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I am Editorial Producer at www.visitlondon.com. I love London for its amazing theatre and music scenes, its history, and for the view from Waterloo Bridge (I never get tired of it). I have a particular passion for indie music, but am willing to give pretty much any genre a go. Favourite places in London: when its good weather, anywhere you can see ducks (St James's Park is top of the list); if it's cold, Gordon's Wine Bar for a warming glass of port!

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11 Mar

Royal Mail Launches Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Stamp Collection

Posted by Jenny in London No Comments

Even the most dedicated of emailers could be persuaded revert to paper and ink missives with these supercute new stamps from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. The new stamps feature 10 former residents who have now been successfully rehomed.

Royal Mail commissioned the stamps to help celebrate Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s 150th birthday this year.

The charity started as a home for lost and starving dogs in 1840. Eleven years later, it began taking in cats as well, and remains true to its original aim to “never to turn away a dog or cat in need of help.”

Take a look at the video below to hear the stories of the 10 celebrity pets and their new owners:

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home takes in 12,000 animals every year, so if there’s room in your life for a furry friend, why not consider rehoming one? Or if you have a less than sympathetic landlord, there are lots of other ways to help the charity.

The stamps are available at all Post Offices and online at www.royalmail.com/stamps.

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10 Mar

A Night at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel and Spa

Posted by Jenny in Accommodation, Eating Out 1 Comment

I’m lucky enough to have been shown round many of London’s hotels. I’ve nosed round suites, inspected toiletries on offer and nodded approvingly at iPod facilities. But last night, the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel topped them all and let me stay overnight and experience the hotel first hand.

First off was the delicious food in the hotel’s restaurant. We were treated to a selection of tasty Portuguese tapas (the Pestana group is Portuguese) including lamb meatballs, tomato and mozzarella skewers, sweet potato and squid, and mussels. For a main course, I had chicken and chunky chips with a specially made piri-piri sauce that we all agreed should be bottled! And dessert didn’t disappoint: chocolate soufflé with fruit skewers (perfect for dipping into the melted chocolate centre.)

After marvelling at the view from Swissotel The Howard last week, I was also hugely impressed at the view of Battersea Power Station from the Pestana. You can also see the London Eye, Battersea Park and even into the trains running alongside (but the windows are triple-glazed, so you don’t hear them.)

Staying in the hotel made me appreciate London in a new way. It was an evening of pure relaxation, secure in the knowledge that my laundry, washing-up and household chores were miles away and there was happily nothing I could do about them!

The room has all the amenities you’d expect from a four-star hotel including an iPod dock, big bed, huge shower, safe, and tea and coffee making facilities. It also has an interesting design feature: a window between the bedroom and bathroom covered with a blind. The control for the blind is on the bedroom side, so you can peep into the bathroom if you’re curious as to what your partner/roommate/colleague is getting up to!

After a lovely breakfast, I headed to the office (covered in fluff from the brand-new towels), thinking I could get used to this executive lifestyle!

The Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel and Spa is open now

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9 Mar

East: Portico Quartet at Barbican

Posted by Jenny in East festival 1 Comment

Last night, I saw the fantastic electro-jazz band Portico Quartet at the Barbican.

I’d heard lots of good things about the Barbican as a concert venue so I had high hopes for my first gig there and wasn’t disappointed.

Portico Quartet mesmerised the audience for an hour and a half playing mostly from their second and more experimental album, Isla. I felt hypnotised by their strange and wonderful sound, and my mind wandered into all sorts of bizarre territory during their set.

The gig was also notable for having the most polite and well-behaved audience I’ve ever seen! Everyone in the auditorium sat in complete silence, and barely moved, when a man coughed on the other side of the room, everyone in our row noticed. Was it the quality of the music, or is this just usual Barbican etiquette?

Portico Quartet’s gig was part of East festival, which encourages you to get out and explore the East of London. The Barbican is certainly not in my neck of the (London) woods and I think I earned my East credentials last night: a tube, a cancelled train, two more tubes and an overground train later, I was finally home!

