Category: LONDON

Eco-friendly apple brandy Avallen Calvados hits London

Harlow Richmond cocktail

If there’s one thing the world needs more of, it’s bees. So when Tim Etherinton-Judge and Stephanie Jordan discovered a world where orchards, cows, birds and bees work in perfect harmony, they knew they could do something that improved the sustainability of the world of alcohol as well as the world of bees. Together, they’ve launched the new, sustainable brandy label Avallen Calvados; purposed to be delicious and drinkable, as well as promote the message to #beepositive. Born out of a shared passion for traditional spirits and sustainable products, it’s been founded with the intention to re-ignite Calvados, one of the world’s great brandies, and have a positive impact on the wild bee populations in the markets where it is sold.  Their program helps bee populations around the world with their #BeePositive message by donating €0,50 of profit for every bottle sold to organisations dedicated to restoring and protecting the most important of insects as well as a commitment to plant 100,000 wild flowers over the next 3 years across the globe in aid of helping our forever declining bee population. The new batch is fresh, fruity and proudly apple forward in its flavour profile. Aged in French oak barrels for two years and bottled at 40%, it’s a drop made from nothing but real apples, water and time. See more about Avallen Calvados at their website or head to sustainable London bar, Nine Lives to try it for yourself.

Feel Good Festival, London: Geffrye Museum gardens in Hoxton come to life in June

Geffrye lawn

The Geffrye Museum might be shut until next year because of extensive renos and upgrades, but that doesn’t mean everything comes to a halt. On Saturday 1 June from 10.30am – 4pm (free entry), the gardens out the front of the museum will come to life with the Feel Good Festival, a free event for anyone who’s into wellbeing and feeling fine. The festival will encourage people to feel good moving, making, eating and relaxing and celebrating primarily Turkish, Cypriot and Vietnamese culture especially as it champions working in partnership with the local community. On offer will be activities for everyone like building up an appetite doing tai chi, yoga or Zumba; origami, Turkish marbling or planter making, outdoor games or just chilling out with something tasty on hand. The event has been programmed in collaboration with the museum’s local community partners:  Centre 151, Derman, Hackney Cypriot Association, and Islington & Shoreditch and Lien Viet Housing Association. Head over to the Geffrye gardens at 136 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8EA.

There’s a huge Leonardo da Vinci exhibition coming to London

British Library

From June to September this year at the British Library, one of the biggest collections of things to come from the hands of Leonardo da Vinci is going ton display. And you can see it all. Leo died over 500 years ago this year, so to commemorate the man, there’s a bit going on around London to shed some light on the great man and mind. The exhibition, Leonardo da Vinci: A Mind in Motion will reveal how Leonardo believed motion to be the ‘cause of all life’.  Known first and foremost as an artist, Leonardo’s notebooks reveal his close observations, detailed recording and systematic analysis of movement in nature, with a particular emphasis on water in motion and the exhibition will explore how this relates to his work as an artist and inventor. It’ll be one hell of a coming together of work by the man, renowned for so much, hailed by so many and honoured by even more for so much of what we understand and appreciate today. See the exhibition from 7 June to 8 September at the British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB.

Imaginary Cities: The new exhibition at the British Library

Imaginary Cities

There’s a new, free exhibition open at the British Library in London that’s all about four fantastical, technology-based art installations inspired by historic urban maps. By artist-in-residence, Michael Takeo Magruder, the work is staged in the Library’s Entrance Hall gallery and explores the creative potential of archives and collections in the digital age.  The works are creative pieces based off four 19th-century maps of London, Paris, New York and Chicago from a collection of 50,000 images found within the British Library’s One Million Images from Scanned Books collection. The whole thing is about the coming together of digital technologies and traditional fine art processes. It also includes a virtual reality cityscape based on New York City which is generated anew each day to reflect the live, ever-changing visitor data. See the exhibition for free from 5 April to 14 July at the British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB.

Gin and exploration: Mr Fogg’s London turns the clock back by 100 years

Mr Foggs bar

There were no Google maps, no iPhones, no EPIRBs, no satellite tracking, bags weren’t make of tough stuff, shoes weren’t as advanced as they are now and – let’s be honest – people just weren’t as fit as we are today. This situation – and even more disconnected if you go even further back – indicate the conditions under which most of the world was discovered, trekked through, divulged and unveiled to one or many explorers through history and this summer in London, Mr Fogg’s is giving you a chance to learn all about it. It’s called the Mr Fogg’s Explorer Series and this June, it’ll host two dudes called the Turner Twins, modern day explorers who’ll be discussing how hard it was to be an explorer 100 years ago compared to the modern day.  On 3 June, you’ll be taken on a journey as the two of them look back at the challenges faced by explorers all those years ago, battling against the elements with almost none of the technology and equipment explorers have today. With stories from their latest mission of reaching the world’s eight poles of inaccessibility, you can sit back and listen to the highs and lows of the adventure so far, with Tanqueray No. Ten gin cocktails in hand.  The Turner Twins are charitably-minded modern day explorers who’ve made it their life’s mission to chart the unconventional life path that has seen them searching for answers by embarking on a series of challenges that combines pioneering medical research and unique studies of… Read More

