The Wellcome Collection

Like most people, in January I'm absolutely broke. I got paid before Christmas instead of the last working day of the month, and somehow all those wages got swallowed up over the break (the venison might have had something to do with it..)

So, as well as trying to earn a bit more money (ebay is my best friend right now), I've also been looking for some free, or cheap, things to do on the weekend. In London, this inevitably means museums and galleries, which are plentiful so there should be something to suit everyone.

Today, Harry and I went to the Wellcome Collection, a museum / exhibition centre that describes itself as "A free destination for the incurably curious", which I rather like! I went specifically to see Death: a self portrait, which is about how artists commemorate the dead and death.

No photography was allowed, so I have pinched a few photos of the Wellcome Collection website.

Calavera, Mondongo Collective, Argentina

Memento Mori, unknown artist, Germany

It's definitely worth a visit and isn't at all as morbid as the name suggests! I particularly liked the Mexican skeleton portraits and dolls. In Mexico they celebrate the dead on the aptly-named "Day of the Dead" a festival in late October / November, and one I would love to experience. Families set up shrines in their homes to loved ones and lay out their favourite food and drink for when they visit!

Also worth a look at the Wellcome Collection is the Medicine Man exhibition (so you can snigger at the Japanese sex aids and other bizarre paraphernalia, and the Medicine Now exhibition, with great art installations such as these:

Giant jelly baby illustrating human cloning and how we are all the same

Rather disgusting growth / tumour to illustrate obesity

Details on the Wellcome Collection are here. I can also recommend the cafe, Peyton and Byrne - they do excellent salads!

Random rain

Despite mixed reviews, I was curious to check out the latest instalment from Random International, a design group based in Chelsea. And it seems I wasn't the only one - on a Thursday night I queued for 90 minutes to get the chance to experience the Rain Room at the Barbican, an exhibition which allows visitors to 'control' the rain.

The installation itself is actually pretty simple - it's essentially a massive shower. However, through in some light / motion sensors, a dark room and a bright light, and all of a sudden the exhibition gets a little bit cooler. 

Visitors were able to walk through the rain and watch as the rain magically stopped wherever they were. It looked, and felt, as though you were in the middle of a storm and yet miraculously you were dry. Or dry enough (there was a little bit of drippage).

Was it worth queueing for 90 minutes? I wouldn't do it again, but I am glad I saw the exhibition. I just wish there had been fewer people in the room at the same time as me, as it struck me as a great place to contemplate anything on your mind.

On the plus side, it's good fun and completely free. And gives you a great excuse to visit the Barbican, see the architecture, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy a drink or two.

The Magistrate and the Mezzanine restaurant

After booking the tickets seemingly years ago, last night was finally the night to see the Magistrate.

"With his louche air and a developed taste for smoking, gambling, port and women, it’s hard to believe Cis Farringdon is only fourteen. And that’s because he isn’t. Agatha his mother lopped five years from her true age and his when she married the amiable Posket.

Well, when I heard the new dad was a police magistrate, I was scared. Said I to myself, “If I don’t mind my Ps and Qs, the Guv’nor – from force of habit – will fine me all my pocket-money.”

The imminent arrival of Cis’ godfather sends Agatha incognito to the Hôtel des Princes to warn him of her deception. But it’s also where her son has cajoled his otherwise staid stepfather into joining him for a binge. High-spirited carousing leads to a police raid and a night of outrageous mishap as the trapped guests make desperate attempts to conceal themselves from the law and from each other. Indignities escalate at court the next day where Posket, the police magistrate, must preside."

This was a truly outstanding performance from the National Theatre, and I think it may have earned its place as my favourite play ever. 

I was particularly impressed for the following reasons:

1. The characters were all very likeable. Usually, I have one favourite character, but here I was torn between Posket, Cis' and smaller roles too - such as the waiter in the Hotel des Princes. I think it takes a lot of skill for the audience to be so engaged with comparatively minor roles.

2. The singing. The songs were well interspersed between the scenes, and actually added something to the play, rather than detracted as can be the case. The Singing Dandys did a great job and the lyrics were well composed and witty.

3. The scenery and costumes. I'd say the National Theatre always has great sets, but I thought this was truly exceptional. But it wasn't just the look of the set that impressed me - the way the set moved between scenes was really quite something to watch.

After the play, Harry and I went to the Mezzanine Restaurant at the National Theatre for the post-theatre dining deal. For £15, you got a flat-iron steak with frites, bearnaise sauce, a small tomato salad, bread, and a blackberry bellini. An absolute steal. The steak surpassed my expectations, being a good inch or so thick, and nicely pink in the middle. The portion was generous too.

All round, a great evening at the National Theatre. I can't recommend it enough.

Columbia Road convert

Yes, yes, I've been a bad blogger. I've not got back into it properly since after holiday, a combination of being busy at work, and well, dare I say it, lazy. I've also been wondering about what this blog should focus on, and I think, as a life style blog it needs more photos of life, which, I guess, means more photos of me!
As I have lamented many a time, I don't have a (working) camera, and so most of the snaps are coming from my BlackBerry, the quality of which leaves a bit to be desired. However, I am going to make a more concerted effort to take more photos, if only because my Mum, possibly the only reader, will appreciate it.

