June 2012 Archives

Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth is a plinth dedicated to showcasing works of art in London. The Fourth Plinth was set up in 2005 for different works of art to take prominence in the square, following regeneration works in Trafalgar Square and the closure of the road between the square and the National Gallery to make way for pedestrians. Trafalgar Square has changed considerably over the past ten years. The square used to be home to many pigeons, but feeding them is now banned, and the square is cleaner and a place commonly used by street performers, protests, and events.

I first visited Gloucester twelve years ago, and it became a favourite place to visit. The city has a mix of interesting shops, a cathedral, docks, and other historical areas. Gloucester Cathedral is one of my top favourite cathedrals (along with Salisbury and Canterbury). I believe that the cathedral was used to film some of the scenes in Harry Potter. Another favourite area of mine are the Gloucester docks, which have been redeveloped since I last visited. I really enjoyed the large antique centre in one of the old warehouses, but this seems to be in the process of redevelopment now. Whether or not it will remain an antique shop is unknown to me. 

5) Anderson, Jonathan. Your logo is making me sick. http://uxmag.com/articles/your-logo-is-making-me-sick. [22 May, 2012].

At the beginning of June, I visited Newent and Three Choirs Vineyard. Three Choirs Vineyard is set in beautiful rolling hills near Gloucester and the village of Newent. As I visited early in June, the vines were green and covered with leaves and trained to fit along the wood railings, but the actual grapes were yet to form or blossom. I enjoyed the wine produced at this vineyard. (For information about the vineyard, visit: http://www.three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk/.)

A pizza company based in Dubai have created a fridge magnet that allows the user to order a pizza at the touch of a button. The device (VIP Fridge Magnet) was created by 'Red Tomato Pizza' company. The device is connected to a user's online account, where they have specified their usual pizza order, and the request is sent via Bluetooth connection. The user receives a confirmation text message, and upon confirmation, the pizza is sent on its way. The user can update their usual pizza selection online at any time.

I think that this is a fantastic use of technology and simplifies a process that can be a little over-complicated. Normally, users place the same order, so the idea of storing this data and reusing it for future orders is ideal and saves time. I remember struggling with ordering pizzas online as the idea was first launched several years ago, and I had many problems and wasted many hours by trying to place an order online at various pizza companies. Since these issues have been resolved and the process is more reliable, there has been progress in this area. The VIP Fridge Magnet is a useful interpretation of solving the desire to order a pizza. I am sure that this use case can translate into similar areas.

Petticoat Lane is a popular street market just outside the financial district of the City of London, and it's not far from other famous markets, including the Brick Lane Market and Spitalfields. The market has a rich history. During the weekdays, the market has a smaller selection of stalls; its prime shopping day is Sunday. This street market has always specialised in items of clothing, and it's a colourful market. It's located at the north part of the City (the Gherkin pointed-skyscraper can be seen in the below photograph), and I visited it a few times during my lunch break. During the weekdays, there's a few food stalls set up to trade, and these can get popular in the summer months as workers far outnumber restaurants in the City.

A few weeks ago, the street artist Banksy was credited to artwork of a young child and bunting that appeared overnight in London. Recently, another image has surfaced on the streets in Bristol, but this may not be the work of Banksy. The artwork depicts the queen with the iconic Ziggy Stardust makeup, and the artwork was drawn on a building that had previous artwork from Banksy. (The previous Banksy artwork on the building was destroyed by other graffiti.)

For Valentine's Day, we drove over to Tucci's Kitchen outside of Reading and learned how to make pizza and pasta with a small group of five others. We got to try a specially-made pasta sauce with some speciality breads made while we were there. We were each given some dough to divide up and knead into the perfect pizza base for our pizzas. After popping the pizzas in the oven, we were taught how to make pasta and spent the remainder of the class creating shapes, which were demonstrated, with the pasta dough.

A few months ago, I visited BOXPARK in Shoreditch (outside the station), which is marketed as "the world's first pop-up mall." (1) This shopping area is made from shipping containers and was opened to the public at the end of last year, and they state on their official website that they will remain there for five years. The shop hosts various outlets for fashion and art and is an attraction for near-by workers to grab a quick meal and sit outside during the lunch hour. 

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee River pageant on the Thames took place this afternoon, and I went to the river to watch it. The weather was not good today, but the rain halted for the later morning and early afternoon. I got to London in the morning and waited on the bank opposite of Big Ben. I had a good view of the river, and there were not many people about. The crowds, however, did arrive later. Of course, this meant waiting for many hours so I did not lose my space. (I was alone, so I made sure not to eat or drink anything for fear of losing my spot!)

I visited London today to see the decorations and preparations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Along the way, I stopped off at the Mall and Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, and the "Avenue of Sails" between London Bridge and on the other side of Tower Bridge. I also stopped at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair and treated myself to their "Jubilee Afternoon Tea", which consisted of sandwiches, scones, and miniature Jubilee-themed desserts.