Inside the Museum of London

It’s a privilege to be able to give you the following world exclusive, a meeting with the one and only Ebenezer Scrooge. Lets find out what he has to say about Christmas and what if any Yuletide greetings he has to offer us.

 So Mr Scrooge it’s a pleasure to see you again this year. I’m sure you are looking forward to meeting all the happy children, handing out some presents and enjoying the festive atmosphere. What do you have to say to everyone?

 Bah, humbug! I do not like Christmas one bit!

 But what about the chance to hand out something special to those you care about like Bob Cratchit

Who? Oh him, who cares about what he wants. Im not interested in making anyone happy. Presents cost money.

 But, but what about the poor who need something to cheer about in these cold days

I’m busy, don’t bother me with those pesky fellows. I suppose if I have to give presents then I will but don’t expect me to cheer everyone on. Its like my pocket is being picked when I’m asked to give away money.

 Well, that’s a start I hope we can see more of this spirit after Christmas

 If you want to see more and meet our Scrooge then book a meeting with him on 0207 0019844 or on the day at the Museum of London Docklands.

Scrooge’s Grotto is open daily  until I January 2012

You can also enjoy some festive family fun if you time your visit to Scrooge to coincide with our December events schedule. More details on our website.

I know you have all been waiting for him so I won’t make you wait any longer. After a great deal of effort we have managed to secure an interview with perhaps the most busy man around Xmas (plus his helpers, our Victorian photographer and the mystic Gypsy lady) , of course its our Santa.

Welcome Santa, are you ready for this year?

Of course, I am looking forward to making all the children around the whole world have a special day and seeing the joy on their faces when they open their presents.

That’s great news to hear Santa. It must be tough going what with all of that exercise you are getting. Are you feeling fit enough to lift all those presents?

Don’t worry about me as my elves take good care of me. They have done their elf and safety.

Good to hear, so what can we expect to happen this year?

I am planning to do all my travelling at night so I will have some time to spend in my Grotto here at the Museum of London Docklands. That means I can meet lots of families and offer them some presents when they come to see me and hopefully have a photo with everyone involved so we can all remember this special occasion.

Anything you would like to say to everyone before you leave on your errands?

Yes, I wish everyone a merry, merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you soon.

If you want to meet our Santa then book a meeting with him on 0207 0019844 or on the day when you visit the Museum of London Docklands.

Santa’s Grotto is open daily until 23 December 2011.

If you are unable to visit Santa why not come along and meet Scrooge from 27 December 2011 to 1 January 2012!

You can also enjoy some festive family fun if you time your visit to Santa or Scrooge to coincide with our December events schedule. More details on our website here.

Its that time again. December is upon us and we have another fabulous Grotto about to start at the Museum of London Docklands . No need to take my word for it though, just take a look at this tantalising glimpse of the Grotto entrance.

Here is another picture too of what it looks like right in the heart of our Grotto

If you want to see more and meet our Santa then book a meeting with him on 0207 0019844 or on the day here at the Museum of London Docklands.

Santa’s Grotto is open daily from 10 December until 23 December 2011.

If you are unable to visit Santa why not come along and meet Scrooge from 27 December 2011 to 1 January 2012!

You can also enjoy some festive family fun if you time your visit to Santa or Scrooge to coincide with our December events schedule. More details on our website.

The Your 2012 exhibition is up and running and we are getting some fantastic feedback. If you have not already seen it then come along to the Museum of London Docklands and visit our free exhibition detailing the changes that have been going on around the Olympic site at Stratford.

So much has been happening recently that I felt obliged to give you this bumper blog update detailing the big changes. To begin, there is now a large bridge that is going over Stratford High Street so that users of the Greenway do not need to cross the road.

Health and Safety during the construction of the bridge has been a priority as can be seen from the below:

Further construction is also continuing on the Orbit. It is now over 76 metres high.

The Greenway beside the stadium has also been busy with its own art installation that you can see below:

If you were wondering what the explanation for this artwork is then read below:

If you would like to find out more about the Olympic site then I recommend that you come along to one of our Olympic walking tours,  ‘Walk the Olympic Way: Stratford Regeneration Tour’ which happen every Saturday and the last Wednesday of each month.

In case you are wondering what the tours are like, here are some photos from last week’s tour with our ever-enthusiastic resident Stratford and Olympic expert, Dave.

Finally, a reminder that we are looking for your photographs and observations of the Olympic Park to share on our YOUR 2012 flickr group. We will also be sharing in this group some of the hundreds of images that we took while developing this display.

The Your 2012 exhibition is up and running and we are getting some fantastic feedback. If you have not already seen it then come along to the Museum of London Docklands and visit our free exhibition detailing the changes that have been going on and around the Olympic site at Stratford.

