This week’s photo is of a wintery Victoria Park by thephotoschool. Victoria Park has canals and ponds and hosts festivals in the summer.
Don’t forget to add your photos of London to the Visit London Flickr pool.
28 Jan
2012
2012
27 Jan
2012
2012
World Record London Breaks Record for Longest Curtsey Relay
We’ve shown the world how warm and friendly London can be with our record-breaking hug at St Pancras last week.
Now our record-breaking team have demonstrated a bit of British etiquette in New York by breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest curtsey relay.
More than 50 people took part in the record-breaking curtsey at the London Hotel in New York last night. It took just five minutes to break the record.
Well done to everyone involved and we hope those newly-perfected curtseys come in handy for anyone visiting during the Diamond Jubilee in June!
Look out for more world records over the coming months.
27 Jan
2012
2012
Dickens on Your Phone: A Tale of Three Apps
Among the events and activities celebrating Charles Dickens’ birth (the big day is 7 February), are these fun Dickens-themed apps. Follow in Dickens’ footsteps (with the aid of GPS!), examine one of his manuscripts, or enjoy a Dickensian graphic novel – all from the comfort of your smartphone:
Dickens: Dark London, Museum of London
Museum of London has launched an interactive graphic novel to coincide with its Dickens and London exhibition. Accompany Dickens on his night time walks and experience the darker side of Dickensian London in this app, based on Dickens’ short stories. Dickens: Dark London is illustrated by David Foldvari and voiced by actor Mark Strong. New editions will be released monthly. Dickens: Dark London, iPhone and iPad only, first edition free, subsequent editions, £1.49
Treasures by The British Library
Get your fingers on a handwritten draft of Nicholas Nickleby with The British Library’s Treasures app. This fascinating manuscript 
from the library’s collection is now available to view in a digital format on your phone, and shows the corrections and alterations Dickens made to the story. Among the other, erm, treasures on the app are sketches by Leonardo da Vinci, a first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and audio excerpts from the library’s expert curators. iPhone and Android editions (£2.39), HD iPad edition (£3.49)
Dickens Map on Spottd
Find and visit highlights of Dickensian London on location-based sharing app Spottd. The Dickens map pinpoints famous locations from his novels, as well as some of Dickens’ own favourite haunts, including his family home in Camden; The Prospect of Whitby pub; and The Old Curiosity Shop on Portsmouth Street (often cited as the inspiration for the novel of the same name). Spottd, iPhone only, free
What do you think of these apps and are there any we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments below?
27 Jan
2012
2012
Video: Olympic Artist In Residence Neville Gabie
Today marks six months to go to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. To celebrate, here’s a great video from Tate about Olympic artist in residence Neville Gabie.
Based at the park for 15 months in the run-up to the Games, Gabie’s work includes sitting in all 80,000 seats in the Olympic Stadium, and recreating a famous painting with the help of Olympic Park construction workers.
26 Jan
2012
2012
Thursday Theatre News: Legally Blonde, American Idiot, The Wizard of Oz and Jodie Prenger
This week’s theatre news has been coming in twos: two shows leaving London; two extending; two award ceremonies; and two fantastic bits of cast news…
Firstly, sad news for a musical lover like me. Legally Blonde and Crazy for You are both leaving London in the near future. After three years at the Savoy Theatre, Legally Blonde will close on 7 April. And Crazy For You, which was booking until 28 July, is now going to tap dance off into the sunset on 17 March. If you love musicals, you’ll love these shows, so book your tickets now before it’s too late!
Next up, two shows that have extended their London runs. Green Day’s award-winning rock musical American Idiot is running for an extra week at the Hammersmith Apollo in December this year, due to an overwhelming demand for tickets. And The Leisure Society has also extended its run in London by a week: the cause for such high interest in this toxic comedy is surely the casting of model Agyness Deyn (alongside the lovely Ed Stoppard!)
