Chinese new year

What a nice surprise -- to celebrate Chinese new year, Oxford Circus took down the xmas lights and put up red lanterns. I barely had time to get out the camera as the bus swung round the corner.

On Sunday we went to the V&A and encountered ... just about any Chinese cultural activity you can think of. The joint was jumping! Stilt walkers...
Calligraphy demonstrations (long queue of people waiting to get their name written in Chinese)... Traditional music...
Drumming and dancing...
Vegetable carving...Chinese chess, mah jong, people in costume wandering around... and everyone was taking photographs, of course. A calligraphy exhibition...
And behind the scenes, a reminder of the preparation and organisation needed for such an event.