The Olympics: Riches or Ruin?

The Olympics.  These two words conjure up a somewhat mixed bag of emotions for me.  As someone who has never been excessively involved in competitive sport, I find it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be swept up in London’s apparent ‘excitement’ of hosting this Summer’s games.  To the outside world, this is London’s chance to show off its shiny new Stadium and how well we can put on a jolly good show.  But for the rest of us, am I not alone in worrying this massive financial gamble may not pay off? 

With an ‘expected’ £5.1 billion boost to the UK economy, it is no secret that the games in total may have cost us anything up to or over £9.3 billion.  And for a country with out an apparent pot to piss in, it seems Cameron has some serious mozzarella stashed away in his Olympic contingency fund.  Sarah Beeny would be proud.  And for anyone who lives in and around Stratford, or like me, takes that train route in to London, it may be wise to start planning a far away holiday to escape the inevitable inconveniences that no doubt will ensue.  maybe even sub-let your place and cash-in?  Now there is an idea worthy of a gold-medal.

Despite my raging negativity towards the games, I do have to admit there are a few little positives I am fond of.  As a fashion blogger, and a GIRL any new mega shopping centre so easily accessable for me is always a bonus (especially as I managed to spot Taylor Lautner and R-Patz there), so Westfield, you have my seal of approval.  Other than this, the recent rumour of a Spice Girls reformation for the opening ceremony  has sent literal tingles down my spine.   Feel free to mock away, but who better suited for this than Sporty Spice?

What do you think?  Are you genuinely excited, or like me, completely underwhelmed?  Do share your thoughts…

Book Porn | Selfridge’s Pop-Up Library

Last week saw what some silly statisticians term as ‘Blue Monday’ – the most depressing day of the year. Worked out using an equation (that can be found here) that factors in debt and the weather, the man-made event dominates endless headlines and becomes a convenient scapegoat for our post-Christmas lethargy

Thankfully, I was untouched by the hoo-ha and decided to take direct action to combat any potential blues, and ducked into Selfridges to have a casual browse. Down in the basement they have created yet another fantastic temporary installation – a pop-up library- that is as beautiful as it is informative.

A side note here: I have a bit of a thing for books – not just reading them, but adorning any wall, table or floor space with stacks of them. When I lived briefly in Paris, I was more preoccupied with packing three giant boxes of them and completely forgot to take any underwear or socks. Nice one. When I came across Decorating with Books by Marie Proeller Hueston and the Book Porn tumblr site, it was like the mother ship calling to me.

Anyway, the pop-up library was out of this world: covering a massive 3,500 square feet, covered wall-to-wall in some of the store’s most beautiful books-  predominantly fashion, photography, art and poetry – and curated by publishing houses Penguin, Taschen and Faber. Chatting to one of the sales assistants – a lovely man named Brian who also moonlighted as a radio producer – he explained the logic behind the book selected: “We’re happy to have these beautiful books displayed here, because even if they are expensive, people are much more likely to flick through a photography collection or a couple of poems than read an entire novel.”

I ask which ones have been the most popular and he directs me to two Taschen collections – A Chronicle of the Crusades: 1474 Manuscript and an Atlas of Human Anatomy & Surgery from the 19th Century. They are quite beautiful and provide brief respite before I’m slowly lured to the other parts of the installation. One wall has been dedicated to celebrity book recommendations, featuring the likes of Olivia Palermo, Sophie Dahl and Will Ferell (see pic). There are also some pretty interesting classes run by the Idler Academy, including calligraphy classes and an Introduction to Greek Philosophy.

There is a bigger story here though- as the library forms part of Selfridges ‘Words, Words, Words’ initiative, designed to draw attention to planned library closures throughout the UK and to celebrate the written word. If you have the time, check it out. It’s a sure fire way to beat off those (hypothetical) January blues.

What do you think about the phenomenon that is Blue Monday? Is it all just media hype? Tweet us @Style_ThenSome to let us know what you think!

Image credit: REX / DA