Results matching “Christmas”

I am a little bit behind on my updates, and as I was looking back through my photographs, I discovered several that I have not gotten around to posting yet from the winter months. It did seem like a long winter this year as the weather was not great. Looking back on it, I did manage to do a few things to break up the time. As always, I enjoy the colour at Covent Garden with their seasonal floral displays.

Before the holidays, I had a trip to The Chocolate Cocktail Club again, and I had their seasonal cocktails.

Of course, I decorated for Christmas.

I had a Christmas lunch with turkey and vegetables.

Eastcote House Gardens always decorates the pine tree, so I got some photographs of this.

Ruislip's Duck Pond Market also had some festive markets set up for the holidays, and I bought some seasonal treats.

I loved the little edible flower pot cakes.

My friends and I also enjoyed a roast Christmas lunch together.

Of course, I always enjoy the local decorations.

The movie "Wicked 2" was out in the cinemas. I did go to see it. Everyone was talking about it.

At the beginning of January, I went to the HotWheels "Monster Trucks" event at the O2. That day, planned tube strikes meant that this took all day to get there and back, making a long day in a cold and gloomy month.

While I was at the O2, I went into the ice cream cafe "Snowflake" and had an ice cream.

In early February, I stopped by my friend's cafe for lunch, tea, and dessert.

I also started a couple of new fitness classes. The first part of the year was virtually impossible to get out and walk due to the rain on an almost-daily basis. However, it meant that my injury on my foot was allowed to heal. 

I also made Indian dishes from scratch and froze some of them. Below is a sambar, and it was really good.

Other than that, I kept busy with work and reading or listening to audio books.

At the end of last year, Louis Masai painted street art of a turkey on Hanbury Street (just off of Brick Lane). The turkey is painted using his patchwork style with different patterns. The street art promotes vegetarianism / veganism and comes just before the Christmas holidays where turkey makes most of the dinners for the day in the United Kingdom. The street art reads that "a turkey is not just for Christmas".

I captured a couple of other older artworks from the artist using his older style around east London.

Other posts on this blog that feature Louis Masai are included below:

<p><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2023/02/louis-masai-paints-cavendish-b.html">Louis Masai "Cavndish Banana" in Penge</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2018/08/louis-masai-paints-for-upfest-.html"><br />Louis Masai Paints for Upfest 2018</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2017/05/tower-hamlets-cemetery-park-en.html"><br />Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Environmental Street Art </a><br /><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/09/louis-masai-and-birdo-collabor.html">Louis Masai and Birdo Collaboration @ Bethnal Green<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/06/louis-masai-and-fanakapan-coll.html">Louis Masai and Fanakapan Collaborate on 'Freedom?' Street Art</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/09/louis-masai-and-birdo-collabor.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/04/humannature-endangered13-stree.html">HumanNature Endangered13 Street Art Paint Jam, Day 2</a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/09/louis-masai-and-birdo-collabor.html"><br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2016/04/street-art-endangered13.html">HumanNature Endangered13 Street Art Paint Jam<br /></a><a href="http://almostafternoon.com/blog/2015/11/masai-londonlovescorals.html">Masai's #LondonLovesCorals SynchronicityEarth Mural</a></p>

I did not expect to find Tracey Emin's neon sign artwork in Shoreditch when I recently visited the area. The neon sign, "I Whisper to my past; do I have another choice", is placed up at ground level next to a former car wash around the corner from Shoreditch High Street station. There are apparently twenty-two of her neon artworks around the city until the middle of March. The works highlight her newest exhibition (called "A Second Life") at the Tate, and the exhibition shows what she has been doing since the 1990s. The artist actually lived in the area. 

Tracey Emin still shows her work across London at sculpture festivals, and one of her signs hangs at King's Cross. She also decorated one of London's Christmas trees.

Tracey Emin Neon Art at King's Cross: "I Want My Time With You"

Mosaic artist Angus is based in Bristol and creates street art using tiles. Popular culture, video games, and cartoons often feature in the artist's work. He has painted a lot for Bristol Upfest, and I've photographed a couple of the pieces blow in the past. I was in Bristol this summer and saw more of his work with video games being featured. The pieces below are in Bedminster, which is the artistic side of the city and hosts Upfest. Recently, the artist has also been working on th sculpture trails for WildInArt, which I also enjoy.

