What could be a better way to celebrate England’s patron saint than with a cup of tea in an English garden? Thousands gathered for St George’s Day Festival in Trafalgar Square on Saturday, 21 April 2012. The feast coincided with the actual birthday of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrated it privately at Windsor Castle.
I was passing by Trafalgar Square on Friday, 20th April, when I thought that I had a mirage with lots of trees in front of me. I could not quite believe my eyes. The only plant that I could recall seeing in this landmark London location was the Christmas tree.
I asked the workmen, who were busy installing artificial green lawns in the square, what was happening. I found out about forthcoming St George’s Day Festival that was to take place on Saturday, 21 April – two days ahead of the National Day of England (23 April – the day St George was beheaded in Palestine in 303).
I will hardly ever forget Trafalgar Square the way it looked the next day. It was transformed into one of England’s greatest treasures – its Garden. Fountains, fruit trees, herbs and flowers with mythical creatures and angel statues, both real and human, live music from a floral bandstand, created an atmosphere of an imaginary film set for a Garden Party with many thousands of happy participants.
St George’s Day Festival 2012 video to Angel by The Robbie Boyd Band.
Live entertainment featured up and coming musicians, The Robbie Boyd Band among them. Families enjoyed the April sunshine and music, relaxing on the “grass”. Children, wrapped up in the flags of England, had fun playing with floating flowers and swans in the fountains. The maroon mechanical Dragon, skillfully crafted by Keith the Jelly Roller was everybody’s favourite. The Dragon moved its head, opened mouth amusingly, spread wooden wings and produced horn-like sounds to the joy of the audience.
Traditional English delights continued in a special terrace where English tea was served with a twist – cakes were made of flowers. Creativity had no bounds. Garden trail, face-painting for children and origami lessons alongside inspirational workshops in planting techniques provided the best of time for all the family and became a “wow” garden party to remember.
The Mayor of London joined efforts with innovative landscape designer Sarah Eberle to bring to life the urban oasis that saw the square-a-bloom for one day. The award-winning horticulturalist took modern garden design to the level of fine art.
Celebrations made it clear that keeping in touch with nature is something that people really like. 20 000 – 25 000 people visited St George’s Day Festival 2012 in Trafalgar Square, according to the Greater London Authority.
Official opening of the 150th SWA Celebratory Exhibition and presentation of Awards by HRH Princess Michael of Kent, the Society of Women Artists Patron, at the Mall Galleries in London. 29th June 2011.
The SWA exhibition featured over 500 works in a variety of media – paintings, sculpture along with original prints, etchings and ceramics by professional women artists. A retrospective show in the East Gallery celebrated the work of prominent women artists who played an important role in the development and life of the society, including Dame Laura Knight.
HRH Princess Michael of Kent at the 150th SWA Exhibition video.
“We have come a long way since the mid 1800s when it was viewed as quite outrageous for ladies to publicly show their art work! Our metamorphosis is now complete and this year we celebrate at the splendidly refurbished Mall Galleries,” said Barbara Penketh Simpson, the former President of the Society of Women Artists. “The Society, with its unique history, is constantly developing as a diverse, vital, and forward looking organization seeking to promote talented women artists.”
I learnt about the exhibition from one of participating artists, Arina Gordienko (ARINA), who’s striking “Self Portraits in Colours” could hardly be missed by visitors. ARINA shared her experience: “I am really honoured to be a part of the Society of Women Artists exhibition. I became a full member of the society in 2010. This is the 4th time my paintings have been displayed at the Annual exhibition of the Society of Women Artists at the Mall Galleries. And I am always thrilled and I really enjoy the creative atmosphere of the event. This year’s 150th Anniversary of the Society of Women Artists was opened by HRH Princess Michael of Kent and it was particularly magnificent with a fabulous variety of genuinely talented works by women artists from all over the world.”
View my photographs of HRH Princess Michael of Kent at the 150th SWA Exhibition on Demotix
“The best business ideas come from people feeling passionate about something.” Richard Branson
From Virgin Records to Virgin Galactic Sir Richard Branson career spans almost half a century, marked with outstanding projects and Virgin label global business success.
