London does not really do triumphal architecture in the way continental cities do. It has grown up piecemeal, with a belief in private enterprise, suspicion of autocratic government, and a relatively impecunious monarchy.

Greenwich is in some ways the exception, and one of the best views in all of Britain is to be had looking south at it from Island Gardens on the north bank of the Thames, or better still, as it was meant to be seen, from a boat on the river. It is undeniably grand. However, g...

Wednesday 22 April marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

It’s a time when millions across the globe partake in positive action in order to raise awareness and save the planet.

This year will be different. Earth day 2020 will be the first ever digital Earth Day. Participants are encouraged to use hashtags #EarthDay2020 and #EARTHRISE to safely raise awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s clear to see benefits of reduced air traffic from the wonderfully bright blue skies across London...

• British Music Embassy Sessions - PRS for Music has gathered UK artists unable to play the cancelled SXSW festival for the British Music Embassy sessions. Here’s the link to their live sessions on Youtube.

• English National Ballet Philharmonic - The musicians that make the ENB Philharmonic play the Swan Lake Overture from their homes. Available on Youtube.

• Support independent musicians performing at home - Isolate Live is a Facebook page that is organising online streamed concerts fr...

How to access Panoramic camera setting on your smartphone (Android or iPhone):

Press the camera icon on your phone. Next to the "shutter release button" (the white circle you press to take a photo) will be a list of options, including Square, Pano or Panorama, portrait, time lapse etc. Press the Pano/panorama option. Two parallel lines and an arrow will appear in the centre of the screen. 

Turn your phone horizontally. Stand the aisle of a church (for instance) and point the camera le...

Capturing ultra-wide  or ultra-high panoramas is a great technique to mix up your photography skill-set and create larger-than-life work that captures landscapes and architectural features in a unique way.

You may think you’d need specialised equipment to shoot a panorama, but but fear not. The widespread usage of smartphones means many of us have a really good panorama camera in our pockets, with us at all times, and many don’t
even know it!

The built-in software is designe...

Need to organise a Christmas works do with a difference? 

Being a small business owner, one thing I don't miss are those awkward Christmas work dos, where you're sipping a glass of paint thinner disguised as white wine while trying to look like you are having a good time.

If you need to organise your work’s Christmas do, give them an experience they can share and remember with our Christmas corporate events. This is your chance to get out of the office and to explore an area of Lo...

It’s back! From tonight Canary Wharf will be illuminated by sculptures, structures and installations as part of the Winter Lights Festival, an annual celebration of light technology and art.

Over 30 cutting edge installations and artworks provided by artists from across the world including UK, Greece, Australia, New Zealand and USA. They will be on show both indoors and outside from 5-10pm across Canary Wharf estate where you can also enjoy an array of over 300 bars, shops and resta...

Image Credit: NG1 Sebastiano del Piombo incorporating designs by Michelangelo about 1485 - 1547. The Raising of Lazarus 1517-19. Oil on canvas, transferred from wood 381 x 289.6 cm © The National Gallery, London

Henry Moore’s Draped Seated Woman has returned to the East End after taking a 20 year holiday at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Purchased in 1962 by the LCC under its ‘Patronage of the Arts Scheme’ where sculptures by leading artists were acquired for housing estates, schools and other public places for the benefit of local people. 

Draped Seated Woman was placed on LCC’s Stifford Estate in Stepney, where it gained the nickname ‘Old Flo’ by the residents and where she stayed for 35 years...

Solo Show of Contemporary Artist Louise McNaught explores the theme endangered animals through paintings and 3D painted sculptures at the Curious Duke Gallery, currently London's leading urban and contemporary art space for emerging artists. 

The exhibition on opens Friday 7th April. McNaught's wonderfully colourful combinations of animals and neons where the animals are ‘God-like, sublime and ethereal in their luminescence.’ 

McNaught embraces a mixed-media approach which is motivated by e...

1. Superheroes never give up
2. They get the job done
3. They are the best at what they do because they believe in themselves and focus on their strengths
4. Superheroes have a clear, defined purpose
5. They don’t seek glory, they focus on the bigger picture
6. Superheroes help each other
7. They work well on their own but are even better when they work with others eg The Avengers
8. A superhero’s real strength comes not fr...

Covent Garden's Apple Market is a popular market under the glass roof of Covent Garden market providing an antiques market every Monday. For the other days a vibrant market filled with individuals selling unique products for ever-demanding visitors.

Lavinia has had a popular stall The T-Shirt Club Covent Garden's Apple Market for the last six years; making and selling hand made T-shirts with a London theme. All T-shirts host hand-painted designs by Lavinia herself and are machine washable at 4...

We British pride ourselves on being animal lovers. One of the most unpredictable of our furry friends are cats.
There are a number of cats represented and remembered in the streets of London. Keep your eyes open when you're out and about.

 

Chiswick House Garden plays host to a 26 day Chinese lantern festival suitable for adults and children alike. To mark the Year of the Monkey 2016, a Mount Huaguo lantern with an illuminated waterfall will provide the fairytale setting for an intricate recreation of popular Chinese fable, The Monkey King.

Other illuminated delights include a life size  lantern Terracotta Army, a 10-metre tall recreation of Beijing’s Temple of Heaven and an 8-metre, porcelain Imperial Palace Lantern. The 66-me...

If you missed the Play Me I'm Yours pianos in Canary Wharf in 2012 then this is your chance to play them! Play Me, I'm Yours is a touring artwork by artist Luke Jerram. This interactive artwork has been presented in over 46 cities so far, reaching an audience to date of over 6 million people around the world.

In Canary Wharf now until 12 October there are 15 street pianos which have been decorated by local artists and community groups. The pianos are located in parks (e.g. Jubilee Par...

Over 50 giant sculptures of Shaun the Sheep created by artists, celebrities and designers will be placed in iconic locations and beautiful green spaces across central London.

Much as we did with the book benches last year, we will be following a trail of Shaun the sheep. Each walk will last c. 90 mins with an option for post walk drinks available. 

These walks are intended to be pleasant and light with plenty of opportunity for taking photos and chatting along the way. Bring your camera and you...

One hundred years ago Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Secretary stated to his friend and journalist John Alfred Spender, editor of the Westminster Gazette "the lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time." It was dusk as he was watched the first of the gas lights along the Mall were being lit. The next day Grey would face the Cabinet and persuade them that the time had now come to declare war on Germany.

From what had been a European war, when Britain declare...