Dressed By Angels Exhibition

Think of the name Angels in relation to costumes, and your mind probably drifts to their warehouse of a shop on Shaftesbury Avenue, packed to the rafters with every possible variant of wig, fairy costume and face paint. However, Angels costumiers is a family business that has been around for 175 years, and in that time has dressed the most iconic figures in film, TV and theatre.

New and comprehensive exhibition Dressed by Angels is currently running at The Old Truman Brewery, and will give you an incredible insight into the wide range of productions Angels has been involved in. You have the sense of walking through time as you wander from foggy Dickensian streets, to glittering royal dresses, to the poly-blend wonder of 70s sitcoms. Getting so close to garments you’ve only ever seen on screen is thrilling, and also allows you to examine the intricacy of the costumes in detail.

A must for film, TV and theatre fans, the exhibition is extremely well-curated. Room after room yields a sparkling and recognisable range of delights. I couldn’t stop myself gasping at every costume – ‘that’s Margot’s dress from The Good Life! And that’s Captain Mainwaring! IT’S INDIANA JONES!’ The entire exhibition is a joy, and it’s possible to lose yourself for hours in layers that tell you as much about the social history of the last few decades as well as the arts.

Instagrammers take note: you may take photos as you go around as long as flashes remain off. However, it’s even better to put your phone away and just get fully immersed in costumes that are as reassuringly familiar to you as your own wardrobe. If you’ve seen ANY film or TV show in the last 50 years, chances are you’ll spot a costume from it here. Want to see Tom Baker’s Doctor Who scarf? Darth Vader? Sgt. Pepper’s? They’re all here.

Dressed by Angels is one of the best costume exhibitions London has seen in a while, and the best possible way for any arts lover to spend the afternoon. Tickets are available through the exhibition website, and drop them a tweet at @DressedbyAngels.

Chambord Chapter Eight Games

When I saw an event listing for the Chambord Chapter Eight games, I knew within a heartbeat that I had to pick up some tickets. Flamingo croquet and an Alice in Wonderland theme? French-American food from Le Bun? Chambord cocktails in London Fields? OBVIOUSLY yes.

All credit to the event company, because the whole roof terrace at Proof was decked out perfectly. Rose coloured chaise longues, pastel and jewel coloured wooden huts, flower bombs, and the fluffy flamingo mallets as a centrepiece. Mine was called Celine, by the way. There were four different Chambord cocktail options on the menu, utilising ingredients like gin, grapefruit, raspberry and rose. Le Bun had also incorporated the theme, and their usual burgers featured new additions such as Chambord coulis, champagne slaw, and freeze dried raspberries.

Sipping cocktails in the sunshine while overlooking London Fields, we loved having a go at the course. Regular hoops had been replaced by tiny topiary hedges, topped with cocktail shakers, martini glasses and gold pineapples. I’m a big fan of activity based fun instead of just heading to a normal bar, and this didn’t disappoint. Chambord had really explored the silly, French, OTT theme their latest campaign seems to be based on, and to great effect. The whole thing was entirely joyous, and if you’re not a regular croquet player you should have a go at it.

While the Chapter Eight games are over for now, I’d keep an eye on Chambord as I’m sure they’ve got some equally exciting things still to come. I would also strongly recommend heading over to Playground and Proof, as it’s a fascinating space and definitely worth stopping off at. Combine it with a trip to Broadway Market and Hackney City Farm as we did, and you’ll have a delightful day.

ReefXLSFF at Boxpark, Shoreditch

When it comes to surfing in my family, my dad is generally the go to guy. I spent many childhood summers spent sitting on Cornish, French and Portugese beaches watching the main man on the water, but I never really *watched* it properly.

So when an invite popped through for the ReefXLSFF at Boxpark event, I knew there was only one person I could possibly invite. Sure enough, my dad turned out to be a seasoned London Surf/Film Festival goer and was delighted at the prospect of heading down to watch some of the ‘Shorties’ from the last few years as a warm up before the main event. This year will be the fifth incarnation of the festival, presented by Reef, and it’ll run from the 16th – 24th October. The festival takes place across a variety of venues around the capital, and will feature the very finest of surf features.

It was already a given that my dad would enjoy it, but I was surprised at how much I got into the whole thing. When you watch surf films, you find that your concern over knowledge about technical terminology melts away into a simple state of ‘woooooowwwwwwww’. I spent most of the evening watching the Shorties while turning to my dad and going ‘WHAT THE?! That’s AMAZING!’ It’s thrilling to watch as people glide in and out of waves, completely obscured by a tunnel of water, only to come out triumphant at the other end.

