Open House 2014

Open House is a weekend event in mid-September where London architectures opens their doors to the public to explore. This year it was held on the 20^th and 21^st September 2014.

NAFAS

First Open House I attended to was the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies which is a collective of flower arranging clubs and societies built together to form a recognised charity. The building contained wall photographs and insights in the organisation with floral exhibits displayed throughout the whole structure. Location address: Osbourne House, 12 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4TE.

 Bishopsgate Institute

The Institute was opened in 1894 by Prime Minister Lord Roseberry. Its aims were to “promote lectures, exhibitions and otherwise the achievement of literature, science and the fine arts” which they still do to this day. The building was designed by Charles Harrison Townsends who employed his own individual approach for the design of the building than to follow in any form of conformity thst were present in previous landmark designs. Location address: 230 Bishopsgate Institute, London EC2M 4QH.

For Open House, there were five main rooms/halls to explore:

• Boardroom
• Great Hall
• Library and Archives
• Courtyard Room
• Upper Hall

Bishopsgate Institute holds programmes ranging from talks and discussions to social dances and concerts. They do a range of courses for adults which centred on language, performing arts and culture. The library there is free and open to all to use, with a massive collection on London and political history including archives of Freedom Press and the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive (LAGNA).

To find out more about Open House you can visit their website.

#OpenHouseLondon

 

Notting Hill Carnival 2014

Notting Hill Carnival is an event that occurs in August bank holiday every year. It’s the biggest street festival in London with food, music and dance with a parade route bringing a Caribbean presence to London. The event this year happened on Sunday 24^th August and Monday 25^th August with Sunday being more family orientated.

The one thing you must expect from the carnival is to get yourself stuck right in and the atmosphere is jovial, fun and tantalising with street food lacing the air with different and aromatic smells and music that is loud enough to shake you off your feet and dance to the beat. The carnival as expected had a massive turnout with almost limited or no space to manoeuvre with the only choice is to succumb to the atmosphere and salsa!

#NottingHillCarnival

LonCon 3: The 72nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon)

LonCon 3 is the 72^nd World Science Fiction Convention which brings Worldcon to London. Dates of the event were between Thursday 14^th to Monday 18^th August 2014 and was held in the Excel Centre.

Some round-ups of LonCon3:

• The opening ceremony was held on Thursday 14^th August 2014 at 12:00 with the closing ceremony on Monday 18^th August 2014 at 15:00.
• Each member was given a programme and Worldcon Souvenir Book with attendees receiving an additional badge.
• The Retro Hugo Award winners were announced on Thursday 14th August 2014 to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the first Worldcon.
• The Hugo Award was held on Saturday 17^th August 2014 at 20:00.
• Guests of Honour for this year were Iain M Banks, John Clute, Malcolm Edwards, Chris Foss, Jane Gomoll, Robin Hobb and Bryan Talbot.
• In the Exhibit Hall, there were the Art Show (showcasing SF art works on display), Dealers’ Zone (stall sellers of SF novels, comic books and merchandising) and the Displays area (different organisation displays ranging from charities to fan websites).
• The Capital Hall had the Fan Village/Hospitality Hall where you can find other Worldcon bids, board games tent and an opportunity to find out about many other clubs and societies.

There was plenty of opportunity to look around and stallholders were friendly and approachable. I began my crusade to look out for any She-Hulk but only managed to get an issue of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Master Edition) #6 with She-Hulk smack down in the middle of the front cover. The stallholder was nice enough to go look for any other She-Hulk loot he may have in his car but sadly came out with nothing. Continuing from the Hulk family, I also found Hulk: Gray by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale which was an excellent find.

Before the event, I volunteered to help out with the general setting up. Volunteers were called in to start helping out on the 11^th August and I volunteered from 12^th August to 13^th August. A lot of work goes in which was expected and it was a great opportunity to meet people from all around the world who have a pair of hands to lend. It was fun to meet people from such different backgrounds who have one universal interest in science fiction. It’s like an exclusive behind-the-scenes with what goes into running an event which an experience that I will take away was.

Just like any geek convention, LonCon3 had the whole lot: art and literature, film and music, gaming, comics. They held film screenings, talks and Q & As in various rooms and halls in the Excel. You can find out more about LonCon3 on their website.

#LonCon3 #WorldCon

Wikimania 2014

Wikimania is an annual event which is held in a different city in the world, surrounding the works of Wikipedia, Wikimedia and their related projects. This year it was held in London, UK. It’s is in the 10^th year with attendees from 83 countries in attendance this year. It was held in the Barbican Centre between Thursday 7^th to Sunday 10^th August 2014.

