Vote for President at The Hippodrome London… sort of

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Kesh

The run up to the Presidential election, has got everyone riled up so The Hippodrome Casino thinks it only fair that everyone across the pond should have a say too. So in the run up to the election, they will be allowing their (over 18 year old) customers to vote at the bar.

Yes, that’s right, The Hippodrome Casino have launched two new cocktails, The Clinton and The Trump and to vote you must simply pick one over the other to give a fairly accurate* gauge on who will come out on top.

The Clinton: a refreshing blend of gin, lemon and lychee juices, and blue curacao for that all important Democrat blue.

The Trump: a mixture of raspberries, Zubrowka, crème de fraise, cranberry and lemon juices, creating a bright Republican red.

The cocktails cost £10 each and can be ordered at The Hippodrome’s Piano Bar. The cocktails will be available until Monday 7th November.

*Your cocktail buying habits will not guarantee your favourite candidate to win the presidential vote. But we really enjoy that The Hippodrome have included us in the voting fever. All in the name of fun!

Argentinean Pop-Up Barullo comes to London

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Kesh

East London is infamous for hosting some pretty exciting pop-ups and now we needn’t look further as Hoxton welcomes a Wines of Argentina production, Barullo. This October we will be treated to four spectacular days of the best of Argentinian culture. Hosted by Hoxton’s JJ Studios, prepare to be immersed in art, wine, music and of course food and spend an evening being serenaded by sweet Argentinian fayre.

Mauro Colagreco

For the very first time ever Mauro Colagreco will be bringing a touch of two-star Michelin restaurant Mirazur to Barullo providing ticket holder’s with a slice of some fine dining. We are talking four days of dining curated by one of the best restaurants in the World. Guests enjoying dinner can expect a four-course feast featuring; Antarctic King Crab, Scallops, Pumpkin and Coconut milk and Patagonian lamb confit with sweet potato, dates, caramelised shallots and sesame sauce.

What’s more, Barullo are including a second ticket option for those who still want to enjoy the “best of the best” wine’s alongside music and art but do not wish to dine. With a focus on the best Argentinean wines, wines from almost 40 of the country’s winemakers will be making an appearance. Highlights include sommelier led tasting bars with 5 of the world’s top 10 sommeliers sharing their expertise, including Argentina’s number one sommelier, Paz Levinson. Art will be provided by the country’s most renowned contemporary galleries, Buro for you to enjoy whilst listening to live sets by two of Argentina’s hottest DJ’s. So tango your way to Barullo to experience an Argentinean pop up with flavour, culture and fiesta. Salud!

Tickets start from £32.45 (including booking fee) per person which include Wines, Art, Music including access to the wine tastings which can be enjoyed from 8pm

Tickets are priced at £106.79 (including booking fee) per person for those who would like to try the full Mirazur dining experience starting at 6.30pm

Tickets can be purchased at;
Eventbrite

For more info;
Wines of Argentina

In Search of the Past: A visit to the Somme Part 6 by Penny Gerrard

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Lieutenant Colonel Harry Vivian Robert Hodson

Our two day trip was drawing to a close and so, lunchtime baguettes eaten and the loo in a local café visited, our thoughts turned back to Richard’s grandfather Harry Hodson.

After the battle of Mametz Wood, Harry assumed command of the 14 Royal Welsh Fusiliers on 18 July 1916 and redeployed with the 38 Welsh Division to the Ypres salient on the Yser Canal until June 1917 when he was appointed Officer Commanding the Brigade School. Harry took command of the 1^st Battalion the North Staffordshire Regiment on 9 April 1918 to reform and retrain the battalion after it had been virtually wiped out in the area of St Quentin when the Germans first launched the Ludendorff offensive. The battalion was deployed in the Lens area from May to late September until relieved. The regiment was then redeployed to the Cambrai area to take part in the final stages of the war and the battle of the Selle.

“The peaceful River Selle as it is today”

We drove down a steep hill to find the River Selle which formed the setting of this battle and were rather nonplussed to find a small, tranquil and reed-edged river winding its way in a rather chocolate box way through a pretty village. Not at all Richard’s vision of what the River Selle would be. It was clearly a very different place when Harry’s regiment fought for control of what was a key bridge.

“The landscape above the River Selle where Harry’s battalion fought”

Back up the hill Richard was able to bring the area of the fighting above the village to life for us, having an instinctive grasp for the lie of the land and the direction of the fighting which the rest of us lacked.

