Christmas at M&Ms London

If you are a huge M&M's fun you may be curious to pop into their London special store. All chocolate smelly inside and with its own creatures, M&Ms have some little M&Ms Christmas trees and some M&Ms champaign to offer this Christmas.

So Merry ChristM&Ms?

We Will Rock You this Christmas

London is getting ready for the Christmas, and London theatres are obviously, too. Photo of today is for London Dominion. Freddie Mercury would have loved his Christmas image. 

Camera: Canon-650D, Lens: Canon EF 28-200mm f3.5/5.6 USM

First Vyshyvanka Mega March in London ‹ Fotoble

Fotoble photos from the Ukrainian national embroidery parade event in London, the First Vyshyvanka Mega March:

First Vyshyvanka Mega March in London ‹ Fotoble

First Vyshyvanka Mega March in London

An interesting event with Ukrainian cultural national background took place last weekend in Central London - the First Vyshyvanka Mega March.

Over one and half hundred Ukrainians and friends of Ukraine of all ages got together last Saturday, on 25th of May on Trafalgar Square to demonstrate the beauty and picturesque of Ukrainian national costume.

The First London Vyshyvanka Mega March has been organised by a group of young Ukrainian activists with the support of Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, and Ukrainian Embassy in London as social initiative aimed to promote Ukrainian culture and history across the world.

Vyshyvanka Mega March became a part of Ukrainian project which simultaneously was held in the different cities and countries around the world. Apart from two dozens Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian costume was celebrated in the cities of Andorra, Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain. It was interesting to note how many young Ukrainians took part in London Mega March, and how many little kossaks were there.

The first demonstration was bright and colourful. Five-mile march in vyshyvankas has started from the heart of London, Trafalger Square where it has received its blessing from the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Volodymyr Handohiy. There was something in Ukrainian anthem and blue-and-yellow flag flying over Trafalgar Square.

After this, the picturesque procession, singing and dancing, moved along the Mall to the Royal Buckingham Palace, and then down the Constitutional Hill through Hyde Park towards the monument of Volodymyr the Great on the Holland Park Avenue.

The event featured perfomances of Ukrainian School, Ukrainian folk songs and dances, games, poems and speeches from Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, and Ukrainian Embassy in London.

Numerous tourists and londoners spending time in sunny London showed live interest to the people in unusual picturesque costumes, and some even managed to participate in Ukrainian national games!

Vyshyvanka Mega March is held for already five years across Ukraine in order to support Ukrainian traditions and to promote Ukrainian culture in Ukraine and in the world. The events are strictly apolitical, and any symbolics, apart from the national, is forbidden. London hosted the event the first time, but the organisers, inspired with the success of Vyshyvanka Mega March are already planning to hold more such events in London and other British cities.

Crowds on Funeral of Margaret Thatcher

Chinese New Year 2013 in London

It is February, and it has started with the celebration of the Year of Snake, Chinese style, or simply 農曆新年. London China Town looks all ready for celebrations.

And so does the London weather.

The view of Gerard Street, China Town.

Dragons dancing over the festives are believed to bring luck to the businesses. Terrifying, loud and rythmic, dragong dancing is a part of the tradition, and very welcomed by the crowed packing all the space around.

The dragon tries to approach the restaurant jumping up, roaring and showing its evil side.

This dragon was well expected by the Chinese Chef.

Met with the restaurant delegation, and finally surrendered.

London at its best. The festival on Trafalgar Square goes rain or more rain.

Lunar New Year Trafalgar style: lanterns, Trafalgar fountains and ocean of umbrellas.

A Chinese girl selling national craft for kids.

A must attribute for the Chinese celebrations.

The festival brought some of interesting characters.

Including other lunar year animals.

The dragon from Leicester Square and Covent Garden parade.

Back to 2012

As the New 2013 Year is quickly approaching, it may be nice to look back at some moments left in the year 2012. Somewhere in the second middle of 2012 I have started this blog. Not that much of experience yet and not really promoting, only shared with my family and friends. But even to make this possible, greatest thank you to someone who made one of the best Birthday gifts ever, my lovely Canon, and who inspired me for everything created, and is inspiring even more ;)

A lot of good material is still not added, as so much to learn yet, and swept-out me is still trying to battle with some oceanic size waves of the photo material. Nevertheless, was so nice to discover that it is a hard job to choose twelve posts of the leaving year.

The blog start has happened just before the Olympic 2012 started in London. So, obviously being in Olympic London was a good opportunity to share the spirit of the world's most awaited  sport competition. I was lucky enough to have the Olympic Torch Relay passing by my offices before the Games.

And the Team GB full of medals parading on 21 floats afterwards.

   

Both the Olympics and Paralympics were not missed either. Not only I followed the Paralympics tightly and even tried myself in the sport journalism with conducting the interviews with Paralympic athletes and coaches, but also was cheering for the athletes at the Olympic events such as thriathlon, cycling, female football, foil fencing finalle:

and archery. Here, btw, the only one qualified Iraqi (and female!) athlete of the Games 2012, Al-Mashhadani Rand  as participated. And despite the results was maybe the most cheered and warmly supported athlete of the Games by the visitors:

My personal warmest memories were filled with some really sweet people (is that is why the country called Sweden?) including one little but incredibly cute, smart and independent creature...

If not the Battle of Hastings of 1066 and dedicated to it scenes from the Saxon rural life of those times, I would not know how many people like history and reading... If not the love to the cute babies in general and Alexandra in particular, this article would be the most read for the entire time of my blog.

Another thing mastered in the past year was the night photography. I even entered some dodgy photocompetition with a bit crazy London Eye. With more lights, less light, shining in blue, white, red and yellow, now, I love the nights in my camera!

It was also fun to have a different experience of the urban photography.

What is good about London - there is always something on, and often in your area and unexpected, like ice-cream festival at King's Cross St. Pancras, or a Christmas Market in Jamie's Oliver restaurant Fifteen. The most surprise for me was probably the feather snow just at the end of Paralympic: never before have I seen so many adults with absolutely marvellous childish happiness!

After several years living in London, I finally managed going to musicals. The unforgettable experience has started with brilliant Chicago. Well done was the timing - it appeared to be the last day of the performance of 25 years of the Chicago on London stage.

The second part of the 2012 was also the the good time to travel around England. Never before have I seen so much of English countryside. There are collections of English beauty on the way but one of the interesting events attended and published was the Fish Festival held on the last summer day in the small Cornwall fishing village Newlyn.

Sometimes while travelling I saw really funny things:

And I hope to find even more, and to share them... as I see them through my lens ;)

Happy New Year to my friends!