Happy Chinese New Year from London

As a multi-cultural capital city, London celebrates most of the world’s great events, some of them brilliantly, some of them not so brilliantly.  I think Chinese New Year might be one of those which didn’t leave a great first impression but may be worth a second chance.

I've not written it off completely as I think we learnt a lesson in the need for more careful planning today.  Arriving after the parade from Chinatown and leaving before the fireworks in Trafalgar Square (blaming today’s arctic temperatures) might not have helped see the day’s highlights.

What we did manage was a seeing a dancing Chinese dragon, London Mayor Boris Johnson painting the dragon's eye, and a visit to Chinatown. I’m afraid the rest of the day involved hot chocolate, tea and cake, which were definitely enjoyed but not exactly planned. 

If you made a visit and there were some highlights worth visiting, please let me know.  There’s always next year!

Cocktail Hour at the London Cocktail Club

What better way to celebrate the last Friday of January and the end of pre-payday blues with a cocktail hour?  Our venue of choice, The London Cocktail Club, has a name which said there was no messing that cocktails would be their specialty.

from raymondblanc.com

There are two in town, the original on Goodge Street and the newly opened New Oxford Street.  Being a fan of trying out new things and a good rum cocktail, the “tattoo inspired British Navy Rum bar” on New Oxford Street was an easy choice.  You’ll actually find it on Shaftesbury Avenue and from the entrance you could mistake it for a basement tattoo parlour (fitting for the concept of course). 

The staff were friendly and welcoming, the bar is lively with classic tunes reminiscent of our university days.  As I hoped and expected the cocktail list was fairly extensive and not too complicated you couldn’t make a choice and worry about getting a strange concoction.  Between the four of us we tried a good few!  My favourite, the Mai Thai, is classic with a flame (the modern day cocktail umbrella), the Cup Tail with cream frosting was an interesting concoction. 

After a few cocktails the music is infectious and you definitely get into the atmosphere.  It’s a great second bar for a Friday night where you’re looking for a fun time with your friends. 

I might just have to try the original LCC for a few more well mixed cocktails...

Swing dancing and cocktails at The Candlelight Club.

The 1920s is in fashion, from this year’s spring/summer catwalks, to the much anticipated film adaptation of The Great Gatsby.  The Candlelight Club is the perfect place to relive the sophistication and glamour that’s got everyone hot under the collar. 

This clandestine pop-up cocktail bar opens up one weekend a month in a secret London location, revealed to ticket holders a few days before.  I believe it’s the same venue each time but in the spirit of the Prohibition era I’m not going to tell you...

They maintain this era’s spirit as you step through a small wooden door and around the corner a seemingly hidden candlelit room awaits.  The cocktail menu has a theme (ours resolution busting), offering six to choose from, at a reasonable £7 each.  If you’re not a cocktail fan, wine, beer and spirits are also available.  The atmosphere is set off nicely by a swing band and the glamorous outfits worn by everyone
in sight. 

If you’re intrigued about what we wore, my dress is by Rise and my sister’s is by ASOS Premium.  The accessories are by Beau Flutterby which we were really impressed with.  I’d recommend looking at their ebay store if you like feminine accessories or need something for a wedding.  They do bespoke items like my sister’s headband too.

This night is for anyone who likes a bit of glamour and the experience of another era.  Get in quick for tickets though as they sell out over a month in advance. 

For a few more pictures, visit my flickr page.

Sweet tooth satisfaction at The Tea Rooms

I have a confession... I've lived in Finsbury Park for a year and I've never paid a visit to our close neighbour Stoke Newington.

I knew it was a crime when I was looking for a nearby cafe to visit to satisfy my sweet tooth and coffee cravings and came across The Tea Rooms on Stoke Newington Church Street. I was intrigued by their website which has a vintage feel that’s right up my street and when I arrived it didn't disappoint.

It's a traditional tea room with that shabby chic modern twist. The vintage china is different on every table and a selection is even available to purchase, along with other baking tools and books. They do a variety of cakes (and savouries if sugar's not your thing) all of which looked pretty tempting. They also offer afternoon tea if you fancy a more intense sugar high. I went for the carrot cake and a cappuccino which went down well, especially after my hard work at the gym!

It's a great place for meeting up with friends, treating your girlfriend or just a nice spot to enjoy a good read for a while. There are a few independent little shops nearby so there's enough to make a visit into an afternoon wander. And if you're feeling guilty of indulgence you can walk off your sugary sins at the nearby Clissold Park.

