Aaaaand pause

Phew! What a busy few days. London was brilliant - catching up with friends is always fun. We spent a good deal of time dodging raindrops and racing map apps to direct ourselves on Saturday, which included a trip to Little Venice, a trip to the wrong platform at Paddington, and a giggle at the V & A museum - packed with raindrop-dodgers. We also admired the Olympic park from friend's flat. (And the several taxi cafes we spotted.)
Sunday was brunch and a wander around the Notting Hill Carnival. It was huge, and the crowds were incredible. I don't think there were any stereo speakers left anywhere else in London - so loud. Great costumes, but slightly perturbed by the chocolate and paint throwers - really not sure what that was about. A quick dash down Marylebone road and I made my train with minutes to spare.

Taxi cafe no. 1

Heatherwick silly seats at the V & A

Snazzy brickwork and garden courtyard at the V & A

It's got to be another Heatherwick at the entrance to the V & A

Taxi cafe no. 2 - with taxi

View from friend's flat of the Olympic park

People as far as the eye can see at Notting Hill

Wicked bird costume - there were puppet flamingoes earlier in the day!
Note the boarded-up windows behind!

Big Ben as a carnival bird

Not sure why but friend insisted...

Taxi cafe no. 3 (Huuuge piles of rubbish in the carnival zone, but even
giant bins would have been overflowing.

Weekend antics

Busy little weekend! Saturday was a jaunt out to Leamington Spa to attend the Latin festival hosted by HabanaLoko. Fabulous weather ensured a big turnout, and we enjoyed our friend's dance performance as well as the spontaneous salsa moves by various groups in the pump room gardens. The samba performance left me wanting to go and find the nearest music shop and buy the biggest, noisiest drum possible! (Maybe once I can afford it...)
Sunday brought iffy weather and a jaunt down the the University of Birmingham with some friends to take part in the Birmingham skyride - a closed-road course of about 10km with 17,985 other cyclists! I liked the kid with the shark-shaped helmet, the knight and princess and their trusty steeds, and the man dressed as easy rider! We managed two laps, bolstered by freebie fruit and malt loaf, but flopped for a leisurely pub garden lunch later. Long naps were required after our return! Hope the chap with the compound fracture to his wrist feels better today...

The clock tower

A few of the be-bibbed cyclists and the newest addition to the red brick semi-circle

Links
HabanaLoko
Sky ride events

London 2012 opening ceremony

Finally, London 2012 Olympics is underway. Catching only the last part of the opening ceremony on Friday, I purposely avoided mention of what occurred beforehand. Saturday night we sat down to watch the event in full. What a uniquely British and silly affair, and fantastically enjoyable. I thought the TV coverage was great, and wished that I had been there, as there must have been so much more to see.

Great fireworks, great music, great enjoyment visible by all involved there, and Corgis! Clearly some excellent stagecraft had been prepared, though I did find myself wondering where the sheep were... Voldemort, light-up duvets, Mary Poppins, speedboats, birdy creatures, dance, acrobatics, wonderful. And Sir Tim Berners-Lee of course! (And JK Rowling, and Mr Bean with Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO, and James Bond, etc, etc!) And it even ended with a singalong.

The best bit though, was the cauldron. I've been interested in the designs of Thomas Heatherwick for a long time. I hope that the spectacular achievement of this will override the negative feelings that so many have for his sculpture, The B of the Bang. Found to be unsafe, this sculpture had to be surrounded by fences for health and safety, after one of the vast prongs came away, and has been dismantled. I was so disappointed that it failed, as it was a fantastic sculpture. The beauty and simplicity of the cauldron's formation is testament to the skill of Heatherwick in inverting shape for purpose. Phenomenal.

Well done to the organisers - it was a great opener, well considered and sensitive, and inclusive.

It feels a bit of a whimper following a bang, but I saw the weekly steam train pass by the bottom of the garden this morning. I might have to try and spot it from the local station next weekend, because the trees block any view of it from here.

Links
London 2012 Opening Ceremony
Fabulous fireworks
Cauldron
Thomas Heatherwick
The B of the Bang

Wishes

Hello from a silent radio announcer! It's been a few days, hasn't it? It is still tough to not be working, but I am seeking out interesting things that perhaps can be commented on here. I went to a cabaret performance at mac on Saturday, which was a bit peculiar, but was a good laugh. Some excellent acts. Sunday we had smashing dinner at Jyoti's. Excellent and pretty authentic Indian food. And today? More job hunting!

After nine months of conscious thoughts of "can't buy that, it won't fit in my case" or "can't buy that, don't need it", it is increasingly challenging to not be overcome with a capitalist desire of THINGS. Particularly now as I'm not living out of a suitcase! Biggest thing on the wishlist today? The "indiespensable" release from Powells bookshop. A new book in a special binding every six weeks, which comes with goodies. At $52 every six weeks, it is not one for the moment. (But I did succumb to buying a London 2012 tshirt today...)

In other news, my fingers have gained a tinge of green. I have kept my Gran's plant cutting alive, and it seems to be thriving, flowering for the first time today, and even done some garden weeding. (For about five minutes.) And I was a recipient of some lovely Lilies and Roses on Sunday. Lovely!

It's ALIVE... still

Lovely gift

Links
mac (Midlands Arts Centre)
Jyoti's Indian Vegetarian Restaurant
Powell's Independent Bookshop

Day 43

Well, we saw the Olympic Torch Relay, just about! Apparently Cliff Richard passed on the torch to a local lady just in front of us. I say apparently, because it was totally impossible to see the handover behind two trucks, many many security people, and the loads of press that surrounded them. Great to see so many people turn up to see it though. And no rain!

Spot the ball

Overhead monitoring

Our view of the handover - nil!

Finally!

She walked - good on her - meant we could all see!

The bus (one of many, actually)

Afterwards...

"Shall we stick around for a bit?"

What the apocalypse migration will look like

And behind

Jubilee flowers at Cannon Hill Park

The Three Counties Show

Location: Three Counties Showground at Malvern
Date: Saturday 16 June 2012
Purpose: Everything agricultural

There were animals: 
Rabbits. Guinea Pigs. Turkeys. Chickens. Bantams. Ducks. Sheep. Pigs. Bulls, Cows and Calves. Alpacas. Horses. Pygmy goats. Racing pigeons. Hunting Dogs, Gun Dogs. Owls, Falcons, miscellaneous birds of prey. Bees.
There were shows:
Trick riding. Engines, forging, pole-climbing. Showjumping.
There was food:
Lots and lots of food. (We had Welsh oggies - very nice, and a Yorkshire fruit cake - really nice!)
There was weather:
Serious amounts of rain. £15 wellies purchased on site. Seeking out tents to avoid torrential downpours.

Being a total townie, there was much excitement when the Tamworth Pig took off running during judging. Also much amazement at sheep that resembled horses. And the most enormous bull  and cow I have ever seen. And much 'aw'ing at the pygmy goats snuggled up together to sleep. And I've never seen so many weird and wonderful varieties of chicken!

Quite a fun day out!

Three Counties Show website
Rare Breeds Survival Trust