Sheep, a huge bell, a miniature Stonehenge, David Beckham and some NHS nurses. This much we know will be in the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday evening. A global audience of four billion people are expected to tune into the show which is called Isles of Wonder, inspired by a line in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Artistic director Danny Boyle has kept most details under wraps, but we can say with certainty that it starts at 9pm, and that you’d be mad not to watch it.

London Live
Friday is the opening night for the Olympic London Live sites at Hyde Park and Victoria Park. In Hyde Park, the ceremony will be shown on screens alongside a celebration concert with acts representing each part of the UK – Snow Patrol from Northern Ireland, Stereophonics for Wales, Duran Duran representing England and Paolo Nutini waving the flag for Scotland. Tickets are £60 and are still available. If you just want to watch the ceremony in a crowd, you can head to the Victoria Park site which is free entry.

Tower of London
If you’re feeling flush, you could pay for an exciting Opening Ceremony dinner at the Tower of London House of Nations for just £139. Hosted by four-time record breaking swimmer and Strictly Come Dancing star, Mark Foster, you’ll enjoy a champagne and Pimm’s reception in the Tower of London’s moat, an exclusive private tour of the Crown Jewels, a delicious three-course meal with all inclusive drinks, footage of the Opening Ceremony and live entertainment.

Greenwich
You can also catch all the Opening Ceremony action at Greenwich Summer Festival’s Gala Weekend. As well as the big screens, there’ll be live entertainment, starting with music on the bandstand at 6pm. Greenwich’s very own Hangar Arts Trust will then perform a cabaret of aerial circus in a high-impact, thrilling show full of beautiful and apparently impossible human feats, before the Opening Ceremony kicks off at 9pm.

General Gordon Square, Woolwich
General Gordon Square in Woolwich is hosting one of two big screens set up by the BBC in London for outdoor summer screenings. It will show the ceremony outside for free in the newly landscaped square, which offers bench seating and food stalls and street performers to get you in the party mood.

Walthamstow Town Square
Another BBC big screen will be beaming the ceremony to Walthamstow Town Square in North London. Seating will be set up so crowds can watch in comfort.

Broadgate
The Broadgate development in the Square Mile is home to some of the world’s biggest companies, and this summer it is also the base for three big screens which will all show the Opening Ceremony. Take your pick from Exchange Square, Broadgate Circle and Finsbury Avenue.

Novikov’s Beach Party at Waterside House
Top Mayfair restaurant Novikov is heading east this Friday to set up an all-day Opening Ceremony beach party – complete with sand and beach loungers – at Waterside House in Royal Victoria Dock. You can watch the show while sipping cocktails and listening to DJ sets. Tickets are £25.

In The Pub
Hundreds of top London pubs will be showing the all action on big screens, so have a look at the watering holes near you. We suggest The Hanbury Arms in Islington, The Lauriston in Hackney, the Water Poet in Spitalfields and the Clapham Grand in Clapham Junction, all of which will be putting on amazing parties.

Where will you be watching? Let us know below.

The sheep at Spitalfields City Farm finally got rid of their winter coats on Sunday. This badger face sheep’s fleece is destined to be part of a rug or carpet.

The farm had a Sheep & Wool Fair to celebrate the sheep shearing, with stalls selling tea, craft, and plants. We drooled over yarn from Yarn to Knit and Travelknitter and enjoyed the demonstrations of felting, weaving, spinning and tapestry.

At teatime there was a fashion show by local design students and the models wore wigs made of fleece. There were also some happy people wandering about dressed as sheep.

Spitalfields City Farm is a couple of minutes walk from Brick Lane and full of lovely animals including sheep, goats, rabbits and a guinea pig village. If you fancy spending the summer down on the farm, check out our handy guide to London’s city farms.

Spitalfields City Farm – free admission www.spitalfieldscityfarm.org

To celebrate British Wool Week, the Campaign for Wool have filled Savile Row with grass and sheep! If you’re fanatical about fashion, you’ll probably be aware that wool tailoring is enjoying a massive resurgence in popularity, thanks in part to Matt “The Doctor” Smith‘s Harris Tweed jacket and Benedict Cumberbatch dashing about as Sherlock Holmes in an Inverness Cape. Savile Row is the perfect place to check out the latest menswear trends and indulge in a little bit of luxury.

The Exmoor Horns and Bowmont sheep were happily grazing in the sunshine in central London this morning and will be there all day. Next to the sheep is an exhibition by R Gledhill, who card and spin British wool into yarn which then gets spun into cloth which is then used by Savile Row tailors to make bespoke suits.

All those big boxes of unspun fleece were so soft, colourful and tempting it made me wish I’d popped my spindle in my bag this morning so I could spin a few meters!

If you’re popping along to see the sheep, you might also be excited to know that many of Mayfair’s most distinguished tailors, including Hardy Amies and H.Huntsman & Sons have opened their studios and archives to the public today so you can find out what goes on behind the scenes.

I took a tour of Anderson & Sheppard with Managing Director John Hitchcock who guided me round the shop, office, changing rooms and workshops and showed us (some London College of Fashion students joined in) the details on some funky purple and yellow plus fours suit which won the 2009 Golden Shears competition. John also told us about Alexander McQueen‘s time at Anderson & Sheppard.

You can pop along to see the sheep and enjoy the open day till 6pm tonight. If you can’t make it there are events happening all week, including wool themed windows in many shops across London including Selfridges, Jaeger and Jigsaw. You can follow the design trail at the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour to find out more about wool for your home.

Find out more about The Campaign for Wool, British Wool Week and why wool is the ultimate in sustainable, biodegradable and luxurious fashion at www.campaignforwool.org

If you’re one of London’s fashionable set, you’ll know that it’s quite the thing to sew and knit your own clothes and create couture on a budget. And in fashion tradition, now you’ve got used to the idea, it’s time to raise the stakes – you need to be spinning your own yarn and weaving your own cloth!

The Handweaver’s Studio can help. From bundles of sheep fleece, to cones of dyed silk, this shop meets all your fibre needs. You can buy a spinning wheel or weaving loom and take classes to learn how to use them. Weaving isn’t for hippies, it’s for your own handwoven Chanel-style jacket.

The Handweaver’s Studio has just reopened in Finsbury Park, selling everything a textile fanatic could ever need. The new shop is light and airy with a big space out the back for crafting. The Handweaver’s Studio is under new management but they’ve retained the great stock and best of all, kept all their knowledgeable staff. Happy crafting.

www.handweavers.co.uk