In the mean time however, I want to share with you my new favourite shopping destination: Columbia Road. I've known about Columbia Road for ages, but just never got round to going. I thought it was just a flower market and a couple of shops. I suppose arguably it is just a flower market and a couple of shops, but the shops sell some really unusual things - like these coco bowls which I absolutely love - and there's a great atmosphere, with hipsters, students, families, and er, young professionals like me all mingling. There's even a little oyster stall.

Beautiful cabbage roses and delphi

More roses and only £5 for all of these!

There's lots of great galleries; I particularly liked this picture

Cute children's toys from Nom, I was tempted to get one myself!

There are a couple of clothing stores, plenty of home / garden stores and lots of galleries. Hands-down my favourite shop is Nom for its unusual home accessories all sourced from Cambodia and Vietnam. There were also several pieces of art I'd have liked in my home, mostly pictures of animals!

I didn't go home completely empty handed though, as well as the beautiful flowers I also bought this new oyster card holder, from Jane de Bono; check our her shop here. She doesn't have her own shop on Columbia Road, but there are a few stockists.

So, all in all I am a real convert to Columbia Road. There are plenty of nice cafes when you are tired of shopping, my favourite was an Italian deli, Campania Gastronomica, that did excellent coffees for under £2 and was the ideal people-watching spot.

There's also going to be late night shopping on Wednesdays for the last 4 weeks before Christmas, complete with mulled wine and mince pies, to really get in the festive spirit. More information here.

Exploring the neighbourhood

I've lived in Dalston for over a year now, but only just started exploring London Fields. Barely a ten minute walk from my flat, London Fields is an area of Hackney named for its large park. 

As well as having a fantastic park, complete with Lido serving excellent falafel wraps, the area is home to many good, small neighbourhood restaurants and foodie shops, such as the Brightfield Cafe and E5 Bakehouse. And of course, the famous Broadway Market is also next to London Fields.

Broadway Market turned out to be a mini Borough, with less tourists and a more local feel. There were still plenty of food stalls to choose from, and some good looking eateries lined the street.  I was particularly torn between a salt beef bagel and a scallop and bacon sandwich, eventually choosing the former as the man  at the stall was so charming. Here are a few photos from the day...

Sunny day at the lido

Roast chicken sandwich, self styled hipster sunglasses

Two restaurants to never eat at

This last week has not been good to me food wise. Two nights of M&S 'picnics' (no offence M&S - I love your sandwiches for lunch, but eaten on a train for dinner they're less appealing) and two tremendously terrible dinners.

The second one, at Opium in Glasgow, was an absolute fright of 'oriental' cuisine. I take 'oriental' to mean 'food from no actual country'. According to Trip Advisor, I am the only person in the whole world who didn't enjoy my meal there (abysmal service, watered down wine, day-glo calamari, battered monkfish, followed by actual vomiting). It's apparently Scotland's best oriental restaurant. I think that says more about the dire state of Asian cuisine in Scotland than it does about the skill of the restaurant. Anyway, I shan't review it here, as there aren't enough superlatives to slate two restaurants in the same blog post.

Go see: London Road

The National Theatre is currently showing one of the best shows I've seen in a while, 'London Road'.

The play is only running until the 6th September, so you need to be quick to make sure you don't miss out. You can buy tickets here.

Go see: Heatherwick exhibition

I went to the Heatherwick exhibition as the Victoria and Albert museum last week, and it was amazing! I often go to the V&A anyway, and the quality of their regular exhibitions is great, often as good as their paid-for exhibitions.

The Heatherwick Exhibition has been running since May, and it's on until the 30th September. The exhibition is the first ever major on the work of Thomas Heatherwick, a 'creative practitioner'. He established his studio in 1994, and since then has worked on a whole range of projects, from bridges, parks, hotels to the Olympic cauldron this year. The projects can seem quite disparate, but to me, the one common theme was that they all focused on designing something beautiful, functional and innovative.

The Olympic cauldron, photo from the Heatherwick Studio

The skint Londoner on... eating out

I'm a huge fan of eating out, and London has so many different restaurants and cuisines on offer. Obviously, this all comes at a price (not to mention the effect on your waistline...) but there are ways of eating great food more often, without resorting to the chains (which don't even serve great food). 1. Think local! Obviously, restaurants outside of the tourist trap / rich man's playground of Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Mayfair and Oxford Street are much cheaper. Neighbourhoods outside of zone one are full of cheap, local restaurants, and many areas are known for certain types of cuisine, for example: Shoreditch has lots of vietnamese restaurants, Whitechapel is good for indian food, Lewisham for caribbean food and Dalston/Stoke Newington for turkish food. Lots of competition usually keeps the prices low, and the chefs were usually brought up on the cuisine they're cooking you, so it should be pretty good. (some suggestions further down)

The Skint Londoner on... Entertainment

If, like me, your money never seems to stretch far enough and you're always counting down the days till payday (25...) then living in London can be pretty miserable. I love living here, but it is so bloody expensive. With this in mind, I've gathered up a few tips on how to get first class entertainment at second class prices.

Street Feast London

Soooo... last Friday, some friends and I finally went to Street Feast London in Dalston. Despite living across the road (literally, across the road) various trips and activities have so far conspired to keep me away from this 'foodie' (hate that word!) mecca!

I have to say, I was a little disappointed that there were no takoyaki on my visit, however I'm going to take that as a reason to visit again, possibly this Friday...