It’s awards season in Theatreland, and the first of the bunch have already been given out. Congratulations to the National Theatre which scooped more than half the Critics Circle awards on offer, including gongs for Frankenstein (and its stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller) and One Man, Two Guvnors. Other awards went to Sheridan Smith for her performances in Flare Path and Mike Leigh, for his direction for Grief. And there’s more awards coming: this week, it was announced that the Olivier Awards will be taking place in the Royal Opera House on 15 April: if you want to watch the action as it unfolds (with Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball hosting!), you can, as there’ll be a live stream of the ceremony on a big screen in Covent Garden. (Or you can listen on Radio 2; or watch on the BBC’s Red Button.)
London Cast News:
- Strictly Come Dancing star Russell Grant is going to take over from Michael Crawford as the new Wizard in The Wizard of Oz from 14 February
- Jodie Prenger (winner of I’d Do Anything and star of Oliver!) and Hannah Spearritt (former S Club 7 singer) are to appear in One Man, Two Guvnors with Owain Arthur at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from March
More next week.
25 Jan
2012
2012
In Pictures: Crazy Coffins at the Royal Festival Hall
Death isn’t all doom and gloom you know! Not with these colourful, unique and even humorous coffins currently on display at the Royal Festival Hall.
Boxed: Fabulous Coffins from UK and Ghana is a free exhibition displaying bespoke coffins from the collection of Pa Joe in Ghana and Crazy Coffins in Nottingham.
The display is part of the Southbank Centre’s Death-themed festival four days of music, performance, talks and poetry aiming to lift the (coffin) lid on the subject of death.
Boxed: Fabulous Coffins, in the foyer of the Royal Festival Hall until 29 January 2012. Death Festival at the Southbank Centre, 27 to 30 January 2012
Photos by Baynes Media
24 Jan
2012
2012
Video: The New Design Museum at the Commonwealth Institute
The New Design Museum from Design Museum on Vimeo. Film by Crane.tv
In 2014, the Design Museum is moving from its current location in Shad Thames to the former Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington.
Designs for the site have been produced by two of the world’s most innovative architectural practices: John Pawson has redesigned the interior of the Grade 2* listed building and OMA has planned the surrounding residential development.
We’ll miss having the Design Museum here on our doorstep at VL.com, but look forward to the many exciting developments that will come with the new, bigger space in West London.
23 Jan
2012
2012
David Hockney: A Bigger Picture at the Royal Academy of Arts
If you manage to get your hands on tickets for David Hockney: A Bigger Picture at the Royal Academy of Arts, you are in for a treat.
David Hockney is one of Britain’s finest and most-loved artists. He was asked to take part in this exhibition almost five years ago, after the Royal Academy of Arts realised they could base a whole exhibition on his most recent works.
The paintings are mainly local landscapes created in Hockney’s native Yorkshire. Many of the 150 paintings on display were made within the last eight years and various mediums and media have been used. Some of the most interesting on display are his iPad paintings, depicting glorious landscapes and effectively replacing the traditional sketchbook.
Some huge paintings have been done using several canvases. “Winter Timber, 2009″ is one example: an oil painting on 15 canvases. Others are individual paintings filling an entire wall and again, the vivid colours pop out and bring the room to life.
Some of my favourite paintings on display were inspired by memories from Hockney’s childhood, as well as his recent recollections and they present an extraordinary collection. The landscapes seem real yet we know they contain an element of the imagined.
David Hockney: A Bigger Picture at the Royal Academy of Arts until 9 April 2012
21 Jan
2012
2012
London Photo of the Week: London Skyline from St Paul’s Cathedral
Rhys Asplundh shared this stunning silvery photo of the London skyline taken from the top of St Paul’s Cathedral with the Visit London Flickr pool.
If you’ve been out in London with your camera this week, share your pictures with the group.
20 Jan
2012
2012
London Video of the Week: Remember the Golden Jubilee Celebrations?
Back in 2002, The Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee. Take a look back at what the celebrations involved ahead of this year’s Diamond Jubilee extravaganza.
Want to know more about the exciting events planned for celebrating The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee? Bookmark www.visitlondon.com/jubilee and we’ll keep that page updated with all the latest on the events taking place this spring.