And a few words for Reef – such a strong presence from my childhood; the name emblazoned on the slightly cooler bikinis and shoes that I knew would turn me into a serious beach-goer. I was lucky enough to snag a few goodies from the new collection, and I have nothing but praise for my new palm print backpack and comfy sneakers, perfect for weekend walking. I also just need to tell you about my charcoal grey Reef t shirt, which is probably my favourite t shirt in the world. It’s at comfort blanket levels of awesome; the softest cotton. I dream about this t shirt during the working week.

So I have two strong recommendations for you: one, to check out the LSFF line up and go and escape to the board. Number two, if you’ve EVER been on a beach, Reef is still unbeatable for practical yet really rather beautiful kit. Don’t be that idiot in Primark garb that falls apart instantly. Take your beach time seriously and head to Reef!

Summer Tales, Shoreditch

Months after booking tickets, I finally went along to Summer Tales in Shoreditch on Saturday night. (Wow, that’s some sibilance…) After seeing heaps of blog posts and beautiful pictures across social networks, I couldn’t wait to finally see the venue. Turfing up around 7.30 on Saturday, we faced a mammoth queue – word to the wise, either turn up dead on 6pm when doors are opened, or buy a queue jump ticket (cocktail included.)

Inside was the jungle paradise of my dreams – all credit to the event planners, who had plucked palm trees, sand, tree houses and neon signs to produce something beautiful AND fun. Attention to detail was excellent, from candy striped cushions in one of the upper bars, to a tiny beach with hammocks and beach chairs, to wooden swings…the whole thing felt like a playground for adults. With alcohol. In fact, alcohol from COCONUTS. Which brings me to an important point – make sure you go armed with cash. Boozy coconuts at the ever lovely Cocoface were cash only, and we were banned by the security guy from popping across the street to get cash out as he said we wouldn’t be allowed back in. So, lesson learned.

I think London is developing an increasing intolerance for pop ups and installations and takeovers, especially those around the Shoreditch and Hackney areas. You could say…they’re starting to feel a bit HACKNEYED. HA HA. But seriously. I know these kind of things have a bit of a bad rep, but when something is brilliantly executed and an awful lot of fun, I can easily overlook the fatigue and get on board. Summer Tales pulls off a real coup, transforming a small grey patch of Shoreditch into somewhere magical. In many ways, it had the laid back festival feel that Secret Garden Party lacked at points.

It’s somewhere that you can go for a relaxed few drinks and a delicious supper from one of the street food stands, then have a bit of a dance around on the covered dance area, surrounded by fairy lit trees. As a bit of a sad sidebar, the crowd in Shoreditch seems to have changed a lot, generally speaking. It used to be somewhere you could go out and not really care what you looked like  (something I increasingly admire in a place!) but over the last few years it seems to have turned into an extension of the West End. Girls were teetering through the woodchips and sand in five inch heels, holding mirrors up to check their fake lashes, adjusting teeny tiny dresses. It was fine, and all power to you if that’s your thing, but it felt a bit like watching the Kardashians going camping.

All-focus

Anyway, that aside, I strongly recommend it for making the most of the last few weeks of summer. Go for a Pin-Up Colada at the Lazy Flamingo Bar upstairs, grab a fishbowl of booze at the downstairs bar, sit and relax on a swing, and be a weirdo like me who strokes the tiny patch of sand going ‘the sand feels sooo good, I love sand!’ And most definitely have a dance. The DJ broke out a hyper-electro, instrumental version of the Human League’s ‘Things That Dreams Are Made Of’, which delighted me no end. Just be as charming as possible to the security staff and do your best to avoid the girls in the bathroom screaming ‘THAT LIPSTICK IS SOOO MY COLOUR’.

Summer Tales runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at Red Market in Shoreditch. Buy tickets here.

Midnight Apothecary at the Brunel Museum

I’ve been very excited about writing this post, because I couldn’t wait to share what I got up to last weekend! (Well, a bit at least. If I told you everything, I’d have to kill you.) Hands up if you’ve ever been to Rotherhithe? If you’re like me before the weekend, your hand will remain floppily by your side. Well, I’m encouraging you to change that, dearest chums, and raise that wrist heavenwards with pride. Rotherhithe is actually rather ace, and I’ll tell you for why.

I can’t remember where I first read about Midnight Apothecary, but I’d like to thank that publication whole-heartedly. Botanical cocktails on a roof garden, marshmallows to toast, AND a tour of the Brunel museum sounded like a heavenly way to spend a Summer evening, and after coming back from Sludgefest 2015 (Secret Garden Party), I was ready to hit an actual Secret Garden in the sun.

