Christmas is nearly here and the number of shopping days left is decreasing at an alarming rate… Even more alarming is the fact that Christmas is on a Monday this year, meaning that there’s even less time to get parcels delivered. Apparently the number of missed parcels this year will reach record numbers, and The Telegraph even claims at at least 12 million parcels will go missing this Christmas… Blimey! If that’s not a reason to do your Christmas shopping yourself I don’t know what is…
Last week, I was invited to experience a Cabana Night Out – an evening of entertainment, food and fun, kicked off at Cabana Islington, before heading off to the nearby Sadler’s Wells theatre to watch their new dance extravaganza, Voices of the Amazon. Continue reading
A day before its official opening by Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, I was invited along with a handful of journalists to view the reveal of the brand new Exhibition Road entrance to the V&A Museum in London. A project seven years in the making, the new entrance brings the museum right into the bustling heart of Albertopolis, the cultural learning centre envisioned and coaxed to life by Prince Albert.
At the launch, the practical nature of the new entrance was revealed – an increase of visitors numbers from around 1.5 to 4 million per year meant that the current entrance was under strain, and the new Exhibition Road entrance was sorely needed to not only accommodate the influx of guests, but to also consolidate the museum’s place amongst its neighbours.
This weekend, Basingstoke’s shopping centre, Festival Place, turned into a celebration of international flavours thanks to EatStreet, an event dedicated to showcasing cuisines from around the world, and offering free samples from the restaurants from the centre. Free samples, demos… yes please!
The star of the show was Levi Roots – restauranteur, inventor, inspirational speaker, and musician, who is a passionate spokesman for Caribbean cuisine. Bringing his charm and cool to the stage, he demonstrated a variety of recipes including home style jerk chicken wings, hot and fruity Caribbean fruit slaw and Martinique coconut chicken curry, all the while regaling the crowd with stories and insights into the rich culinary heritage of the islands.
The New Forest is one of my favourite places on earth, and Exbury Gardens is one of the jewels in its crown. Situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River, and part of the breathtaking Exbury Estate, the gardens are open to the public from March until November. Whether you’re a local or you’re visiting the area on holiday, I’d definitely recommend you stop by to see one of the most spectacular collections of its type in the country.
You could spend all day at Exbury and not see everything (believe me, as this is from personal experience!), so I decided to put together a list of my top ten things to see and do there, so you don’t miss out on some of my favourite parts of our visit! (Please note, the gardens are ever changing, and different varieties will bloom in different months of the year.)
If you thought summer activities were limited to wasp-infested picnics, rained-off bike rides, going to the races or being invited to another distant relative’s wedding, then you’ve obviously never heard of polo…
Situated not far from Parson’s Green and King’s Road is Hurlingham Park, Fulham, home of Chestertons Polo – the best introduction to the crazy, furious sport you could hope for!
Spread across three days this summer (at the beginning of June), Polo in the Park slots nicely into the summer social calendar and provides ample opportunity for you to dress up, stand in a field, eat burgers and get slightly tipsy whilst watching everyone else do some hard work. I can’t think of many more summer activities I like better…
This year, Chesterons Polo in the Park had a new attraction – the Great Polo Food Festival, which was held in the Grazing Paddock, from Gorilla Events. The festival brought together some of the finest London restaurants and street food vans, including some of my personal favourites: Hix, Maze, the Meringue Girls, and Bubble Dogs.
The food area was absolutely heaving, but there were plenty of places to sit (although, pro-tip, remember to bring a picnic blanket just in case. And water (preferably a few bottles already frozen!). And sunscreen!). There was so much to choose from but eventually I plumped on this gorgeous lobster roll from Hix – although this buffalo chicken burger from Maze was sooo tempting…
The event felt very much like a mini Taste of London festival, which was fab! I also picked up some Meringue Girls treats for after dinner back at home – their dessert bar was incredible and included brownies and pavlovas – all picture-perfect and 100% Instagram-friendly!
Their stand was one of the prettiest there, and I had to snap a few pics of their cool Smeg mixer, which the chap behind the stand was pretty chuffed with and eager to tell me all about how much better it was than certain other brands…
I’ve followed the Meringue Girls on Instagram for ages so I was so happy to see them at the event – and felt the same way about seeing Rachel Black, the amazing milliner, there too! I have followed her for ages on Twitter, stalking her gorgeous floating feather headpiece for what seems like years… She even had one available for an amazing discount but I just didn’t have the funds. (So sad…) However, I swear one day I too shall wear a floating feather on my head!
But as you can see, the floating feather piece is far from her most beautiful item – there are some truly incredible creations here. Check out her site!
