I bought these glasses a while ago and just couldn’t resist the bright, fun colours and pretty patterns. They’re usually reserved for special occasions but I think they’ll go down well at the next barbeque or dinner we have.
I recently went to dinner with friends in Brick Lane and one of the things I really enjoy in this part of East London, apart from the food, is the amazing street art. For those who don’t know, Brick Lane is known for it’s delicious food and wide range of interesting street art, and whilst I was waiting I took a walk to check out the artwork. It wasn’t long before I had my phone out and began taking photos (and I wasn’t the only one).
I wasn’t walking for long but I managed to take lots of photos. What I loved was seeing just how talented these artists were and the array of different styles and vivid colours that were used to express ideas and notions. You could see in some areas new paint covering the old, showing how art in this part of London is alive and ever changing.
I hope I can go back soon with my camera and spend longer admiring and capturing the artwork and I’m sure that there’ll be lots of new ones to see when I do.
Just before Easter I went to a chocolate fair in London with my sister and niece. We were excited about all the possible chocolate creations we’d see and we weren’t disappointed! There was was a big range of beautiful and clever designs which were a treat for all our senses.
Our favourite stall was one that had chocolate in various shapes and forms that we thought were really fun.
I think what I really like about these are that they have been dusted with cocoa to make them look rusty.
We also saw a collection of other chocolates in interesting (and slightly strange) shapes, from chocolate samosas to face prints.
Some of the chocolate looked so artistic and beautiful and just too good to eat. I especially love these colourful blocks
We came across other clever and pretty ideas too; chocolates named after Shakespeare’s leading ladies, elegant balls and textured cubes.
Aside from chocolate there were so many other delicious looking and sweet smelling treats; definitely something for everyone.
One of the best things was that we were able to have a taste of most of the products before buying, and we didn’t hold back!
We all really enjoyed the day, taking photos of all the lovely things to buy and taste. We bought home a range of goodies for ourselves and for family whilst trying to not to be tempted to buy one of everything! I still have lots more photos but I’ll have to post about them another time.
I would definitely recommend going to a chocolate festival for those with a sweet tooth and a love of eye candy. I’m currently thinking of going to the one that’s being held towards Christmas to see what other fun ideas that might be presented.
This is a close up of one of the tulips I bought my mum recently. I love how the petals took on a rainbow of colours as they opened. It makes me think perhaps someone has brushed on strokes of watercolour paint to create this beautiful effect.
During my visit to London recently I came across these interesting, small(ish) buses that have been painted in different styles by artists. These and many other painted buses can be found scattered across London to encourage walking around the city.
I really like the waterpainted bus with the hazy outlines of famous London landmarks in bright colours. The second one in the style of pop art I also quite like, depicting the Queen’s guards, in a simple but effective way.
I’d also heard about the ‘Paddington trail’ in London so on my travels I kept an eye out for bears too, and to my excitement I found one!
These statues of Paddington bear, like the buses have been scattered around London, each one painted by a celebrity in a different way. The idea behind this one seems to be to celebrate the new Paddington film just out but also raise money for charity when they will be sold early next year. In addition to the statues the London high street seems to be Paddington crazy at the minute with all things Peruvian bear being displayed in windows and posters.
In the past I have encountered painted bright giant eggs, colourful elephants and artsy phone boxes, all of which I am always pleased to find and to me they make a nice addition to the London streets, especially as its always for a good cause. I look forward to seeing what they decide to paint next.
I’ve been trying to post more frequently but things have been super busy over the last few months with Eid, weddings and birthdays, (not to mention dodgy internet connections which hasn’t helped either!), but hopefully it seems a bit calmer now which means that I can get up to speed with my posts.
I wanted to share more pictures from my younger sister’s wedding that took place a couple of months ago. In Pakistan and other South Asian countries it is tradition for the bride-to-be to decorate her hands and feet with henna/mehndi a couple of nights before the wedding. The design my sister chose was intricate and very delicate and with the steady, skilled hands of the mehndi artist it came out beautifully
These patterns soon became much more complex and full, with henna being applied on both sides of my sisters’ hands and parts of her arms. You can click on the pictures below to view larger images, and close ups, (maybe if you look close enough you’ll find the name of the groom which he is supposed to look for on the night of the wedding).
I didn’t get a chance to have any henna applied to my hands, but a number of the guests did, including my baby niece who had a butterfly pattern applied (and which lasted about 10 minutes before it got smudged).
I think the finished result of my sister’s hennaed hands was beautiful, reminding me of lace gloves with intricate, delicate patterns. My sister kept the henna on until the following morning before washing it off to make sure the dye was as dark as possible, which you will be able to see soon in photos that I am hoping to post of the wedding
Poppy day or Remembrance Day as it is officially known, is marked in the UK to remember the armed forces that died in the line of duty. To mark one hundred years since the first full day of Britain’s involvement in the First World War the Tower of London has installed an art installation called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, which is made up of 888,246 ceramic poppies encircling the Tower, each poppy representing a British military fatality during the war. The poppes have been added to the moat of the castle from August with more being added everyday.
As Remembrance Day was drawing near (11th Novemeber, after which the poppies would be removed and sold) I decided to go take a look. I got to the Tower early in the morning and it was already really busy with lots of people. Luckily I was able to get a view from the angles I wanted and I got some pretty good pictures, I would have loved to be able to go down to ground level and see them but that was out of bounds to the public.
The poppies together really do look like a sea of red, even more so by the poppies being placed at different heights to create waves and the idea of movement
The poppies filling the moat, surrounded the entire Tower. I found that around the back of the Tower it wasn’t as busy and also the walkways were closer to the ground and allowed to people to get a closer look
Later volunteers and members of the navy arrived to help to install some more poppies. From 12th November more volunteers will come along to help take out and clean the poppies so they can be sent to members of the public that have bought them
I think the simple idea of using poppies was very striking when all put together, it really brought home just how so many British people had died in the war. It also made me think about all those that had died around the world in the past due to wars and are still continuing to do so.
There were also other installations around London to mark remembrance day, some traditional and long lasting and others temporary and modern. The poppy wreaths are usually found around November, the engraved words I found really sad, which can be seen all year round and speaks about all those that were lost at sea. The most modern installation I came across was in Trafalger Square called ‘Every Man Remembered’, which is based on the Unknown Soldier and has poppies that blow around inside the glass
All of these are really interesting and make you think about how many lives were lost in the wars, what I think is really sad though is how little we seem to learn from history
Eid Mubarak to Muslims around the world who are celebrating Eid-al-Adha which coincides with the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and honours Abraham’s promise to God. In these blessed days may all pilgrims’ prayers and ours be accepted
I came across this sundial in a local park and thought it was a lovely addition to a pretty garden, perfect for the Summer sun
I came across these carvings in Harrods recently, in an area called the Egyptian escalator (which did include an actual escalator too) and thought they looked really realistic. There were lots of Egyptian carvings, patterns and statues dotted around, all with lots of detail and intricate patterns.
I hope to go to Egypt one day and see the real tombs and pyramids which are seeped in history, but for now maybe I’ll visit the British Museum and see the Egyptian exhibitions there
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