There are a couple of items I discovered on Christmas Steps and College Green in Bristol that may also be Angus, but I think it may be a different artist. It's not Invader. If you know who they are by, let me know.

More street art by Angus in this blog can be read below:

Street Art Round up in Bristol 2018
Angus at Bristol Upfest 2018
Happy Leap Year Day, A Quick Update & Thoughts on My Blog
Street Art Round-up: Spring & Summer 2015

One of the attractions that I did while I was in New York City at the end of November was to walk The High Line. The High Line was a former railroad placed above street level to ease congestion with traffic at street level, and it was operational in the 1930s. The railway fell into disuse in the 80s. The line was developed into gardens from 2009 in different phases, and it is a place to see nature and artwork. There are various sculptures and street art along the High Line for visitors to appreciate.

I started at Hudson Yards mall. The mall has a lot of designer shops and restaurants, and there is an attraction here for people to walk up a sculpture and up onto the rooftop for views ovr New York City. The mall was decorated for Christmas. I bought some delicious chocolate from Li-Lac chocolates.

At Hudson Yards, I joined the High Line. "Foot Fountain" by Mika Rottenberg is one of the artworks here, and it is a pink foot and leg with a working fountain on top, but the fountain was not on. 

I am not sure (and did not seem to photograph) who was responsible for the below artwork of a yellow face and a statue of a figure with missing head of a woman who appears to melt into the plinth. 

The High Line was a nice way to see the architecture and experience a little bit of nature in such a built-up city.

The below giant pigeon sculpture is "Dinosaur" by Ivan Argote.

"Th Sun is a Flame that Haunts the Night" by Tai Shani

I also discovered a familiar street art by M. Chat off of the High Line. I saw the artist's work in Sarajevo many years ago. The artist is from France.

The gardens on top of the High Line probably do look beautiful in the summer.

Sopheap Pich's "Kânh Chhrôôl (Gluta Usitata), Melembu, and Khlông (Dipterocarpus Tuberculatus)"

Unknown work pictured on The High Line.

A large street art mural along the High Line - "The Creation of the Creatures by Day and Night" by Rosana Paulino.

A work by street artist Kobra, which was mostly obscured by a tree and buildings.

Unknown street art on a building off the High Line.

Street art by Vesid

Other artwork by Kobra.

There was a large seating area overlooking the street, and this was not too far from Chelsea Market.

I enjoyed the visit to Chelsea Market with different food for sale and interesting shops. It reminded me a little bit of the markets in London, such as Camden. I enjoyed a coconut gelato.

The High Line was one of my favourite activities to do in New York City with the visit to Chelsea Market and Hudson Yards, and then I went on to Bleecker Street.

During my visit to New York City at the end of November last year, I spent a morning visiting the Rockefellr Center. This Art Deco tower was built during the Great Depression by Rockefeller. NBC Studios and Radio City are part of the complex. The Rockefeller Center hosts the large Christmas tree and ice rink. I visited the observation deck, called "Top of the Rock".

The views are impressive across Manhattan and Central Park.

I had a glass of white wine and a martini, and my breakfast was a cinnamon bun. It was delicious.

I think the view of the Empire State Building is probably better than being on top of the Empire State Building.

I could also see the Statue of Liberty in the far distance.

At the bottom of the Rockefeller, I saw the Lego shop and went inside to see the different creations.

I was worried about the height of the building, but once I got up there, I was not frightened at all. There are a couple of other attactions with photograph opportunities, but I did not do these.

In the middle of the month, I visited Phantom Peak at Canada Water. This immersive experience has been in London since the summer of 2022, and it is immersive theatre at its best. I visited alone, and you can visit alone or in a group or as a couple. Visitors to Phantom Peak will speak to actors (townspeople) to solve quests, similar to a real life living video game. The quests are completed on your mobile via responding to questions and speaking to people or tuning into a television. Upon solving the quest, visitors receive a card with the name of the quest. The quests change seasonally, and there are about twelve quests each season.

I turned up after work on a damp and drizzly mid-January evening. 

When the doors opened, I was led down into the town where there was a saloon for food (doughnuts and snacks) and drink. I had a doughnut and margarita, but afterwards, I saw a food order point.

Robo Chef allowed visitors to order food and drink.

