The Graham Norton Show

Sawubona lovely peeps!!Hope you guys are all set for autumn and embracing the last rays of sun we might see for a bit. I have had couple of amazing days with some even amazing experiences and all blog worthy I assure you!

So if you have read any of my previous posts you will know by now that I am actually looking for experiences in this beautiful city of London and this weekend it happened. Now, one of my guilty pleasures is binge watching the Graham Norton Show with subtitles on…thank you BBC. And no , it’s not because I don’t understand the Queen’s English it’s a precaution …just in case I miss out something hysterical if my 2 year old decides to showcase his vocal talents. So imagine my excitement when I got an email from SRO audience saying that I actually had a chance of watching this show LIVE at the ITV studio and on a Saturday!!

Ever since I went for the BBC radio’s recoding for Sketchorama I just had to see a TV show as well. So I requested for some tickets on the SRO audience website and it actually took some time for them to get back to me with ticket availability. So the hubby backed out and in comes my friend Sandy and the two of us made our way to the itv Studios, a 10 minute walk from Waterloo Station. Now I thought I was being really smart by turning up at 4:30 pm , when the email actually mentioned about showing up at 5:15 pm for a 6:30 show. So, that chuffed smile didn’t last too long when I saw an already massive queue in front of the building. But regardless, we queued up and were given a neon yellow wrist band around 5pm. We were told to come back and that they will be calling out the numbers and if your number gets called out you get to go in and if not you get priority tickets for another show or the same show another day.

 

Note : Once you get your wrist band you are free to go away and come back closer to the time the studio door opens . If you have a priority ticket or a red chair story, you don’t need to queue up once you get your wrist bands. And it does help if you get there as early as you can.Security is quite tough here and if they say No Pics, they actually mean NO PICS. Unless you want to be turned away after all that queuing up.

So we went to the pub round the corner for a quick lunch and saw people in their with wrist band going into the 400s range .Now my ticket was 299 and Sandy’s was 300 and you can imagine the sigh of relief we had when we got back in the queue and it was announced that anyone with ticket number greater than 300 would be turned away as the studio was full. Talk about luck!

There were just so many disappointed faces as they had been queueing up in the cold and it really didn’t help the sorry feeling when we got in the studio and Sandy had one look at Jonathon Ross’ pic and asked out loud “Who’s that dude?”

By the time we managed to get inside the studio, most of the seats were occupied and we didn’t get to sit together but they were real good seats. Graham Norton came on at about quarter to 7 and he was just hilarious intentionally and unintentionally.

I’m not going to give too much away about the show as it’s going to be aired this week but I can say , how they manage to get guests who have amazing chemistry between all of them surprises me and the show was just spot on . We had Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway for their new movie The Intern . Sir Kenneth Branagh for his own company’s new play in the West End directing Judi Dench in The Winter’s Tale and Tom Hiddlestone for his new movie Crimson Peak. Graham Norton was just hilarious both on camera and off camera and The Shires were the music segment and they filmed this first .They were just amazing …how can a couple of brits sound that country?

It was definitely a brilliant evening and I would definitely recommend applying for tickets just to see the whole process involved in getting a show out to you. And if not for anything else, for the whole novelty of being a couple of feet away from some huge personalities and also just to see how the show comes to life on screen.And all this for...absolutely FREE!!!

You can get tickets for the GNS or other similar shows by going to the SRO audience site and by applying for tickets.

Have you been to similar TV shows? What’s been your favourite?

Cartoon Museum

Aloha me lovelies…it’s been a while and this has been solely down to me playing single parent for a week as the hub-ster had to get out of town for work. And after a week of playing mommy, chef, nurse and still go to work, I have this new found respect for all the single parents out there. Seriously! My son is an almost 2 year old who acts like he’s on battery fluid rather than milk or any other kind of baby food, as he just tends to go on and rarely tires out. Fortunately my work places is quiet understanding about things like this and try to make things at work as manageable as possible for me. And this is something mums out there need to know more about rather than suffer in Silence. Most multinational and government offices currently support most kinds of personal situations, all you have to do is ASK! So expectant mothers, Adopters, Single Mums and dads find out what options your employer is willing to offer.

