Through the Weekend Window…week 3
Wow, it’s only been seven months since the last last installment of ‘through the weekend window‘. As this is only the third week, this is a pretty pathetic showing…nonetheless here is a few snaps from our weekend. First of all, Olive says ‘happy halloween!’ from inside her turtle suit. She went out for a walk yesterday and did not get one single smile from a passerby. The cruelty to animals society is probably doing survelliance on me as we speak, but Olive seemed happy as anything prancing about in it. Her ‘head’ struggled to stay on with her giant bat ears trying to escape, but overall it made our day.
Second up, is a beautiful Saturday morning stroll in Kensington Gardens. Nearly every weekend for the past year, I’ve thought I’d finally make it to see the Princess Diana Memorial Playground and yet I never get around to it. You see its only a quick walk from our flat, but it’s an enclosed space and the only way you can gain access is with child. Which we do not possess. However, there is a loophole and that is to show up between 9:30-10am before it opens to the kiddies. It was so worth it, it is such a fantastic space. We couldn’t go in together as Olive was with us, and I REALLY wanted to have a go and play on some of the equipment, but I wasn’t sure what the rules were regarding that, so I whizzed through taking some pictures so I could get back out, tag David and let him have a go. The general inspiration is from Peter Pan, which is such a perfect fit since the playground is in kensington gardens, which features in Peter Pan, and also lies right behind Princess Diana’s old home, the palace. The highlights are the giant wooden pirate ship (complete with giant masts), a beachy mermaid cove with an alligator made of stones… a settling of teepees, music pipes, boats (without water), tunnels, I could go on. Basically, I’m jealous that kids get all the fun. Boo.
And finally we got to catch the Anish Kapoor (the creator of the Chicago Cloud Gate/’bean’) exhibition in kensington gardens, Turning the world upside down. There are four sculptures within the exhibition (which is free), but although we saw the others in the distance we only stopped at the ‘C-Curve’, which is constructed from highly reflective stainless steel. It creates an amazing reflection that flips the horizon on the convex side of the sculpture. It’s particularly interesting in the autumnal setting with all the colour, but I’m keen to see how it changes over the next few months. It’s on until March next year, so if you’re in the area it’s worth a glance!
*NOTE* I’ve just realized that the photo of David, Olive and myself probably needs a bit of explanation- I’m taking that photo (see the tiny camera?)…what you probably thought was a pretty lame photo is actually a reflection, which I think is rather cool…take a second look! Did you notice it first time around?
So, weekend snaps, see you in May 2011 ?!
Pillar Box Post 
Happy Halloween! Olive is just the cutest thing in that turtle costume! I cannot stop smiling! I think everyone out that day must’ve not been wearing their contacts and glasses! How can you not go crazy over her! Love her!!!
Fall looks so beautiful there where you are!
Thank you, I’m glad someone (other than me…and David) got to enjoy her! I reckon she would wear the turtle shell on a daily basis quite happily. Not as much with the hat as it kept falling off (or being pushed off by her satellite dish ears). If only the shell had a zipper so that you could put her little supplies in it and she could carry her own things. Hmm…I smell a project on the horizon. “How to make your dog carry their own weight, by Brittany the turtle”…briliant!
-Brittany
Those Anish Kapoor images are awesome! I was doing a double take at first. Olive is to-die-for in that costume. Glad we aren’t the only ones who torment our pets as such 🙂
The playground is worth having a child for! It’s so great, I’m always trying to get our friends to borrow my daughter just so they can go and have a look. I think it should be highlighted more often as it’s not only beautifully landscaped and well thought out but children really do love it too… a much better tribute to Diana than the ‘fountain’.
I agree! I was really quite shocked to see how brilliant it was because it’s definitely not highlighted very often or very well (it could just be that I don’t have children and so I’m not the target audience, but…) It just seems like it would be very well known for all the attention to detail that has been put into it. Where is the adult version!?
Very nice Britters, but did you realise that that guy was stealing your shopping? And why does Olive have a frog on her head and a turtle on her back? No wonder no-one smiled, they were probably frowning at the hopeless mismatch.
Hah! That guy was rewarding himself with a chocolate bar, pleased with his security presence. He had yelled at me 20 seconds earlier for being blind and walking straight past the sign saying ‘do not step on the plinth’ and stepping right onto the plinth. With a dog. Little did he know the reason I went up there was to rub off a smudge that was blocking the view. Whew, glad he caught me in time.
And as for Olive’s mismatch, dont even get me started. She even had me fooled! Everytime I mentioned the outfit (which was embarrassingly often) I would say she had her frog eyes on top of her head and then have to remind myself that our last name rhymes with turtle, not frog. Sheesh, who knew dressing up a dog would be so taxing?