February 2012
27 posts
7 tags
Somewhere you should eat... Mishkins, Covent...
For anyone operating a restaurant specialising in the cuisine of a particular country or culture, being considered ‘authentic’ by experts and ex-pats can be both a blessing and a burden. While a reputation for the truest tapas, realest rendang or mostverisimilitudinous Vietnamese usually results in a clamour for tables and healthy profits, get things wrong and your faux French or...
7 tags
Something you should do... learn Russian
We may not want the Euro, but as a member of the EU, the UK and its citizens should have a good mind to get hip to some of the other creative languages within the Union, like Russian - especially as they’ll be hosting the World Cup in 2018. But how much do you think you could learn in an hour? When first presented with the task, I hoped I’d just about manage to struggle through the...
8 tags
Somewhere you should go... Electric Social,...
40 Acre Lane has been home to many a venture, the last being a Ghanaian nightclub/ restaurant that audaciously sold tickets for a Ghana v Uruguay screening during the World Cup (but unfortunately sealed its fate when the electricity failed mid-match, leaving alot of footie fans vexed to say the least and spelling the demise of yet another hangout on the Lane). So after being acquired by a new...
7 tags
Metropolitans: Steven Layton, Graphic Designer
I am…a graphic designer currently working for a small agency based in the heart of Soho. I graduated five years ago and avoided real work for a few years by running a hip hop/turntablism night with a few friends at The Social, also in Soho, as well as DJing in a few bars and clubs. These days I occasionally DJ but I’ve found people don’t appreciate 90’s hip hop, funk and soul...
8 tags
Something You Should See... The Grand Entrance...
What were you doing in your 20s? If you were like me, it involved uni, pubs and dreaming of travelling the world. If you were the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1826 you were building the world’s first underwater tunnel under our lil Thames.
Upon its completion, it was considered a wonder of the age and attracted thousands of visitors to London and while it is no longer open, the...
8 tags
Something you should do... discover your "Hidden...
The Southbank is grey and drizzly when we arrive at the BFI. Hoods up and phones on, we leaf through a trusty pocket A-Z and furtively send ‘start’ to our anonymous text contact. A reply beeps immediately, and we’re assigned our first clue. The hunt, as they say, is on.
For those not already in the know, Hidden City is a text-message-based game that allows players to explore the quirkier parts of...
5 tags
What we've been up to... the Issa London at London...
On Saturday, February 18th, the Issa London collection captivated the fashion crowd at Somerset House with vibrant colours and luxurious evening wear.  Brazilian designer Daniella Helayel took them on a collective Trans-Siberian journey from Moscow to the Forbidden City in Beijing with her bright and elegant collection.  The show itself was well received by the crowd, while backstage was...
7 tags
Something you should see... Jeremy Deller: Joy In...
He may not have been around that long but Jeremy Deller’s impact and importance since winning the Turner Prize deems him worthy of a bit of a mid-career retrospective at the Hayward Gallery this spring. All his well-known works will be represented here including videos, installations, posters, banners and performance pieces. His work is multifaceted, drawing on different mediums but all with...
6 tags
Something you should do...... The Great...
The annual Great Spitalfields Pancake Race is taking place on February 21st (Shrove Tuesday!) , so put together a team of four pancake loving friends, grab a frying pan (pancakes are provided!), and hot foot it down to the Old Truman Brewery. Get on your marks and get ready to race (whilst flipping the pancake!), with the coveted prize being an engraved frying pan at stake for the winners. Make...
8 tags
Something you should do... get knitting
For years, an underground revolution has been taking London by storm. It involves needles, hooks and stitches, and it may bring back memories of those itchy Christmas jumpers from your grandma. That’s right, folks: knitting continues to be the new cool and with the temperature continuing to drop, more timelier than ever.
Knitting has always been a popular pastime, but unlike the olden days, when...
8 tags
Something you should do... Hendrick’s Unusual...
Ever thought how unfair it is that society dictates that the man should be the one to propose? Are you all loved-up after Valentine’s Day and wondering if you’ll have to wait another half century before you can finally announce that you are ‘betrothed’ to your darling dearest?
Well, fear not! Tradition has it that every Leap Year on February 29th, every respectable lady has free reign to send...
9 tags
Somewhere you should go... Roux at the Pembury
You probably know Michel Roux Jr - head of the world famous Mitcheli starred Le Gavroche restaurant, the perfection-seeking host of Masterchef: The Professionals.