So a week later I log on to my blog page and have found out some readers in the US, France, Romania and Ukraine along with some from the good ol’ UK. Guys please do let me know how you find the blog and also some ideas to get more noise in here. But seriously, thanks for stopping by!

Well, before the week off, my friends Bee and Bottom along with their work mates decides to visit the cartoon museum and expecting some of my old cartoon classics I decide to tag along, not knowing that this is your “OLD” classics like your Beano , your Dandy you get the picture. Now these are some classics and it’s always nice to get a quick visit to Nostalgia Town especially if the ride is free. Considering how popular comic strips were and also how significant input in Britain’s satirical culture both past and present I was quiet surprised that I haven’t seen more of museums like these.

I know that the direction that the worlds heading to right now, freedom of speech is just so last century and it’s all about the “freedom to be comfortable” but I’m so old fashioned in that way and find that the freedom to express your thoughts is just so under rated. So it was refreshing to see a museum dedicated to showcase some of the more risky cartoons along with your fav old comic strips.

 Considering the range of comic strips that are out on display a change of illustrations every now and then is almost guaranteed. The evening we visited they had a little show on and the theme was Heckling Hitler World War 2 in cartoon and Comics.Heckling Hitler shows how World War II unfolded through the eyes of British cartoonists and comic artists, as throughout the war they played their part in helping to raise the morale. There was also a small piece on the Globe Dance from one of the classics ‘The Great Dictator’ starring Mr Chaplin himself. Fun fact, born four days apart, Hitler and Chaplin are actually 2 equally famous faces, and for some, namesof the 20^thcentury .One, a genocidal fascist tyrant and the other a lovable socialist clown, the words poles apart springs to mind. In the Great Dictator Chaplin plays both Adenoid Hynkel (read Adolph Hitler), dictator of the fictional country of Tomania and a Jewish Barber. The movie is all about mistaken identities and how the Barber Chaplin is mistaken for the Hynklel Chaplin. The touching scene in the movie was when Chaplin had to give a speech after the attack on the fictional country Austerlich (read Austria) and was neither Hynkel nor the Barber but a mere human being crying out “Enough is enough…let’s just embrace peace now!”. Sad, considering that nothing much has changed since the movie.

The scene played by the actor on the day was the scene where Hynkel dancing on his toes, tossing a gigantic helium inflated globe from hand to hand and gracefully cavorting through his office whilst dreaming of world domination.

Now I have to say this, the ambiance in the museum is quiet friendly and everyone’s just out there to talk to each other and sometimes even share thoughts. So if you like to visit museums with just you and your thoughts this might not be the museum for you. Along with the cartoon display, there was also a session on how to dance the foxtrot and you also get the chance to show off your "Jazz Hands!!!"...for which my friend Bee was selected a winner....so you necessarily don’t even have to be good at it.... ;) Just kidding Bee!!!

 The dance moves were taught by the same young lady who acted out the globe scene so a one trick pony she definitely is not. There was also a little drawing competition to sketch your version of a British superhero! The best sketch gets a little prize in the form of more comic books. There was a mini bar for refreshments and a gift shop to buy some little souvenirs but nothing that you wouldn’t get in any other souvenir shop.

All together, another hidden gem and worth visiting but please make sure what exhibition will be on display and also if there are any additional activities happening on the day, like the dance lessons, from their website.

http://www.cartoonmuseum.org/

Mon - Sat: 10.30 - 17.30

(inc. Bank Holidays)
Sun 12.00 - 17.30

Toy Kingdom - Harrods

Ahala. This gone weekend, I think I had a nostalgic journey through my pre-teen ages. When I was a child, there was nothing more amusing than a well organised toy store, arranged by the type of toys. And it was nice to know the child in me is pretty much still around.

In order to keep my 20 month old (I know…I know…I should start referring him as a year and half old) entertained and in a major plan to wear him out a bit?(seriously super active kid), we decided to treat him with a trip to the Harrods Toy kingdom. But it turned out to be a bigger treat for the hubby and me.

Often toy stores tend to be crammed and just too busy for my taste so I usually tend to avoid it and just order my stuff online..well I say my stuff but it’s actually for the kid…honest! But the sheer size of the place will just impress you. I have never thought of this as a place to visit while in London but it’s definitely in my list now. The colours, the different types of toys, music and the different cartoon movies playing in different corners of the floor all will definitely take you back to your precious ages!!!

