See the Lego world map

Your author wouldn't usually mention the Southbank Centre twice in a week, but was rather taken with the Lego map of the world currently being displayed, and wanted to write about it before it is dismantled on 26th August.


Assembled with the help of 4,000 members of the public, the map uses over a million lego pieces to reconstruct a world map in 21 colours, and featuring snow-topped mountains and even the Great Wall of China.

For more, see http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/46885/lego-map-of-the-world-completed

Sit out in the Queen Elizabeth Hall roof garden

Over at the Southbank Centre sometimes they are too creative for their own good, meaning that at any one time they can be doing so many great things your author finds it hard to keep up. This summer, for example, they've refreshed the garden on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall to grow vegetables and have lawns with real grass.


The project has drawn upon the expertise of Cornwall's Eden Project, using a space built from scratch last year by a team from Providence Row Housing Association and though it's suffering a little as the summer goes on, it is a perfect haven for those seeking to snatch a few minutes with some nature. It's open until 9th September.

For more, see http://www.edenproject.com/blog/index.php/2012/04/eden-gardening-team-helps-reopen-londons-southbank-centre-roof-garden/

See Tom Stoddart's Perspectives

An open air photographic exhibition is well under way at More London, near City Hall and the Scoop, and showcasing the works of respected English photojournalist Tom Stoddart, a man whose photography has taken him around the world since his career began on a local newspaper in the North East in the 1970s.


The exhibition, which continues until 11th September, brings 78 of Stoddart's best black and white photographs for a free exhibition, open to all and to the elements. The exhibition draws - we are told - on Stoddart's travel to 50 countries, documenting historic events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the election of Nelson Mandela and three months of Tony Blair's 1997 campaign.

For more, see http://78perspectives.com/

See Olivier on the South Bank

Though he sadly passed away back in 1989, it is still possible for fans to see Laurence Olivier on the South Bank. Unveiled in September 2007 to mark the centenary of his birth, a statue of Olivier stands proudly in the square at the front of the National Theatre.


The statue was erected following a public appeal which attracted donations from more than two hundred people, many of whom worked in the theatre and film industries.

For more, see http://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/laurence-olivier-statue

_{^Picture © Martin Pettitt used under Creative Commons^}

See Alexander's Jubilee Oracle

One of a number of pieces of art on the South Bank, Alexander's Jubilee Oracle dates from 1980 and is a bronze sculpture found on the walkway between the Royal Festival Hall and the London Eye.


The Oracle stands on a plith, inscribed with a quote from the artist, reading 'Mankind is capable of an awareness that is outside the range of everyday life. My monumental sculptures are created to communicate with that awareness in a way similar to classical music. Just as most symphonies are not intended to be descriptive, so these works do not represent figures or objects'.

For more, see http://www.southbanklondon.com/walkthisway/SculptureStroll.html

See David Shrigley's Brain Activity

Your author popped in to see the Hayward's latest exhibition last weekend, showcasing the work of Glasgow-born artist David Shrigley. We are told that this is Shrigley's first major survey show, and combines old favorites with fresh Shrigley works in all mediums.


Shrigley's witty works have long been a favourite of your author, and the only problem with the exhibition is all the people that are there, when Shrigley is the sort of artist that everyone always assumes they are the only one who has discovered.

For more, see http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/david-shrigley

_{^Picture © atomicjeep used under Creative Commons^}

Eat at the Garden Café

Part of the Garden Museum at Lambeth Palace, the Garden Café is a relaxing spot to while away a few hours, and offers seasonal food, as well as drinks and cakes baked in house.


The Cafe spreads itself between the inside of the museum and the interesting knot garden which, whilst not at its most impressive in winter months, still offers a sheltered spot to try to soak up some winter sunshine.

For more, see http://www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/page/caf

See the Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition

Now showing at the National Theatre is a collection of around a hundred of the best landscape photographs of 2011, in a competition designed to pick the best in the UK.


The exhibition began on 5th December 2011, and the winners have already been announced, but due to popular demand the exhibition has now been extended until 19th February.

For more information, see http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=67845

_{^Picture © Christine Matthews and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons license^}

Visit the More London Christmas Market

Today is the third and final day of the More London Christmas Market, a winter festival of stalls and shopping which includes free ice skating and refreshments, thanks to sponsorship by Tesco, a popular supermarket chain which began life as a market stall in Hackney's Well Street Market.


There are also thirty gifty stalls selling all sorts of usual Sunday-market-fare, like jewellery, books, and crafts, and gifts on sale from budding young entrepreneurs, in association with the Princes Trust, from 10am until 6pm and all within a pleasant walk from the Sunday markets of East London, making a pleasant day out.

For more, see http://www.morelondon.com/events_details.asp?ID=126

_{^Picture © morebyless used under Creative Commons^}

See Tacita Dean's FILM at the Tate

With the exception of Ai Weiwei's dull-as-ditchwater sunflower seeds, your author is almost universally a fan of the Tate Modern's Unilever Series, and the twelfth commission by filmmaker Tacita Dean is a great addition.


There is something thoroughly mesmerising about Dean's eleven minute silent film, the scale of which is stunning. The only problem seems to be the single row of seating, which doesn't really allow inclusive watching, but maybe that is a bit too regimented for such a respected gallery anyway.