“Dark clouds over the fields above the River Selle”

Harry commanded his battalion in operations from 7 October to clear the enemy from the villages of Awoingt, Cauroir, Cagnoncles, Rieux, Avesnes, St Aubert until he was wounded at 11am on 13 October 2018, very near the end of hostilities. He was twice “Mentioned in Despatches” for gallantry. The war ended before he was again fit for duty and so he survived and returned to his wife and three children, one of them being Robin, Richard’s father. He commanded his regiment again in 1925 and was stationed in Calcutta until 1929. In 1930 he was compulsorily retired due to defence cuts, living to the age of 85.

As we stood on the road trying to visualise the battle raging across the landscape, we thought about how different things could have been if the bullet which hit Harry in the hip had actually killed him. A long life could easily have been cut short as it was for so many thousands who went off to the Somme with such high hopes of serving their country a century ago.

Our time exploring the Somme battlefields was over and we left with just a little more understanding of the experiences of Robert, Walter, Gilbert, Harry and Frederick – only two of whom lived to tell the tale.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.*

“St Aubert British Military Cemetery – just one more example of the dedication of those looking after these very special memorials all across France and Belgium”

*From “For the Fallen” by Lawrence Binyon

Penny Gerrard

with information & text from Richard Hodson

Celebrate the Night Tube with Late Night Dining at Gaucho

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Kesh

The nation’s favourite Argentine Steak restaurant are about to make Londoners a whole lot happier. As if we didn’t have enough to celebrate with the arrival of the night tube, FINALLY, Gaucho Piccadilly will be the first to give you one incredibly important reason to stay out late. Executive Chef Jamie Robertson has curated a tantalisingly, tasty new menu of sharing dishes to celebrate the occasion. Available between 10pm-1am Weds-Saturday, this feast will feature signature Gaucho beef empanadas, tuna ceviche spoons, chunky truffle chips and of course, no Gaucho feast would be complete without their winning steak. The feasting menu will be priced at £25 per head, so with a selection of delicious morsels to try, Gaucho might just be your new late night hangout. Of course the cocktails and plethora of fine Argentine wines will also be on offer until closing.

The Late Night Menu at Gaucho Piccadilly will launch on Friday 26th August, and will be offered from Wednesday to Saturday nights.

For more information, visit: www.gauchorestaurants.co.uk

In Search of the Past – A visit to the Somme – Part 3 by Penny Gerrard

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Captain Walter Basil Haddon-Smith

The Gerrards and the Hodsons had successfully tracked down the first of Richard’s family members and so onwards on the next stage of our journey – this time to find the Le Touret Monument to 13,400 soldiers whose families had no marked graves to visit. On this would be carved the name of Walter Basil Haddon-Smith – a first cousin of Richard’s grandfather. Walter was a Captain in The Queen’s Regiment and was killed in action on 16 May 1915 at the battle of Festubert commanding D company.

“The Le Touret Monument to the Missing with its surrounding graves”

There were no problems with navigation this time and we entered the quiet grounds of the monument which sat huge and timeless in the rolling French countryside which was unrecognisable from the devastated landscape it was 100 years ago when Walter fell. The names were faint and we struggled to photograph them but there it was – the simple name “Haddon-Smith W.B.” among so many thousands of others. The quiet was only broken by the sound of birds singing. How many generations of birds would have lived here since those whose song was stilled by the fighting I wondered.

“The name ‘Haddon-Smith W.B.’ engraved on the stone”

Richard explained to us that Walter’s Battalion plan was for A Company to lead the attack with two lead platoons followed by two remaining platoons behind with a 50 yard interval, followed by B, C and D companies in identical fashion. The distance to the German trenches was 180 yards over uneven ground with ditches and long grass. The attack was preceded by artillery bombardment of the enemy positions from 2.45 to 3.15 am. Then, as daylight broke, A Company scaled the ladders and rushed towards the German position. The enemy opened fire immediately. After elements of C Company had gone over the top, enemy resistance was unaffected and a second artillery bombardment was requested and lasted 15 minutes. Then the remainder of C Company and D Company attacked. By 7.30pm the operation came to an end. Of the 27 Officers and 963 other ranks, total casualties were 19 Officers and 416 other ranks killed or wounded. A sad postscript was that his wife Edith had died of peritonitis ten days before Walter was killed. Richard will never know if Walter was told of his wife’s death before he went into action. He was posthumously “Mentioned in Despatches” for gallantry.

“The Le Touret Monument with its 13,400 names”

We had started to realise that time was passing by fast and lunchtime was upon us. What we needed was a crusty baguette bursting with ripe Brie or some such appetising filling (we were remembering the tempting arrays in the boulangeries of Lille). Not apparently to be found at lunchtime out in the wilds of the French countryside though. The occasional tabac serving a full meal was our only choice but “Madame” whipped us up light and fluffy omelettes. The lunchtime passed in sociable chat with other war grave pilgrims as we compared notes and family histories. We wondered what was in store for us next as we travelled on through the French countryside.

