Hugh Bonneville
‘I grew up in a sailing family. However, my wife and son are land lubbers not sea dogs, so it’s a major breakthrough that they’ve finally agreed to come sailing around the Greek islands with me this August, the trade-off being a week flopping about in a villa in Meganissi. I might do some writing on the island. I’m only about three years behind on a book, so I don’t want to rush things, especially in a month that’s pretty much the definition of laziness. Or maybe I’ll use the time to refine my procrastination technique. I’m particularly good at sorting pebbles on a beach as the sun goes down.’
Restaurant: Circolo Popolare
It will have been hard to avoid Circolo Popolare if you use Instagram as it’s been “pop”olaring up everywhere since it launched just a few weeks ago with one of the most fantastically ostentatious and eclectic interiors and menu, just simply forcing guests to fill their feed and feed their fill. Plus we all know those who are guilty of a humble brag when they make it into the hottest new place before anyone else. We get it, you have incredible stamina for a queue. Congrats. Anyway, just a skip across the road from the Halpern offices on Rathbone Place, this awesome new restaurant is now open to all serving up Sicilian inspired goodness, similar in vibe to its sister restaurant Gloria, in the heart of Shoreditch. They don’t take reservations but once you nab a table you can scoff on a metre-long pizza with names such as “I Wana Nduja” or “John Malkofish”. Genius. Antipasti, pastas, grilled dishes and everything else you would expect, can be found on the menu as well as drinks a plenty. Tuck in and marvel at the 20,000 vintage and colourful bottles that form a central part of the decor. You won’t be disappointed, and neither will your Instagram likes.
Bar: Ninth Life, Catford
If you only want to go to the pub for a nice quiet drink and an early night, then move along please, this isn’t the pub for you. Inspired by festival culture, Ninth Life in Catford (see what they did there) is anything but low-key. It’s loud, colourful, action packed and a year-long party in there. With disco music blaring, step up to the rainbow coloured Crayon bar and order a bev before admiring the rest of the interiors designed by Festival experts from Wilderness and Boomtown. Ninth Life is like Mighty Hoopla, but in a pub. Upstairs there is an escape room to try your skills at, a large beer garden with roaming performers, a games room, film screenings, indoor yoga classes, Circus performances, comedy, bingo, quizzes, theatre, more music, kids clubs...Do we need to go on? All of this action in a pop art paradise…yeah, a quiet watering hole, this is not. Party into the wee hours with some of the best party people in the business.
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Brunch: John Frieda x Bourne & Hollingsworth
When does weekend brunching ever get boring? Never is the right answer. This month, iconic brunch location, Bourne & Hollingsworth is introducing the John Frieda weightless wonder x Bourne & Hollingsworth Brunch Series every Saturday and Sunday in its new Garden Room Location. For £30, you’ll sit down to a bespoke two course meal, a complimentary cocktail, unlimited hot drinks and juices plus the chance to win a champagne hot air balloon ride for two AND a beauty goody bag worth £40. A bonus filled brunch experience. Legendary beauty experts Ruth Crilly and Nadine Baggott will also be hosting a series of talks in the space on 10th August.
Event: The Monster
“Bouncy Castles are for children”. WRONG. The Monster, coming to London this August bank holiday, is a bouncy castle like you have never seen before. And by that we mean ‘300 metres of bouncy mayhem’ in the ‘Ultimate Party Playground’. Kids can actually go too but we are planning on going 18+ only for the maximum mayhem. Ahem. From the 23rd to the 28th August, Ally Pally is the venue for this ginormous party extravaganza which includes not only the bouncy castle of dreams, but also Bingo, Beer Pong, Nerf Gun fights, Glitter Stations, Drag Queen Karaoke, DJ’s, ball pits, street food, cocktails and craft beer. Essentially the best weekend imaginable for anyone as immature as us. Tickets are from around £16 but you can get discounts for group bookings which is great because frankly, we all want to do this with as many of our mates as we can. Check out the website to buy and also gander at some photos of the madness you can expect from your visit. See you there!
Dining Experience: Mamma Mia, The Party
Both the musical and the film versions of Mamma Mia have been successful beyond the wildest dreams of the songwriters who first came up with the magical songs. But listening and viewing are just two ways to enjoy the music of Abba- where can you actually feel a part of it all? The O2, that’s where! Super (Trouper)! This month, Benny and Bjorn along with some friends are bringing the Greek taverna experience, fresh from its third sold out year in Stockholm, to London, where guests can take a seat, knock back an ouzo or two and sing along to the Mamma Mia soundtrack. Just as every “Dancing Queen” dreams of. Everyone dines on an authentic three course Mediterranean meal whilst sipping on a large glass of one of the taverna’s red, white and rosé wines or champagne. Your hosts will then do all the rest ensuring “When All Is Said And Done” you have a night to remember. It will set you back some “Money, Money, Money” but for a full in-depth experience of the musical, we think it’s worth it. “Take A Chance” on them and head over. Who knows, it could be “Our Last Summer” to go…. Buy tickets and find more info on the website.