For more, see http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/unilever2011/default.shtm

_{^Picture © poppet with a camera used under Creative Commons^}

Attend the Cheese and Wine Festival

All this weekend in Southbank Centre Square behind the Royal Festival Hall, an array of wine and cheese manufacturers and importers are coming together for a festival, with opportunities to taste produce and hear about how it is made.


Cookery demonstrations are combined with tutored tastings for what sounds like a relaxing day in the autumnal sunshine. Beer is even getting in on the act, with a talk from the Meantime Brewery this afternoon at 2pm.

For more on the festival, see http://www.cheesewinefestival.com/, or head over to Londonist for a full programme of what's on this weekend in London.

_{^Picture © Jennifer Leigh used under Creative Commons^}

See Art by Offenders at the Southbank Centre

With the 60th anniversary celebration of the Festival of Britain firmly put to bed last month, the time has come for new things at Southbank Centre, and until 20th November visitors can enjoy an interesting exhibition of Art by Offenders, Secure Patients and Detainees.


We are told that the exhibition is curated by magistrates and run by the Koestler Trust, the UK's best-known prison arts charity. It is free, and can be found in the Spirit Level and Level 2 Foyers at the Royal Festival Hall.

For more information, visit http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/festivals-series/art-by-offenders-secure-patients-and-detainees

_{^Picture © ... used under Creative Commons^}

Remember the agents of the Special Operations Executive

The memorial to the members of the Special Operations Executive who worked for the Allies during the Second World War was unveiled on the Albert Embankment in October 2009.


The memorial features a statue of Violette Szabo, who was captured during a mission in occupied France in 1944, executed in early 1945 at Ravensbrück concentration camp at the age of just 23 years.

Alongside the memorial to all the members of the Special Operations Executive, the memorial also features separate plaques to remember the Heroes of Telemark and the Maquis French Resistance Fighters, of which Szabo was a part.

For more information, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8289847.stm

Go to an Alternative Village Fete

Artists, craftmakers and producers gather at the National Theatre today for an alternative village fete organised by Home Live Art.


Alongside the stalls there will, we are told, also be music and games 

for all ages from 1pm until 5pm, and again tomorrow.

For more, see http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2011/08/25/the-alternative-village-fete/

Attend the London Honey Festival

This afternoon from 1pm to 5pm, beekeepers from around the capital are gathering at the Royal Festival Hall, on the South Bank, for a festival of London honey, and you are invited!


It's being billed as an opportunity to meet your local beekeeper, taste honey, and even buy a jar or two of local honey. At a time when beekeeping is undergoing a renaissance, it sounds like a great idea, for everyone except the bees.

For more, see http://www.bbka.org.uk/news_and_events/london_honey_festival

_{^Picture © Mark Hillary used under Creative Commons^}

Watch a play at the National Theatre

Built on the South Bank during the mid-1970s, following a ten year stint at the Old Vic, the National Theatre building was designed by architects Denys Lasdun and Peter Softley, and actually houses three separate, distinct theatres.


The three theatres are designed around rough themes from the history of theatre, with the Olivier based on a classical Greek theatre, the Lyttelton on the proscenium-arch theatres of the past three centuries (whatever that means), and the Cottesloe based on the Tudor inn yard theatres which once dominated London theatre.

Outside, the architects sought to create an brutalist urban landscape of interlocking terraces, with fine views over the Thames to St Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House beyond. They did a good job.

For more, see http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Attend TurkishFest

The annual Turkish Festival began yesterday on Potters Fields, between Tower Bridge and the GLA Building, and continues today until 6pm.


We are told that there will be entertainment, a Turkish bazaar, an art fair, and Turkish food, drink and spices. The weather looks pretty good as well.

For more, see http://www.pottersfields.co.uk/event.html?event_id=53

_{^Picture © Andrew Crump used under Creative Commons^}

Visit the Museum of 51

It's good this Festival of Britain 60th Anniversary. There's loads of new bits at the Southbank Centre including - in the bowels of the Royal Festival Hall - a new museum, teaching us all about the Festival of Britain itself.


The Museum of 51 displays various artefacts from the original festival, and has a brilliant collection of bits and pieces from around the country which show how much the Festival was a national event, with countless Councils and local organisations still represented in the displays sixty years later.

There is also a small cinema showing films from the original Festival and even models to show how the site was made up. It really is worth a visit, and it is free.

For more information, see here.

See Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam!

An icon of the pop art movement, painted by Lichtenstein in 1963, using acrylic and oil on canvas, 'Whaam!' was based on an image from a comic book called All-American Men of War.


It currently hangs in the Tate Modern in Southwark, and can be found on the fifth floor in room one of the States of Flux area, where it shares its space with Umberto Boccioni's Unique Forms of Continuity in Space.

For more infomation, see http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=8782&tabview=display

_{^Picture © ahisgett used under Creative Commons^}

Explore the roof gardens at the Southbank Centre

Back to the Southbank Centre today, where as part of their Festival of Britain 60th anniversary celebrations they've put a new garden on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, overlooking the new Urban beach.


The rooftop garden has, we are told, been developed in partnership with the Eden Project by a team of 50 people who have faced adversity in life, with many having either being homeless, in prison or suffering from mental health problems.

When your author popped by, it was a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of the South Bank below, and was looking in fine shape, though the grass looked like it was starting to suffer from all the sunshine, wind and lack of rain we've been having.

If you want to know more about the garden, which is there until the beginning of September, click here.