A 315 year first: The National Gallery London brings Titian’s work back together

National Gallery London Titian

The National Gallery in London is doing something that hasn’t been done in a very, very, very long time. They’re bringing five works by Titian back together for their latest exhibition, Titian: Love, Desire, Death from 16 March to 14 June next year. MORE: The National Gallery’s celebrating Artemisia Gentileschi What does it mean? Well, five of Titian’s greatest works – he was regarded as the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school – of large-scale mythological paintings, known as the poesie, will be brought together for the first time since 1704 at the National Gallery, which for fans of the period is quite the thing. The pieces were painted between around 1551 to 1562 and are amongst the most original visual interpretations of Classical myth of the early modern era and are touchstone works in the history of European painting for their rich, expressive rendering. The paintings that’re being brought together are: Danaë (1551–3, The Wellington Collection, Apsley House) Venus and Adonis (1554, Prado, Madrid) Diana and Actaeon (1556-9) Diana and Callisto (1556-9) Rape of Europa (1562) from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.   The National Gallery’s own Death of Actaeon (1559-75), originally conceived as part of the series, but only executed much later and never delivered, will also be included in London. See more about the exhibition to come and plan your visit to the Gallery at their website. Feature image credit: Apollo

How to picnic in London: The Arch London’s posh picnic hampers

Picnic Hampers The Arch London

Is there anything more quintessentially English than a picnic in the park? Probably not. Which is why the The Arch London has done all the thinking for you and is offering the experience up at a park of your choosing – Hyde Park is probably easiest – with their new posh picnic hampers. The Arch’s picnic hampers offer up a nice taste of Hunter 486 restaurant’s critically acclaimed Best of British-inspired menu. Think, a chilled bottle of sparkling wine and gourmet delights including homemade chips with sea salt, lemon and sage; a selection of sandwiches including English cheddar with apple and raisin chutney with sun blushed tomato salad; coronation chicken with baby gem, and coriander cress salad; smoked salmon with lemon butter and cracked black pepper on brown bread; Jersey royal potato salad with apple and mustard dressing; raspberry and pistachio trifle; battenburg; and homemade muffins. If that’s not a spread, what is? Get it for £100 for two from 28 May to 9 September 2019, it’s a posh little hamper that covers all bases for a chill Sunday afternoon, a romantic proposal or any celebration that requires major cuteness. Get them from The Arch London, 50 Great Cumberland Place, Marble Arch, London W1H 7FD. To book, head to thearchlondon.com

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is coming to London

Royal China Baker Street

This June, London will come alive to the tune of its collection of Hong Kong boats that’ll do battle for top honours in the middle of town. The dragon boat festival takes place each year at the London Regatta Centre in the city’s Docklands, with up to 40 teams battling it out for top honours. The festival also includes live music, dragon dancing and much more. On top of all that, it’s food, food, food around the city, offering fans of Asian cuisine one hell of a spread in the way of sticky rice dumplings, abalone and mushroom dumplings and heaps of other Chinese staples at the Royal China restaurants that’ll offer traditional Hong Kong Chinese dishes. And if that’s not enough, the Royal China Club will provide an exclusive experience combining European ingredients within the authentic Chinese cuisine.  Find out more and make a booking at the Royal China website.

Australian wines kill it at Decanter World Wine Awards

Decanter Awards wine 3

Everyone knows Aussie wines are good. But, now it’s official. At the Decanter World Wine Awards in London recently, amongst 930 entries, in between 17,000 wines from over 57 countries and judged by 280 of the world’s finest winies, the humble Australian drop took out quite the title. Only the top 50 were awarded the highly sought-after accolade of “Best in Show” of which Australian wines collected six of these placing them 3rd on the global leaderboard behind France and Spain. Australia was awarded a massive 16 Platinum medals, 52 Gold medals and 289 Silver medals with these stellar drops. Wines to watch out for The Kilikanoon Attunga 1865 Shiraz 2014from the Clare Valley, Dawson James Chardonnay 2015 from Derwent Valley in Tasmania, Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz 2017 from the Hunter Valley, Shingleback “The Gate” Shiraz 2017 from the McLaren Vale, McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon 2007 from the Hunter Valley and Campbells Rare Merchant Prince NV Rutherglen Muscat were the winners of the esteemed Best in Show. Western Australia’s Margaret River was the top performing region, taking the most medals in Australia of which the Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay was awarded a Platinum medal, scoring an impressive 98 points. For more about the Decanter Awards, head over to their website.

National Gallery London presents Leonardo’s Legacy: Francesco Melzi and the Leonardeschi

National Gallery Leonardeschi 1

It’s been a hot minute since Leonardo da Vinci died (500 years), so the National Gallery London is doing something to commemorate him. They’re presenting a bunch of work from artists called the Leonardeschi, who’re basically disciples of the famed artist. On loan, the Gallery has secured the work Flora by Francesco Melzi from the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, which it’ll display close to The Virgin of the Rocks and The Burlington House Cartoon, both by Leonardo, that can be seen in Gallery 66 of the National Gallery. “We are excited to have loaned Flora by Francesco Melzi to the National Gallery and to see her as the central focus of this fascinating display which explores the work of Leonardo’s closest friends and disciples. This represents the first time that Flora has been seen outside of Russia since it was restored by Maria Shulepova, revealing details and rich colouring which had been lost for decades under layers of old varnish,” said professor Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage Museum. The painting is being displayed alongside ten other key works by the so-called ‘Leonardeschi’ from the National Gallery Collection in a free, month-long display in Room 12. This is the first time the painting has been seen in the UK and the first time it has been seen outside of Russia since its restoration. Its restoration was just what the work needed. Undertaken in Russia, it uncovered the picture’s true colours of ultramarine blue and hidden details like flowers growing from the walls of the dimly lit… Read More