Author Archives: Frostie

Restaurant News: VIVO – An All Day Italian Dining Experience in Islington

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If you are anything like us you love Italian food and are always looking for somewhere new to go. So we are pretty excited that a new Italian bakery, Vivo, is open on Upper Street in Islington.

restaurant new, new Italian restaurant open in Islington, Vivo

Vivo, a vibrant Italian bakery, is now open in the heart of bustling Upper Street in Islington, North London. Inspired by the traditional gastronomia and pasticceria of Italy, Vivo is an all day casual dining affair serving authentic and regional cuisine. The neighbourhood restaurant is an informal venue for both locals and visitors to the area. Vivo is the first venture from brothers Will and Ben Thompson who have drawn upon their travel experiences and passion for Italian food and culture for this exciting project.

 

The focal point of Vivo is a striking, 14 metre granite counter with a separate drinks bar, from which orders are taken and the food and drink served.  Dishes include freshly baked ciabattas and focaccias; torte rustica (Italian savoury pies), authentic Roman pizza ‘al taglio’ (rectangular slices); speciality cheese and meat boards. Guests looking for heartier dishes can opt for hot signature favourites such as beef or vegetarian lasagne and pork cannelloni. A selection of Italian desserts, pastries and sweets are also available such as Gianduja, hazelnut and raspberry tart and Strawberries and prosecco tiramisu. The varied menu makes Vivo the perfect destination for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

 

In keeping with continental cafe culture, coffee supplied by renowned Neapolitan roaster Kimbo is a key staple at Vivo. Guests can also choose from a selection of wines from various Italian regions as well as Prosecco on tap and a range of Italian beers, spirits and cocktails. Customers visiting during the early evening can enjoy aperitivo hour: complimentary snacks served to accompany drinks.

 

Vivo’s interiors balance modern, monolithic features with rustic earthy tones. Design features include the use of split face timber panels, dark granite surfaces, Portland stone walls and a combination of oak and York stone flooring. The ground floor caters for up to 50 covers with a mix of communal and individual tables whilst the open air roof terrace (seating 35) offers the perfect setting for al fresco dining in the warmer months.

Co-owner Will Thompson says, “The Vivo concept has developed from a love and study of Italian cuisine. We have travelled extensively throughout Italy, discovering unique regional dishes served in traditional ‘gastronomia’, high-end bakeries and Pasticcerie in the cosmopolitan, style conscious cities of Milan, Turin and Rome”.

 

Offering a delicious slice of Italy in the heart of North London, local restaurant Vivo is a colourful addition to the London foodie map, now open on Upper Street, Islington.

 

www.vivotaste.com

Nicole Scherzinger Hits The Headlines in BasharatyanV

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The gorgeous Nicole Scherzinger looked fierce and super toned as she appeared on DayBreak TV and later at Café de Paris in the sexy look from young brand BasharatyanV. The white silk combo is from the brand’s new SS14 collection Frida, which was recently shown on the catwalk at Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week.

Nicole Scherzinger, fashion, picture, BasharatyanV

Nicole Scherzinger looking hot as ever.

 

What do you think?

 

Sketch To Host Café Intellectual: Reading Robert Hughes

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‘The greatest art critic of our time’ – Jonathan Jones
 Robert_Hughes
On Sunday 13th October, The Parlour at Sketch will host Café Intellectual: Reading Robert Hughes. A Sunday evening salon with selected readings and reflections, screenings and sound bites in honour of the controversial figure hailed as ‘the greatest critic of our time’, Robert Hughes.
Curated by The Field and presented in association with the Royal Academy of Arts’ in honour of their highly anticipated ‘Australia’ exhibition. The evening salon will include presentations from a number of Britain’s most esteemed art-critics and artists, whose work has been affected by Hughes’ legacy.
An array of speakers have been invited to toast the work of RA Honorary Fellow Robert Hughes, who was once described by Peter Carey as ‘Australia’s Dante’. Speakers include curator Paul Bayley, artist Dan Davis, Oxford film and television creative director Nicholas Kent, artist Agatha Gothe-Snape and academic and artist Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll.
The bar team at sketch will be creating cocktails inspired by Hughes’ work. Guests will be able to sample ‘Fatal Shore’ and ‘Shot of the New’ which have heady blends, evoking Hughes’s famous tones.
“They need a place where they can go to meet and drink and talk, preen themselves or simply sit alone with a book … the cafe was the opera of the dissenters. It was also the marketplace of ideas.” – Robert Hughes

Café Intellectual: Reading Robert Hughes will be held at The Parlour at sketch, on Sunday 13th October, 6:30pm – 8pm

Who Are You? KOBO eBook Recommendations Based On Personality

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Kobo has put together a fabulous guide on choosing an eBooks that suits our personality.  So dive into a book that best represents who you are.