“Our lunchtime tabac”

In Search of the Past – A visit to the Somme Part 1 by Penny Gerrard

In Search of the Past – A visit to the Somme by Penny Gerrard Part 2

Nightjar Unveil Their New Summer Cocktails

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Kesh

Behind the fascinating black door with the gold bird lies one of The City’s best, hidden cocktail bars. I don’t use the term ‘best’ lightly here, coming from this part of London I have scaled the bars in the area and Nightjar is unlike any other. With a cocktail list which serves up cocktails of a bygone era and some of the most unique spirits on the market, Nightjar breaks the mould when it comes to an eye for detail and outstanding cocktails so it’s no wonder they have won World’s Best Bar on a number of occasions. It could be the exclusivity of the place, or the sexy speakeasy ambiance but here’s one thing for sure, their cocktails pretty much define what a cocktail should be. I can’t quite put it into words myself but just know this, when you visit Nightjar the possibilities are quite endless.

Just in time for Summer, Nightjar are offering up a series of creative cocktails which use unusual fruits and flavours to evoke tropical themes. Having launched mid-May, the new cocktails are the first to have launched under the direction of new bar manager, Martina Breznanova. We were lucky enough to bag an invite to the launch of the inventive new cocktail list and were blown away by the execution, the attention to detail and inventiveness. In true Nightjar fashion they’ve used a combination of unique flavours and challenging spirits and everything possible to drift you away into a tropical sensory Heaven. The new menu is made up of four main sections, interweaving history with innovation throughout. Pre-Prohibition, Prohibition and Postwar, all of which are filled with the groundbreaking reinventions of bygone cocktails, whilst the Signature section fully embodies Nightjar’s invention and creativity.

The Tiki style drinks which feature on the new menu focus on the more tropical and exotic flavours from around the world. We recommend;

The Lei Lani Volcano;

This Tiki style drink includes tropical ingredients such as banana bread beer and coconut blossom nectar served over peanut butter ice.

From the updated classics menu we chose

The Mayflower;

Originating from a bygone era, The Mayflower is a unique take on The Flowing Bowl (1892) which swaps out herbal Kummal for Mozart Dry chocolate spirit infused with dill pollen. This stunning cocktail is served with real dried roses.

From The Post War Era;

Cocktail a La Louisianne;

Evoking the true spirit of New Orleans, this cocktail pays homage to its musical roots and also the voodoo culture. Served in a cloud of patchouli and Palo Santo smoke, this cocktail is reminiscent of the intoxicating smells of rituals and ceremonies. Made with Johnnie Walker Gold | Mancino Rosso Amaranto | Benedictine | Orange Liqueur | Agnus Castus Berries | Nightjar Bitters | Absinthe.

So whether it’s to just satisfy your curiosity and experience some stunningly made drinks, or to soak up the ambience of this unique bar and admire the theatrics of each crafted creation, Nightjar is most certainly the bar for you.

Just to get an idea of what Nightjar are about, they have kindly offered up a recipe for Cocktail a La Louisianne for you to try yourself;

–       45ml Johnnie Walker Gold
–       30ml Mancino Rosso Amaranto
–       5ml Benedictine
–       5ml Grand Marnier
–       1 pinch Agnus Castus (Monk’s Pepper)
–       2 dashes Absinthe

Stir and serve in a cold coupette

Nightjar

129 City Road

London, EC1V 1JBT

0207 253 4101

www.barnightjar.com

Bookings: info@barnightjar.com

Live Music every night from 9pm

My Local Temple Time by Alex Bannard Bangkok Correspondent

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Margaret Graham

A bicycle ride to a local temple provides the perfect respite from modern day annoyances for Alex.

I have a friend who is a practicing Buddhist. It has helped her through some traumatic times and she shares the benefits, techniques and insights of shamatha with me and a few others in a weekly meditation class. I love it. I find the style of meditation too prescriptive sometimes, but to spend 2 hours every week consciously coming back to oneself, focusing on the breathe, the senses or emotions before allowing the mind some freedom to just be is simply liberating. I have yet to encounter one of those life changing insights and feel a long way from enlightenment but I really believe in the therapeutic benefits of meditation and mindfulness.

