Jeremy Clarkson
“Nothing is hot or interesting or relevant for me at the moment because I’m living on an island in the South China sea for the next few months. Weirdly, we don’t start filming the next series of the Grand Tour until May so rather than sit around doing nothing, I thought I’d go away and contemplate the meaning of life.” — Jeremy Clarkson
EHIBITION: DAVID ADJAYE, MAKING MEMORY
Hotlist fave and leading architect, Sir David Adjaye OBE, has a new exhibition of his stunning work opening at the Design Museum from tomorrow. ‘How can a building shape our perception of events – and how can architecture, rather than words, be used to tell stories?’ Making Memory’ explores seven of Adjaye’s landmark structures looking at the design, role and use of contemporary monuments and his belief that structures can be used as storytelling forms. Adjaye is behind the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C and the UK Holocaust Memorial and these amongst other work of his, show how he uses architecture and form to reflect on history, memory and record human lives. Tickets are from £12 and you can catch Making Memory until early May so don’t miss out.
BAR: LADIES & GENTLEMEN
Lots of people do some of their best thinking in the loo, so why not some of our best socialising? Ladies & Gentlemen are on a (toilet) roll and have opened the third instalment of their WC based venture this month, in Camden. Housed in a former public bathroom just down from Camden Road Station, Ladies & Gentlemen offers up a sumptuous list of cocktails and beers in this rather unusual but special venue. You don’t need to be feeling flush to spend a penny or two on martinis and more at the concrete topped bar, served up under the original Victorian tiling. More spacious than you would imagine, it really is a wonderful subterranean hideaway and it’s great to see some of our cities unused spaces coming back to life in such a fun way. So take a date and hide away from the winter weather in this wonderful new spot. Trust us, we’ve always got your back(side).
DANCE: #SHEINSPIRESME DANCE NIGHT
Ladies, it’s time to put your dancing shoes on as we’re invited to #SheInspiresMe 2019, an evening of dance and empowerment at Proud Embankment. The dance evening takes place on the 26th February which kicks off with nibbles and cocktails before we take part in a series of dance routines taught by the skilled instructors of West London studio, Jo’s Dance, culminating in a dance-off to see who has the best moves. Eek no pressure! Tickets are priced at £150 and the money goes to Women for Women International, an incredible charity that helps female survivors of war rebuild their lives and choose their own futures. Their year-long programme equips women to earn money, regain their confidence and actively participate in their communities with each lady learning a marketable job skill - such as tailoring, bread-making or poultry-keeping, as well as business training to turn her chosen skill into a stable income so she can support herself and her family. So if you love to dance the night away then head down to learn some fun routines and even if dancing isn’t your thing then just go knowing that you’ll leave the night feeling energetic, confident and empowered as well as be helping a great cause.
MUSIC: WAR CHILD BRITS WEEK
War Child BRITs Week together in conjunction with the O2 are giving everyone the chance to see some of the biggest names in music - Jess Glynne, The 1975, Anne-Marie, Bring Me The Horizon, Jake Bugg, Tom Odell, AJ Tracey, Nick Mulvey, Enter Shikari, DJ Semtex, Frank Turner and more, all performing in intimate venues this month. You can enter a draw to win tickets to any of the performances and some you can just straight up buy tickets for both of which you can do here at this website. So from Monday 11th to Friday 22nd February all the artists named above will be welcoming fans for small and special gigs with money raised going towards War Child who tirelessly work to help children affected by war. Their collaboration with the BRITs began ten years ago with one show and now has grown to two weeks of performances with unbelievable popularity. So why not enter and treat yourself to an intimate performance whilst supporting a great cause at the same time.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE: THE LOST LAGOON
Oh heck, they’ve done it again. The Bompass and Parr lads have once more come up with sweet toothed, flavoured fantasy in their latest project, the Lost Lagoon. From now until early April we are invited to journey through a ‘secret’ London subterranean location (in Shepherds Bush) on a quest to find the Lost Lagoon. Us “budding buccaneers can leave the dark, dank English winter on a delicious journey of discovery.” Participants get into a boat, obviously, and you navigate across a lake to various islands where at each you must complete a creative challenge in order to receive rum-based rations and progressively accumulate the knowledge to make the finest rum punches. You will also then hopefully be able to decipher the treasure map leading you to the holy grail- the party bar- an island party palace for urban luaus set against a radical reimagining of south Pacific island-inspired tiki culture. With food, entertainment and all that’s in between, the Lost Lagoon may just be their best venture yet. Tickets are £25 which seems a bargain to us for all this fun, plus you get two drinks included. Buy them via the website.
