London's Calling.... City Spirit

London Olympics 2012... 

The 2012 Olympics have come and gone -- the city

has gotten back to its regular rhythm before the city shifts 

gears for the start of the Paralympics on 29 August.

The spirit of the games is enjoyed across London as you can see below....

Neighborhood spirit!

Fan spirit...  they got it in the bag!

A little Wenlock bowling team GB style...

Young Team GB fan flying the flag...

A gold medal for team GB

 

Inspire a Generation

London Olympics 2012...

Inspiring A Generation

You couldn't beat the beach volleyball venue 

or the action taking place inside it!!

 

            Women's Quarter-Finals

                   China vs Austria

                     USA

                    Walsh and May-Treanor

The crowd celebrates with the wave...                   

Walsh & May-Treanor
US Olympic Beach Volleyball Women's
GOLD MEDALIST

Reflections of the Women's Marathon

London Olympics 2012

The women's marathon took place on Sunday, 5 August.....

yet the rainy London day didn't slow these ladies down.

Ethiopia's Tiki Gelana not only wins the gold medal -- she set a new Olympic Record

of 2hr 23min 07sec!!

Tiki Gelana is seen here running behind the two Kenyans on the right.   

It's pretty obvious when the runners are getting near..... 
just look for the truck load of press photographers!

Fans stood in the rain for hours to
witness the greatest women's marathon runners
and cheer them on in front of the Tower of London

Reflections:
 Generous fans offered extra umbrellas to many
of the yellow vested volunteers.
A kind gesture indeed on this rainy Sunday.
The volunteers did an outstanding job.
Our thanks to all those that gave their time
to help make the London Olympics run so smoothly.

Women's Triathlon....

London Olympics 2012...

       
The women's triathlon was held in Hyde Park on 4 August 2012, 

a beautifully sunny Saturday for a triathlon

and the Swiss fans were out to cheer on their Gold Medal winner.....

Celebrating the Games.....

 London Olympics 2012....

Olympics celebrations are in full swing in the venue 

within Hyde Park.  There are big screens with 

different events playing all day long, vendors with refreshments,

and as you see below...... lots of colorful people.

I didn't realize I had caught the same women in two photos -- once in the park 

and again leaving on a boris bike -- until reviewing the photos after getting home!

Nothing real spectacular about these images just sharing a little of the color & spirit of the games :)

Fans young and old show
their spirit and enjoy the games in Hyde Park!

Let the Games Begin

London Olympics 2012

London is a buzz 

celebrating the worlds greatest athletes!

The spirit shown in the first photo below is just an example 

of the bold, wonderful team spirit being demonstrated 

by people from across the globe 

that are in London to cheer on their home team.

This posting will continue to grow with the posting

of new photos over the course of the Olympic games.

Olympic Spirit at the Hyde Park venue.....
No doubt who she's cheering for during these Olympic games!!

Mounted Police - nice way to get around town these days :)

Masked men on the road course following the men's road race! 

London: Old & New

Tower Bridge & City Hall

While visiting the Tower of London this spring we toured the White Tower 

and I found this great vantage point looking across the Thames

with a view of both Tower Bridge and City Hall.

I loved the windows in White Tower framing the contrasting

views of London with the historic Tower Bridge and the modern City Hall building.

The cloudy day provided added interest for me.

Award Winning Images...

Day in the Life of Marylebone

The two images above were selected as winners in the 

Art in Marylebone

Day in the Life of Marylebone 2012 

photo competition.

The competition is focused around St. George's Day

and the photographs have to be taken in Marylebone over St. George's Day weekend.   

There were over 250 entries and I was fortunate enough to have 
two of the three images I submitted chosen as winners!

For more information on Art in Marylebone and to see all the winners 

check out the Art in Marylebone website.
An exhibit of the winning images took place in June and
a Day in the Life of Marylebone 2012 book 
was published including the two images above.

Seeing Purple

British Lavender

It's been a while since my last post so wanted to try an get back 

on track with my postings.  This image is from a recent trip 

to Mayfield Lavender.  What a beautiful place!  

The lavender is currently in full bloom and, as you can see, there are acres of lovely lavender.  

If you have the chance I highly recommend a visit.

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt...

Just a few more eggs from The Faberge Big Egg Hunt before April ends.....

#144

Self Eggspression

by Selfridges

(sold for £1,100)

#29

Eggtastic Eggstasy

by Mia

(sold for £2,400) 

#191

Baaaaa-bara

by The Goring

(sold for £4,350)

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt...

Funny thing these eggs - the designs really did cover everything 

imaginable and some things you wouldn't have imagined like Gregg (see below)! 

#167

White on Black

by Penny Fowler

(sold for 3,000 gbp)

#92

Gregg

by Brodie Neill

(sold for 1,600 gbp)

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt....

Below are probably two of my favorite eggs found on the Big Egg Hunt.  

Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall at entry to St James Palace just off the Mall.

It was a very fitting place for him to be perched just above a guard for the palace.

The Royal Post Egg was displayed on Carnaby St and, while the first time I went 

by it was missing from it's perch,  when I went by at a later date it had re-appeared.

As you can see from the winning bids listed below -- the Eggs were a big hit 

and ended up being a grand charity fund raiser!!

#103

"Humpty Dumpty"

by The Prince's Drawing School signed by 

TRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

(sold for 51,000 gbp)

#169

"Egg Letter Box"

by Benjamin Shine

(sold for 42,000 gbp)

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt...

As you have seen by the eggs shown so far on the blog, 

the artists had very unique approaches to their egg designs 

for the Faberge Big Egg Hunt.   You also had to look high and low

to find the eggs.  Some were on street corners, in front of restaurants or shops, 

in store windows or department stores, and also above door entries (as seen below).

Very clever indeed!

#196

"ON / OEUF"

by Oliver Clegg

#126

"Love is Life"

by DVF

(Diane von Furstenberg)

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt....

#67

No Placenta

by Simon Drew

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt...

#113

Sad Happy Frog Egg

by Gary Card

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt...

#23

"A Penny for your Thoughts"

by Jane Morgan

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt....

#11

"La Vie en Rose"

by Janet Law

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt...

 #77

"Blackberry Moon"

by Diana Ralston

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt....

#105

"Rock the Casbah"

by Josh Stika

The "Rock the Casbah" was displayed on a side street off Carnaby Street in Soho.

The KUA'AINA Grill in the background, it should be noted, 

is a great little place if you're craving an awesome burger while out in Soho.
This image is provided to give a bit of perspective on the size of the eggs
(they are all roughly the same size from what I could tell).

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt...

#162

Seasonal Egg

by Milo Tchais

The "Seasonal Egg" was located around St. Christopher's Place
between Oxford Street and Wigmore.   This area is a fun
place to grab a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants
or do a little shopping in the various boutiques.

April 2012

The Big Egg Hunt

In March 2012

there were 200 eggs placed around London 

in the Faberge sponsored charity fundraiser called 

The Big Egg Hunt

The 200 very artistic eggs provided a unique challenge

in the form of an "egg hunt" where people could enter 

a contest in hopes winning the grand prize -- the

Faberge Diamond Jubilee Egg.

All the while money was being raised for 

Elephant Family and Action for Children charities.

In honor of the big egg hunt, I'll be posting photos of some of the 

unique eggs I found around London.    

Hope some of you had a chance to explore the city and spot a few eggs for yourself!

Which came first?

#193  

Chicken or Egg?

by Simon Tonks for Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners