An Afternoon on London's Southbank

As London tourist traps go, the Southbank is way up there as one of the places I go out of my way to avoid. It's a fantastic area of the city, crammed full of weird and wonderful sights and different things to do and explore, but this means it gets pretty busy and I just get a bit impatient with the crowds.

Galleries, Bubbletea and The Breakfast Club

I'm wearing:
T-shirt - & Other Stories
Shorts: Kinki Gerlinki (Melbourne)
Plimsolls: Office

As much as I love being in the countryside or by the sea when the sun is out, there's something really special about London in Summer. It's like being on a city break; wandering around the landmarks, eating and drinking outdoors, lounging in the parks. Yes, it's hectic and busy and full of tourists who have no idea where they're going, but it's the time I feel most at home in London.

Two weekends ago I had one of these picture perfect days with one of my best friends. We had one intention for the day: go and get bubbletea, but aside from that, we completely played it by ear. We met in Covent Garden and decided to grab lunch on-the-go, and swung past the Jamaican Patty Company tucked down New Row. Being half Jamaican myself, I was pretty keen to give these a go and weigh them up against my mum's homemade ones! The shop is set out just like a Cornish Pasty shop you'd find in a train station and didn't really give off the friendly Caribbean vibe, but as we weren't staying in it was all about the food anyway. I had a curried goat patty and Claire went for jerk chicken, and they were pretty good, and perfect for eating whilst perched on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields church overlooking Trafalgar Square.

On a total whim (like most of the day!), we headed into the David Bailey 'Stardust' exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery which was on its last day of being open. I am always fascinated by portrait photography, regardless of whether it's a celebrity or not. Every person looks so honest and real, there's nothing to hide behind, it's just a snapshot of the here-and-now. Bailey has shot some of the most famous people in the world and there were photos there that I didn't even realise were his, including some iconic ones of The Beatles. There was also a whole room dedicated to the photos of his wife, who has been his most inspirational muse. The photos were intimate and so full of love and included the birth of their children - a side to his photography that is definitely less well known.

We eventually made to our original destination of Bubbleology on Rupert Street to try their bubbletea. The traditional Taiwanese drink is essentially iced tea (either juice or milk based) with small balls of tapioca in the bottom that shoot up through your straw and allow you to eat your drink. It's a pretty bizarre concept, even more so when you add 'boba', small balls of juice that explode in your mouth! I went for cocoa tea with strawberry boba; a pretty safe bet as I figured it would just taste like chocolate milk and I wouldn't risk not liking it! It was delicious and surprisingly filling, I couldn't actually finish my whole drink. I also tasted Claire's which was lychee and strawberry and it really was just like an iced tea, very refreshing for the hot day. 

Our day took us wandering deeper into Soho and we emerged by Beyond Retro for some vintage perusing and onwards to Carnaby Street where I introduced Claire to the joys of Monki. Needless to say she's a definite fan and picked up a good few items to take with her when she moves to Abu Dhabi (we don't mention this though as I'm not happy about her going!). It's then that we realised it was 5pm and that all the food shops would be closed by the time we got home, practically FORCING us to have dinner out and about. We grabbed a table at The Breakfast Club and settled down with proper mugs of tea and massive stacks of pancakes with maple syrup and bacon and a big side helping of gossip and catching up. 

I love those unplanned days; the ones where you discover new things and let the day take you on a different curse to the one you'd planned. It's only really possible when the sun is out though, but it really makes London seems shiny and new again, and reminds me why I love living here.

What I Wore to...the Tate Modern

The other weekend, my boyfriend and I visited the Tate Modern, one of the galleries in London that I'd never visited. I got to bring out my new Simeon Farrar 'Foxy' tee that I won through a competition on Donna Ida's Instagram. It is absolutely adorable and I'm completely in love. I wore my ever faithful acid wash jeans and my comfy Stella McCartney for Adidas hi-tops - perfect for wandering around the city.

As for the Tate, I've been to events in the evening there, but I'd never been to see the controversial modern art of which it is famous for. I won't pretend to be an art enthusiast, I know nothing about modern art, I basically like to look at something pretty regardless of whether it is publicly thought to be or not. There were some pieces there that I really loved:

Autumnal Cannablism by Salvador Dali

Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso

The Sea B by Emil Nolde

But there were some that I really did not understand. Let's play 'Ikea or Modern Art?':

What are your favourite galleries to while away a rainy Sunday afternoon?

Explore: Marilyn Monroe Exhibition at Getty Gallery, London

Marilyn Monroe is one of those names that has gone down in history in association with glamour and beauty, and regardless if you've never seen any of her films, you'll still know exactly who she is. The exhibit currently on at the Getty Gallery in central London showcases stunning and intimate photographs of Marilyn at her most vulnerable, both on set, behind the scenes, and at home.

I hadn't realised that the exhibition wasn't just photos, it also has a number of original outfits worn by Monroe in some of her most famous roles. 

To see this dress from Some Like it Hot literally made me do a squeal of excitement. I know every line in that film and have watched it more times than I care to remember, and I could just picture Marilyn in the barely there frock on the mannequin in front of me. Amazing.