Kobo Aura HD

Do you listen more than you talk? Do you enjoy thinking, exploring your thoughts and feelings? If you answered yes, then chances are you have more of an introverted personality. And you’re not alone – some of the most influential characters have been those who prefer to be wallflowers, rather than seeing what life looks like from the dance floor. Here are some books whose characters come in quietly, but leave with a bang. 

 

Stephen Chbosky – Perks of Being a Wallflower

Rachel Joyce – The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eyre

Stieg Larson – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

 

Do you find yourself being the life of the party? Do you like to socialise and are often times called “Chatty Cathy”? Well, so are the characters in the novels listed below. Outspoken, adventurous and daring, these protagonists are the voices of a generation. 

 

Lucy Maud Montgomery – Anne of Green Gables

John Green – The Fault in Our Stars

George Eliot – The Mill on the Floss

Jane Austen – Emma 

 

Are you fierce, ambitious and a go-getter? Are you looking for ways to further develop your career or the way you think about business? Whether you’re just starting out in your career or looking for ways to advance, below are some ebooks that will help guide you on your journey to understanding business but also provide lessons in life. 

 

Richard Branson – Losing My Virginity

Karen Brady – Strong Woman:  The Truth About Getting to The Top

Sheryl Sandberg – Lean In

Walter Isaacson – Steve Jobs

Duncan Bannatyne – Riding The Storm

 

Who are you?

Why do women cheat? Not enough sex, say 79.2% of survey

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•             25-34 year old women most likely to seek an affair outside marriage

•             1-3 months is the typical life cycle of an affair for 60.3% of AshleyMadison.com membersCitiz Hotel

•             76.9% of unfaithful women still love their husband or long term partner

A new survey of unfaithful British women from AshleyMadison.com, the world’s leading site for extramarital affairs, shows that for 79.2% the over-riding reason for cheating on husbands or partners is an unfulfilled sex life.

The survey of 10,245 UK women members of the website provides a snapshot of the changing face of infidelity in this country. Globally, female infidelity is on the rise and the UK is no exception.

Noel Biderman, founder and CEO of AshleyMadison.com says: “While women are gaining power in the work-place they’re no longer prepared to accept a disappointing performance from their man in the bedroom. Many work long hours, they juggle family and professional responsibilities and find that a busy lifestyle can be both an excuse and a cover for cyber affairs and physical affairs.”

The most common age group amongst unfaithful women is 25-34 year olds (35.1%), but the 35-44 year old age bracket is not far behind at 30.4%.

“Attitudes to infidelity amongst women are changing fast,’ adds Biderman. “The taboo is disappearing, it’s no longer a male preserve. With smartphones and access to the Internet 24/7, women have the tools to seek out and conduct discreet affairs that leave no ‘digital lipstick’ in the way that Facebook does. It’s as safe and easy as ordering a take-away!”

Unfaithful women seem to mirror cheating men who traditionally claim they still love their wives: 76.9% of Ashley Madison’s cheating women say they still love their husband or long term partner and an overwhelming 95.1% say they are not in love with their affair partner. In line with this, only 11.6% say they would like to leave their husband or partner

However, it seems that the one nightstand is still male territory, as an affair of one-three months is typical for 60.3% of the women surveyed and only 19.6% say they are looking for a one-night stand.

Noel Biderman comments: “Women tend to like a degree of stability; genetically they’re not wired for one-night stands. But women are good at multi-tasking so there’s no problem having an affair partner as well as a husband. 69% of the women we surveyed have only had one or two affairs.”

 

Do you agree?

Ghost Twins Release Double A-Side Single

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Ghost Twins are back. Born out of the ashes of the critically acclaimed Crushing Blows, GHOST TWINS are a noise and dream pop duo from Derby, UK – Their former incarnation CB, earned support from Huw Stevens, Steve Lamacq, Artrocker, Shell Zenner, Jen Long and Simon Raymonde & more and were regulars on the festival circuit.

 

‘Unknown Animal | Dream On / Dream Off’ is the majestic first offering since the band’s reformation. With electronics and drum machines coming to the forefront, this aesthetic evolution reflects the organic changes the band experienced recording their debut album, due in early 2014.

Crushing Blows Rainblows2

The double A side marries the intricacies of their previous work; looped guitars and uncommon time signatures with a more ethereal and experimental pop element that implores Ghost Twins to explore an unassailable myriad of influences that will certainly appeal to fans of Mirrored era Battles, or the Pink Mist heavyweights of Tubelord, Three Trapped Tigers and Tall Ships.

Reviews starting to emerge are all in agreement that the GT are onto something head-spinning which will be sure to keep their fans and new listeners immersed to their every move. It’s the vast range of sounds and ideas within these tracks that make this band so unique, exciting, and especially hard to box in.

