Spiral Staircase

In Heal’s furniture store in London, tucked away towards the back is a wonderful staircase. It was designed by Cecil Brewer in 1916 and it is as beautiful today as it was then. The staircase spirals from fourth floor to the basement level, with a stunning Bocci chandelier filling the space in the centre with 65 glass pendants.

This is the lovely view from the bottom to the top

The handrail is a rich dark brown, giving a lovely outline to the staircase, and the glass pendants sit at irregularly giving a sense of height

My favourite view is from the top down to the basement. There is a black glass table sitting just under the chandelier which reflects back the lit up pendants giving the view an extra twinkle.

I would definitely recommend a visit if you’re in the area, as access to beautiful structures isn’t always so easy.

Eid-al-Fitr 2016/1437: Eid Mubarak

Attar perfume bottle

Happy Eid to Muslims around the world celebrating a well earned Eid-al-Fitr after a month of fasting. I hope you all have a day full of happiness, love and blessing as well as lots of delicious food. Lets also be sure to remember all those who continue to suffer around the world, may they find peace and ease soon and may we all be grateful for everything we have.

All the fun of a Winter Wonderland

Hyde Park, London hosts Winter Wonderland every year which is a family event running over the festive season. There’s fairground rides for thrill seekers, Christmas markets for anyone looking for beautifully crafted gifts, and tasty food to make sure energy levels are topped up. Seeing as it looked like a fun evening out I went with my sister and her family to experience the sights, smells and tastes on offer.

I went on a ride or two with the kids, was distracted from stall to stall with the interesting and beautiful items on display and was awed by the pretty lights and great atmosphere.

I didn’t manage to experience everything as we ran out of time, but hopefully I’ll be able to return next year to enjoy more rides as well as see the circus show, the cool ice sculptures in the ice kingdom and take a spin on the ice rink. We left with smiles on our faces and our goodies from the markets but were absolutely exhausted, with the kids falling fast asleep all the way home.

Eid-ul-Adha 2014/1435: Eid Mubarak

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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

A red drop

I was out and about in London, Knightsbridge recently and came across this interesting art installation.

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I have no idea who created it or what for but I really like the layers of glass that have been used to build up the drop in a vivid red colour

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I would love to hear from you if you have more information about this artwork. In the meantime I’ll just enjoy it as it is and keep an eye out for more interesting objects about town

Glass bottles

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I recently went to a fair where many of the stalls were selling lovely things. Among them I found these slim glass bottles with a blue-green hue. They contain perfume oils, also known as attar, which is a traditional Arabic scent that is concentrated so you only need to apply small amounts. I didn’t buy any but I thought they would make for an interesting photo