Thursday 15 April 2010

The Elephants in London




The London Elephant parade will be upon us from the merry month of May. Remember those painted ceramic cows a few years ago, that were dotted around London? Well we are soon to see Baba the elephant and chums dotted around London. The map above shows where some of the elephants have been placed so far. They appear to be the brainchild of Mark Shand, of the charity Elephant Family and they will stand in prime locations across London for two months before their auction in July. Some have already been bought for £5,000 and the proceeds will then go to 20 wildlife charities actively working to protect the endangered Asian elephant — the smaller, forest-dwelling cousin to the better-known African — in India and across the continent.

I first came across Mark Shand when he presented a lecture at the Royal Geographical Society about his adventures whilst travelling through India on an elephant, named Tara. I have read two of his travel books, Travels on My Elephant and River Dog and both are ripping good reads. His older sister is also the Duchess of Cornwell, although I had no idea about this fact until I read about it in the London evening newspaper. I wish this venture well and I would love to see a large amount of money raised for these charities. After all do we Londoner's not have a love affair with the elephant? We even have an area of London named after these magnificent creatures, The Elephant and Castle. The rumours about the area being so called comes from a corruption of "la Infanta de Castilla" referring to any of a number of Spanish princesses connected to English history including Eleanor of Castile, Catherine of Aragon, and Maria, daughter of Philip III of Spain. However, there is no trace of the informal name before a reference of 1765 when the Court Leet of the Manor of Walworth met at met at "Elephant and Castle, Newington" on 21 March 1765. If the pub had had a different name, then because of its prominence on the principal routes, the area likely would have been called by that name.

Details of the parade here.

Wednesday 7 April 2010

New Wimbledon Theatre

Last night I went to the musical 'Hot Flush' at the New Wimbledon Theatre. Who would have thought that a musical about the menopause would be so hilarious? I certainly didn't but I'm pleased to say that I had a very enjoyable time.

The Theatre is about to celebrate it's centenary and is hosting an open day on 14th April with a grand opening at 11am by June Whitfield CBE. Throughout the day there are prizes to be won, such as the chance to fly across stage like Peter Pan. Theatre tickets for a year. There are workshops that include 1920's dance, lighting & sound and a family panto workshop. There will be stage make up demonstrations and songs from My Fair Lady performed by the Wimbledon Light Opera. The day culminates in a ghost tour at 6 pm.

It is advisable to book for the dance workshops and ghost tour on wimbledonadmin@theambassadors.com

Children U14 must be accompanied by an adult.

More info here

Saturday 3 April 2010

What to do over Easter?

A couple of good plays currently showing that I can vouch for as being good or very good, are

Sweet Nothings, playing at the Young Vic, explores the power of sexual longing, the cruelty of tradition and the vulnerability of those in love. It is directed by the feted Swiss/European director Luc Bondy.

And on at the Duke of York's Theatre is that Alan Ayckbourn classic, Bedroom Farce. Very amusing and well acted.