Art London 2011 – A relaxing yet sophisticated art fair with an emphasis on helping charities.

Last year The Times described Art London as “one of the most enjoyable modern art fairs” and the year before that Wall Street Journal described it as being “a relaxed modern fair.” In combining contemporary art with blue chip historical, Art London provides a refreshingly relaxed yet cosmopolitan edge to art events in the capital.

Held from 6 – 10 October, 2011 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, this year’s fair is to include the works by some of the most important modern British artists, including Ceri Richards, LS Lowry, Graham Sutherland, and many more.

Although, far from concentrating solely on the contemporary, the Art Fair also embraces the works of significant Edwardian artists, such as Sir John Lavery, as well as concentrating on the Pre-Raphaelites era, with the works of the likes of Sir Edward Burne-Jones being shown.

This leading art event is also devoted to displaying international art, and the works of artists such as Camille Pissarro, Giorgio Morandi and Pablo Picasso will also be presented. Although this year, unlike other years, there will be an emphasis on artists from the Far East, with works from India, China, Vietnam and Australia being given a notable new prominence.

Art London works alongside several charitable organisations and this year its four official charity partners will have stands at the fair.

The British Heart Foundation, ACE Africa UK, an organisation dedicated to help children suffering from HIV and AIDS in South Africa, the Amber Foundation, which supports youths living at its residential centres that are from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the Almeida Theatre.

All four of the charities will benefit directly from the sale of the works of art from their stands.

If you want to as Elle Decoration quoted, “discover offbeat works by artists you might have not heard of before”, or muse through the works of the world’s leading artists, old and new, in a refreshingly relaxed ambience, a visit to this year’s Art London, should be marked in your diary.

Luxury family friendly hotel in London, The Wyndham Grand, has come up with something special for children; The Back to School Afternoon Tea.

It can be a struggle settling back into the school routine after the summer holidays, yet this is something that is bound to help!

Imagine your children being able to turn their play-time tea parties into a real life afternoon tea experience. Now they can and in complete style at The Wyndham Grand.

Thinking small, bite-size everything; the menu includes crunchy Nutella sandwiches, mud-bus brownies, fruit kebabs, milkshake shots, scones and clotted-cream – in true grown-up style – and a choice of teas, fruit infusions and babyccinos.

This is available until 30^th September, so you need to be quick! The Back to School Tea (served in The Lounge) is priced at £20 per person.

Children’s tea parties are available upon request.  Parents can choose from the regular Afternoon Tea menu (£20 or £30 including a glass of Champagne) or join in the fun with the Back to School tea!

Full menu details below -

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Whilst Londoners may have become somewhat complacent about the giant wheel of steel, which domineeringly sits on the south bank of the River Thames, it fascinates tourists, aiding London’s success at being one of the most unique capital cities in the world.

Despite the unusual mix of conflicting emotions the London Eye evokes, many are somewhat unlearned of the history of one of London’s most remarkable features.

To rectify this common lack of knowledge about the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, we have compiled some interesting facts about the London eye, United Kingdom’s most popular paid tourist attraction.

1) This giant construction was conceived and built by architects Julia Barfield and David Marks. The construction of such a complex and huge structure involved sections of the London Eye being floated down the Thames on pontoons, which were then slowly raised by a series of cranes.

2) The London Eye was eventually opened on New Year’s Eve in 1999 by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, its initial commercial partners being British Airways and the Tussauds Group. Having been opened at the turn of the Millennium, The London Eye was originally called The Millennium Wheel, although since the launch the wheel has had three different names.

Until 2008 it was called the British Airways London Eye, but since Merlin Entertainments, Tussaud’s parent group, took full ownership and control of the wheel in 2008, it became known as the Merlin Entertainments London Eye. More recently, however, in 2011 due to a three year deal between Merlin Entertainments and EDF Energy, which is believed to be worth £8 million, the monumental structure is officially called the EDF Energy London Eye.

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Tribute to Honour, a world first in Scotch for Royal Salute was recently displayed for VIP media at the Foundation Polo Challenge weekend in LA.

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Two new cycle superhighways bring London closer to being one of the world’s greenest capitals.

With the effects of climate change increasingly rearing its ugly head it is imperative that the world’s leading cities encourage ditching pollution-pumping cars in favour of fume-free bicycles. London is, at last, moving within these realms.

London – A bicycle-friendly city? It’s getting there.

One might argue the city has been a bit slow, compared to the likes of Amsterdam and Oxford, in its drive for a cleaner city with less cars clogging the streets. However, we can now safely say London is catching up in the race to be a truly bicycle-friendly city.

The latest evidence of London’s increasing progression to make life significantly easier for cyclists is the construction of two new cycle superhighways, which will be ready for this July.

The new cycle routes will take cyclists from Wandsworth to Westminster and from Bow to Aldgate, and are the latest stage in the so-called ‘bike takeover’ of London, following on from the two cycle superhighways that were opened in the capital last year, which take cyclists from Merton to The City and from Barking to Tower Gateway.

The new cycle superhighways are part of the Government’s goals to have 12 distinctive blue cycle lanes taking cyclists right into the heart of London.

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