Pop Up Design

Even though the London Evening Standard can be a pretentious piece of rubbish, I do have to thank it for telling me about some of the entries on this blog, in particular this pop up design shop on Great Titchfield Street that was open from 20th to 26th June 2012.

Alas, the Jordanian designer had to cancel at the last minute (something about the items being made of concrete and a bit expensive to get to London from Jordan) so I didn't get any new countries.  However there were some cool things there from a range of designers around the world.

By Puzz'le Design, Geneva

 By kubedesign, architetture in cartone, Milan

 By Slam London

 

The shop also featured designers from Hong Kong, USA, Poland and the Netherlands.

Dutch waffles

A revisit to My Old Dutch, this time to High Street Kensington for some Dutch waffles with caramel sauce and icecream.

Design @ Rocket

There is currently an exhibition of Post-War Domestic Dutch Furniture until 27th November at Rocket Gallery near Liverpool Street.

 Tweezitsprogramma bench by Friso Kramer

Shelves by Tomado

Krenit bowls, orginially designed by a Danish mechanical engineering researcher in 1953.

Two pieces by the Danish designer Jens Risom

Photography at the Design Festival

Photograph by Roger Gibbs from Curaçao.

www.rogergibbs.com/

My Old Dutch Pancake House

My Old Dutch Pancake House has several locations but it's not really a big chain so I'm allowing it into my blog. On Monday nights they have an 'all pancakes are £5' offer, which is very good value for money if you choose one of their £9.95 pancakes.

These pancakes are huge things too and very filling.  I had to hold my stomach a bit when I'd finished to stop it leaving the restaurant without me, it was sticking out so much....

This had better be my last restaurant entry for a while as I can see that I am getting a little bit of a belly...  Maybe I should try some more bellydancing.

De Hems Dutch Bar

Country: The Netherlands
Cost: £7.30 for a pint and a glass of wine
Location: China town

De Hems is a Dutch pub on Macclesfield Street in China Town. They have a range of Dutch beers on tap. You can't miss it because it stands out in China Town like a sore thumb :)

Koninginnedag 2010

Country: The Netherlands
Cost: Free
Location: Trafalgar Square
Event Frequency: Annual on 17th April (location may change in 2011)

On 17th April 2010, I joined 70 000 people in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Queen's Day, a national holiday in the Netherlands.  You can read more about the reasons behind the day here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koninginnedag

This was definately the most fun I've ever had in Trafalgar Square.  There was:

- a pole vaulting demonstration.
- a huge stage with acts playing all day.
- a DJ in between the sets on the stage.
- free Holland House T Shirts if you could catch one.
- a giant conga line.
- stalls where you could buy Dutch food and beer.
- lots and lots of Orange.
- people jumping up and down and singing this song:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnP4O-pG1kU  (I challenge you to listen to the end without tapping your toes or nodding your head at least once)

Quote from one of the organisers "It's a hot day today, so make sure you stay hydrated.  Drink some Amstel!"