I ordered some fries and chicken tenders.

I had a look around quickly.

The quests do not open until after the opening ceremony where we were addressed by the mayor of Phantom Peak and a couple of other characters, one a special Christmas character.

I went off to do my quests.

I explored the town and managed to complete three quests with a little bit of time to spare for one last drink and then to wait for the closing ceremony.

The closing ceremony signalled the end of the event with some dance and character discussions. Snow (foam) was released from above to give it a wintery feeling.

Phantom Peak is open for four hours on weeknights with slightly longer sessions to explore and complete quests on weekend days. Many who visit return, and I would definitely go back once it has selected a new venue. It is also child-friendly, and plenty of people were there with children.

Over the last three years, the Fleet Street Quarter on the western edge of the City of London (and just outside the City around Fleet Street) has hosted a sculpture trail featuring twelve sculptures painted by different artists. The sculpture trail is managed in partnership with Wild in Art, and this year's sculpture is Snoopy. The Snoopy sculptures celebrate 75 years of "Peanuts" comic strip by Charles M. Schultz in which the beloved Beagle Snoopy is introduced.

Each of the sculptures is painted by a different artist, and they are all unique. Some of them feature Christmas and festive designs. The sculptures were launched in the middle of November and were on display until the middle of January to give families visiting the area something to do around the festive break. They help bring people into this part of London.

The previous trail at Fleet Street Quarter are located below.

• Penguin Parade 
• Walking with The Snowman

You may also be interested in the "Peanuts" exhibition I went to a few years ago at Somerset House.

At the beginning of the month, I enjoyed a festive Christmas "Twelve Days of Christmas" 1920s-inspired afternoon tea at the Sheraton Grand Park Lane. I visited with a friend who lives outside of London. The Grand Sheraton Park Lane is a 1920s Art Deco hotel located opposite Green Park. 

The afternoon tea is served at Palm Court, which is a bright and open space inside the hotel. The natural light comes through different stained glass windows and skylights. A Christmas tree stood in the middle of the room. 

As my friend and I arrived early, we had a mocktail and a cocktail whil we waited and warmed up. They had different festive drinks on the menu. I had a mocktail, but I do not remember what was in it.

I enjoyed a range of different sandwiches, including traditional egg and cucumber. Brie and cranberry and turkey were additional options. They do cater for dietary requirements.

They also gave a complementary birthday non-alcoholic drink, which tasted delicious.

Next up were the scones, and these were served with clotted cream, lemon curd, and two different types of jam. I think one was strawberry or raspberry, and the other one may have been apricot.

We also got miniature mince pies to take home.

The pastries were all themed from the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song. 

These included a Six-A-laying Black Forest Opera. It had a 1920s-style white chocolate feather on top. The Pear and Chestnut Tart had a white chocolate snowflake, and it paid tribute to the pear tree in the song. 

The Golden Paris Ring with Saffron and Plum was also served, and the last item was the Pipers Pistachio '11' Mousse. My favourite was the golden ring, and I also liked the pear tart, although it was a little filling. 

We also got a birthday cheesecake.

Afterwards, we walked through a cold Green Park and had a quick look at Buckingham Palace. Despite the very frosty and chilly January day, we did enjoy the brisk walk.

The afternoon tea was enjoyable, and I was able to try different teas. They had a special festive Christmas tea and a mulled wine tea. I also enjoyed the chai. 

At the end of last month, I had a whirlwind visit to Bournemouth to visit a few friends and then to visit the Lower Gardens to see the Christmas Tree Wonderland. It has been a couple of years since I visited, and I went after Christmas this time. The gardens were still busy but much easier to navigate to see the lights and some small displays. There were also new attractions open with crafts, robotic reindeer, a Christmas train, golf, and Santa grotto. The Christmas market had mainly closed after Christmas, but food and drink was still on offer. 

The different light displays added a lot of colour and were better with crowds instead of the single Christmas trees that they used to have spread around the gardens, which people would crowd around to get selfies. There were many different areas with lights, light sculptures, and a light tunnel.

On series of lights on the trees also had a disco ball.

There were some Christmas trees, and the bandstand had a giant elf inside.

At the Christmas market, I got a hot chocolate.

I enjoyed Bournemouth in Christmas this year, and I think that this is a better use of the space and helps to manage keeping the crowds moving.