London's Southbank

Hey there! If you happen to be walking along the bank of the River Thames (c'mon, we all do that at some point) and want something to do, why not try visiting the Southbank? There are a variety of events and stores to visit, and many of them are suitable for young elves and elflings.

Although your young elfling might ask uncomfortable questions about this poster. It's been set up to advertise the ongoing 'Festival of Love' and is part of a series of posters with different forms of love depicted in cartoons. I'm not sure if I've ever felt 'Flirting, playful affection' for any other elf, but maybe I'll ask Minty, my friend the lamb.

Nope, she hasn't, either. Such mysteries of life there are still to be unravelled!

If your boy elfling is at that stage where he's into skateboards, and slams the branches when you tell him to go up to his tree, maybe visiting the undercroft would be his thing. This undercroft has actually been the subject of a 10-month battle between skateboarders who want to keep it exactly as it is, and the powers that be at Southbank, who want to regenerate this section (thus removing this skatepark).

Here's some fun for your younger elflings, and it saves a trip to the beach - there are long sandpits along the edge of the river, and there are many human children playing in them.

There's even a carousel for your elflings too, though of course you must pay to have a go. I would advise elflings to cram onto one pony, because that's much more economical. However, for the larger human children, maybe that's not the most comfortable option.

And how about just sitting down with a nice book? There is a book market open at the Southbank too, selling second hand books. Note that each table belongs to a separate storeholder. I watched a young human being told off rather sharply - 'You can't just move the books around. That's a different store. This isn't a library' when she took a book to another table. I thought that was rather rude of the storeholder - how would she have known? But as a small elf, I did nothing and just watched as she meekly took the book back to its original table. But of course, I didn't buy anything after witnessing that.

*shakes head*

On a more positive note, there are plenty of other things to look at - these ribbons flapped in the wind with multiple snapping noises. It would be a good place for hide and seek!

I'm going to wander around for a bit.

See you soon,

Elf Dryadalis

Southbank: Woodland Garden

You might remember my previous post on Southbank's secret rooftop garden. It's a really cool space, full of little nooks and crannies to explore. I would advise all elves and their human friends to walk round to the other side of the garden - there are many larger plants here, like this purple puffy one which had many bumblebees around it, and also a way to the Woodland Garden!

Here's the tunnel which leads out of the secret rooftop garden. There are vines climbing eagerly all over the tunnel, and it's so surreal - like something out of Alice in Wonderland. It feels like you've become a miniature elf and got stuck in a hedge. You know what I mean.

This intriguing little sign invites us to 'cross the bridge to see what's growing in our Woodland Garden'. Well, I'd be pleased to accept! As you can see from the bottom right-hand corner of the picture, there are even a few plants growing on the concrete bridge itself!

After all that walking, I'm a little tired. It's a good job, then, that in the Woodland Garden there's a set of stools and a little table to relax at! In one of my rebellious moods, I decided to climb onto the table for my 'elfie. There's a pair of sunglasses sitting on the table too. I think those must have been left by a previous explorer. I left them there, in case the owners retraced their steps to find them.

I am well camouflaged amongst all these slender tree trunks! It's a very odd atmosphere, since the wood is real, yet the grass underneath is carpet disguising itself as grass, and there's a ceiling overhead. Add the sunlight bursting in from behind, and it's an oddly mystical, complex environment.

I'm going to climb in and out of these tree trunks for a little while now.

See you soon,

Elf Dryadalis

Southbank: secret rooftop garden

Going up the yellow stairs, this promising sign appears: 'We're sorry but we can't allow dogs on the roof'. It sounds like they're worried the dogs will throw themselves off or something. Actually, it's because this stairwell leads to a hidden rooftop garden on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank centre! The nearest stations are London Waterloo and London Charing Cross, though there are buses which take you pretty close too. A useful website here has been set up by Transport for London to help you plan your journey.

Here I am, standing appreciatively in front of the welcoming sign. Not only are dogs banned, but so is smoking. As a non-smoking elf, who could easily be mistaken for a snack by dogs/cats/pretty much anything bigger than me, this is quite a relief!

There is an additional sign, which I didn't photograph, saying that if the rooftop garden gets too crowded, they might have to shut it to additional visitors. But whilst I was here, although it was sunny, there was plenty of space.

I'm lying here on a mosaic adorning the entrance. I like the greens and yellows; they bring out my hair.

Here's a view of the rooftop garden! As you can see, although it's a small garden, there are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore.

I do like toadstools. This one was much taller than me, but after climbing all those stairs, I was glad to have something to lean on for a bit of a rest.

There are quite a few of these toadstools around the garden - it would be a nice game to have a competition on how many toadstools you can spot!

This is a pretty poem I'm standing in front of. The faded sign says, 'This garden elevates and perfumes my heart'. Isn't that beautiful?

There are stone benches to sit on too, and I got a whole one to myself! If you're going to eat lunch here, though, I'd suggest bringing a cushion - the stone's not the most comfortable thing to sit on!

If you're wondering about the view, this is what I can see: Festival Pier, where people can go on boats, and the river is of course the Thames! The breeze from the river is saving me money on hairspray - my hair's blowing everywhere!

Hope to see you again soon,

Elf Dryadalis

Southbank: Festival Hall

If it wasn't for the sign, or the multi-coloured pillars, you might think this was a multi-storey car park by the River Thames! But actually, the Royal Festival Hall, despite its drab concrete appearance, is a 2,500-seat concert venue, home to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

It's best reached from London Waterloo, or London Charing Cross train stations.

It's worth walking around the outside of the building, since the geometric shapes eventually grow on you and make it more obvious why this building is actually Grade 1 listed (meaning it has been officially recognised as having architectural value). There are loads of steps in the most unexpected of places, and they lead to rooms, gardens......anything, really!

Outside one of the entrances is this bust of Nelson Mandela. I personally think that Mandela was better-looking than this rather scrunched-up statue face, but since I have little stone-shaping elfcraft of my own, I guess this is a nice bust anyway.

Here's one of the main entrances. A good little thing to know is that there are toilets in this building which the public can access, since otherwise you'd have to walk all the way to the train station and pay to go for a wee!

There are also many events which take place within the building. Right now it's the 'Festival of Love', celebrating mankind and elfkind's most powerful force in all its forms.

Now I think I'll go for a snack.

The 'Real Food Market' has dozens of stores selling fresh produce, from meat to sweets. Be warned; it's quite expensive (for example a hog roast sandwich is £5, without drinks, and a slice of cake is £2-£3), but fine for a treat (or if you're really rich).

Look at all these stores! They're the food stores I was talking about earlier. Take an umbrella, just in case it rains while you visit!

Phew. That was exhausting. I'm just going to sit down now, and enjoy the sunshine.

See you soon,

Elf Dryadalis