actual shop. This doesn’t stop the constant stream of tourists taking their photo in front of the shop (here’s a photo but without me in front of it).
 

The Travel Book Shop in Notting Hill

As well as selling lovely books they have just started a series of talks from travel writers so we went along to hear Hugh Thomson tell us about his book Tequila Oil Getting Lost in Mexico. It was an interesting and entertaining session so I bought the book (of course), got it signed and found out that tequila oil is a drink to be avoided at all costs for one’s health, the word tequila really is a clue here!

Gallery preview evenings are another joy on a winter’s evening. Muse Gallery on Portobello Road was hosting Justin Piperger’s new work. There were big bold colours, some cartoon works and others which incorporated household items like clocks and tea towel holders. I wasn’t really sure about it all but loved a couple of the big bright pieces and the prices were reasonable but money is a bit short after the big trip to even start thinking that way….

One more outing to report on was the Noisettes at the Roundhouse in north London.  The Roundhouse is a fabulous building, a former Victoria railway turning shed and over the years has had many reincarnations as an arts venue. Fingers crossed the current one seems to be working. It’s great for large scale events and I’ve been there to see amazing shows like one where the acrobatic group used the space on the walls and under the roof for their performance, while the audience stood, with some trepidation, in the centre of the floor space in the dark waiting for someone to fall on them! This time we went to see the Noisettes and their amazing lead singer Shingai Shoniwa who is a nonstop entertainer with a great voice and stylish delivery. It was a rocking set which had the floor jumping. The sound quality was excellent and I recommend the venue so if you get a chance to go there, take it. One photo of Shingai to give you an idea of how amazing she is.

The Noisettes

I’m expecting my March’s blog will be back to normal, spent mostly in London and I’m looking forward to a bumper month!

Here, as promised are just a few photos from Africa:
Cape Town, Namibian sand dunes, elephants, close up to a cheetah, Victoria Falls, lions and there are so many more…..
Sue
www.itsyourlondon.co.uk

For car hire in London and car hire in South Africa visit Sixt.

Related posts:

1. Life in London… a look back at 2010
2. Life in London – March 2010
3. Life in London – July 2010
4. Life in London – August 2010
5. Life in London – January 2010