The Getty Gallery is a tiny space on Eastcastle St, a stones throw from Oxford Street and the exhibit is free. On until 23rd May so go on your lunch break or take a wander on a Saturday afternoon to get away from the crowds.

All photos property of Shopped and Dropped, do not re-use without permission.

Explore: Glamour of the Gods Exhibition

I was so excited to see this exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition is a beautiful set of photographs from the archive of the John Kobal Foundation of the stars of the golden age of cinema. Those featured in the portraits are the legends of the big screen, famous not just for their acting but for their glamorous images and lifestyles, all of them retaining a myth and aura about them that most actors today could never achieve.

The beautiful black and white photos  included promotional shots from famous films, like the Marx Brothers for Duck Soup and Boris Karloff for The Mask of Fu Manchu, and the classic beauty shots of stunners like Rita Hayworth and even a nude of Marilyn Monroe. All radiated the sheen of perfection and elegance, which is why I love watching films from that era anyway! My friend Ms O who came with me is a huge Vivien Leigh fan, and I have a small (possibly medium, maybe verging on large) obsession with Audrey Hepburn and we both found photos that that played to our adorations.

The exhibition also had a small display on how photos were retouched by hand. I'm really naive as I thought that this only started happening much later in time, and was kind of disappointed to know that it wasn't just soft focus creating beautiful portraits. Not that that change my opinion of the stars, in my eyes they're effortlessly fabulous. People like Grace Kelly, Buster Keaton and James Stewart have created some of the best films ever made and they deserved to be appreciated in such a fitting setting.

It turns out that the whole Gallery was open late so we got to have a quick look at other portraits as well. There was a great section featuring portraits of the some of the most famous comedians which allowed Ms O and I to reminisce and quote all our favourites (which included myself having to fend off a laughing fit just thinking about Les Dawson's rendition of 'Feelings' - watch it here if you've never seen it!). We also saw the bizarre self portrait 3D sculpture by Marc Quinn that's made from his own blood (yes, really), a fabulous painting of Anna Wintour that made her look a lot more soft than she comes across in the media (!), and a small exhibition of Julian Opie works. He's the guy who did the famous Blur: Best Of front cover, and also has a self portrait that blinks and breathes on a TV screen. It all looks like it should be in A Scanner Darkly; very strange.

To top it off, we went for a quick drink in a pub opposite called The Chandos, and discovered it was a Sam Smith's pub! For those who don't know, I used to work in a Sam Smith's pub during my student days and it's a great chain that provides nice beer at much cheaper prices than a crappy Wetherspoons or another chain. They're very basic, but definitely worth a try! 







Glamour of the Gods is on until 23rd October. http://www.npg.org.uk/glamour/
*All photos featured belong to me. Please do not reproduce without my permission!

Explore: The Museum of Broken Relationships

I feel that now I'm living in London I can start doing all the things that I get constant email and Twitter alerts for - the galleries, the special events, the gigs. So this weekend I (and my not so impressed boyfriend) went to The Museum of Broken Relationships, a temporary exhibition at Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden. Originally shown in Croatia, the exhibit highlights how the most seemingly irrelevant items and trinkets can hold meaning and memories, and how important it is for their owner to give them up to move on. The items on display ranged from the expected (teddy bears, wedding gowns) to the bizarre (feminine hygiene wash, a baby grand piano). All of them had an explanation from their previous owner attached, many with frankly ridiculous metaphors about love lost, but others were amusing, and even bordering on inspiring (in the case of the positive heroin test on show, the result of one woman's loss of trust in her other half and how it persuaded her to move on). It's a cute observation into natural human obsession and passion, however overall it was pretty disappointing. The tense one chord muzak in the background, the dimmed lights and tip-toeing around precariously balanced bric-a-brac made it feel just that little bit pretentious. I think the aim of the exhibit is to be able to look upon the items and relate to them, or even to laugh in places, but the majority of people were treating it like a wake, or at the very least a chance to sneakily grope their other half in a half-hearted attempt to reassure each other that they would NEVER end up in a situation like those in the exhibits. 

So it was only right that we headed to the pub afterwards. It can be a bit frustrating when looking for somewhere to have a drink in central London, not just because of the weekend crowds but also because of all of the choice! There's an underlying pressure to pick somewhere impressive rather than just ending up in a Wetherspoons (which as a former resident of Milton Keynes was normally the only and best option of place to drink). But more often than not it's luck, which is what led us to The Salisbury a few months ago. With the unrelenting rain we found ourselves back there as it offers a few good ales and has no sports colours. It's also right next to Wyndham's Theatre which allowed me to do a little excited geek dance at the crowd of people awaiting David Tennant at the stage door, but then to get dragged away by my boyfriend who is most definitely NOT a Dr Who fan. Does anyone have any recommendations for other places to drink in and around Covent Garden? It's an area of London I love for shopping, but I always struggle to find somewhere to have a drink. As much as I like The Salisbury I'd rather try somewhere new next time so any ideas are appreciated!

Ticket price: £3.50

Two pints of Tribute ale: £8

Oyster top-up: £10

Pret sandwich: £3.95

Total: £25.45