Below is the round ups of what went down in Wikimania 2014:

• Hackathon was held on 6^th to 7^th August 2014 which was a day where people with no experience to fluent users of the MediaWiki software come together to build and develop projects.
• The Opening Ceremony was held on Thursday 7^th August 2014 at 19:00 with introductory greetings from executive and directors from Wikipedia and Wikimedia as well as keynote from Salil Shetty from Amnesty International.
•  All attendees were provided with a t-shirt and a goody bag (choice of red or blue).
• Themes of the event: The Future of Education, Open Data, Open Scholarship, Democratic Media, Social Machines and State of the Wiki.
• Community Village had Wikimedia and open-knowledge-related organisations with stalls set up to socialise and to find out different projects anew and ongoing.
• There were 200 talks covering many diverse topics surrounding Wikipedia and any related contents covering from humanitarian topics or getting technical for the beginners. There was something for everyone!
• At the end of the day, there are entertainment running through the evening with music, shows and stand-up comedians.
• The Closing Ceremony was held on 10^th August 2014 which the Wikimania torch was handed over to Mexico City.

There have been many discussions during the event and the main ones that struck me were the “monkey selfie” which became the starlight topic of the year attracting controversy left, right and centre. The other issue raised was “The Right to be Forgotten” which is not what Wikipedia or Wikimedia stands for. You can find further information on their Wikimania London’s website.

#Wikimania2014

London Comic Mart July 2014

The London Comic Mart is an event held at Royal National Hotel in Russell Square which usually occurs on the first Sunday most months of the year. They have stalls of people selling comics old and new occasionally with a guest star comic book writer or artist doing signings.

My first Comic Mart was all the way back in ___ 2011 when I began my conquest of collecting She-Hulk and Doctor Strange comics. Because of the intimate setting, it’s a great way of connecting with people and it’s where I’ve also made great friends. It’s one of the best places to find a bargain on comic books and merchandise.

This time round I got a few comic books as well as finding two other gems that I would usually not get at Comic Mart: two Taschens Tom of Finland artbooks! Both slightly lower than the retail price which were great finds.

#LondonComicMart

London Film and Comic Con Summer 2014

The London Film and Comic Con is an event that occur two times a year in West London, which features signings, talks, selling and showings centring around film, television and comics. The summer con was held on 11th – 13^th July 2014.

The hotly anticipated appearance of Stan Lee at the event was most certainly going to create a major craze and send the place into complete lockdown. Stan Lee photo tickets were instantly leaving all latecomers (including me) with no chance to get that photograph with the legend himself.

Earls Court 2

Earls Court 2 hall had television and film star signings and photoshoots, panels, stalls selling memorabilia, Anime Zone, Cosplay Zone and Comic Zone with various foodies lined up on the side of the hall.

Brompton Hall

Elevator leading on to the first floor and a lift down, the Brompton Hall holds the Artists Valley, Video Game Zone and a line for Stan Lee that snakes the whole room.

I came across The Pride published by Queer Comix with the premise being Fab Man who finds no LGTBQ representations, forms the group “The Pride” which combats against supervillains that reflect real life issues that LGTBQ face in society. Issue 1 was sold out so opted to get the bundle deal of issue 2 and 3 plus Pride Adventures. You can find it on Comixology and can also be purchased in physical and digital depending on availability at this link. The day ended with a photoshoot with Milo Ventimiglia which was a dream come true as I’m a HUGE fan of Heroes.

Next summer, the tickets are all pre-booked to anticipate the high volumes of attendees. Further details can be found on their website. Tickets for winter on Saturday 18^th and Sunday 19^th September 2014, can be bought on the day and on the website.

#LFCC2014

Summer Streets 2014

Summer Streets is an event held in Regent Street on every Sunday of July. It’s completely traffic free allowing that very rare moments during the year to roam the streets to and fro. This year, they had a theme for each Sunday: Garden Party, Love Food, Love Fashion and Summer Street presents Magnum’s 25^th Birthday.

I attended the Garden Party which had a wide array of activities on show with some being the following:

·         Band and singer performances: There are stages and tents dotted up and down Regent Street with bands and singers performing.

·         Benches and garden areas: Benches lining up in the middle of Regent Street and green patches of “garden” areas for watching the performances and to sit back and relax.

·         Gig – Big Busk: Young musicians/groups performing which took off in 2012.

·         Heart: Heart 106.2 Radio offering a chance for people to get snapped on their massive deck chair.

·         Big Dance: A dance area which also featured on the day, a maypole erected with children performing the maypole dance.

#SummerStreet