Festival of Britain exhibition and a stroll down the prom, The Southbank’s celebration is worth the visit.

I paid a visit to the 60th Anniversary of the Festival of Britain celebration on the Southbank  having heard that the exhibition in the Festival Hall was pretty good and I can say for all lovers of the vintage it is well worth the visit.

Free to enter which is always a plus point, for me the stand out pieces were the amazing quilt made for the original exhibition with a square designed and crafted by hand to celebrate a major event in a certain year, the 50’s retro room sets and the selection of original festival souveniers.

Created by Wayne Hemingway who loves this era there are also some great vintage graphics and the original sketches of the festival emblem in various stages. His own site The Land of Lost Content contains a wonderful archive for students and academics of 20th Century popular culture.

As well there are different attractions on the Southbank Pier itself with a beach hut line up and bunting that makes it feel like a day at the seaside, a sandy beach pit strip full of toddlers digging away and the famous Mobile Seagull Appreciation Society van from the Folkestone Triennial Art Exhibition of 2008.

Overlooking Waterloo Bridge is a huge straw Fox perched on top of the BFI building which is worth the visit to see alone!

Jolly beach huts line up along the Southbank for Festival of Britain celebration

Amazing hand crafted patchwork from the original Festival of Britain fair in 1951

Detail from Festival of Britain quilt from the original fair in 1951

Original souveniers from The Festival of Britain celebration in 1951

Room set from the Festival of Britain exhibition at The Royal Festival Hall

Original Festival of Britain souvenir scarves

The original Mobile Seagull Appreciation Society trailer on the Thames Southbank

The huge straw fox sculpture on the Southbank

The start of the sandy beach area at the Southbank celebration for the Festival of Britain

Artists have filled some of the interiors of the beach huts on The Southbank

A traditional beach hut interior by artist Phill Jupitus created for the Festival of Britain celebration

All photos by Smudgetikka – all rights reserved

Easter at Cannizaro Park

Its one of my favourite parts of London and at this time of year the blooms are out in full.

I love walking around Cannizaro Park and the weather this Easter has been perfect, rather than joining the motorway madness as the masses head for the beaches I just pop up here for an hour or two and it feels the same as a day in the countryside.

Friends Of Cannizaro is a non profit organisation that cares for the park throughout the year, they always welcome new members who appreciate the gardens to their fold.

The park is set on hillside and as you wander around there is everything from Pine trees at the top of the hill, through rhodedendron glades in the middle to primeval swamp ferns and huge green triffid style plants at the bottom.

Best of all its completely free. The attached Cannizaro Hotel does a great tea on the terrace too but there’s always an ice cream van out the front for those on a budget. I regard it as my own personal Stately Home from home, I know the grounds so well now!

There are masses of bluebells at Cannizaro, so beautiful.

The ferns are unfurling at Cannizaro Park

Wonderful vistas of colour upon colour on sloping ground at Cannizaro Park

Wafts of jasmine as you pass strange trees in the landscape from the towering bushes

The mighty rhodedendron bushes are blooming too

Beautiful washes of colour are throughout the park

Photos by Smudgetikka – all rights reserved

Studio Ghibli Museum Tokyo is like walking into a Ghibli film set.

Having loved the Studio Ghibli animated films for a long time it was amazing to be able to visit the Ghibli museum in Mitaka, a suburb of Tokyo.

Sadly it was raining as the museum is itself very green with lots of roof terraces and outside spaces but also in parkland which is very fitting.

The museum opened in 2001 and is a series of interlocking spaces which from the outside have a moulded adobe style appearance and inside resemble a castle with large staircases and huge wooden doors, they have the atmosphere of a Ghibli interior set, slightly turn of the century with Art Nouveau stained glass style windows and a huge domed central glass ceiling. There is a centrepiece spiral staircase which runs throughout the three floors as well as more conventional wooden stairs.

The museum begins with an explanation of animation and a wonderful zoetrope with 3 dimensional Totoro figures, there are rooms that show Hayao Miyazaki’s office style and working methods, how the backgrounds are built up in layers and best of all there is a giant shaggy fur Cat Bus that the under 12’s can clamber in and out and on top of. I would thoroughly recommend a visit here even if you are not aware of much of the Studio’s output as it is just great fun.

There is also a cinema that shows short animations made especially for the museum, every entry ticket includes one screening.

Its about a 30 minute ride out on the JR Chuo line from central Tokyo so fairly easy to visit, the prices all seemed reasonable for Tokyo and there is a shuttle bus from underneath the elevated station especially for museum visitors. The only proviso is if you can,  book before you travel to Tokyo as there is a limit of 200 visitors per day and the museum can sell out. I managed to book tickets in London from an agency listed on the website about 2 weeks before we left and the allocation for some days had already been sold.

 

Entrance to the Ghibli museum in Tokyo with rain cover walkway

 

 

The Robot soldier on the roof of the Ghibli museum, Mitaka, Tokyo

 

 

The patio garden with a working well in the centre

 

 

Patio manhole cover - why don't all manhole covers look like this?

 

 

Giant soft Cat Bus and smoke balls in the Ghibli museum - photo by Yutaka Suzuki

 

 

One of the stained glass window panels

 

 

Another secret patio and roof terrace garden

 

 

One of our gift shop buys, a soft spinning Totoro

 

 

Another gift shop buy, a Totoro key ring at the Ghibli Museum Tokyo

 

 

One super stylish young Ghibli museum visitor in the cafe, Mitaka Tokyo

 

All photos except Cat Bus by Smudgetikka, Cat Bus photo by Yataka Suzuki – all rights reserved

Bank Holiday weekend in London, try Neto at the Hayward

If the Nottinghill carnival is not your thing and the weather is too unpredictable for a day trip out then for a bit of fun try the Ernesto Neto exhibition at The Hayward Gallery The Edges of the World.

You are not only encouraged to clamber around on and through the stretchy nylon tunnels this Brazilian artist has created, if you pre-book there is a paddling pool you can change into a swimming costume and lounge in on one balcony and also there is an online gallery of punters mobile phone picture which you can mail after you have visited where the winners will receive a free exhibition catalogue.

Most galleries forbid photography so it is great to find that it is actively encouraged here although I didn’t realise this till I saw a poster telling me so on the way out.

The exhibition runs till Sept 5th so there is just under a week left still to visit if it intrigues you.

One of the outside terraces at the Ernesto Neto installation Hayward Gallery

Wierd shaped tunnels at Ernesto Neto

Holes are similar to womens tights sprinkled throughout the tunnels at Ernesto Neto

The floor in one area is green nylon raised a foot above the ground you sink into

Others behind a wall appear as if in mist

Occasional holes afford a glimpse of the ceiling at Ernesto Neto,

All photos by Smudgetikka-all rights reserved