Sunshine? Head to the Serpentine!

If we're lucky enough to get an Indian summer this year - God knows, we haven't had any other kind - then make the most of it and head to the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

Created by keen gardener Queen Caroline in 1730, the Serpentine was one of the first artificial lakes in England deliberately designed to look natural with its long, irregular shape. I really think that one of life's simpler and more carefree pleasures is to hire a boat and potter about on the water amongst the wildfowl. Rowboats feel more traditional but don't worry if you don't know your rudder from your rowlocks; simply opt for a pedalo instead and just figure it out as you go. An hour's boat hire costs £10 for an adult - check out times and prices here: http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/facilities-in-hyde-park/boating-in-hyde-park

Alternatively let the sun do the work and glide across the lake on the UK's first solar-powered ferry, the Solarshuttle.

If you're in the mood for some posh nosh, the nearby Serpentine Bar and Kitchen serves locally-sourced British food with a modern twist - but isn't cheap. Alternatively, a short saunter around the lake is the slightly less expensive Lido Cafe Bar, just the spot for an equally scenic al fresco lunch and accompanying glass of something chilled (they also have nice loos!) - or most frugal of all, pack a picnic and hire a deck chair to watch the world go by.

Suitably refreshed, mosey on over to the Serpentine Gallery. This compact and buzzy gallery is free and has regular contemporary and modern art exhibitions but is worth checking out for the Pavilion alone. For the last twelve years the Gallery has commissioned a new Pavilion building each year; this year is one of my favourites, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei - the team responsible for the architectural star of the 2008 Olympics, the Beijing National Stadium. Chill out in the semi-subterranean depths and experience the strangely muted acoustics of the cork-covered interior; the story of the ideas behind the design can be found here: http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2012/02/ai_weiwei_herzog_de_meuron_serpentine_pavilion_2012.html

Fingers crossed, fellow sun-seekers,





Yours,
Girl About Town xx

Postman's Park - get Closer

A hop and a skip from the bustle of St Paul's is a tranquil little park next to the General Post Office, built in 1880 for their staff. Philatelists may be interested in the statue of Sir Rowland Hill, inventor of the postage stamp, but of a more general appeal is the intriguing and beautiful glazed tile memorial inside the park. The Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice was set up in 1900 by the painter George Frederick Watts to commemorate unsung heroes, often young people or children, who gave their lives to save others.

The loftily dramatic Victorian language may make the stonier-hearted amongst you (and me, to my eternal shame) feel an initial twinge of dark humour: 'Sarah Smith, Pantomime artiste at Price's theatre - died of terrible injuries received when attempting in her inflammable dress to extinguish the flames which had enveloped her companion.'

Read on, though, and I defy you to remain unmoved. If nothing else, you are transported back to a time when Herberts, Harolds, Ellens and Georges, stationer's clerks, schoolboys and passers-by, unselfishly went to the rescue of those in distress.

The park had a brief moment of celluloid stardom in 2004 when a film was made of the Patrick Marber play Closer; early in the film, Jude Law and Natalie Portman's characters walk in the park and she subsequently assumes the name Alice Ayres.

I like to think that the memorial has achieved its aim; that Watts, who believed so strongly that 'the national prosperity of a Nation is not an abiding possession, the deeds of its people are' that he set the memorial up himself when he was refused support from the government, has given us a reminder of ordinary, everyday heroes and a renewed faith in our fellow man.

No man is an island - even in London.





Yours, optimistically,

Girl About Town xx

St James's Park - photo ops, trivia and feeding the wildlife

We are incredibly lucky in London to have so many beautiful parks to punctuate the hustle and bustle of city life.

I'll be blogging about them all at some point, but if you can't wait then the Royal Parks website is easy to navigate and a great place to start - check it out:  http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks

I quite often find myself in St James's Park, which is pretty much the Queen's front garden. In the wake of the Diamond Jubilee, there are some fun photo opportunities for tourists and/or the patriotically-stirred; St James's Park has a suitably majestic five-tonne floral crown, and if you take your photo carefully you can even get Buck House in the background.
The creation is a copy of the actual crown used in the Queen's coronation in 1953, St Edward's Crown; if you are feeling inspired the original, made of gold and precious/semi-precious stones and weighing in at a hefty two and a quarter kilograms, can be seen in the Crown Jewels collection at the Tower of London.

You can also find some wonderfully vibrant 'Union Jack' flowerbeds - and here's another bit of random trivia: technically the correct name of the UK's national flag is actually the Union Flag; a 'jack' is the term for a flag flown from a ship that indicates the nationality of the vessel. (Not a lot of people know that.)

St James's Park stretches itself either side of a long and fairly narrow lake, home to a host of ducks, geese - and pelicans! The latter get fed every day around 2.30pm, which is fun to watch, but the former will be very happy to get up close and personal with you in exchange for the crusts from your lunchtime sandwiches (although apparently birdseed or halved grapes are better for them).

Feeding the ducks is fine and dandy, but for me, the real fun is in feeding the squirrels. These little guys are pretty tame, and if you crouch down and keep reasonably still, they'll take food (unsalted nuts are ideal - Boots sell them in perfectly-sized little snack packs) straight from your hand. (Boots sell hand sanitiser too, if you're worried.)

The most squirrel-friendly area seems to be about half way along the path walking from Buckingham Palace down towards the bridge - which is also a great photo op, as from the middle of the bridge there are great views in both directions.

Happy squirrel-whispering,

Girl About Town xx