There were quite a few other fashion retailers, selling everything from jewellery (Stella & Dot, above, are another fav!) to fur coats and panama hats! Luxury skincare brand Elemis even had a treatment bus parked up for the odd impromptu facial or massage…
Of course, just like all the rest of the punters, I didn’t come here just to eat and shop. No. I came to get an alcoholic beverage of my choice at a pop-up bar! And luckily, there were plenty of choices there, from the traditional Pimm’s…
…to the rather more interesting Fentiman’s, which was selling its own drinks as mixers for tequila, vodka and gin. I went off-piste slightly with my order…
Instead of a boring old G&T I had Boodles Mulberry Gin with Fentiman’s Rose Lemonade – and it was utterly delicious! Fruity, floral and deliciously pink! I’d already tried the rose lemonade at a restaurant on its own, so knew that it would work gloriously!
There was also a tropical themed bar – the Mahiki Coconut Bar – which sold drinks in pineapples and coconuts.If you were feeling flush you even shell out for a treasure chest for £150, which served eight people and was a mix of Kraken Black Spiced Rum, plus more rum, brandy and peach liqueur, shaken with lime and sugar and topped with a bottle of Lanson Black Label Champagne – served, of course, in a treasure chest!
But of course, I’m only kidding about the refreshments – the real focus of the day was the polo, and what a thrilling day it was! I’d never seen a polo match before and Chestertons was the perfect place to learn, because it’s geared up for everyone from families to fashionistas, to polo-fiends, to polo-newbies. There were even helpful leaflets explaining the action, including the lengths of the chukkas and what to do with a divot…
That’s right – if there’s one thing I knew for sure about polo (apart from I was sure it was the horse kind and not the water kind), it’s that you have to go and stamp down the divots ripped up in the lawn by the action of the hooves and the mallets.
This is why I recommend 100% wedges (or flats) for a polo watching session, because if you come in heels you’ll end creating divots of your own. I wore my trusty Stuart Weitzman for Russell & Bromley Coco wedges in navy blue suede for just this occasion… (Teamed with my Mulberry Lily Gem in blue suede and my Hobbs Bianca sun hat! Oh, and some more familiar accessories, my Brora Gold Charm earrings.)
(But, don’t forget a trusty tote to carry all those polo essentials, too, like your water, picnic blanket, spare flats, etc…)
I would massively recommend Chestertons Polo in the Park to anyone who wanted a fun activity for summer – whether it’s a family day out (the day I went, Sunday, was perfect for kids as they had special activities and amazing games for children in the morning), to be seen out and about wearing your finest, to grab some amazing food, or to get out to a summer sport that isn’t horse racing… again!
Check out Polo in the Park here, and keep your eyes peeled for info about next year’s event!
Recently, I was lucky enough to have my diet derailed by some delicious food at WestQuay! The shopping centre recently launched its SummerDine promotion (see here) and was keen to show off its restaurants to a group of bloggers – including me.
West Quay is such an awesome place to shop and eat – and over the summer, it just got even better, thanks to the SummerDine promotion. From now until the end of August, there’s going to be a host of offers and discounts at loads of the centre’s cafes, restaurants and food kiosks – handy for those summer holiday shopping trips!
To take advantage of the offers, you can download WestQuay’s brand new mobile app, PLUS, which contains exclusive discounts across the centre’s large range of retailers. Amongst the offers currently on the app are 20% off Ed’s Easy Diner, kids eat free at Harry Ramsden’s, and a free original glazed doughnut (my favourite!) at Krispy Kreme with any purchase.
Ed’s Easy Diner in the food hall at WestQuay Shopping Centre, Southampton. Monday 20th May 2013.
Head on to http://www.west-quay.co.uk/events/summerdine now to find out more about the app, how it works, and how to download it. You can also collect an offer booklet from the Customer Services desk.
There are so many amazing shops and restaurants at West Quay, I couldn’t possibly list them all for fear of missing out on one of my favourites (although… hey, John Lewis and Wagamama come pretty high on the list… And don’t forget to pop into Hotel Chocolate for a free sample of their latest new treats… And I always have to see what’s on the belt at Yo! Sushi… And, I simply have to try out the Handmade Burger Co. soon too…) To find out more about West Quay, head to their site here: www.west-quay.co.uk.
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I absolutely love going to Taste of London – the first time I went was in 2010 as part of my hen party (which also included afternoon tea at The Ritz, karaoke and Louboutin shopping at Harrods!) and it was such a ball I’ve been dying to go back for ages! This year the stars aligned and I managed to visit the June festival for the Friday morning sessions.
If you love food and you love the London restaurant scene, you should definitely make sure you pay the event a visit! Here’s my guide to the best the event has to offer…
Food, Fashion and Fitness 