This year, for the first time in my life, I had a rare opportunity to see Richard Branson live on stage at Business 2012 show at The O2 London (former Millennium Dome). The iconic English entrepreneur, best known for his Virgin empire of nearly 400 companies, including Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Unite and Virgin Media, shared his insights with the next generation of business owners at The IndigO2 in informal, witty and inspiring manner. Sir Richard came across very much like a people’s billionaire.
I found it rather touching when Sir Richard invited on stage and warmly greeted the young Indian entrepreneur Vishal Misal, who’s company Blak Pearl organised the event. At the age of 24 Vishal Misal achieved something that is almost unthinkable – he booked Richard Branson himself to speak at his free show. What an inspiration to all the new and not so new businesses!
I organise events myself and I couldn’t have known better how difficult it is to get celebrities to your events. He made dreams come true for lots of people in the audience on that day.
Sir Richard Branson on Virgin Records at Business 2012, The O2 London.
The words of wisdom, coming from one of the 100 Greatest Britons and “one of the top 100 most influential people in the world” (Time Magazine, 2007) were: ”Just get out there, get a great team of people around you, go and shake whatever industry you are planning to get yourselves into! Have enormous fun doing it. Don’t take yourself too seriously too. Make sure you always offer great value for money and a great quality to public.”
I would like to share with you one of Richard Branson’s most amazing projects – Virgin Galactic, the project that means a new victory of human spirit. “We are not that far away from making space travel a reality,” said Sir Richard at Business 2012.
The extraordinary idea behind the project was that anyone could become an astronaut, buy space tickets and have a journey of a lifetime. Virgin Galactic was launched in the 1990s and marked the beginning of a new era in space travel. At the moment Virgin Galactic is on track to become the world’s first commercial space line and a major milestone in the history of humanity.
“I started it because I was waiting for NASA to say “we are now going to allow ordinary people to be able to go to space,” said Branson. “And by 1990 I just thought that if I carried on waiting I would never have the chance. So I registered the name Virgin Galactic Airways and I headed off round the world to look for scientists or technicians who were able to build the spaceship, preferably a spaceship that went up and came back again,” he joked.
Sir Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic at Business 2012, The O2 London.
Following successful tests of SpaceShipOne, the building of SpaceShipTwo is nearly completed at Space Port in New Mexico. According to Virgin Galactic website, “the most radical feature employed by SpaceshipOne and now SpaceShipTwo is the unique way it returns into the dense atmosphere from the vacuum of space. Burt Rutan designed the unique feathering system which does away with the need for sophisticated computer driven flight control systems or the need to rely on the pilots.”
The two and a half hour flights will offer about five minutes of weightlessness.
“In the history of space travel since it began there have been less than 500 people, who have been to space,” stated the founder of Virgin Galactic. “In our first year we will send more people into space, than have been sent in the history of manned space travel. It is going to be tremendously exciting,” he added.
Virgin Galactic has managed to reduce significantly the price of getting into space. “We have 500 people signed up, $200 000 each. And I think over time we will get this price down,” said Branson.
Sir Richard was answering questions with a great deal of humour and demonstrated a serious talent for entertainment. When asked about the origin of Virgin (the true story behind the company name), he answered: “The story was that we were sitting in a basement, a bunch of 15 and 16 year olds, mainly women, sitting around. We were trying to come up with a name for a record company… Somebody jokingly said: “We are all virgins, let’s call it Virgin.” There was a lot of laughter. And we ended up calling it Virgin. And it works because, you know, we were virgin at almost every business that we started. It took us 3 years to get the Registry Office to accept the registration of it. They claimed it was rude. We said to them that it was opposite of rude and at the end we managed to get a little bit from the English dictionary which said “Virgin equals pure.” And they finally accepted the registration. The Catholic church were the only people who carried on objecting.”
Sir Richard recalled their first concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall and the release of Tubular Bells album with musician multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, who was the actual reason for setting up the Virgin Records company.