Luckily, it was a gorgeous evening as we wandered down from Rotherhithe station – via Shadwell, which I can’t talk about in the same glowing terms, sadly. We spotted the museum straight away, a substantial tower rising up from the residential street with an unmistakeable waft of barbecue. Clambering up slender steps to the roof, we were soon greeted by the sight of a proper English garden, full of laughter and sun, and the scent of burning sugar from the marshmallows. If you’re unclear as to what that translates to, I’ll tell you: that, my friends, is sheer happiness.

The cocktails are provided by Lottie Muir of The Cocktail Gardener, who is by all accounts, a bit of a whizz. We managed to make our way through all but one of the 7 strong menu, and I tried everything from Douglas Fir vodka to hibiscus syrup, via a lavender gin fizz, and a strawberry and thyme concoction. Pretty AND lethal, just the opposite of how I like my men. I truly believe the soul can be entirely soothed just by sitting calmly in a garden, spotting birds flying overhead, inhaling the scent of gas lamps mixed with herbs, with a shot of vodka or two by your side. After a day in Shoreditch and surrounding areas, it felt awfully calm and peaceful.

We moved from the outskirts of the garden into the centre, round the campfire, and grabbed a couple of stakes to toast our marshmallows on. Never has there been such a feeling of being simultaneously entirely masculine (large pointy wooden stake) but entirely girly (tiny pink marshmallow), and I enjoyed it immensely. As it turns out, my toasting skills are VERY poor. My phone is still bathed in a kind of marshmallow ectoplasm, and I was mercilessly made fun of by my Canadian pal who is adept at these kind of essential life skills.

Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly get any happier, an effervescent and actorly chap leapt out in a red hat and told us he’d be giving a tour of the railway tunnel itself – this is absolutely not to be missed. We clambered through a small tunnel and went down into a huge underground room, where we learned all about the two Brunels and what they’d created. It was quite thrilling to sit there and imagine people banquetting all the way underground, and Queen Victoria making a visit.

If you’re a bit fed up of the usual pop ups and the same old bars, and you like your cocktails with both a botanical AND a historical twist, there’s nowhere better than the Midnight Apothecary. Book some tickets through Design My Night (a mere fiver each), and have a truly unique and relaxing evening in Rotherhithe!

Kopparberg Urban Forest

Much as I like South West London, it has a couple of big downsides. Primarily the lack of proximity to East London, which is where all the good stuff is. If you want some third rate DJ playing chart cheese while people in salmon trousers do non-ironic mumdancing, S Dubz is definitely the place for you. That isn’t to say we don’t have some good stuff over this way, but it all tends to fit a bit more into my ‘that was an absolute SCREAM’ category than the ‘that was a really chilled night’ one. Maggie’s is a scream. Beaver Lodge is a scream. Bunga Bunga is the screamiest. 

But you catch my drift – if you want somewhere that isn’t quite so…well, so ‘hair n’heels’, then you’re going to have to venture further afield. Kopparberg Urban Forest was top of my hit list last Summer but I never quite made it along, so I made it top priority this time around. As with last year, they’ve created a sort of Scandinavian/East London composite, full of food stalls and wooden light fixtures decked out with foliage. Jam jars full of flowers hang near fairy lights, and there’s a little bandstand type thing in the centre that reminded me irresistibly of Groundhog Day.

The frozen strawberry & lime cider hit the spot after a long hot day and crammed Overground journey, and once we’d got hold of some sweetcorn fritter wraps, we started to unwind and enjoy our surroundings. DJs for the night were the awesome ‘Rock the Belles’, a kind of collective of female DJs, bands and artists, and they were playing an excellent selection of both old school and…new school (is that a thing?) hip hop. Now, being white middle class girls who went to private school in Sussex, my friend Sophie and I are quite obviously PRO hip hop dancers, so we really went for it. I mean, REALLY went for it. 

Emily Rawson, founder of Rock the Belles, got on the decks for the last few hours of the evening, and played a bit of everything from Roots Manuva to Kendrick, plus an awful lot of stuff that I’d never heard before but danced like a loon to anyway. She was EXCELLENT and I highly recommend you looking her up if you live in London. The whole thing had an enjoyably 90s vibe, and to our delight we happened to see an actual, honest to god dance off unfold. Very relaxed at first, everything turned up a notch as it started to get dark, and the place really came into its own.

The Urban Forest finishes this weekend, and entry is FREE, so I strongly recommend you get yourself down there for the closing events. Just make sure you wear shoes you can dance in.