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5 Mar

A Cheesy Evening at Swissôtel The Howard’s Swiss Chalet

Posted by Jenny in Accommodation, Eating Out 2 Comments

Last night I enjoyed my first ever cheese fondue at Swissôtel The Howard’s Swiss chalet. The chalet offers all the fun of the après-ski without a gnarly snowboarder in sight!

We enjoyed a carbolicious meal of bread, melted cheese, cold cuts of meat, salad and a delicious apple strudel. The fondue was made with three different cheeses and a generous amount of white wine and kirsch, which gave it a lovely boozy taste.

The cute wooden chalet is filled with authentic Swiss touches – from the antler lampshade to the roaring fire. (Actually it’s not a real fire, or real antlers, but they still look good!) Even the music is Swiss.

I’d highly recommend a trip to Swissôtel’s chalet – all that dipping and swirling the bread in the gooey cheese definitely makes it more fun than your average restaurant meal and being in the chalet made me feel like I was on holiday.

And if your tummy’s too full of cheese to stagger home, book a room with a river view – the panoramic view across London is stunning and includes the London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, Canary Wharf and Tower Bridge. It’s no wonder they’ve based their afternoon tea on London landmarks!

The Swiss chalet is open every Tuesday and Thursday, 6pm-10pm until 30 April 2010. £23 per person, minimum two people.

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3 Mar

Fat Boy Slim on South West Four

Posted by Jenny in Clubs, Music No Comments

Continuing to whet our appetites for the South West Four Weekender, watch Fatboy Slim talking about what he’s got planned for his headlining slot (inflatable pigs included).

We’re happy to hear that with no Big Beach Boutique in Brighton this year, he’ll be throwing all his energy (and budget) into the Clapham Common festival!

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23 Feb

Fat Boy Slim and Armin Van Buuren To Headline South West Four

Posted by Jenny in Music, Special Events 1 Comment

As if we weren’t excited enough that South West Four will be bigger and better than ever this year, having expanded to take over the whole August Bank Holiday weekend, we’re thrilled to find out that the headliners are Armin Van Buuren and Fat Boy Slim!

We can’t wait to see these two DJ heavyweights in London this summer. Tickets are on sale now – so snap yours up!

And if can’t you quite remember what the sun, the music and the fun felt like at last year’s event, we’ve got a handy little video reminder below:

South West Four Weekender, Clapham Common, 28 & 29 August 2010. Book tickets

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19 Feb

London Club News: Birthdays All Round

Posted by Jenny in Clubs No Comments

Even the slightest hint of an occasion will see London’s clubs throwing open their doors for a party. But sometimes, they have a genuine reason to celebrate – such as their birthday.

Some of London’s finest nightspots are about to get a year older, and just like your friends’ birthdays, guess what? They’ve all come along at the same time…

Last week, Sugarbeat Club celebrated a successful first year at the Brixton Jamm. With the line-up safely in the hands of hosts Utah Saints, we’re more than a little excited to find out who’ll be playing next time.

Tonight The Old Queen’s Head reaches the ripe old age of four. With DJ sets from Foals, Chew Lips and Primary1, it’s sure to be quite a party. Make sure you arrive before 8pm for free entry.

Another baby celebrating its very first birthday is The Queen of Hoxton. But one night of fun just isn’t enough for the East End venue, which is taking a whopping five days (2-7 March) for its official celebration. Disco punks WhoMadeWho kick off the fun, which continues with indie bingo, light displays and the fab Hackney Colliery Band.

And finally, alternative night White Mischief sees in its third birthday on 27 March.  The party is at Scala, with a theme of The Great Exhibition. The line-up certainly seems to fit the title, as it includes a six-foot balloon man, an electrocuting scientist and steampunk burlesque!

More clubs in London

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18 Feb

Duck Heaven at WWT London Wetland Centre

Posted by Jenny in Attractions, Open Spaces 1 Comment

Last weekend, I headed to bird-spotter’s paradise the London Wetland Centre in Barnes.