Couple of years back, now 6 year old Riley Maida was all over the news, explaining her frustration on the stereotype filled marketing of children’s toys and sectioned into pinks and blues. It might be Riley’s laments that may have got Harrods to put their thinking hats back on and make a bold decision to organise the department organised by themes as opposed to gender and the divide the department into six different worlds. My son didn’t see pink or blue, he just saw toys sectioned into 2 categories, Things I can put in my mouth and Things I can’t.

The department is sectioned into 6 worlds. In the words of Harrods

- The Big Top: a fairground of circus acts and candy floss, with magicians and jugglers on stage surrounded by fancy dress costumes, doll houses, rocking horses and soft toys.

 

 

- The Candy Store: a curious chocolate counter displaying a bizarre array of chocolate fancies and flavors, alongside Papa Bubble who makes flavorsome candy concoctions to order throughout the day.

- The Enchanted Forest: fairies whisper from tree trunks, while wigwams on the forest floor house the latest collections from Sylvanian Families and Flutter Fairies, alongside arts and crafts.

- Wonderland: a colourful ‘Grand Canyon’ of Harrods’ most exclusive and jaw-dropping toys (presided over by a giant dragon) is filled with Hornby train sets, remote-controlled helicopters and Scalextric.

- The Odyssey: a gigantic space rocket crashes through the floor and a huge sun bursts through the wall in front of an Area 51-inspired space and gadget zone, complete with alien space pods and limited-edition pieces.

- The Reading Room: choose from favorite children’s stories at the rotunda of books, climb into one of the special cubby holes to hear famous voices reading extracts, have fun with electronic gaming pods and explore the world of Harry Potter.

Trust my boy to go through all 6 worlds in 3 hours and not break a sweat. As toy stores go this is definitely one I would recommend. The whole place reeks of Willy Wonka-esque styling and will definitely be appreciated by the older kids as well.

The adults had a browse through the beauty section (Me!), Food section(Me!) and the technology section (Him!). I bought some skin care products for a dear price but hopefully the results will be worth the price tag. Will be putting more details in the Beauty section soon.

Needless to say my lil boy was knackered by the end of the journey and we all had some good night’s sleep!

  

Camden Town Market

I have been to many markets in London but the Camden Market is the liveliest and bubbliest markets that I have been to.

 In these days with new towers scraping the skies and construction sites all over the place, Camden Market is hanging on its unique style and doesn’t look like giving this up anytime soon.

Camden Market is definitely one of the coolest markets in London with its hippy haven, cradle of design talent and multi-cultural melting pot.

The history behind the Camden Market is when the commercial activity around the Regents Canal came to an end in the 70’s, the market was born with all the warehouse and storage facilities available. The Camden Lock Village Market usually has stalls selling ethnic and savoury dishes, but it was all closed when I went this time. Hope its back soon as there are some awesome food stalls based in this area of the market.

We weren’t really hungry but I had to show CeeCee the Chin Chin Labs with their ice cream revolution in their science themed parlour. The ice creams are created in front of you using liquid nitrogen…so you get a treat and a science show out of it!

I was actually looking for the Honest Burgers joint, but just couldn’t find it. And if I wasn’t hungry before I was looking for it, I definitely was famished by the end of the search, so we went to The Diner. Now, there are plenty of food stalls selling a range of food.

 But we decided to go to the Diner as we wanted to just sit and relax. So, The Diner looks quiet massive and stood out with the glowing neon red signs with outside seating area. I had the Arch Burger and the Sweet Potato fries and Cee Cee had the Juicy Juicy , both quiet massive and very filling.

Although I think I might just order the pulled pork separately as it was just a sloppy mess. But oh so tasty!!

The Market consists of stalls selling clothes, bags, shoes, jewellery and other bric-a-bracs. There are lots of young designers selling original ideas with reasonable price tags. Definitely a highlight for anyone visiting London and for anyone who wants to step out from their comfort zone. Don’t miss out the life-size tribute to Amy Winehouse.

Things to be noted, the markets going to be overcrowded and be warned about pickpockets and if they do sell Louis Vuitton wallets for £20, chances are it is an original FAKE.

Thursday to Sunday 10am to 5.30pm and the nearest underground station is Camden Town. www.camdenmarket.com