“The best business ideas come from people feeling passionate about something,” said Richard Branson. His entire business career, from Student magazine to Virgin Galactic, proves the point.
Richard Branson’s releases include: “Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way”; “Reach for the Skies: Ballooning, Birdmen, and Blasting into Space” and “Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life and Business.”
Richard Branson was knighted by HRH The Prince of Wales in March 2000 for his contribution to entrepreneurship. He topped a list of 2,000 people that included Julie Andrews, Elizabeth Taylor, Norman Wisdom and the first ever James Bond Sean Connery.
View my photos of Sir Richard Branson at Business 2012 on Demotix.
Business 2012 show took place at The O2 London on 18 – 20 March 2012.
A Concert of Reflection took place outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square as part of commemorative events in the UK to mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. 11th September 2011.
The concert went on in the soaking rain on Sunday evening. Amazingly, rainbow could be seen through the rain over Grosvenor Square.
Sir Christopher Meyer, Ambassador to the United States at the time of the attacks on the World Trade Centre, paid his respects to the families of 67 British people, killed in the massacre and of all of the victims of terror.
Da Pacem Domine (Give Peace, Oh Lord) by Arvo Pärt, performed by the Byron Consort
The British Memorial Garden Trust UK Ltd in association with The September Concert Foundation and September 11th United Kingdom Families Support Group presented the concert that featured the Welsh Guards and the Harrow School Byron Consort Choir among its performers.
I was totally enchanted by the heavenly piece Da Pacem Domine (Give Peace, Oh Lord) by contemporary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, gracefully performed by The Byron Consort choristers. Cheerful Welsh Guards band brought the concert in the rain to an optimistic finale.
Ten Years On Anti-War Mass Assembly by Stop the War Coalition demanded that no more lives should be wasted in Afghanistan. War is not a solution to any conflict. Peace and justice should prevail was the message.
Walking legend Hetty Bower, 106 spoke at the rally and was an inspiration to all the activists of UK peace movement. Hetty Bower reminded me of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother because of her radiant energy and tireless determination to always be at the nation’s service.
The Anti-War Mass Assembly brought together prominent speakers, including world renowned composer Howard Blake OBE, who performed his magic melody Walking In The Air, 106 year old iconic British pacifist Hetty Bower, artist and musician Brian Eno, Jeremy Corbyn MP, YouTube sensation Sanum Ghafoor, Stop the War Coalition Chairman Andrew Murray, ex-soldier Joe Glenton, who was jailed for refusing to fight in Afghanistan, and thousands of peace activists with anti war placards.
The dreamy lullaby music of Walking In The Air with awakening stuccato in the middle of performance by Howard Blake said a lot with no words. It went straight into people’s hearts. Naming the Dead Ceremony paid respects to those who lost their lives in the Afghanistan war. 120 black balloons were released in the sky above Trafalgar Square following the Ceremony.
Indian Summer hit Britain with the hottest October ever. As temperatures were topping 29 degrees centigrade, Londoners took to the river Thames, fountains and parks to cool off. Brompton Cemetery became a popular choice with locals to relax in the sun.
Buckingham Palace has seen record numbers of visitors during the 2011 State Rooms Summer Opening. The Palace Gardens with a lake and cafe are really hot with tourists as London is baking in unseasonable temperatures, topping 29°C.
With only two days remaining till the 3rd October, when the Summer Opening is coming to an end, all online tickets are sold out and the only hope to buy a ticket is the Palace ticket office.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, and a special Royal Fabergé exhibition of over 100 masterpieces by Peter Carl Fabergé are generating sell outs during this season.
The Royal wedding dress is the main exhibit of A Story of Great British Design show. It takes centre-stage in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace. The dress is displayed alongside the magnificent Cartier “Halo” tiara, lent by The Queen to The Duchess on her wedding day, The Duchess’s wedding shoes, hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen, the diamond earrings commissioned by the Middleton family as a personal gift to the bride from her parents, and a replica of the bridal bouquet.