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THEATRE: THE PRICE
The Price is a 1968 play by Arthur Miller all about family dynamics, the price of furniture and the price of one's decisions and the Wyndham’s Theatre are opening a new performance of it starring David Suchet and Brendan Coyle on the 5th Feb. Following 5-star reviews when it ran at Theatre Royal Bath in the summer of 2018, they’ve moved to the West End for a new 3 month run of the production by Jonathan Church. The story tells the tale of two long time estranged brothers who reunite to sell their family furniture and their reunion unearths not only treasures but truths and revelations that cause the pair to explore their life decisions. Suchet plays the silver-tongued furniture dealer overseeing the sale and everyone is raving about his performance. Tickets are selling fast thanks to such reviews but the production runs until the end of April.
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FOOD: THE SPREAD EAGLE
From the outside The Spread Eagle looks like another classic London pub full of locals hiding from the cold, catching up with mates and whiling away the weekend in each other’s company. Each have a pint or a G&T in front of them as they chomp on a good ol’ fashion classic pub roast...but wait...no they aren’t, because The Spread Eagle is London’s first 100% vegan pub. So you can experience all the best of a normal East end pub but with grub provided by Club Mexicana, 100% vegan Mexican inspired street food- and they have just launched a brand new weekend brunch menu. So instead of roast pork with all the trimmings, instead you can chow down on pulled jackfruit carnitas, red hot cauliflower bites or beer battered tofish instead. The interior decor is all locally and sustainably sourced with a gorgeous deep blue bar, hanging lighting and plants all round. They have an outdoor space for when the temperature picks up as well as lots of entertainment on offer including DJs and quizzes. You can find the Spread Eagle in Homerton, a short walk from the train station.
DANCE: RIP IT UP
Four hot celebrity stars from Strictly Come Dancing have come together for Rip It Up, a 60s spectacular of dance, song and acrobatics celebrating the decade that transformed the 20th century. Harry Judd of McFly, Aston Merrygold from JLS, Jay McGuiness from The Wanted and Louis Smith, Olympian extraordinaire, will all have the audience up from their seats and dancing the evening away. We’ve seen them on our screens waltzing and jiving their way round the ballroom and they’ve each kept fans up to date with rehearsals on social media so we know we’re in for a visual treat. With music from legends like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Dusty Springfield and so many more, it really will be a family treat for all. Tickets are from £25 with the option for meet and greet upgrades for the super fans amongst you and it’s all going down at the Garrick Theatre in the West End. Shimmy shimmy on down.
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CHARITY OF THE MONTH: THE LADY GARDEN FOUNDATION
British designer and entrepreneur Tabitha Webb has teamed up with The Lady Garden Foundation on an exciting project for Valentine’s 2019. She has designed a truly stunning limited edition ‘Pussy Galore’ blouse from which all profits of sales will go directly to the charity which funds research into gynaecological cancers. The fuchsia silk pussy-bow blouse is offered in 100% silk and carries a striking red lips print, making it the perfect choice for either a hot Valentine’s date or ultimate gift for the very lucky lady. You can buy the beaut blouse exclusively via tabithawebb.co.uk priced at £295 with all profits going directly to The Lady Garden Foundation which funds ground-breaking research into the treatment of the five gynaecological cancers at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. We stand together as daughters, sisters and mothers. Together we can make these cancers #silentnomore.
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APP OF THE MONTH: GRATITUDE
There’s lots to be said for the simple act of acknowledging what we each have to be grateful for. Whether it’s the tube running on time in the morning, your barista cracking you a smile or smashing the presentation at work you’ve been worried about. We can all be grateful for the small things as well as the big things and focusing on these positives can make a huge difference to our mood and outlook. So if you download the Gratitude app then every day you can rewire your brain in just five minutes by journaling life's best moments. Using a unique algorithm, Gratitude is the first brain fitness app to evolve with the user, keeping them engaged, investing in their practice and finding their mojo. It’s easy and fun and we think we can add this 5 minute daily routine to the list of things we can be grateful for, purely for helping us kick off our day in a positive way.