A Very Mayfair Christmas
I’m writing this on the day after twelfth night. To set the scene I’m someone who loves Christmas and our family loves Christmas at home. We pull out all the stops, get a tree that’s far too big, see as many friends and family as we can and go on Christmas outings around London. We usually also go for a long weekend in another city to see their lights. For a few years it’s been Paris but this year it was Madeira. December has passed in a whirl and so I took time to go for a stroll around Mayfair and the adjacent areas in the period after Christmas and before New Year just to take time out and take some photos. Since my blog is due today and I’m missing the decorations I thought I would pull out a few shots from those strolls and re-live the magic.
I avoided the main street lights and wandered through the more peaceful arcades and back streets. I’ll start with my favourite set of street lights and finish with my favourite photo.
As always, all images are mine and you can click on any one to see it full size in a lightbox.
My favourites for simplicity, beauty and relevance were the Savile Row lights which were 3 huge sets of golden scissors cutting silver ribbons.
I passed two arcades when they were closed. That’s how I managed to capture them when they were empty. This first shot is the very colourful Royal Arcade, which is on New Bond Street.
And now we have the interior and the entrance to Burlington Arcade. Burlington Arcade during December has been absolutely packed for most of the time it’s been open. You can understand why. The huge glittering chandeliers and Partridge in a Pear Tree decorations have been a huge hit with the crowds.
Can you see the statue on the roof of the entrance? That’s by Anthony Gormley and it’s titled Cinch. It was his first work in solid stainless steel. On the artist’s website (anthonygormley.com) it states that “this work is open to interpretation and conveys the idea of a human as a work in progress.”
Moving on now to thoughts of eating and drinking. The pubs, hotels and clubs had made themselves look even more inviting than usual with an abundance of wreaths, swags, garlands, bows and stars.
There were even quite a few outdoor dining tables. These ones seemed deserving of a moody lighting edit.
My next photo is of a display on the façade of Annabel’s private members’ club on Berkeley Square. This was a huge structure with a Narnia theme covering the top floors of the building. I was lucky enough to have seen this just before Christmas on a Christmas Lights bus tour. It was in 3D and was maybe around 1 to 1.5 metres deep, resembling a very elaborate stage set. Sitting on the top deck we had a close-up view. I really can’t do it justice in my photo taken in darkness and from street level but I hope you can appreciate the scale and wonder of it. The details of the columns and flowers were exquisite. The tour guide made a point of telling us to enjoy our brief view because it was built solely for Christmas and would be dismantled afterwards. Sure enough, when I passed there a few days after New Year’s Day it had already gone.
Annabel’s private members’ club - Narnia themed Christmas decoration
As a complete contrast, a seemingly simple but beautiful window display caught my eye. This was at Prada on Old Bond Street. I don’t know if Bond Street has ever been so packed with shoppers and window shoppers in previous years but it really was a feast for the eyes this year and drew huge crowds every day.
I overheard someone say to their companion that he had read an article which said don’t leave London to the tourists - get out there and make the most of it even if you live here. That’s very good advice in my opinion.
I walked through Saint Christopher’s Place (just off Oxford Street near Selfridges) and this is where I took the shot that’s my definite favourite of this batch.
My favourite! I love that this looks as if it’s been painted. It’s also very colourful and a lot more fluid than my usual centred, clean images. I cropped it in close from a wider shot. Dots seem to keep attracting me recently. You may have seen from my newsletters that I recently saw Emily Kam Kngwarray and Howardena Pindell exhibitions and both used dots extensively. I hope I can find a way to incorporate them into my painting soon and I’ll look for other opportunities to capture dots in my photography.
I hope you enjoyed my selection of photos and found something that you liked or found interesting.
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Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!
Loren