Picture Yourself There

Glastonbury 2007

The daddy of all festivals begins this weekend – but the star most likely to set the capture the hearts of festival goers is quite simply the mother of all showgirls. Dame Shirley Bassey, the patron saint of feather boas, will be performing on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday, and while we can’t really see her plodding around the Circus Field in her Wellingtons we think that she’ll look right at home when she's belting out a bit of Goldfinger.

But, I’m afraid we’ve also got some bad news for you. Are you sitting down?

The Wurzels, self-styled ‘Legends of the West Country’ will not be playing at Glasto this year. It seems that the Somerset band had some problems with the stage they had been allocated, and have decided that they are to bow out gracefully. So, if you were only going to hear 'Combine Harvester', you might as well turn back now.

Get the NavPix here...

Summer Solstice - Stonehenge

If you’re one of those people who’s up with the lark, bear in mind that you’ve got a long day ahead of you with tomorrow’s summer solstice. Prepare to soak up the lovely light evening on Wednesday before the sun finally sets at 9:26pm, followed by an eye-wateringly early sunrise at 4:58am on Thursday morning. Don’t worry, we know you’re more likely to get up in time for Jeremy Kyle than this special dawn chorus.

So, if you’re not great at getting up in the mornings but still want to see the sunrise, one option is to stay up all night… Thanks to English Heritage, between 8:30pm on Wednesday and 8am on Thursday the fabulous and historic site of Stonehenge will be open to visitors, all be celebrating this magical event. If you’re a cynical type, you’re eyebrows might be raised by the drum-making session – but we reckon that you’ll have flowers in your hair and be dancing around with the best of them after some organic wine.

Get the NavPix here…

New Seven Wonders - The Coliseum

The number seven is steeped in symbolism. Think about its significance within our culture: the Bible teaching that the world was created in seven days; seven ages of man; seven deadly sins… And, of course, seven Police Academy films. Not forgetting the Seven Wonders of the World which are now, thanks to Swiss entrepreneur Bernard Weber, being updated so that every structure built before the year 2000 can be included. (And no, sadly the Millennium Dome didn’t make the grade.) You and the rest of the world can cast your votes at www.new7wonders.com, and see whether modern marvels such as the Taj Mahal and Sydney Opera House can stand up to such time-honoured phenomenons as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Here at Picture Yourself There, we love the incredible Coliseum, where more than 50,000 Romans would in ancient times regularly watch gladiators battle to the death. Gruesome. Get the NavPix here…

For more information about the site, click here...

Father's Day - Motorexpo

If you aren’t armed with socks, aftershave or a novelty tie this morning, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. It is of course Father’s Day today, and dads across the land are waking up and wondering why his presents are never quite as exciting as Mum’s. Lucky for you (and him), then, that we at Picture Yourself There have a suggestion to make this day a bit more stimulating than last year.

Obviously, Dads love cars. And today is the last day of MotorExpo 2007, the free motor show in London’s Canary Wharf where more than 200 cars and bikes will be on display between 10am and 5pm. Before the show ends, why not take pa along to gaze longingly at the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster? Or drool over the Bentley Brookster? For the eco-conscious amongst you, there’s even a Green Zone where visitors can learn about alternative fuel options.

Happy Father’s Day! Get the NavPix here…

Royal Festival Hall - Meltdown

You can’t possibly have failed to spot all the press about the Royal Festival Hall following the multi-million pound refurbishment that was completed last month. Promising fantastic new acoustics, this is a high-class venue where you’ll be able to hear every nuance of sound performed there, every note crystal clear, perhaps even the sound of a pin drop… So what better act to open the Meltdown festival tonight than… Motorhead.

OK, it might sound incongruous, but this is 1. exactly the idea, since the Meltdown mission statement encourages us to start ‘combining things that shouldn’t be combined, by looking at things from a different angle, by the use of extreme volume and frequencies’, and 2. going to be awesome.