Although not ornithologically-inclined myself, I do like ducks, so seeing numerous species including the White-faced Whistling duck, Indian Running ducks and mallards was a bit of a treat!

The 42-hectare site features ponds, rivers and reed beds, making it a perfect home not just for birds, but bats, insects, water voles and other wildlife too.

You can wander the paths in just a few hours and keen bird-spotters can set up camp in one of six hides located around the site. Admittedly, the centre looked distinctly brown and muddy at this time of year, but our tour guide assured us that it becomes much more colourful by spring.

My highlights included:

  • A pair of bullying Black Swans who chased any other birds off their patch of water
  • The strange and random sculptures scattered around the site, including a seal carcass and a bird sculpture made out of shopping trolleys
  • Ducks, ducks and more ducks!

The WWT London Wetland Centre also runs regular events for kids – look out for pond dipping and Easter egg hunts this Easter.

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10 Feb

The Ministry of Food at Imperial War Museum

Posted by Jenny in Attractions 1 Comment

Reduce waste, clear your plate and grow your own – not just good advice in a recession, but lifesaving measures on the Home Front during the Second World War.

With food supplies in short supply in the 1940s, the British public needed to become more self-sufficient and efficient with food. The Imperial War Museum’s new exhibition, The Ministry of Food, shows how they managed.

The Ministry of Food exhibition takes you through the different areas of the Home Front, with posters, video, and plenty of plastic food on display.

Rationing was introduced in the 1940s. If you struggle to come up with meal ideas despite today’s choices, imagine making something tasty and inventive with your allocation of dried eggs, potatoes and a tin of Spam! I tried some “mock cream” at this morning’s press view – that’s sweetened, whipped margarine as a replacement for cream, and it tasted pretty close to the real thing.

Most worryingly (for me!), tea was rationed to two ounces per week. But, with tea as an important morale booster, tea stocks were dispersed to more than 500 locations to minimise chances of destruction in an air raid. (Phew!)

But rationing did have benefits. The exhibition shows how the government educated people about nutrition through poster campaigns and friendly cartoon characters such as Doctor Carrot. Infant mortality rates actually went down during rationing.

With food a precious commodity, people were much more aware of waste; scraps were saved for feeding animals, the Women’s Institute set up a network of 5,800 preservation centres to use up surplus fruit, and even washing up was limited to twice a day to preserve soap and water.

Ministry of Food is a great insight into the everyday changes people made during the Second World War. While you’re there, make sure you take some time to look around the Imperial War Museum’s impressive permanent collection too.

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5 Feb

Deptford’s Thriving Art Scene

Posted by Jenny in Arts 1 Comment


Where can you find the trendiest, most cutting edge art in London?

Don’t automatically answer the East End; South London has been making waves in the art world lately. Where else can you have a coffee in a stationary train carriage decorated by local artists, or watch art being thrown into a giant bin?

Bea de Souza was one of the first to spot the trend and relocate her experimental art gallery, theAGENCY gallery, from Shoreditch to Deptford. Her reasons for moving included the community feel in Deptford, and the mix of artists and locals. Set in a row of terraced houses, the gallery easily blends in. The only clue that it might be different from the other homes is that the exterior is painted black.

South London’s art scene has benefitted from the recession, as would-be developers have pulled out and artists have negotiated low rents in the empty spaces. One example is The Old Police Station in New Cross. The police moved next door, and the old station has been converted into studios, a gallery, and a popular café. The old cells are used for special installations.

Even though the area may only now be receiving recognition as a creative hotspot, the scene has been developing for a while. Goldsmiths University has been located in New Cross for years, and as well as fuelling the creative energy of the area, many students choose to live locally after they graduate.

If you fancy exploring the South’s art scene take a look at the Deptford Art Map which details galleries and art spaces in Deptford. Highlights include:

  • BEARSPACE - exhibits new young artists (and will soon be opening a shop)
  • ARCH Gallery – housed in railway arches, a gallery and shop selling art materials
  • APT Gallery – large gallery and working studios near Deptford Creek
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