Lords Cricket Ground, Olympic Stadium and the Biggest Bingo Hall Ever!

Hi everyone, Blitzy here! After the excitement of my last few days here in London, I was ready for a nice peaceful culture fix. London has been constantly inhabited for almost 2000 years, so there is a rich and varied history of art and architecture to learn about. Obviously, a single day is only enough to get a tiny taste of it, but I managed to squeeze quite a lot into my day, and I saw some of the most beautiful buildings and iconic paintings.

Old and New - Both are Beautiful

I started early in the morning in the Square Mile which is the original City of London, the location of many incredible buildings from every era. The stand-out structure is the imposing St. Paul’s Cathedral. The original building was built in 600AD but the current one was designed by Sir Cristopher Wren as part of the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire in 1666. It is very popular as a tourist attraction, but it is actually a very busy working church, with several services every day and special services throughout the year. It is also the setting for many State ceremonies, including the service celebrating Queen Elizabeth II diamond Jubilee. The outside of the cathedral is breathtaking in its beauty, and the interior no less so, with ornate frescoes and priceless works of art on display. 

I barely got a taste of the cathedral but it was already time to move on, and I checked out some of the more modern buildings. Architects have been vying to create the tallest, the most impressive and the most unusual structures, making London truly impressive even from a distance! One of the most recently built is the Shard: designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and standing at 72 stories it is the tallest building in England and towers over the skyline. Apart from an office complex and three restaurants, the Shard also houses a 5-star hotel and a visiting deck which is the highest viewing platform in London.

Art all around

My next stop was Trafalgar Square. I wanted to see two things there. The first was the plinths in the square itself which display four different statues, and in the middle of the square, the world-famous Nelson’s column, a 51 meter monument commemorating Admiral Horatio Nelson who died at the battle of Waterloo. The first three corner plinths have statues of historic figures including King George IV, but the fourth plinth was empty for many years. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the fourth plinth has been used to showcase sculptures by modern artists.

Next to Trafalgar Square stands the very impressive building which is the National Gallery. It is almost 200 years old and houses an art collection which covers the entire scope of the development of Western art. As it is a national museum, it’s free to enter the main gallery, but visitors are encouraged to give a donation to help with the enormous task of preserving the irreplaceable works of art. The gallery also offers special exhibitions which are open for a few months, and those require paid tickets. Some of these are so popular that tickets are sold out months in advance!

But you don’t have to go into a museum to discover some of the famous works of art in London. You don’t even have to visit the site of a famous statue! Graffiti art has become iconic in London over the past few decades. It’s true that a lot of graffiti is unsightly and definitely not artistic, but young people with a real flair have been encouraged to develop their skills and some areas have been brought to life by amazing graffiti walls. London is also home to Banksy, an anonymous guerilla graffiti artist who has created political murals throughout the city. These fascinating works of art appear overnight and are instantly recognizable in style, and the subject of much discussion. I am not sure how I feel about the subject matter, but no-one can question the artistic skill involved.

My London trip has come to an end. Join me next month for another fun adventure, I'll be heading to the much warmer climate of Athens. Until then I can’t wait to see you all daubing away in your favorite Bingo Blitz room!