Winter Lights at Canary Wharf

For a couple of weeks in January, Canary Wharf was lit up with thirty light installations by some of the most creative artists and designers. Having been meaning to get over to the Wharf since it started on 16 January, we finally made it over there on its last night.

And no,  I've no idea what took us so long. 

Canary Wharf still confuses me, somehow whenever I'm there I lose all sense of direction and fall into the trap of believing that it all looks the same. This time was no different and if I'm honest wasn't helped by the dark evening. I'm not sure I'll ever get the hang of it but no matter with a step count of 16,000 by the end of the day I'd discovered the plus of walking in circles in London's Docklands.

ANGELS OF FREEDOM

It was great to see the angel wings and people - of all ages - interacting with them. MOH declined a photo with wings, which is probably wise. We avoided the groups of people and headed over to the Ovo which was on its first visit to the UK, from Belgium. 

OVO

OVO

It was one of those calming and thought provoking sculptures and one I could have watched for ages. there was a small queue to go onto the platform and inside but I decided against that content with watching from the outside.  Leaving the Ovo we headed over to Crossrail Place, had another wander through the Roof Garden and back again finding ourselves in front of the luminous colour of Our Spectral Vision, which was one of my favourite installations. 

Well, you know me and colour. Stunning isn't it?

OUR SPECTRAL VISION

I was intrigued to see what the Cathedral of Mirrors was, and it wasn't what I imagined. There were twelve towers which I later discovered responded to people's movements using high-tech sensors. The Canary Wharf website says "pulses of light are sent racing through the columns generating more light energy as people congregate" and it was true, it was like watching an adult playground, each mesmerised by the result of their movements.

CATHEDRAL OF MIRRORS

CATHEDRAL OF MIRRORS

And against the lights of the office blocks, it really did look larger than it was.  Before heading off to find a restaurant with a less than forty-five minute wait, we had a couple more circuits around Canary Wharf, when I *think* I might have just cracked the layout. Don't get too excited by that though, by the time I go back again it'll all be history!

In the short film below you'll see Water Wall where a mist screen transforms water into a canvas for projections and what looks like smoke rings. There's Huge Reeds which were swaying rhythmically at Cabot Square.  You'll notice which is my favourite installation, I was mesmerised by Bloom, which when you know it's a thousand globes of light on a stalk and swaying in the breeze reminiscent of a field of flowers you'll not be surprised.  But in the distance we could see what we were off to next - Horizontal Interference - and I don't think it's just me, but it reminded me of one of those windbreaks that was an essential in the 1970s. Ours wasn't as vibrant or fancy as this though, and mostly it was left in the car, I'm sure. Or just moved about the shed.

Did you get along to see the Winter Lights at Canary Wharf? I'd be interested to know what you thought, and which was your favourite - leave me a comment to let me know.

The roof garden, the Big Easy and a virtuous dinner

We've been out and about a lot this weekend, with a trip to Taste of London at Tobacco Dock more of which soon, followed by a stop off in Canary Wharf, for dinner on the way home. Sometimes you just have days when you're out, and it makes sense to stay out, and this was one of those. Not an out-out day, just out. I'm too old for out-out without any preparation, sadly.

Our initial thoughts were to do some Christmas shopping in Canary Wharf on the way home, and while this was good it was slightly flawed. Mainly because I hadn't thought about what to buy people and mostly because my feet hurt. I'm not sure what I've done to them, well the right one precisely but it's sore and shoes that are comfortable and I can walk in weren't really doing the job. 

A hasty change of plan saw us heading to The Big Easy instead. And I quickly realised that we could walk outside in the rain, along the covered quayside or through the roof garden. You'll already know which route we took, won't you?

It's somewhere I've been meaning to go for a while and not quite made it there. And now that I have I want to go back in daylight. The garden sits above the new Crossrail station in Canary Wharf and is a 300 metre enclosed garden which is open daily until 9pm (or sunset in summer). It draws on the area's heritage as a trading hub and uses plants native to the countries visited by the ships of the West India Dock company who were based here 200 years ago.

And within its space there's a performance space that is used in the summer for a programme of theatre and music. Must remember to check that out when it warms up again.  It was starting to rain as we visited, but as we walked through the space it was impossible not to stop and admire how the lights were shining through the trees. And the wooden and concrete benches, which also caught my eye.

Even from these photos you can see it's a great space and definitely something to explore further in daylight. And so we arrived at the Big Easy, we'd seen it from the DLR earlier and had previously eaten in the Covent Garden restaurant. We were shown to the Captain's Room and somehow neither of us were expecting quite so much wood, or the blue and white china stacked opposite our positions at the large - and I mean large table, which could easily seat thirty or so people.

We ordered our food, pork ribs for me and lobster mac and cheese for MOH and it wasn't long before the most ginormous trays of food arrived. On my plate, or skillet, there were four gigantic pork ribs, barbeque beans and coleslaw. We knew when it arrived that we'd been wise to forgo any kind of starter. 

And I had no idea how I'd make it through this meal. As usual I forgot to take pictures, this time because of the shock, I think. So with two ribs done (and some of those given to MOH) I was done, MOH had done well on his equally gigantic portion of lobster mac and cheese, but felt he could help out on the ribs. Partway through he realised his mistake and admitted defeat. Both mains were tasty and good value, but huge. So large that I asked to bring the meat home.

And that's where the virtuous meal comes in. 

We finished the ribs tonight as part of our dinner. Yes that's how large the portion was, I used them in a broad bean and sweetcorn pilaf for the two of us. So leftovers at their best. And even more virtuousness for us as the broad beans, sweetcorn, onions and garlic all came from our allotment (the first two courtesy of the freezer!).

A TASTY WAY TO USE UP LEFTOVER MEAT

Our Big Easy rib, broad bean and sweetcorn pilaf recipe

2 left over ribs from a Big Easy meal (or any leftover meat)
3 handfuls of broad beans, double podded
3 handfuls of frozen sweetcorn
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp of turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander
4 cardamom pods, split with a knife
1 clove
1/2 a cinnamon stick
120g basmati rice, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
250ml chicken or vegetable stock

To make the pilaf

1. Fry the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of vegetable oil until they are soft.

2. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cardamom pods, clove and cinnamon stick and cook for another couple of minutes.

3. Drain the rice and add to the pan with the stock, leftover meat, broad beans and sweetcorn. Cover with a lid and cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is cooked.

4. Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt, some lemon juice, coriander leaves and black pepper.

It really was as easy as that. It tasted great and was a good way to make use of both our allotment produce and the leftover meat. What's your favourite way to use leftovers?