the southbank skamp

Nestled in the bottom of the Royal Festival Hall, is a great little exhibition celebrating the amazing 1951 Festival of Britain. My favourite bit? This gorgeous video documenting the adventures of a cute little tow rag, who i like to call 'the southbank skamp'. With not a penny to his name, little S.S  makes his way south of the river, for a day of mischief and merriment...

''i need to get me one of those balloons...''

''mmmm, that sandwich looks good. hope he doesn't finish it...''

''now, this is the way to travel''

''gently...gently...got it! Now where can i get my penny?

''i could get used to this!''

soldiers story

Well worth a closer look next time you're near the South Bank roof gardens...

amazing, thought provoking photography by Robert Wilson

London in Texture - Southbank Stone

Riot Clean Up

I wanted to put the South Bank special i had planned to one side for a bit, to highlight some of the heartwarming community spirit London has shown today, in the face of all this mindless violence. Hundreds of people gathered today in Clapham Junction to take back their streets, in a collective community clean up. Armed with brooms and bin bags, the volunteers rallied round local business to help get the community back on its feet. All of this was organised by local girl Heather Taylor, who used twitter to drum up support, to brilliant effect.

Lets hope things can return to some kind of normality soon, that these thugs learn some fucking respect and that all affected find the strength to re-build their livelihoods. Check out Riot Clean Up for details on how you can help...

The Southbank show

There is just so much going on at the South Bank at the moment, that i've decided to bombard you all with a South Bank special this week. i love the area, always have. It's been part of my regular stomping ground for some time now and it's been great to see it come into its own over the last couple of years. So stayed tuned to hear me big up the bank! Right, i'm off looting now...only joking Mum!

D.I.S.C.O

This is just me having a magpie moment...

Vintage Festival @ Southbank

The jury's still out on the much anticipated return of Vintage, held this year at the Royal Festival Hall. There have been mixed reviews, but i have to say that i had a ball! Yes, i think that there was more scope for pushing each decades theme a little more (well, a lot more actually), but there was just so much going on that everybody seemed to find their place. Each floor hosted a different decade through music, dance, decor and drink, with loads more extras thrown in. It was really surreal to see such an eclectic combination of fashion and style under one roof, from the 20's right up to the 90's. The man and me performed an initial reccy of the place (with necessary re-fueling stops along the way) before settling in the most amazing 80's living room (more on which later). The river front balcony drew the crowds by nightfall, so much so that the fun was ushered inside after 'structural concerns' were voiced. Just as MJ started getting his 'Off the wall' groove on - major bummer! We did manage to toast the town with our plastic martini glasses before we left though! God, i love London.

Wayne and Geradine Hemingway - the brains behind this award winning event

North South Divide...a great little pub bringing together northern monkeys and southern wankers! There was plenty of good humoured, animated banter, with accents that got more and more pronounced with every drink!

Then there was the entertainment...i'm a bingo lover at the best of times, but when you throw in some gays with great legs and show tunes, it just explodes! 

Let it Rock! The place for the movers and shakers and sexy teddy boys.

The Warehouse. An underground rave. Hot, sweaty and seedy, deep in the bowels of the Festival Hall. 

The Disco...as night fell this balcony was THE place to be. the views over the southbank were stunning. the perfect backdrop for a disco soundtrack and some retro moves...