Simon Sebag Montefiore
“The Cliveden Literary Festival will return to the magnificent Cliveden House in Berkshire for its fourth year on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 October 2021 following the sell-out success of previous years. Our line-up this year – which includes David Baddiel, Emerald Fennell, Olivette Otele, Peter Frankopan, Amor Towles, Chibundu Onuzo, Lior Raz (star of Fauda), Sebastian Faulks, Kate Bingham and General Petraeus – once again embodies Cliveden’s long tradition as a political and literary salon. Declared by Ian McEwan as ‘probably the world’s best small literary festival’, and hailed by Alain de Botton as ‘the most dignified and beautiful literature festival on the planet’, the 2021 Festival is not to be missed.”
Experience: Royal Docks Rainbows
You hopefully remember Bompas and Parr from previous Hotlists, as the duo behind food experiences over recent years such as the Institute of Flavour. Their projects are numerous and always full of taste, joy and adventure. The latest being the Royal Docks Rainbows featuring the world’s first flavour rainbow which launches on the 15th October. Tickets are free to enjoy this celebratory installation inspired by the meteorological phenomenon of rainbows. Rainbows are universally considered a symbol of hope and renewal. From early myths to scientific inspiration, Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow to the high-flying flags of LGBTQIA+, and more recent Covid rainbows, the phenomenon is a universal sign of poignancy and positivity. With the Royal Docks once London’s gateway to world trade, the celebration of rainbows you can interact with will have important local resonance. Many of the foods and flavours coming into London passed through this area in terms of import, warehousing and manufacturing. Thanks to Bompass and Parr, the world's first Flavour Rainbow installation is created using bespoke light refracted through the falling moisture that appears as multicoloured in guests' eyes. Move over Skittles, there’s a new rainbow to taste in town.
Book: Style and Substance, Helena Morrissey
Women have made great advances in the workplace but despite that - and the overwhelming amount of career advice out there - the same questions continue to arise: how to succeed in a man’s world, how to combine a career with a family, how to be authentic and fit in and whether it is even possible to achieve a work-life balance while chasing career goals. Unfortunately much of the advice women are offered is badly out of date and lacking in strategies that really tally with their experience of the workplace now. What’s more, the advice often tends to be defensive, focused on overcoming obstacles rather than drawing upon strengths. Style and Substance starts from a very different perspective. Written by Helena Morrissey, who has learned through her own experiences as a woman in the workplace and as a business leader, it will help you understand what really matters when it comes to career progression today, whatever your age, situation and aspirations. Style and Substance will show you how to build your own style - your personal brand - and how to have confidence in it and in yourself. Once you realise how much agency you have and the steps that you can take to look the part, sound the part, feel the part and be the part you’ll be empowered to achieve your goals in your own way, secure in who you are and what you have to offer. Anya Hindmarch says of the book “This is a kind book. Everything every career woman needs to know and yet is rarely shared so honestly.” Helena herself says “I’ve written the book I wished had been available when I was 21 and starting my career, very unsure of myself, daunted by the male environment I found myself in and all the supposed ‘rules’ around everything from how to dress to how to speak. The advice is updated for the digital age - including how to work successfully from home, and make it through those Zoom job interviews. It’s a very practical book!” Style and Substance is published on October 14th.
