Randomness at the South Bank

I confess it freely, I do love the South Bank. The stretch of riverside from the London Aquarium up to the Tate Modern is so chock-full of options, from culture to cafés and markets to mojitos, that you can just wander around until inspiration strikes. Another quirk of mine is that I love randomness - odd, unexpected, intriguing, inspired things - and as you already know, I'm a Girl About Town on a budget. So here, faithful readers, is my hit list of free randomness at and around the Southbank centre this summer.

Get lost in books - literally - at aMAZEme. Two Brazilian artists have created a maze of 250,000 books in the shape of writer Jorge Luis Borge's fingerprint on the floor of the Clore Ballroom in the Southbank Centre. You are invited to browse the top layer (as long as you replace the book) and wander in the labyrinth with fellow bibliophiles as literary quotes are projected onto a huge screen. Over two metres tall in some places, and with one section topped with books in Braille, all the books will go to charity when it is dismantled.

Take a ride in a singing lift. Right next to aMAZEme is a glass lift. Wait until it's empty then hop in and press Level 6. When you get there and you've stopped laughing, press Level 1 (it's more fun if the lift doesn't stop in the middle). Now you know what to expect, hang around on Level 2 until someone gets in genuinely wanting to go up a few floors, and watch their faces. Thank you, Turner Prize winner Martin Creed, this is genius.

Find yourself. Head out to the Riverside Terrace and you'll see a large map of the world on the floor. That wouldn't be enough to qualify as random for me, but it's made out of one million Lego bricks. That qualifies.

Muse under a baobab tree. As part of the Festival of the World a giant baobab tree has been created by Pirate Technics and Textile Design students from Chelsea College of Art and Design. Traditionally the baobab tree is a centre of community gatherings or quiet contemplation; this sculpture has been made from rings of fabric from across the world, with each ring representing a different community, so there's plenty to think about.

Down a tequila in a shipping container. Wahaca have brought their award-winning Mexican street food to the South Bank with this quirky pop-up restaurant built from eight shipping containers and offering some pretty awesome views over the river. Okay so it's not free, but I was thirsty. Oh, and the food is great too.

These are some of the reasons that I love this city.





Yours, randomly

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

Coffee in all weathers and secret gems

Greetings, fellow about-towners!

My two favourite places to stop for coffee (or a glass of something chilled and bubbly) on the Southbank; the question is - sunshine or rain?

Sunshine? It has to be the rooftop garden, landscaped by the Eden Project and perched on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. The dismal 'summer' has at least meant that this garden is wild and fabulous, with lawns, rampaging flowers and even a scarecrow; sit at one of the tiny herb-bedecked tables facing the greenery for a ten-minute escape from the bustle, or grab a bench for an impressive view across the river.

http://www.companyofcooks.com/locations/our-locations/southbank-centre


Rain? Avoid the homicidal umbrella-wielding throng and scurry into the BFI. Wend your way through to the cafe/bar/lounge area and you'll find a welcoming boho mismatch of sofas, armchairs and long low tables; slouching is pretty much compulsory. Excellent coffee, free wi-fi, and it's great in the evenings too - behind the bookcase is a hidden entrance to their new cocktail bar, the Drawing Room. All bookshelves, leather Chesterfields and dim lighting, it's a little like suddenly finding yourself on a film set; appropriate, no?

http://www.benugobarandkitchen.com/about-bak

Enjoy,

Girl About Town xx

Welcome!

Welcome to London - Girl About Town!


London is one of the most amazing, exciting and fascinating cities in the world. This blog is part guide, part journal and part love song; I am unashamedly passionate about London and these are my travels, my discoveries and my stories.

Perhaps you're a tourist, visiting London for the first time. Maybe you live outside London and head into town now and then for shows, or to try out a new restaurant. You might even be a Londoner, shuttling along a well-worn path between work and home, drinking in the same bars with the same friends at the weekends.

Every week, hundreds of people from all over the world raid their bank accounts, spend hours travelling and pay scary hotel bills just to be in this city. If this is you - or if you are lucky enough to live in or near London already - then shouldn't you make the most of it?


I was going past Trafalgar Square on the top deck of a bus one evening, idly looking out over the fountain, when I suddenly realised that if I was in any other city in the world that I would be taking pictures like mad. It's absolutely beautiful - and an everyday sight on the way to the station. So my mission is to open my eyes, to make the most of this fabulous, vibrant city, and to do it all without a second mortgage.

Girl About Town is about discovering, or rediscovering, London. Cool things to do for free, new exhibitions, great markets, the best coffee or Sunday roast, random historical snippets, where to grab a bite, quirky traditions and where to find a loo. I can't promise there will be much method in my madness; I have decidedly eclectic taste and can segue from opera to air hockey without missing a beat - but isn't that half the fun?

Buckle up and join me.





Yours,

Girl About Town xx