London Bugs! (Pestival)

London,

I am just back from a trip to London where I happened upon one of the most enjoyable and educational events I have ever attended, and strategely enough, it was called Pestival, yes, as in bugs!

 

Bugs do outnumber us on earth, so I guess it should not be any surprise that they settled for three days at the Southbank. Renamed the Royal Pestival and Queen Bee Halls for the duration.  The festival included more than 30 insect-related events to entice everyone from the keenest geeks to the mildly intrigued.

 

A walk-in Termite Pavilion displays the bug's engineering ingenuity; Chris Watson, sound recordist for the BBC's Life In The Undergrowth, curated an evening of "insect music"; and the Bee Social was a must for hive-keepers and bee fanciers. There was also insect-inspired comedy from Robin Ince, and an exhibition of costumes and props from the Insect Circus Society.

 

The International Arts Pestival's theme for 2009 is the collapse of bee colonies around the world. To raise awareness of the plight of bees, one of London’s iconic black cabs has been transformed into a bumblebee in full flight, complete with a working beehive in the front seat.  After all, they say that London cabs buzz about like bees!

 

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