Restaurant: The Water House Project
The WaterHouse Project was set up by Gabriel Waterhouse, former chef at 1 Michelin-starred Galvin La Chapelle in 2015, intending to bridge the gap between fine dining elegance and relaxed, comfortable and informal atmospheres. Essentially a supper club format that has evolved over the years into a more permanent and premium site in Hackney with monthly changing menus, reliant on local, seasonal ingredients. The team serve up a 9-course tasting menu paired with wines and offer an ‘at home’ delivery service of 6 courses, also with wine, to easily be put together and enjoyed from the comfort of your kitchen. They believe in using small amounts of ethically and sustainably reared meat and fish and partnering with suppliers who share in their values. The Water House Project’s wines come from small scale producers across Europe who use traditional, low intervention methods of wine making, putting back into the soil what they take out. The restaurant features two large communal tables as well as a few two-seater options depending on your vibe but you’ll be enjoying what is part dinner party and part culinary extravaganza thanks to the passion injected into the experience by Waterhouse and the team. He introduces the menu as each course comes to your table from the kitchen that surrounds the guests without walls, removing the barriers between the food and you at all times. It’s more than a meal out, it’s an experience that centres around the joy of food. Tickets cost £75 for 9 courses, an extra £25 for wine pairings, plus an aperitif on arrival. Book via the website.
Book: Beautiful World, Where Are You?, Sally Rooney
Binge watching Normal People and swooning over Connell’s chain at the start of Lockdown 1 really does feel like a lifetime ago, thankfully! But the obsession for Sally Rooney and her way with words, is a loving constant. Her latest novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You? has recently been released and tells the tale of Alice and Felix - Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he'd like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend Eileen is getting over a break-up and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood. Alice, Felix, Eileen and Simon are still young - but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They worry about sex and friendship and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world? We cannot wait to get our hands on a copy and devour the whole thing. And with the tv adaptation of ‘Conversations with Friends’ underway, we can have a real Rooney-fest...as it were.
Halloween: Antique Beat
We can’t let the October Hotlist roll out without mention of All Hallows Eve! If you’re a fan of all the creepy, spooky and haunted fun of Halloween then you’ll love the line up from Antique Beat who are once more hosting their annual series with nearly fifty macabre and mysterious events to choose from. To start there are multiple talks you can attend covering the forensics of Agatha Christie Novels, mythical underworlds, London’s cinematic Horror History or stories of Britain’s Body Snatchers amongst others; there are workshops where you can make Pagan dolls or Memento Mori; twilight strolls through each of London’s ‘magnificent seven’ cemeteries including Nunhead, Highgate and Kensal Green and lastly performances such as retelling of ghost stories or a candlelit concert of Gothic Opera. It may seem like a rather ghoulish line up but Antique Beat have always aimed to inspire us to perhaps let go of the fear of death and the afterlife by embracing more of the mystery and magic of the topic. The full programme of events is available on the website and book tickets there too. Events run throughout the month of October so don't wait until the end of the month to indulge in Halloween!
Charity of the Month: Macmillan Sober October
Macmillan Cancer Support are asking us to get involved in Sober October by going alcohol-free for the month to raise money for people with cancer through sponsorship. We can choose to have a Sober October by taking on the challenge for 21 or 14 days, or go old school and challenge ourselves to take on the full 31 days- let’s do whatever it takes to help people living with cancer. The pandemic has had a huge impact, with thousands of people having their cancer treatments delayed so no matter what you choose to give up, or how long you choose to go sober for, you will be raising vital funds to help Macmillan continue being there for the millions of people living with cancer in the UK right now. Some time away from the wine list and cocktails means you’re helping yourself too. Having a break from alcohol has great health benefits, such as having more energy, a clearer head and sleeping better, plus no hangovers! We’re here for that! So let’s raise a glass of something alcohol free and raise funds for a phenomenal cause at the same time.
App of the month: Fettle
Any self respecting London cyclist needs to download Fettle immediately. It is an all-in-one bike servicing app that allows you to track the mileage of your bicycle components, get notified when the bike requires maintenance, and book a service at any Fettle workshop. Maintaining your bike has never been so simple, safe, and stress-free. In addition you can easily connect to Strava & other bike GPS trackers, track your mileage & usage on individual bike components and log multiple bikes….if you like to swap your wheels! At the moment, Fettle has five London-based workshops, but the demand is such that not only is this start-up planning major nationwide expansion, they are also offering cyclists a chance to invest from as little as £10 with a crowdfunding scheme.