I think there'll definitely be a return visit!

Cocktail hour at Aqua Spirit

Back in the 1920s the cocktail hour was just “an interval before an evening meal”, in my opinion, there’s always an hour for cocktails.  So I’m on a quest to find the best cocktails London has to offer this year through a series of ‘cocktail hours’ sampling cocktails and their surroundings.



Rose & Li

The first cocktail hour was spent at Aqua Spirit on Argyll Street.  It’s a well trodden street just off Oxford Street but the entrance could easily go unnoticed.  The bar itself is at the top of what used to be a department store, it's dimly lit, quite sophisticated and has a city buzz of mixed city/tourist types.  The one unfortunate thing is that the city views seem to be reserved for the diners of Aqua’s dining concepts.

The cocktail menu is quite short, which is handy if you’re quite indecisive like me, or you don’t have much time on your hands.  They average at about £10 each which is fairly standard for central London.  We chose the Karrabas and Japanese Velvet, the first tasted more interesting but both were a decent cocktail portion.  As a treat we followed with Rose & Li champagne cocktails which went down well!

It would be a great place for some post shopping cocktail treats, a post work date if you’re looking to impress (or fancy the dim lighting) or just a post work gossip/celebration/commiseration with a friend.   

For more information visit the website (chosing London and Aqua Spirit) or the View London review.

If you have a recommendation for the series, get in touch! The more original the location the better, but where there’s a good cocktail I’m willing to try it out.

Portraits of interest?

The National Portrait Gallery has been high on my list of places to visit in London for a while.  I’ll admit that I’m not highly cultured so I’m afraid you won’t find an artist’s critique here.  However, I am interested in the history of the world and how creative talent has captured moments, cultures and people over time, so here’s my view of why it’s worth paying a visit.

The gallery is part of the iconic building which sits on Trafalgar Square and also houses The National Gallery, apart from some of the exhibitions it’s free to enter.  The main attraction for me was the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition which showcases the Prize’s entries and winners.  It has rated well in reviews, been recommended personally and as someone more interested in photographs than paintings it got my attention.  At just £2 to enter I think it’s worth finding the change and having a look (and soon
as it closes on 12 February 2012).

The opening portrait of the exhibition, English footballer Peter Crouch, was a surprise as he’s not the first person to come to mind as an artist’s subject but it’s quite an impressive image.  Overall it’s a fascinating exhibition as it seems to bring together so many ages, ethnicities and cultures into one room.  My favourite portrait ‘Erika E born in 1910’ is an honest image of a 100 year old lady, still healthy and very glamorous, I wouldn’t mind looking like this on my 100^th birthday!  If you’ve seen this exhibition or plan to see it before it closes I’d be interested to hear what your favourite portrait was so please comment below.

As for the rest of the gallery, it is definitely an interesting timeline of portraits from the Tudors to the modern day, mixing paintings, photography and artefacts.  I spent more time looking around the contemporary portraits on the ground floor as they’re more relatable to me but it’s worth taking a look round the rest of the gallery, particularly if you’re in London to get a taste of British history, but also if you want to see how capturing people’s portraits has changed over time.

For more information and a summary of what’s on offer now and in the next few months check out the Gallery’s website.

There’ll be more reviews over the next few weeks so for more of my insights follow the site or twitter feed @This_City_Life.

New Year, New Blog

Happy New Year! 2012 is here which means a fresh 366 days to achieve new goals, experience new things and explore new places. 

City life provides plenty of opportunity for new experiences but despite having lived in London for two years I still find there’s lots I’d like to do and see. 

So I’ve decided to set up this blog to encourage myself and others to get out there and find the things which make living this city life so much fun (and worth paying the high rent for!).  I’ll mainly be blogging about things to do and see in London but I’ll throw in the odd hotspot from my hometown Birmingham for good measure.

Here’s what I hope to find: 

• Great places for good coffee and cakes.
• Restaurants to suit every occasion and craving.
• Bars to satisfy every thirst.
• Interesting museum exhibitions, art galleries and general sites to see.
• New experiences.

If you’re living in London, like to visit or are simply interested in city life follow this blog! You can do this either by the site or by twitter @This_City_Life.

Feel free to get in touch if you have any recommendations or you run an independent business offering something I may be interested in.  I’m here to give an honest view of city life so please bear this in mind.