ENO's La Boheme at the London Coliseum

I went to the Opera last night and saw La Boheme at the Coliseum in London. It was great, and quite something to hear those songs I knew so well from my parents CD and movie collection (Moonstruck anyone?) belted out 'live'. But I have to admit, the bit that really caught my imagination was the set design. WOW. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't fancy or dazzling or anything like that. It was the "miniature-ness" of it. Like a life size doll house, that spun around to reveal different rooms and even a street scape.

I couldn't take any photos unfortunately, I did get one of the curtain before it went up, but that was all I could manage. However there are a few lurking around on the web that you can see here or check out the video on the ENO page.

This particular version on La Boheme was set in 1930s Paris, and apparently was heavily inspired by photography from the time. The style of the windows, the brasserie and even the staircase were so authentic and conjured up a real sense of the Parisian architecture of the time. I particularly loved the advertisements painted on the walls, entirely reminiscent of those interwar years.

As the characters are 'bohemian' and essentially poor, there is no glitz to be seen, except perhaps in the brass fittings in the French brasserie they dine in during the second act. Otherwise, the sets are furnished with drab material, dirty looking bed sheets, an armchair that has seen better days, a few wooden dining chairs, some lovely old wash basins attached to the "invisible wall" we view the set through (nice touch in my opinion), and some long work benches that reminded me of the old science labs at school.

The use of light was special too. The room in which Rodolfo and Marcello live had some wonderful little skylights that cast lovely shadows on the room. These shadows were even nicer as panes of glass were cross hatched with lead to create long trapezoid shadings on the wall. The broad expanse of glass across the entire back wall of the room gave the studio a very artistic feel. Oh and the light fittings, some lovely industrial styled shades hanging from lone cords from the ceiling.

I found the female character's outfits were really quite lovely too, particularly as I am very fond of the fashions from that era. Again, poor Mimi's dresses were generally stained and marked with dirt, but the cuts and colours were really something special. Musetta's outfits were tailored pieces that were better cared for, probably thanks to her knack for snaring rich men.

What an amazing job it must be to come up with these set designs. All you set designers out there - I envy you.

Selfridges sparkles

A dazzling display of dangling disco balls glittering away in Selfridges as a part of their Christmas display. So pretty and sparkly.

They are coming to London to visit the Queen!

My parents are coming over for their second visit next Easter, and now i am thinking about where i want to take them. They have been here once before and spend 1.5 weeks in the UK, and 1.5 weeks in France. This time, most of their 4 or so weeks will be spent in the UK. I know they are already thinking about a train trip up to Scotland and shooting over to Rome for a few days. But thinking more locally (SE England) i wanted to get some suggestions for brilliant places to go and visit. They have done a fair bit of the tourist trail in London so im thinking things a little less out of the ordinary. I want to take them to the places that make you feel lucky to be over here.

First of all though, a bit about my parents.

My dad is a complete Anglophile. He loves all things British and then European. He loves his history and spends a lot of his time pretending he is Napoleon on his computer.

My mum likes walking around, everywhere, all day. Last time she was here, i think i started crying as we enterred our 6th hour of shopping our way along from Kensington to Harrods in Knightsbridge. I love shopping, but my mum loves it more, but then she did have boots on that were more comfortable than mine.

They both like to laugh and dont take anything to seriously.

I will get the list rolling with my idea's and if you have any please add them on in the comments below.

In and about London

Shopping along the Kings Road, wandering from Fulham to Chelsea.
In particular, Life After Noah, Designers Guild, Anthropologie and Heals

A walk in Wimbledon Common and morning/afternoon tea at the Windmill.
I have taken to riding my bike around the common fairly regularly. On these trips i always curse myself for forgetting to bring any money for a little treat from the Windmill cafe on my way around.

A visit to the Tate Modern and Tate Britain.
I don't really understand a lot of modern art, but the Tate Modern building is worth a visit in itself. And of course, a visit to the Tate Britain to see the Lady of Shallot . The Lady of Shallot is a very important cultural reference in my family, mainly stemming from the nearly obsessive way we watched Anne of Green Gables over and over and over again as children. My sister could recite the entire movie by the age of 3, seriously.

Outside of London

Fir Tree House Tea Rooms, Penshurst
This place is just gorgeous. I have only been once, invited by a friend for a summer time afternoon tea, and i am very keen to go again. We sat in the lovely garden on ticking striped chairs circling around an old fashioned garden table overflowing with cakes, scones and tea. Delicious.

