Steampunk kaleidoscopes

Posted on September 8, 2016 by myeye1

On my recent wander around London I came across Piccadilly Market. I don’t normally go to this part of London, so I decided to have a look around. There were lots of unique things to look at and buy, from hand crafted pop up cards and precious gems to pocket watches and stamps. What really captured my attention though were the steampunk kaleidoscopes. I’ve always loved kaleidoscopes, the lovely colours and the endless patterns that emerge from so simple an idea using mirrors, reflections and beads.

As I loved them so much I couldn’t walk away without buying one. I decided on a keyring version as I felt it was a more sensible size, plus I could have a peek whenever I felt like.

And just to give you an idea here’s some (blurry, sorry) shots of what I can see through the tiny eye hole.

The kaleidoscopes keyring is a nice addition to my set of keys and I’m glad I came across it so unexpectedly.

The BFG dream jars

Posted on September 4, 2016 by myeye1

One of my favourite authors as a child, like many others’, was Roald Dahl. He was a great story teller with a wild imagination and told of gory and funny tales which really won him over with young people. One of his best known stories The BFG was released as a film in cinemas recently, and to coincide with this and his 100th birthday, London celebrated by placing 50 dream jars containing various celebrity dreams on trails to be discovered and enjoyed. The jars will then be auctioned off and the money raised given to charity. In the past London has scattered bears, elephants, eggs, buses and more in a similar fashion.

As this was something that was close to heart and home my sister and I decided to go looking for some. We started at Marble Arch and ended up at Embankment, we walked for about 6 hours and discovered so many other parts of London that we just don’t get round to seeing.

My favourite was the one by Steven Spielberg, because who doesn’t love a tall tower of endless ice cream, cakes and sweets! Other ones that I really liked was Sophie Dahl’s dream by the sea and Dame Helen Mirren’s giant oak tree.

Here are the rest that we found (click on image to see full picture).

I would have loved to have been able to find more (such as Quentin Blake’s or Steven Hawking’s) but we ran out of time and energy. We really enjoyed the day out and the creative dream jars, taking us along paths that we would never usually follow. I hope they raise lots of money for charity and I can’t wait to see what the next objects scattered across London will be.

Trolls

Posted on August 31, 2016 by myeye1

As a child I loved trolls, they were these weird looking miniature things with long, soft, brightly coloured hair. This year it seems that all things from the nineties have come back in fashion, from crop tops and spirograph to yes, these trolls. These slightly updated versions were spotted in central London and brought back fond memories. I think I need to get some now.

1988

Posted on August 22, 2016 by myeye1

I really like the textures and character of this worn but strong bench. And it still has many years of service ahead, taking the weight off the feet of weary travellers.

WPC: Vibrant mosaics

Posted on August 15, 2016 by myeye1

I love the vibrant, fun colours of these mosaic tiles, each with unique patterns and details. Some might find these gaudy but I think they look really interesting with lots going on and they really capture my attention.

Gipsy rose

Posted on August 11, 2016 by myeye1

A delicate Gipsy rose dancing in the breeze

Kite festival

Posted on August 7, 2016 by myeye1

Last weekend I went to a kite festival in Dunstable Downs with the family for a day out. On arrival we could see it was quite busy and there were dozen of kites soaring in the air with the brisk breeze keeping them aloft. There was a great selection in varying shapes and sizes, and we brought some of our own along to join in. As well as the public flying kites there were professional kite flyers doing some great shows and making it look so easy.

We also brought along a picnic with some great food, with a passerby declaring that ours was the best one he’d seen, much to our amusement. After we’d eaten, my smaller nieces enjoyed pony rides whilst the adults wondered off to see what the craft stalls had to offer.

After our kite was flying on its own we all sat down to relax and enjoy cold ice creams and the wonderful view that Dunstable Downs is known for, until it was time to head home.

Hungry birds

Posted on August 3, 2016 by myeye1

I was happily relaxing one afternoon when suddenly I heard a loud chirping and trilling, so I jumped up to investigate. I followed the noise to the kitchen and looking out into the garden I saw dozens of birds flying in and out of the neighbour’s big cherry tree. The birds (If you look closely you can see a dozen or so which I think are thrushes), were swooping down pecking off big, red, ripe cherries. I raced upstairs to have a better look and capture the moment. It was amazing to see so many birds in one place and I was surprised by just how much noise they could create in their excitement. I hope they enjoyed their delicious lunch!

London Olympic Anniversary Games 2016

Posted on July 30, 2016 by myeye1

The London Olympics in 2012 was fantastic, I didn’t get any tickets for events but I was lucky enough to go to the Opening Ceremony rehearsal which was held 2 days prior to the official opening ceremony of the Games and was a chance for organisers and performers to do a complete rehearsal in costumes and do full light shows and music. It was absolutely brilliant and definitely one the best events I have ever been to. As the Olympics have come around again this year, London held an Anniversary Games where top athletes were able to compete and a give you a taste for what they would have to offer before they head off to Rio, Brazil. I was able to get tickets for this and was really looking forward to it.

I was lucky to get great seats near the start and finish points of races as well as near the high jumpers, javelin throwers and long jumpers. We were also lucky enough to see sporting superstars Jessica Ennis and Usain Bolt among others, and they were fantastic.

Seeing exciting races combined with good weather created an electric atmosphere and I had a great evening which I thoroughly enjoyed with good friends.