Killer Combo: Yoga, Art, Music & Food

What better way to overcome the Monday evening malaise than a bit of art, a bit of yoga and a lot of food?

Well, that's exactly what the lovely Gabrielle has gone and done, holding a weekly class in a great space: the Eb & Flow Gallery. So last Monday, my yoga-licious pal Lew and I went to check it out.

Current Exhibition: Gemma Anderson's lovely etchings

And what a treat it was. The hour long class (for all levels) was nicely challenging, ending with a little meditation, accompanied by singing and a delicious supper from Trullo's Tim Siadatan.

Whilst the supper part's not a weekly occurrence the art, yoga and music is. So if you're looking for a pick-me-up after just another manic Monday, go get involved.

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The Rain Room

An installation that requires a 3 hour queue must be worth it. Surely? Surely. And so, yesterday afternoon, Em and I settled down on the Barbican's floor to wait our turn into The Rain Room. 

An installation by contemporary art group Random International, the Rain Room is quite something. True to it's title it is, essentially, a room full of rain... but controlled by you. Entering the 100 square metre area, the rain magically stops falling wherever you step - just don't walk too fast or wear dark clothing.

With a focus on behaviour and interaction, the Random International collective have certainly captured our attention and for good reason. The sensation as you walk through is truly weird - surrounded by pouring water, the sound of the splashing droplets reverberating around the room, you stay (nearly) completely dry.

Our initial trepidation quickly forgotten, we were soon prancing around, punished once in a while with a light spray for too quick a step (or too wild a jump). Lit by just one harsh spotlight from the corner of the room, it was hard to make much out through the deluge and despite there being up to 10 other people in the installation at one time, you felt quite isolated in your own little bubble.

Open until 3rd March, it is definitely worth a visit. But if you just can't face the queue, whack your earphones in and watch this - then go and queue.

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Queenie's Diamond Jubilee

Yippee! Thank you your Majesty for your 60 years of reign and the mega long weekend it affords us. 

Lightness of Being - Chris Levine, 2007. Currently on show as part of the The Queen: Art and Image exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

London is coming to life this weekend and it feels like we're spoilt for choice in things to do and see in and around the city. Here's what's on my hit list, not all of it as patriotic as p'raps it should be...

Friday night I'm off to God Save the Clam, a big seafood cook up on a rooftop out East organised by Rock Lobsta & Pitt Cue Co. Tickets for Friday's clam bake are sadly already sold out, but they're open for lunch and dinner over most of the weekend so try your luck. With DJ sets and an inevitably fun vibe, you could even just head over to sip a drink and tap your feet at the Banshee cocktail bar.

Saturday, I'm BBQ-ing at my darling Rosie's but, if I wasn't otherwise engaged, I'd be right on board the Field Day bandwagon. As festivals go, it's a good'un and this year's line up looks sweet as (mate). There are still tickets going, and if you fancy making a festi-weekend of it, you can get a good joint-ticket price that'll get you into Sunday's The Apple Cart too.

Sunday's main event is obviously the river procession that will be taking place from 2-6pm. But if boat's aren't your thing, there's a whole load of other delights to take you from day to night, starting with Bourne & Hollingsworth's Her Majesty's Party in the lusciously leafy Bedford Square. With a whole lot of bunting and a swing dance or two, this will be a perfect quintessentially British way to spend the afternoon. This week's Fourth Wall will also be resurrecting itself in the square for Friday and Saturday night.

If you're after a more rough and ready affair, The Book Club will be hosting their own Jubilee Street party which, whilst the priority wristbands are out, they're saying they'll get everyone into. Could be fun for a quick knees up with the fab Guilty Pleasures DJ's on the decks. 

Later on, I think I might head to the Secretsundaze Jubilee Bank Holiday Special at the House Club & Terrace in Greenwich. A neat way to see the boats go by without the mad crowds that will inevitably line the riverbanks. 

Monday will be delightfully un-manic, a long lunch leading nicely into an evening of live music at the Cable Street Electric Open Mic. It seems an elusive event, but I'll give the goss once frequented. Sounds a bit Sofar Sounds. In a good way.

If you're still going, however, and looking to keep the party alive, check out Coppafeel's Festifeel. Curated by Fearne Cotton, it's happening at The Queen of Hoxton and has a pretty impressive line up (Lianne Las Havas has just been announced). All proceeds from tickets go towards the worthy work of the charity, ensuring early diagnosis of breast cancer.

This will definitely be going in my cupboard.

Tuesday is the day of rest, and it's home time for me to see my beautiful Mamie. Good thing she's French, think I may have had my fill of our right royal Britannia by then.

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Damien Hirst - Tate Modern

Never a fan of Tuesdays, a nice bit of modern art was an uplifting prospect to see me through the day. And whilst uplifting is not perhaps the adjective I would use to describe Damien Hirst's new exhibition, it was certainly quite a punchy way to overcome my doomsday blues.

And so, yesterday evening, my friend Moggy and I headed down to  Tate Modern  for the private view of this undeniably polarising artist.

After a quick glass of white in the dark upstairs of the turbine hall, we headed up to the exhibition itself (somewhat distracted by the beauty of Rosie Huntington-Whitely - dear god is that girl human?!). 

As the first substantial review of the artist's work from the last 20 years, the anticipation for this event has been well publicised; both negatively and positively. I felt pretty lucky to be one of the first to see it - though kicked myself for not watching Noel Fielding's 'The First Look' on the tellybox on Monday to get me some background.

But with a little briefing from dear Mogs: 'It's about death, all about death' - it soon became apparent that he wasn't far wrong. From the notorious formaldehyde preserved animals, to the rows of pharmeceuticals - there was a nod, and an aggressive one at that, to Hirst's obsession with mortality in nearly all of the works we saw.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living 1991

We queued to get into In and Out of Love, passing through a room of dead butterflies and into a sweat box full of hundreds of living ones, the walls covered in cocoons yet to hatch. It was surreal and sad - it felt like a lesson in the fragility of life, almost a warning to catch it before it's gone. 

In and Out of Love 1991

We wandered on, feeling increasingly trippy: the endless dot, butterfly and pill motifs suddenly getting jazzier in frames of gold and mirrors. Giant ashtrays filled with fag butts and rotating garish canvasses only adding to the weird atmosphere.

The Void 2000

An hour or two later and we stepped back out into the pouring rain, brows furrowed and heads full of what we'd seen - thoughts of Tuesday's terribleness fully erased.


Open until 9th September, the exhibition is definitely worth a visit. Astounding artist or complete con, you decide, though I'm yet to make my mind up about this Hirst man.

The Incomplete Truth 2006

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