The display also includes a special exhibition film in which Sarah Burton discusses for the first time the creation of the dress. Keeping in mind that the wedding took place at Westminster Abbey, the dress had to have a presence. It had to be historical and contemporary at the same time. Her Royal Highness worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress.
The 8-tiered royal wedding cake by Fiona Cairns and large-scale reproductions of the official wedding photographs, showing The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the pages and young bridesmaids are on display in The Throne Room, where they were taken by photographer Hugo Burnand.
The magnificent State Rooms are used extensively by The Queen and Members of the Royal Family to receive and entertain their guests on State, ceremonial and official occasions. During August and September when The Queen makes her annual visit to Scotland, the Palace’s nineteen state rooms are open to visitors.
By the end of the tour visitors find themselves in “walled oasis in the middle of London”, the Palace’s garden. They can take photos of the splendid views of the west front of the Palace and the garden lake. Summer Café in the Palace garden is a cool place to enjoy your refreshments with cakes or ice-cream.
Buckingham Palace State Rooms Summer Opening dates: 23 July – 3 October 2011.
Visitors of Fred Butler Spring/Summer 2012 collection presentation at London Fashion Week got more than they bargained for in terms of fun and entertainment as the show had a surprise visitor, who was hard to miss.
The 7 foot tall plastic and latex pop artist, known as “Pandemonia”, showed off her dynamic hairdo of a super sized beehive, that looks like a perfect ice cream cone from behind, and her stunning Platinum blonde curls. The secret recipe of its lustrous celebrity style bounce is supposed to be Helium.
The guest, who provoked quite a reaction form the audience, has gone from London Fashion Week crasher to a celebrity guest in three seasons. Pop artist behind the concept made first public appearance as Pandemonia at Tracey Emin show at the White Cube in 2009. Identity behind the mask remains a secret as it is part of the concept. ”We all hide behind masks of identity at some time; both in the real and the virtual world,” – said Pandemonia in her interview by the Stylist magazine.
Pandemonia changes her outfits and hair style from one show to another, but she always stays her very own celebrity – slim, tall, glossy, forever young and, of course, famous.
Fred Butler debut presentation of her mysterious and glamorous Spring/Summer 2012 collection at Somerset House Portico Rooms saw a surprise visit by London performance artist Pandemonia on Sunday night.
Sudden appearance of 7 foot tall living art piece Pandemonia, wearing a massive “Dizzy Blonde” beehive and wrapped from head to toe in shimmering bronze latex, put on a few smiles on the faces of visitors and press. For a moment it looked like models, resembling aquatic and interplanetary creatures in extraordinary fluorescent outfits of organza, were no longer dominating Fred Butler presentation. The imposing figure of Pandemonia, representing “deconstruction” of the advertised female form, seemed to be ruling the scene instead.
Eventually Fred Butler’s unique collection, demonstrated to music by Patrick Wolf, who created a four-part sound installation, powered by Sonos, took over and kept the audience amazed with its multisensory fusion of colour, texture, sound and concept.
Since graduating from The University if Brighton in 2003, Fred Butler has gone from strength to strength with her ever expanding portfolio of clients, that includes celebrities such as Bjork, Lady Gaga, Nicki Mihaj and Beth Ditto and corporate clients including Swatch, MTV, NIke, Samsung, Hacaiana and Mini.
London Fashion Week – September 2011 at Somerset House.
Notting Hill Carnival photo video mix. 29 August 2011, London.
Over a million revellers came together for Europe’s biggest street festival – Notting Hill Carnival 2011, held in West London every August Bank Holiday since 1966.
Twenty miles of vibrant celebrations saw hot party atmosphere with dance, magnificent colourful costumes, 40 static systems and bands, skeletons invasion and hundreds of Caribbean food and drink stalls. A mix of street and glam is a real Paradise for photographers, working in any genre and it provides tons of entertainment for crowds of onlookers. It’s all about colour, energy and Caribbean culture.
9/11 Memorial Concert in Grosvenor Square, 11 September 2011. Photo © Eugenie Absalom