Sunbury Antiques Fair / Wimbledon Car Boot Sale
I thought they might like to see a proper antiques fair/car boot sale done like only the Brittish can do. Its an early start, but that means we can pack more into the day.

A walk in Surrey or Sussex
I love the idea of these, but after 2.5 hours, i am normally a bit fed up, so maybe we could find one that is about 2 hours instead of 3. Preferably with a nice pub along the way for a Sunday roast lunch. It will be Spring, so hopefully the Bluebells will put on a show for us.

A visit to Bateman's (Rudyard Kiplings house in East Sussex)
This house was gorgeous, with beautiful gardens, amazing history and furnishings care of William Morris. A lovely spot in the country side too, not to far from home!

A trip down to Battle
This would be for Dad. I have never been before, but he would love to see the site of the War of the Roses (I hope i have the correct battle there, my ignorance is shameful!)

And i am looking for recommendations on...

I would love some recommendations for the Portrait Gallery if anyone has them? Its somewhere i would like to go but havent been yet. So i am wondering if it is worth taking the parents when they are here.

Over to you guys, what do you suggest?


Post Script

Oh dear - i knew i had it wrong. My dad sent me an email with the following. Oops

"Battle, the Wars of the Roses, Phoebe really, what did I spend all that money for on your education, obviously not British history. 1066? Without doubt the most important date in Anglo/Norman history"

It was the Battle of Hastings, not the Roses - D'Oh

Live East, Die Young - East London

On Sunday, I visited a friend in the very hip, east end of London. We planned to wander the flower markets on Columbia Road, before a quick lunch at the Albion cafe, and then a look at the shops. It is a shame the weather wasn't better for my visit, indeed it felt like winter had finally arrived, but it still made for a wonderful day out. Here were three of my favourite spots of the day.
 

Quilter Street

As I walked up to Columbia Road from where I parked on Brick Lane (it seemed that 90% of the tube network was shut for the weekend...again), I came across Quilter Street a block from Columbia Road. It is a line of beautiful, workers-cottage style, Edwardian (?) terraces. Each seems to have been lovingly restored, with glossily painted front doors and neat brick work. As I wondered up the street, I imagined the women who must have worked behind these doors, quilting away. They say in London, that the street names derive from whatever use was made of the streets in the old days, generally, from what was sold there. Threadneedle Street and Petticoat Lane owe their names to the Huguenot weavers who settled there, and as Quilter Lane isn't too far from these, I assume it might have been named for the same group. My dad is very interested in our family history is always telling me his latest theories for where our family came from. I remember one of these was that we were descendent from the Huguenot's, so who know, maybe its were I get my love of all things textile from?

Beyond Fabric
http://www.beyond-fabrics.com/
What a super fabric shop, with a real emphasis on traditional looking, old fashion, 30's style fabrics, as well as some more vintage style 50's & 60's-esque children's fabric. You can buy online too, but personally, I love going in and looking at the different fabrics together, pulling them off the shelves, um-ing and ah-ing, driving the shop assistant mad, before finally making off with a nice little stash of fabrics. I got about 6 metres or so. The prices aren't cheap, probably average from what I have seen around London, with prices at the £12/metre mark.

Nelly Duff
http://www.nellyduff.com/
Across the road is Nelly Duff, a very cool gallery and shop selling very cool prints. Mainly silk screen printed, I have also seen some letterpress style posters in there and they have a VERY cool colourful print of some Mexican skulls. I am pretty desperate for them. They are so bright and beautiful I thought they would look great in a nursery, when I said this to my friend, she said "what kind of nightmares do you want to give your children?!". She has a point. I am eyeing off another one of their items for my husband's first anniversary gift. The first anniversary is paper and I think I have found something he would love - if you read this, don't freak out! Nothing I saw in that shop is over £100.

The name from this post is from a print in the Nelly Duff shop, not to be confused with the following piece of graffiti. The print in the shop looks like a wood cutting with an image of an east London street in the 1800's (I'm guessing). A play on words, and very true if you were living there 100 years ago. Unfortunately it seems to still be the case, I saw someone comment on that flickr post for the graffiti art, that the age expectancy of people living in East London dropped with each stop on the eastern extension of the Jubilee line. I don't have a source for this, only hearsay, and very sad if it's true.