The V&A (the second coming)
July 7, 2009 at 5:06 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentIt’s been a while since I last visited the V&A. Certainly a very long time since I had a proper visit. Today I took the opportunity to see the special (and soon to be over) Baroque exhibit, Gilbert Collection and the Theatre Collection.
Baroque: The exhibit discusses the first global style – Baroque and its influence over the course of several hundred years over performing arts, religion and daily life. An adult ticket costs £11 and you can get an audio guide. I didn’t and don’t feel that I’ve missed out. The exhibit was larger than I expected with a number of interesting and intricate pieces. I found the localisation of the style (such as in Asia) particularly fascinating. If you have an interest I art, design and globalisation this would be a worthwhile visit.
Gilbert: if you’ve not had enough opulence at the Baroqe exhibit then make your way past the jewellery and silver collections to the new Gilbert Collection. It features a collection that was built up over the last half of the 20th century and bequeathed to the V&A at Gilbert’s death in 2000. It features a number of fascinating and well made gold pieces, small boxes and micromosaics.
Theatre: London used to have a dedicated theatre museum however this has now closed. The collection was given to the V&A and they’ve presented a snap shot in the new rooms. An attendant advised that it is possible to see the larger collection via special appointment with the information desk. The rooms cover topics such as producing, casting, costumes, legal obstacles, advertising and the sets. It’s all fairly interesting (such as the bishops who’d attend the equivalent of glorified strip clubs) but you’ll be able gloss over some items while reading the descriptions of pieces that grab your attention. For the children they can play dress up in some costumes. Overall very well done condensing a large collection into an accessible overview.
*Please note. I’m trying out the WordPress email blog posts function via my Blackberry so I’ll come back and edit the links as soon as possible.
The Big Bus Tour
July 6, 2009 at 11:39 pm | In General, London, Out and About, Tourism, Travel, UK | Leave a CommentTags: big bus tour, bus, fail, London, original bus tour, review, Tour, Tourism, Travel, UK
Recently my parents, sister and her boyfriend visited London and we decided to go on the Big Bus Tour. Perhaps an error in judgement.
Obviously the benefit of these types of tours is the ability to get an overview of a foreign city with the option to jump on or off within a day of purchasing a ticket. However, for those of us who stay on board for the entire 2+hrs (the shorter version) it began to drag. While on the upper deck I could clearly hear the guide but after we had to change buses and I was on the lower deck it became a partially incoherent dialogue.
Speaking of incoherent once we changed buses we also got a new guide and he’d clearly had a rough night what with the slight slur, red eyes and somewhat dishevelled appearance.
Based on my own knowledge of the capital I thought the information was largely accurate and I did pick up on a few things as well. However, there were a few instances when the bus was stuck in traffic and I tried to break the lull by providing anecdotes of the area – something a qualified guide could surely have done.
My other criticisms of the tour were the over use of movie filming locations. Specifically Harry Potter. If I wanted a Harry Potter tour I’d go on one. Secondly, the guide would often be so busy cross promoting some other tour or another that by the time they mentioned something of actual interest we’d already whizzed past it.
Some of you may recall that a few years ago I went on the Original Bus Tour, so of course my memory may be a bit cloudy but if I had to choose one bus tour of London I’d go with the Original over the Big Bus anytime.
Met Police Museum
July 6, 2009 at 10:58 pm | In General, London, Out and About, Tourism, Travel, UK, museum | Leave a CommentTags: Free, History, London, met police museum, museum, police, review, Tourism, Travel, UK, west brompton
Close to West Brompton Tube at the Empress State Building is the local police complex and a newly opened police museum, which is also meant to be an aid to police recruitment.
Despite thousands of items in storage the museum is seriously restricted by the available floor space. They’ve certainly maximised the available area with blurbs covering topics such as the changing face of the Met since its inception, allowing women into the force and new technologies.
According to the museum they’ll be rotating the items on display and they’re also hopeful of expanding their floor space. The museum is new and the volunteer staff I spoke to genuinely excited and enthusiastic so I’m sure it will continue to grow and develop.
With the space as a caveat my only suggestion would be to add some greater information, perhaps anecdotes and histories on the display case items. Also an official website would be great too!
Given the size I can’t recommend it as a must see but if you happen to have an interest in criminal justice, working in the police or happen to be in the area then drop by this free and newly minted museum. Perhaps one day the Black Museum will open to the public too. Meanwhile perhaps one day the Bow Street Museum will open as well.
Also you might want to check out Time Out’s Big Smoke Blog on the museum.
Allan’s Patisserie Review
July 6, 2009 at 10:14 pm | In Cafes & Restaurants, General, London, Out and About, UK, cafe | Leave a CommentTags: Allan's Patisserie, cafe, Food, London, London Bridge, review, UK
I decided to check out the newly opened Allan’s Patisserie at London Bridge after a heads up from SE1. I could have easily given it a miss.
Granted we got there towards the end of the day so it may be understandable but we found the staff abrupt and very slow to take our order from us (despite being the only people there), I ordered a panino and got a sandwich instead (if they’d run out of panini it would have been nice to be told). In the end between a hair in the bread and less than stellar tomato it was just easier to stop eating (with less than half finished).
The volume of coffee and tea was appreciated. The quality of former was ok but I still needed to add sugar to the mocha while the tea retained its teabag at the bottom.
Meanwhile the decor for the top floor was quite nice with some reasonable chairs and couches to sit in and chat with friends. If only the food was better!
Inamo Restaurant Review
July 6, 2009 at 9:44 pm | In Cafes & Restaurants, Food, General, London, Out and About, UK | Leave a CommentTags: asian, inamo, London, restaurant, review, surface, Technology, UK
In Soho you might come across Inamo an Asian themed restaurant that’s received a bit of buzz for its use of technology in the dining experience. That’s probably the only reason to come.
So let’s talk tech. The first review I read of Inamo said it had touch screen tables. That’s not exactly true (and not Inamo’s fault for poor reporting), rather the screen is projected onto a white table from the ceiling with a small touch pad near each diner. This is used for manipulating the mouse pointer. Nonetheless I was anticipating something like Surface and I got it’s poor cousin.
You’ll be able to check out a webcam of the chefs, change the table cloth “wallpaper”, find out local information, play games and of course order drinks and food. As the cloth is part of the projection they’ve kept a plate sized area white, presumably so you don’t get random images dancing over your food. However the big white patch does take away from the atmosphere. There are two games on offer. Tile puzzles and Battleship. With the latter there’s no way to block the other person seeing where you’re positioning your ships and this is in part because you can only play with the person opposite you. I would have thought it’d be easy enough to play with someone else in your group or randomly in the restaurant.
The webcam is pretty interesting but you can’t see a great deal of detail. Still a cool feature. As is the local information of nearby bars, entertainment and transportation options.
Ordering food is a pretty easy endeavour with the option to add and deduct items as you see fit. Now what about the quality of the food? Well, it’d be good if everyone’s meals came out at once and if the meals were a little bigger (particularly considering the cost of both the food and drinks). For an Asian restaurant it was surprising that the white rice was so poor in quality. Each of us thought our respective meals were reasonable but again the price to size and taste ratio was unsatisfactory.
Last but not least after the clean lines of the dining room I was surprised by the lack of tech in the bathroom -it was kind of grotty too!
For tech lovers you might want to come and play with the toys but you might want to wait for a 2.0 to come out. Otherwise, Asian foodies can just give it a miss.
-
Flickr Photos
More Photos
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
