What a pleasant surprise! Yayoi K is one of our favorite modern artists and having planned to visit the Lady Di Memorial in Kensington where she lived for many “royal” years, we were just unprepared to spot the polka-dotted yellow pumpkin across the Kensington pond. I was panting for breath after walking around the memorial gardens when I spotted the yellow and black pumpkin. Couldn’t believe our luck to find it here on full display (unveiled in July, up until November 3, 2024) — the tallest pumpkin structure to date! Quite frankly, I am sooo impressed that Yayoi at 95 years of age is still very prolific with her sculptures and signature infinity and circles installations spread all over the world. Not bad for someone who has been suffering from mental and psychological issues since childhood. Having lived in an asylum since 1977, it is reported that her iconic pumpkin structures are reminders of her happy childhood. This holds much meaning to me — the few local artists I’ve talked to have almost always integrated their childhood memories into their art. A poignant reminder how minds and mindsets are forged, developed and nurtured through the years, and then expressed in some form. Art or otherwise.
Enough of Yayoi Kusama. We are in Kensington Gardens near Kensington Palace where Lady Diana lived and raised her two sons Prince Harry and the king-in-waiting Prince William. This prime piece of Crown Estate land houses a “Cradle Walk” (a tunnel of arched arbour of twigged lime) surrounding a Sunken Garden where a statue of Lady Diana with three children stand. It’s a beautiful memorial to Lady Diana that evokes mixed feelings that remind people of her royal life in Kensington Palace where she lived since her wedding to the day she died. The round pond nearby has resident ducks and swans — a perfect setting for family picnics and lovers’ quiet dates.
The gardens adjoin Hyde Park so bikers have this vast expanse to do their “laps” while enjoying the tranquility of rest stops in front of the sunken gardens, the kids’ playgrounds, the Palace, the Pond. Imagine all that green space! It is London’s massive oxygen station. Though the Kensington Gardens are more “formal” and close early , Hyde Park is open for longer hours. If there’s one thing I truly envy Londoners for, it’s their free museums and many lovely parks, gardens and squares. 💕
lifeisacelebration 
wow!! 2Liverpudlian or Scouse?