Thursday, 26 March 2009

The Finale: The Top Fives

It's really true. I'm about to board my one-way flight from London Heathrow, so this last post marks the end of LDN: HOT OR NOT.

Thanks for reading, agreeing and disagreeing with me for the last two years. As a final parting gift, here's a random list of Top Fives (off the top of my head):

Top five HOT London views

  • Babylon at Kensington Roof Gardens
  • National Portrait Gallery Restaurant
  • Skylon at Royal Festival Hall
  • Tate Modern Restaurant
  • Along the canals of Little Venice

Top five NOTs where I've wanted to throw something

  • Cy Twombly at Tate Modern
  • Arbutus Restaurant
  • sorting out ISA account balance transfers
  • Daylesford Organic mail order
  • Bertorelli, Covent Garden

Top five never-to-be-repeated HOT experiences

  • Classical Brit Awards at Royal Albert Hall
  • VIP at O2 Wireless Festival
  • Glastonbury
  • Guest Night at Gray's Inn
  • Swan Lake at Royal Opera House

Top five HOT art

  • Anthony Gormley at Hayward Gallery
  • Henry Moore at Kew Gardens
  • Conceptual art at Tate Modern
  • National Gallery free tours
  • Candlelight viewing of secret Hogarths at Sir John Soane's Museum

Top five NOTs where I had wished they'd just stop it, please

  • Breakin' Boundaries at Roundhouse
  • Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  • The Walworth Farce at National Theatre
  • Speed the Plow at Old Vic
  • British Ambassador's Belly Dancer at Arcola Theatre

Top Five HOT cinema experiences

  • Secret Cinema
  • Anything at the Electric Cinema
  • BFI Mediatheque
  • The English Surgeon at the London Film Festival
  • Paris, je t'aime at Odeon Whiteleys

Top five HOT moments which moved me to tears

  • Spyski at Lyric Theatre
  • Daniel Barenboim playing Beethoven's Appassionata
  • War Horse at the National Theatre
  • Karma Police, Radiohead, clear evening sky at Victoria Park
  • Getting sweaty with my bestest buddies at Lucky Voice Karaoke

Top Five HOT unusual theatre experiences

  • Helium at Barbican
  • Contains Violence at Lyric Theatre
  • Masque of the Red Death at Battersea Arts Centre
  • Just To(o) Long at Battersea Arts Centre
  • Hamlet at King's Head Theatre
And you want more gushing, eye-rolling and visceral hatred from Jetsetting Joyce, come and join me at MEL:HOT OR NOT.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree. Arbutus sucks!

Unknown said...

Bye joyce we will miss you! Sad to read your bad review of Madame de Sade - going to it next week. Lets hope Dame Judy practices her lines in the meantime.