Festival: Craft Beer Festival
Craft beers are still very much having their moment and it seems unlikely to end any time soon as from the 9th - 11th you can go to Tobacco Docks for the Craft Beer Festival. 80 different UK breweries will be there showcasing over 500 different beers on tap for us all to savour. Craft Beer may seem like a relatively new fascination for the market still but the festival is in its 7th year, proving time flies when you’re sinking a cold one. Many celebs are craft beer fans and they have some special guest DJ’s over the weekend, all to be announced but last year saw Huey Morgan and Two Door Cinema both take to the decks. There are of course food stalls to keep everyone well nourished as you shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach. It’s a fun, social weekend at a brilliant venue, with a great chance to meet some other craft beer aficionado’s along the way. Just please, drink responsibly!
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Event: Dragworld UK
Seems like the Hotlist this month is full of extravagant, colourful and wild things to do and we’ve saved the best to (almost) last. On the 17th and 18th August, sashay over to Kensington Olympia to see some of our fiercest kweens at Europe’s biggest Drag Convention, DragWorld UK. 15,000 fans from across the globe will pile into the venue for Q&A’s, tutorials, panel discussions, meet and greets and stellar performances from UK Drag Royalty. Some of the hottest stars from Ru-Pauls Drag Race will be in attendance offering fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with the characters we have loved to watch on the show. Seriously, “Shantay, you stay.”
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Art: Eleven Fine Art, Natasha Law
The act of putting on or taking off our clothes could not be more ordinary. We do it at least twice a day, every day – probably fifty thousand times over a lifetime. And yet to catch sight of someone else engaged in the same undertaking can be an extraordinarily intimate thing. In Natasha Law’s paintings, women are either fully absorbed in the task at hand, or lost in their own private reverie. They are at their most vulnerable – alone, half-nude, aloof, unprepared for prying eyes. Each figure is conveyed only in silhouette, her shape enhanced by the scantest of details – a splinter of shoulder blade, for instance, or the crinkle of skin behind a knee. Catch these beautifully striking works in ‘Deliberations’ at the Eleven Fine Art Gallery is in Twickenham until the 28th September.
Charity of the month: The Green Vic Pop Up Pub
A pub you say? Have we gone mad? Nope! Because the Green Vic in Shoreditch is refuted to be the world’s most ethical pub, which is a pretty bold claim but we think they may be right. First off, the drinks are all sourced from and provided by, non-profits or social enterprises that support over 40 different charities. So every drink you buy will be donating money to a wonderful cause. For example, a glass of Bumble Beer, Craft Lager will send funds to bee saving charities or a pint of Pretty Decent Beer, will mean cash for clean water projects in Malawi via Pump Aid. And it’s not just beers because the menu is filled with ciders, wines, spirits and cocktails that all donate money. Then there’s the food. Seriously delicious plant-based street food to be precise. It comes from the experts at The Grill Green who believe in making traditional junk food, such as burgers and hotdogs, that taste exceptional and are crammed with serious goodness for your health, the planet and animals. If this isn’t enough then the Green Vic also donate a portion of their profits monthly to Hackney Foodbank who are just a few minutes walk from the pub and they do a pre-booked supper club that feeds the homeless and helps them find employment by networking after the meal, thanks to their partnership with Crisis. Lastly every week they host a Quiz Night and a Better World Brunch, money from which is donated to a different charity each week. It’s all just incredible and if you take a look at their social feeds you will see they are very very punny people too. So go in and grab a pint...it’s the yeast you can do…..(we stole that from them, simply punderful!)
App of the month: Easy Fundraising
More charity donations with our app of the month! Almost everyone shops online and via apps these days so what if we told you that you can raise money for charity without spending anything extra? Easy Fundraising is linked to over 3600 retailers and when you buy from these retailers they donate different percentages of your purchases to a charity of your choice. It’s so easy and you will be almost unwittingly donating to great causes. Partnered retailers include Amazon, eBay, John Lewis, Asos, Marks & Spencer, Not on the High Street and thousands more. Over £27 million has been donated so far through the 1.5 million users already signed up so if you aren’t one of them then download the app asap!