Coming from a long history of chefs and restaurateurs - including his famous father of the same name - Mr Michel Junior has evidently always had both a love of food and business running through his veins.
That’s why in recent years...
7 tags
Somewhere you should go... Love Bugs at the...
Head over to the Hunterian Museum for an alternative Valentine’s experience at their Love Bugs event, hosted by Science London. Don your face mask (free with every £2 donation) and get loved up making your own cuddly bacteria. Guest speakers give a gruesome account of what you wouldn’t want to catch from close contact, and reminisce over tales of romance from the museum’s archives.Love Bugs...
10 tags
Somewhere you should go... WigWamBam at the Queen...
Overlooking the chaos of the city is a lovely little rooftop with a difference. You can now escape from the winter weather and warm up at WigWamBam, a cosy, heated wigwam on top of the Queen of Hoxton. Of course no domed dwelling would be complete without a bar and grill, so you can enjoy a hot mulled cider and chargrilled snack while snuggling up under the twinkle of fairy lights. The wigwam is...
7 tags
Somewhere you should go... The Vault Festival
The recent excavation of the Waterloo tunnels has caused a stirring in the alternative arts scene. So for a three-week period, the maddest hatters and the creepiest ideas generators are moving down under and bringing the Leake Street underground to life with The Vault Festival - a mass celebration made up of hundreds of performers and an eclectic mix of theatre, film screenings, late night parties...
6 tags
Something you should see... Paolo Roversi at The...
February is Fashion Month and in London, that can only mean one thing - the people-watching just got a whole lot more interesting. Glamorous editors, lithe young models and outrageously attired scenesters pound the pavements for London Fashion Week, going from show to soirée in pursuit of the next big thing. It all looks fabulous (if not tiring) so if you want your fashion fix but fancy an...
6 tags
Love films? Love Orange and the BAFTA Awards 2012
Call me lazy, but I only ever feel inspired to go to the cinema when it’s awards season. It’s hard to resist a convenient shortlist of flicks chosen for their artistic merit (my kinda movies, really), and nine times out of 10, both the winners and nominees - like The Descendants (pictured), The Help and The Artist, which we covered last year - actually live up to the hype.
The next...
7 tags
Somewhere you should go... LSE Space For Thought...
One of my favourite things about the capital is the great selection of free things to do. Seriously - they are everywhere, from museums, live music and sport to even educational events and the chance to take part in lively discussions. So for those interested in the latter, you’ll be glad to hear the London School of Economics is organising its acclaimed literary festival for a fourth...
7 tags
Somewhere you should go... Frame London Fields...
Anyone with a modicum of good sense knows January is not a great month for making resolutions. With the cold and the wet and the getting back to the 9-5 grind, it’s any luck you can draw on resources of willpower that Paula Radcliffe could only balk at. But February, well, the time is now ripe. You’ve had a month’s grace, eaten that last packet of mince pies and finally a good...
7 tags
What we've been up to... D'Angelo at Brixton...
If, like me, you were among the generation of music-savvy teens in the late 90s who analysed album sleeve notes for production credits and could spot a sample in a heartbeat, then you probably welcomed the arrival of “neo soul” with open arms. This progressive genre and its experimental mesh of classic soul, funk, et. al  wasn’t mundane like the whiny R&B that prevailed at...
9 tags
Somewhere You Should Go... Dennis Severs' House
Just around the corner from one of London’s busiest modern day transport hubs sits a quiet house in a stately street. The old lantern outside the door hints at what lies inside: an historical time capsule that is worlds away from Liverpool Street’s hustle and bustle. Behind its doors, 18 Folgate Street holds an imaginative still-life drama without any visible actors – except for the resident black...
6 tags
Something you should see… Like Crazy
There are basically two very dissimilar ways the connection between two lovers is depicted on the big screen. The first one includes incredibly photogenic people doing grand romantic gestures in fabulous locales and aspires to offer the audience the idealistic romance they wish they could have. The second one focuses instead on the little details that forge a relationship between two ordinary...
Run Dem Crew Makes It Count
rundemcrew2:
Run Dem Crew makes it count outside Nike Town London
*Great run with the crew last night! (Peep me in the middle with my gray woolley hat!*
7 tags
Somewhere you should go... Roots Manuva, The...
The unmistakeable voice of Mr Rodney Smith has been gracing the British Hip-Hop scene for over a decade now and here’s your chance to bear witness to his greatness at the Roundhouse in Camden on February 4th. His musical style has developed and matured over the years but there is something so genuinely British and remarkable about this artist, he’s practically a national treasure....