What with the opening of the new Westfield shopping site it is now possible to see the key buildings around the Olympic site from new, exciting vantage points. We took a look around the area and have come up with the space age, futuristic images of the site below.

If the building below looks unfamiliar its probably because the public view of it was largely obscured previously by the Aquatic Centre. This building is in fact where the waterpolo will be played and is a temporary venue that will seat 5,000 people during the Olympics.

If you would like to find out more about the Olympic site then I recommend you come along to one of our Olympic walking tours that can be booked at  ‘Walk the Olympic Way: Stratford Regeneration Tour’ which take place every Saturday and last Wednesday of each month.

Also I would like to give a quick reminder that we are looking for your photographs and observations of the Olympic Park to share on our YOUR 2012 flickr group. We will also be sharing in this group some of the hundreds of images that we took while developing this display.

The Your 2012 exhibition is up and running and we are getting some fantastic feedback. If you have not already seen it then come along to the Museum of London Docklands and visit our free exhibition detailing the changes that have been going on and around the Olympic site at Stratford.

Now naturally many of you are aware that the largest shopping mall in Europe is opening today in Stratford. As these exclusive photos show the whole place is extremely busy and it is only its opening day!

If you would like to find out more about the Olympic site then I recommend you come along to one of our Olympic walking tours at  ‘Walk the Olympic Way: Stratford Regeneration Tour’  that are happening every Saturday and last Wednesday of each month.

Also I would like to give a quick reminder that we are looking for your photographs and observations of the Olympic Park to share on our YOUR 2012 flickr group. We will also be sharing in this group some of the hundreds of images that we took while developing this display.

With Your 2012, our free photography exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands now open, we wanted to share two of our favourite images from the 20 on display and ask you to contribute to our flickr group.

This photo below was taken from inside the Viewtube of the centrepiece Olympic stadium.

Here is another photograph this time of the basketball stadium (which hosted a warm-up match between Australia and China this week)  that has been nicknamed the ‘mattress’ and amazingly can be disassembled and reassembled anywhere in the country in just six months.

We are looking to share via flickr some of the hundreds of images we did not have room to include in the exhibition and to encourage you to share your photographs of the area as it continues to change in the run up to the Olympic Games.

So if you have photographs you would like to share please upload them to http://www.flickr.com/groups/your_2012/ .

To get things started I have uploaded 23 of my photographs today.

I will  monitor the group and share further photographs, insights and themes over the coming weeks and look forward to discussing with you the images that are posted by you alongside those taken by us.

Peter

Time is ticking away before the 20 images that will make up the Your 2012 free photography exhibition go on display dealing with the impact of the construction of the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. 

Come along and see it when it opens at the Museum of London Docklands on 22 July 2011.

I thought it would be nice to show you just how the exhibition is constructed so here are a few photographs taken this week as the installation design team are hard at work.

Looking to learn more about the Olympic site? I recommend that you come along if you can to our next Olympic tour called ‘Walk the Olympic Way’ that we will be offering on Wednesday 27 July from 2.30pm – 4pm.

If you do get a chance to visit the exhibition, please do let us know your thoughts by posting comments on either the museum’s Facebook or Twitter pages.

Time is ticking away before the 20 images that will make up the Your 2012 free photography exhibition go on display dealing with the impact of the construction of the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. Come along and see it when it starts at the Museum of London Docklands on the 22nd of July 2011 and see some awesome pictures.

One of the buildings we will be showing in the exhibition is the Orbit Tower. Below you can see an image showing the next exciting phase of development of its construction with winding structures now being built around the central frame. When it is fully constructed it will be a staggering 115 metres high. This will make it even taller than the Statue of Liberty which by way of contrast is only 93 metres high.

If you would like to learn more about the Olympic site than I recommend that you come along to our next Olympic tour called ‘Walk the Olympic Way’ that we will be offering on Wednesday July 27th from 2.30pm – 4pm.

Finally come and check in again for a couple of extraordinary photos from the ‘Your 2012′ photography exhibition itself next week.

Peter

Time is ticking away before the 20 images that will make up the Your 2012 free photography exhibition go on display dealing with the impact of the construction of the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. Come along and see it when it starts at the Museum of London Docklands on the 22nd of July 2011 and see some awesome pictures.

Recently I was fortunate enough to gain access to ’The View’ and take these spectacular photos of the Olympic landscape from an aerial perspective. 

In the photo below, to the left of the Olympic site, you can see a view of the construction works where huge amounts of concrete are prepared onsite.

If you would like to learn more about the Olympic site than I recommend that you come along to our next walking tour called ‘Walk the Olympic Way’ that we are offering on Wednesday July 27th from 2.30pm – 4pm.

Look out for more blog posts later this week and see some of the latest progress going on with the Arcelor Mittal Orbit tower.

Peter