An ode to Soho

I work, eat and drink in Soho and this video to celebrate the launch of London Fashion Week in Soho makes me very proud to be a part of one of the most vibrant areas in London.

Once Soho was full of crack dens and prozzies and the French.

Not much has changed.

That is apart from down Sex Alley which needs a new name as the police have shut down all the places of ill repute.

Gotta love it.



And props to World Poetry Slam Champion, Harry Baker. Nice script man. 

Black Cab Sessions- the most intimate gigs ever.

Today one of the organisers from Black Cab Sessions came to give a talk to my agency. If you haven't already heard of them and checked out their website then the idea is simple. Bands and musicians get in a black cab to give a stripped back extremely intimate gig that is filmed and put online. The organisers of these sessions try to pick interesting people with something new to give - whether they are very famous or unsigned and unknown. It has also meant they have turned down some pretty big names. In this process they have discovered many artists who have been seen on the platform and snapped up by record companies. This happened so often that Black Cab Sessions has now set up their own record company called BCS.

Watch this video to get a little taster:



The idea has also spawned a TV program which saw the 5 guys running Black Cab Sessions travel to New Orleans and New York to find musicians and talk to them about their areas and what makes them musically special.



Take a look at the website. It is full of gems - so far I have enjoyed sessions by I blame Coco, Richard Thompson, Death Cab for Cutie and Bonnie Price Billy. There really is something for everyone. 

The 2012 London Kitten Olympics

Ziggy and Bailey have been settling in well and have decided to start their own London Olympics. As they are the only participants so far they are set to take gold and silver in most sports. I say most because Bailey isn't great at all the categories.

GO TEAM GB KITTENS!

Shoe diving.
Both kittens love and excel at this sport. It involves jumping face first into a shoe - preferably a boot so that a kitten can get their whole head inside. Points for paws and head and velocity at which it is done. This sport is anyone's for the taking.

Ziggy practices this tricky sport

High jumping.
This sport really only has one qualifier: Ziggy, who gained a personal best when she jumped the baby gate. Bailey has yet to compete as his back legs don't leave the floor by more than a millimetre.

Running.
Ziggy is in a secure position to win gold. With the ability to chase a cat toy for over half an hour without getting bored. Bailey is trailing far behind and will need to learn to chase things that actually move - rather than picking on knots in wood.

Wrestling.
Bailey will take gold due to has bigger size and weight which he uses to his full advantage against his sister. Biting is permitted and both cats are great at the "whole jaw in mouth" move.

Boxing.
Both kittens are adept at getting a sneaky paw to each other's heads - a high scoring zone in boxing. Bailey is the bookies favourite due to his willingness to start a fight and see it through.

Pot holing
This sport is anyone's for the taking. Both kittens have climbed inside our chimneys and Ziggy managed to climb behind the toilet, giving it a good dust on the way. This will be an interesting category to watch.

Ziggy practices getting into tight spaces for the pot holing.

Climbing.
Both kittens are great at this although this method is practiced more by Bailey - mainly due to the fact he refuses to do any jumping.

Bailey in the climbing heats

Gymnastics
There is one clear leader in this field - Ziggy who's mid air acrobatics are a sight to behold - she has mastered the single twist jump, the backflip and the roll poly. Bailey is more of a floor display boy and has yet to master a graceful landing - too many faults in his performances so far.

Bailey throws shapes in the floor display.

If you would like to enter your cat into the London 2012 Kitten Olympics please send me a picture of your kitten's feats of athletic ability.

Vermin Olympics!

Us people. We think the Olympics is all about us. But every 4 years thousands of vermin - squirrels, rats, pigeons also hold torch relays - some which stretch across the globe. Here is one such triumph - captured  by Amael Isnard and Leo Bridle 

Olympic Vermin from Leo Bridle on Vimeo.

The UK - when it's sunny, there's nowhere better

We have been enjoying some gorgeous weather here in the UK the last few weeks. This is lucky because this year I decided that we weren't going on holiday. Instead we were going to enjoy Britain and save our money. And this weekend I lay in Christchurch meadows in Oxford, watching the clouds float in the blue skies and the little ducklings cozy up to their mothers to shade from the sun and thought 'this is the most perfect place on earth to be'. And London looked just as gorgeous. Here's a picture of London Bridge my Fiance took on his walk home on Friday:



Living in the UK under mostly grey skies you forget that we are living in a beautiful country. But wherever I go in the world I compare the beaches to my local Welsh beaches in Gower. And I often find that beaches that are famed for their beauty are nothing in comparison to the under-rated beauty of the Welsh coastline. I am truly lucky to have grown up in Swansea, truly lucky to have spend my student days in the beautiful and ancient buildings and gardens of Oxford, and truly lucky to live right by the South bank in London. I just needed a sunny summer to remind me.

Second time lucky.

My computer is a gorgeous new apple with black keys and a shimmery silver finish. 

But is it still a load of crap.  

This is the second time I have attempted my post because said computer crashed. I think it is a bit like Megan Fox. Gorgeous on the outside but stupid on the inside. 

Anyways. I am a 26 year old girl working in an advertising agency in London. My job title is "Creative" which makes you feel pretty smug when you tell people after a few pints. You need the few pints to stop it from seeming faintly ridiculous. I am also a Copywriter, so I have no excuse if this blog is very badly written. 

This blog will probably end up being a diary. But I will post links to anything interesting or beautiful that I find and talk about particular bits of work that I particularly like. I will also post up any art work which I have managed to find time to produce. I love to paint, but I work such long hours that finding the time is almost impossible.