Get the NavPix here…

Navman Loves The Fantastic Four

At some point in your childhood (or maybe when you’ve just been really bored at work), we bet you’ve wondered about what kind of superhero you might be. Maybe you’d have X-ray vision? Or telekinetic powers? Take a trip back to your youth and choose your favourite Marvel star with the release of The Fantastic Four 2: The Silver Surfer. And maybe feel a bit sorry for the guy who – while his buddies get the cool slots as the invisible woman and the human fireball – has to play the big, lumbering rock-thing.

In anticipation of the film’s release, the Silver Surfer (was it just us, or did you expect him to be an old person who’s quite handy on the internet?) himself is currently surfing the London Eye, which the cast of the film will be riding as they give interviews. Take a trip on the Eye yourselves and, flying above the capital, feel as close as you ever will to being a superhero.

Get the NavPix here…

US Open Golf Tournament

In his 1886 book Hints on the Game of Golf, Horace Hutchinson declared: ‘If profanity had an influence on the flight of the ball, the game would be played far better than it is’. He clearly forgot to include the similarly positive effects that might occur should profanity influence traffic jams, stubbed toes and IT problems, but it was the nineteenth century after all.

To be fair, with the calibre of players competing in the US Open today, the air is fairly unlikely to be turning blue. But the adrenaline will certainly be flowing with faces like Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie and Adam Scott in the line up. Running until June 17th, this is one of the biggest and most exciting golfing events of the season.

Get the NavPix here…

World's Biggest Skate Park

Dallas and Dynasty. Puffball skirts. Kajagoogoo. OK, so the eighties have a lot to answer for, but the decade that fashion forgot was onto something with the skateboard craze. And just like all the greats – Noel Edmonds, Shirley Bassey – a comeback is nigh. The sport hit the news this week when the International Olympic Committee held talks in Switzerland to discuss how our favourite childhood craze can be officially incorporated into the 2012 games.

Perhaps, if we start practising now, we’ll be in with a chance for the gold - and a great place to start would be the world’s largest skate park in New Jiangwan, outside Shanghai. However, with some bowls as deep as seventeen feet, this is perhaps one for the pros…

Cowabunga dude. If you fancy a trip to Shanghai, then get the NavPix here…

Barbican Big Screen

There's only one downside to the summer blockbuster season - sitting in a dark cinema suffering the sugar slump induced by that large Coke while everyone else is enjoying the lovely sunny days and light evenings. Sure, you've got an overpriced tub of Ben and Jerry's melting into your lap, but the air conditioning is still turned on too high and it just doesn't feel like the holiday season is here.

What a brilliant idea, then, the Barbican Big Screen is. In celebration of its 25th birthday, the Barbican is holding outdoor screenings of a selection of films at Broadgate Arena. The perfect opportunity then to see what is bound to be the big hit of the summer, Pirates of the Caribbean, which can be viewed on Friday. Be warned, take a cushion as this one is meant to be pretty long... And another advantage to an outdoor screening is that breaking for refreshments is more satisfying - we think, if the film's a bit slow, you should consider taking a trip to the Railway Tavern just down the road...

Get the NavPix here...

Porthcurno Beach, Cornwall

The weather will soon be picking up, and as soon as the first chink of sunshine peeps through the British clouds the public will be falling over themselves to grab that last deckchair. Get ready to pack up your buckets and spades, and head to one of the nation’s beaches to for some sunburn, sandy ice-creams and (dum-dum dum-dum dum-dum) sharks…

Yes, just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Cornish coast, swimmers have been surprised (and probably fairly alarmed) to see the creatures drifting menacingly through the waters at Porthcurno beach. Fortunately, the only thing these basking sharks are terrorising is plankton – but they can still give you a nudge accidentally with their enormous tails if you get too close. Call us fraidy cats but, despite their human-friendly diet, we think they’re still probably best appreciated from the shallow waters.

Don’t forget your swimsuit. Go to www.visit-westcornwall.com for more details, and get the NavPix here…