Picadilly Circus, 1948

Picadilly Circus, 23rd July, 1948

Game of Thrones at the Tower of London

We are in March but it looks like "winter is coming".

 The Tower of London is the perfect set to perform a battle, a treason, or a romantic escape. Seven months ago, the artist Paul Cummins symbolized the Flanders battlefields with 888,246 red ceramic poppies placed around the Tower. 

Happy Red Nose Day!

It has been 30 years since Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry founded Comic Relief. Maybe they did not think about the importance of that decision, but nowadays, this British charity has became the major one based in the UK. Thanks to all the hard work, Comic Relief has raised over £950 million in all these years.

How can they do that? Very simple. The Charity has the "Golden Pound Principle". It means that every single penny donated, it is spent on charitable projects. The workers, and costs are covered by private sponsors. So, when you make a contribution, you know that your money is not going to be wasted.

Besides, Comic Relief organises two big biennales. Sport Relief and Red Nose Day. 

Today, and since it was first launched in 1988, is Red Nose Day. Every two years, people have the opportunity to have fun at work, home, school or uni while they help the needed.

Secret Cinema presents Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy.

Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by Luke Skywalker have established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth.

The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Skywalker, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space....

Michael Jackson's Statue

This glove belongs to Michael Jackson's Statue. The sculpture is 2.3 metres high and it is made of resin and plaster.

Mohamed Al Fayed, who was a friend of the artist, commissioned the figure after Michael's death with the idea of placing it in Harrods. But in 2010, Al Fayed sold the iconic department store to Qatar Holdings for £1.5bn. The Qatari family refused to install the statue in their mall, so Michael Jackson sculpture was finally placed outside Craven Cottage, the Fulham Football Club stadium, on the 3rd of April, 2011.

The acceptation of the statue was very negative but the truth is that, as time went by, it was accepted as an important part of Craven Cottage.

Baileys or Bailey's

Baileys was created by Gilbeys of Ireland and it was introduced to the international market as the first Irish Cream on 1974. The idea was very simple. They put together Irish whiskey, cream and some herbs (obviously the recipe is a secret) and they made a millionaire business.  

Nowadays, the trademark is owned by Diageo, a British multinational. This company is currently the world's largest producer of spirits and one of the major manufacturers of beer and wine. Some of its products are Guinness, Kilkenny, Jonnie Walker, Cardhu, Smirnoff, Gordon's, Captain Morgan or Pimm's.

But, how is Baileys linked to London? Diageo is headquartered in London but this is not the important fact. The name of this alcoholic drink was inspired by the Millennium Bailey's Hotel, a building placed in the 140 Gloucester Road, Kensington. It was established in 1876 and it took its name after its owner, the Member of Parliament Sir James Bailey.

Regent Street, circa 1890

Regent Street, circa 1890
(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)