'After Gangnam Style'

After Gangnam Style 

There wasn't much left

Your sunglasses were nice though. 

Marathon Day.

If I had to choose one day a year that was my favourite in London it would have to be Marathon Day. If you've ever been in London on that day or if you were in town for the Olympics you will know why I would choose that one. Every year tens of thousands of participants run (some more elegantly than others) the nearly 26 miles, 365 yards long (I can imagine that after 26 miles those few yards feel like a lot more) course which takes in some of London's greatest landmarks.

There is an air of solidarity that engulfs London on Marathon Day. The thousands of runners are united in one goal: making it to the end and the spectators are also united in a massive game of 'shout a random name and see who turns round'. (Or maybe that's just me a my little brother.) London changes on that day. It's the world's longest street party. For almost 27 miles the route is lined with bands, cheering fans, families and charities all out to make their voices shout the loudest, to get their banner on TV and aim towards the ultimate goal of being interviewed by Sue Barker. (She still eludes me). It provides some iconic images of London. The runners rounding the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, waiting to start along the avenue in Greenwich park, running past Big Ben and finishing against the Backdrop of Buckingham Palace on the Mall.
The marathon has always been close to our family's heart. The family home is in Lewisham, not far from Blackheath where the Marathon starts so nearly every year we would go up to see the thousands of runners start their trek round the city.
This year it will be even more special. On Saturday the 21st of April my Auntie Susan will

be running this very marathon, after saying she wanted to when she was taken my my Grandparents to watch the start of the very first one. Some say she is crazy but we as a family are all immensely proud of her. We will all be out to support her and join in the party with Macmillan Cancer Care, who she is running it for. I'd love it if you could sponsor her, even just a few pound. Surely running 27 miles around London is worth a bit of change? It's also for such a brilliant cause. We all know someone affected by cancer, and Macmillan work tirelessly to make the experience bearable. Even if you can't sponsor her I urge you, if you are in London, to go and watch the marathon, it passes a lot of places in London so there really isn't any excuse. It's a brilliant day and I guarantee you will come away feeling inspired.

Thank you.

SPONSOR SUSAN HERE


Addition 17/04/13

Since I first published this post the events at the Boston Marathon have unfolded and developed. The London Marathon this weekend will go ahead but in the memory of the 3 who died and with the hundreds injured in the hearts and minds of the runners and spectators. It is testament to the unifying bond that sport has across the world that runners are organising to wear black ribbons, hold their hands to their hearts as they cross the finishing line and there will be a silence at the start line. It is small but significant gestures like these that restore your faith in humanity.

H&M Oxford Street Flagship

I'm always disappointed in a flagship store when there aren't any actual flags outside. Look, here is the store, not one single flag. They could have at least strung some bunting up, there's loads left from the jubilee. Someone in their marketing department needs to get down to Poundland, they have been trying to shift that stuff since the end of the Olympics. Anyway, on to the actual store.

I have a peculiar knack for stumbling across H&M Flagship openings. I was there when they opened their flagship on Regent Street a couple of years ago and then, upon seeing that there Oxford Circus Flagship was opening on Thursday a few weeks ago I thought I would jump on the Tube and go and have a nose around. Anyone who has ever been in the Oxford Circus branch knows how awful it used to be. For a store on the busiest shopping street in Europe it often resembled more of a Primark than the sleek Scandinavian store it should have been. This, however, has all changed thanks to a brilliant re-working of the store. No longer do you feel that you are shopping in a broom cupboard. The displays are fresh and at times look more designer than high street. H&M have also clearly taken a leaf out of Zara's book from last Winter season by including statement hair on their mannequins, giving the whole shop an edgier feel.

To conclude the store is great and naturally I felt compelled to buy things, I don't know if this is their clever layout working on me or if I do just have to buy clothes wherever I go but I am sure their profit margins will tell this tale. The only downside: LACK OF FLAGS. IF YOU ARE A 'FLAG'SHIP BUT UP SOME BUNTING. Even a tea towel on a stick could work. Sort it out H&M. In the meantime I am off to try on all the clothes I bought. Sorry Mr Bank.

My Love Letter To Patsy Stone.

This is a strange love letter Pats, please can I call you Pats? I feel that we could be best friends. I know I've said this to a lot of people recently: Lilo, Mariah, Jennifer Lawrence to name a few but you are different. You are my favourite vodka downing, chain smoking, coke snorting, hot mess. Anyone who can maintain that beehive whilst downing bottles of Bolly should be commended.
Look at you, you are fabulous, a woman after my own heart who isn't afraid to wear her heart on her brilliantly oversized shoulder pads. I should hate you. You are mean and stand for most things I am against but as soon as I see you with a bottle of Bolly in hand, and your sunglassses on I am head over heels. I can see us running down the Kings Road, knocking over yummy mummies, stopping off for lunch and a few cocktails at the Bluebird before carrying right on down Sloane Street for dinner at Harvey Nics and the clubs of Knightsbridge. Please love me Pats, forget Eddie and love me sweetie darling, please.

Just What I Always Wanted (A Billy Bookcase.)

So a rather unlikely setting prompted this music blog post. Ikea. Yes I know, probably not the epicentre of new music but certainly power house of old pop. I think Ikea have realised that their main audience of couples starting up new homes are looking for something cuddlier than quite literally an acid house so have concocted a clever playlist of 80s and 90s pop. It gives their shoppers a sense of security amongst the oddly titled, in our language, 'Billy' bookcases and 'Lakma' lamps. 
Lacking on this trip was any sound of ABBA but I don't know if I am just stereotyping. The one song that really stuck out for me on last Sunday's trip was this banger-'Just What I Always Wanted' by Mari Wilson. I have found myself singing it since Sunday and it is already climbing its way up my most listened to playlist. It's just a hilariously brilliant pop song, if a little repetitive. I must also mention Mari's incredible hair. Anyone who can rock that beehive is good in my book. So there you go, if you do one thing today, listen to this. It will brighten up your day and if not, make you feel like you are in Ikea, go get that hot dog and refill your drink far too many times. 

Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher

1925-2013

You may not have agreed with her politics, her style, or even that she should have been Prime Minister but one thing cannot be denied, that Margaret Thatcher changed the face of British life forever. As the first female Prime Minister she made history as soon as she stepped over the threshold of 10 Downing Street. She provided us with some of the most defining moments of modern British politics and as the longest serving Prime Minister of the 20th century, made her mark on Britain forever. When I heard the news this morning I was in my Father's pub in an old mining town in Nottinghamshire. The news here, as you can imagine, was greeted with mixed responses but one sentiment ran true. That her achievement of becoming the first and currently only woman to govern Britain should be commended.

"To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning."

At the Conservative conference in 1980

"Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope."

On her election as prime minister in 1979 

Sisters.

This blog now has a sister on Tumblr! For photos and musings from the city I love. 

http://londonandthings.tumblr.com/