2012

The world-famous annual Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities was held on the River Thames this weekend and turned out to be one of the most dramatic ever. Firstly, the race had to be restarted after a swimming protestor was almost hit by the boats, then the Oxford team broke an oar and Cambridge won, before a member of Oxford had to be rushed to hospital at the end of the exhausting race.

The Oxford Cambridge boat race (known as just the Boat Race) is one of the best known British traditions. For over 150 years, the two universities have battled it out on the Thames in a rowing race that today attracts up to 300,000 spectators. However, the 158th race, held on Saturday, has to be one of the most eventful ever.

Swimmer Stops Race

The drama first started ten and a half minutes in to the race, when a man appeared in the middle of the Thames, right in front of the two boats which were side by side. After spotting him in the water, race umpire John Garrett quickly stopped the race, later explaining:

"I wasn't sure if he was going to get out of the way in time, it was quite clear he was waiting for the boats to come across him, so I just had to stop the race."

The four-day Easter weekend is coming up, and we have some brilliant suggestions for things to do in London. Whether you prefer to go back to your childhood with an Easter Egg hunt, go to a church service, or have a big night out clubbing, we've got the perfect thing for you.

Kew's Mayan Chocolate Adventure

Where? Kew Gardens, West London
When? Daily until Sunday 15th April, 9.30am-7.30pm
How Much? £11.90

With Stephen Fry hosting, the Baftas promised to be a charming, light-hearted and very British night of entertainment, and did not disappoint. The annual film and television awards were held last night at Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, and attracted some of the biggest names in cinema. Whilst the audience was littered with such stars as Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Meryl Streep, it was a silent, black and white French film which swept the awards.

The Unexpected Film of the Year

The film that is so surprisingly dominating the awards season is The Artist. Set in 1927, it tells the story of a silent movie actor whose career begins to wane just as his lover's career takes off in the ‘talkies'. After already winning big at the Golden Globes and gaining ten Oscar nominations, the movie won a massive seven awards last night. In total it won (deep breath): Best Film, Director, Original Screenplay, Leading Actor, Original Music, Cinematography and Costume Design.

The overjoyed (but slightly embarrassed) director and writer Michel Hazanavicius (pictured on the right above) had to come up on stage and make several different speeches, revealing "I know that I will have some bad days because I'm a director but I will remember this day, today, as a good day".

Movie award season started this weekend with the Golden Globes being held in Los Angeles. Presented by English comic Ricky Gervais for the third year running, the big winner from the night was, unusually, a black and white silent movie called The Artist.

The Winners and Losers

The Artist tells the tale of a declining silent actor who is starting to lose his celebrity as talking films gain in popularity. On the night, it was named best comedy and its star Jean Dujardin (pictured above) took home the best male comedy actor award. On the drama side, George Clooney won best actor for his role in The Descendents, which also won Best Film Drama.

Other big winners included hotly-tipped Meryl Streep for her role as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, and Michelle Williams who plays Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, both of whom won Best Actress awards. On the international scene, Iran's A Separation, which tells the simple tale of a couple's break up, won best foreign language film.

On December 31st, billions of people across the world celebrated the end of 2011 and the start of 2012, with fireworks, balloons and even grape eating.

In the UK, thousands of street parties were held up and down the country. The biggest by far was held in London where 250,000 people gathered along the River Thames to watch a massive firework display at the London Eye. Triggered by the Big Ben bell striking midnight, the 11 minute display had an amazing 12,000 fireworks. It had an Olympic theme, and mayor Boris Johnson enthused: "Our New Year fireworks were a brilliant start to a spectacular year. This is just the beginning - as the eyes of the world turn to London for the Olympic and Paralympic Games."

Scotland's capital, Edinburgh, also saw tens of thousands of revellers turn out for the city's historic and world famous Hogmanay street party. As 5.5 tonnes of fireworks lit up the night sky, more than 20 music acts performed to the crowds over seven stages.