Afaranwide

ABBA Voyage, ABBA Arena, London BACK in the bad old days of Covid and lockdowns we all became used to entertainment and sporting events taking place without spectators. At the ABBA Arena in Stratford, East London, we have the opposite – a concert with a capacity 3,000-strong crowd of joyous, arm-waving fans where the performers are missing. On stage, in place of Swedish superstars ABBA, are digitally-created three-dimensional figures known as avatars – or rather, ABBAtars.

In all, there are 39 gardens, divided into categories such as show gardens, feature gardens, balcony gardens and container gardens. Much was made during lockdown of the beneficial effects of gardening on mental health, and this is reflected in the presence of 12 sanctuary gardens. Another distinct trend is the prevalence of white, mauve and blue flowers in many of the gardens – clearly this year’s colours in fashion-conscious Chelsea.

Early adopter… Colin wears mask years before Covid REMARKABLE efforts were made during the 2008 Games to counter the air pollution that often envelops Beijing. Smoke-belching factories around the capital were temporarily shut, and the normally grey skies turned blue. Similar measures were taken while we were living in Beijing when the city hosted a meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations. The skies cleared once more, with locals dubbing the resulting colour “ASEAN blue”.

I remember finding the displays of Guinness adverts particularly interesting – the brand has a long-standing reputation for memorable, often quirky, commercials. Overall, it was a modest yet worthwhile tourist attraction. This summer I went back to St James’s Gate to find the visitor experience transformed. The centre has been relocated to the enormous former storehouse, where yeast was added to the brew, and the displays have been greatly expanded to fill seven floors.

We reached the grottoes and ducked under rocky arches into several of the chambers, the skipper handling the craft deftly in even the trickiest sections. He would occasionally ask us all to nudge together into the middle of the vessel to provide better balance in narrow stretches. Some caves can be entered only when the tide is out, as higher water levels would result in bashed foreheads on the way in.