The single is due out on the 7th of October on Snug Recording Co, a new label and recording studio based in Derby. The aim of the label is to break away from traditional industry models by working with artists on a cooperative, collaborative basis to produce small releases without the pressures of money, market ability or contracts, with all releases agreed upon a handshake only. This, the first release on the label, exemplifies their core values with two unsettled, dark, yet intriguing pieces of dreamy, electric pop music.

Unknown Animal | Dream On / Dream off will be available from ghosttwins.bandcamp.com and all major digital download stores on October 7th and will also feature on Ghost Twins debut LP, due for release in early 2014.

Ghost Twins’ are Chris Jones and Andrew Foster.

 

http://ghosttwins.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/weareghosttwins
https://twitter.com/GHOST__TWINS

Legendary Anchorman Ron Burgundy’s Book Jacket Is Revealed

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Legendary Anchorman Ron Burgundy now has a book deal with Random House. His tell-All Autobiography LET ME OFF AT THE TOP! should be hilarious and is set for November 2013 International Release.

Ron Burgundy book

Ron Burgundy, the esteemed broadcast journalist, has reached agreement with Crown Archetype, an imprint of Random House’s Crown Publishing Group, to write his memoir. LET ME OFF AT THE TOP!: My Classy Life and Other Musings will be published simultaneously in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia in print and digital formats on November 19, 2013.

 

Ron Burgundy is known to all as the lead anchorman of San Diego’s award-winning Action 4 News Team and anchor of the first 24-hour news channel, GNN (Global News Network), but few know the real man behind the news desk. In LET ME OFF AT THE TOP! he will share never-before-told stories of his childhood and the events that led him to choose a career in the news business. He will offer a rare glimpse behind the camera into the real life of a man many consider to be our greatest living news anchor. In his own words, he will share personal anecdotes about the women in his life, about his dog, Baxter, and his legendary news team. Along the way, he’ll also give sage advice on a variety of topics that matter most to him. The long wait is over. Ron Burgundy pulls no punches in this widely anticipated, fully authorized tell-all autobiography.

 

Mauro DiPreta, Vice President, Editor in Chief at Crown Archetype, acquired the book from Creative Artists Agency and will edit. Jack Fogg, Editorial Director at Century, an imprint of the Random House Group, will publish the book in the U.K. and Australia.

“I don’t know if it’s the greatest autobiography ever written. I’m too close to the work,” Burgundy said, adding, “I will tell you this much: the first time I sat down and read this thing . . . I cried like a goddamn baby, and you can take that to the bank!”

“The list of legendary American broadcast news journalists is short:  Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, and, of course, Ron Burgundy,” says DiPreta. “The printed page will allow Ron to tell his story in a much more intimate way. LET ME OFF AT THE TOP! will be a classic for years to come.”

 

Burgundy has had a huge, cultural impact in the U.K. and Australia as well. Said Fogg, “Burgundy’s influence on news reading is evident in the work of such legends as Richard Baker, Moira Stuart, Brian Henderson, and the early years of Jeremy Paxman. LET ME OFF AT THE TOP! will put an end to the many rumors and debates surrounding Ron and reveal the inner workings of a legendary broadcaster. His international fans will have themselves a book for the ages.”

 

Ron Burgundy is a trailblazer and an icon in television journalism. He and the Action 4 News Team will be honored at Washington, D.C.’s  Newseum with an installation of mementos and keepsakes of their time and impact in San Diego that will begin in December. On December 20, he will star as himself in Paramount Pictures’ Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

 

iGeneration Facing Lifetime Of Back Pain: Jodie Kidd Talks About Her Experience.

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Megan Fox had her tattoo of Marilyn Monroe removed because it had 'negative energy'. We have become a nation obsessed with technology and social media. Much to the detriment of our health. We’re a nation on the brink of a potential back pain epidemic. Experts say the ‘iPosture generation’ spend more time in front of a PC or laptop than they do asleep in bed.

Simplyhealth surveyed more than 3000 adults and found more than 8 out of ten of us have suffered with back pain in the last year (86%) and that we suffer with it on average three times a week.

A combination of work and home screen time (excluding traditional TV) means that over 55s spend an average of 6.64 hours a day in front of a screen compared to 8.83 hour for a typical 18-24 year old.

However, key differences seem to emerge when it comes to the different generations’ use of technology. Two thirds (67 per cent) of 18-24 year olds agree they either slouch or hunch in front of their PC or other devices at work. Their parents on the other hand (45-54 year olds) are more than twice as likely to sit up straight at home, on a chair, with their PC or laptop in front of them.

And parents today are much less likely to tell their children to sit up and stand up straight – 59 per cent of those questioned said they never gave their children this advice.

What do you think? Is the iGeneration destroying their back?