When we first met we agreed we would head off on our bikes to explore a local temple. Of course life takes over and the months went by and then suddenly opportunity presented itself and off we headed. We came out of our Moobaan and snuck through a little entrance, carrying our bikes along a mud path scattered with litter alongside an algae and no doubt mosquito-infested swamp with wooden and corrugated iron roofed shacks perched on its banks. I knew this was going to be fun.

You see living as we do in a gated community alongside other Farang and the more affluent of Thai society with housekeeper and driver assisting to our daily needs it is easy to forget the real side of Thailand. As we cycled along the path alongside the stinking Klong (canal) you cannot escape it. And I love that. It makes life here so much more real. Because for the vast majority in Thailand life is dirty, gritty and hard. Many people even in Bangkok live in small wooden huts some on stilts others alongside main roads, under over-passes, alongside the waterways. You cannot escape their lives as you pass: 3 generations hunched over noodle soup on wooden stools having their lunch with the TV blaring.

In other homes, women swing in their hammocks and nod or cheerfully say ‘Sawadee’ with bare-footed children scampering at their feet. Because that’s the other thing, the Thais are extremely friendly and very non judgemental. They are fascinated, especially the kids, to see 2 Farang on their bikes, teetering along the narrow path alongside the Klong. Seeing the waterway underneath swimming with plastic bottles and other rubbish it crossed my mind that we are only months away from what is being forecast as the wettest rainy season in decades. How many of these homes resting so precariously close to the water’s edge would be washed away in the floods? It is ironic, that the country is in the depths of drought and on the back of the hottest summer for years, and this monsoon season people’s livesare likely to be destroyed by the water they so badly desire.

As we came off the path and cycled along the back streets, the houses became more substantial, some were concrete rather than wood. There were even cars parked outside some and gardens. And it is obvious the pride people have in their homes keeping despite the poverty. We cycled through a Muslim area and passed the school which was based in the mosque. We cycled further along the Klong, carrying our bikes up the steps and over the bridges until we came to the temple complex.

Thai temples are ornate and spectacular and this was no exception. We walked clockwise around the complex – three times – bringing good luck. We ventured into the Ordination Hall where seven monks were leading some kind of devotion whilst worshippers ate their lunch, sitting on the floor feet tucked away from the saffron robed monks.

One of the monks approached us to say hello and tell us about a 3 day festival celebrating the re-gilding of the Buddha. He escorted us outside to see the actually Buddha which would be restored to its golden glory and then took us to the back corner of the complex where women were preparing food, eating and also loading wood into the kiln to keep a sauna going which the monks and nuns use daily.

It was fascinating: the monk’s openness and willingness to share insights into their daily lives and rituals; seeing the nuns in their white robes and shaved heads which previously I hadn’t seen; and being privy to the real sense of community within the temple’s complex. It was such a serene and calm place that my previous slightly frustrated mood evaporated eased. It was the kind of serenity and soul the popular tourist temples somehow fail to deliver. But then without a sea of selfie sticks and hoards of noisy tourists it is no wonder really.

We cycled home mostly through the back streets hoping the threatened downpour would evade us at least until we were close by. We emerged on a different approach to our moonbaan perhaps reflective of the different approach we would be embracing during the afternoon: one of gratitude, serenity and inner calm as so often a journey off the beaten track induces.

A rare day out with Mr P by Alex Bannard Bangkok Correspondent

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Catherine Balavage

With the children at school Alex and her husband have a chance to go tourist.

Mr P is on gardening leave. Which since we, the kids and I, have not even been here a year is a little alarming but we have been through worse so we’ll get through this. So before his new job takes him off again and in the spirit of making the best of things, we decided to explore beyond Bangkok. After all two month’s in one another’s company is a long time, so better we do these things before we are fed up with one another.

I had always wanted to go to Ayutthaya – the second of the two original ancient capitals of Siam and heralded as the Angkor Wat of Thailand. Thankfully Mr P agreed. We dropped the kids off at school and headed out of the city, noses in our iPhones clearing emails, returning messages and playing Candy Crush. Ok Candy Crush, that was just me. I like to make use of the exquisite privilege of being driven everywhere by using my time wisely. Gawd forbid we might strike up a convo and run out of things to chat about by mid morning.

We arrived at the Unesco World Heritage site early before the mini vans and tourist coaches but failed to secure the bikes we had dreamt of. Never mind. The site didn’t look that big and there’s nothing wrong with our legs. So off we set. Within minutes we had come across the famed Buddha in the tree roots. ‘Great,’ announces Mr P, ‘We can go home now.’ He’s not the best tourist. Sightseeing is not his bag. He once described Petra as ‘cr*p’. It was shaping up to be a long day and it was barely 9:15.

I want to say ‘and it did not disappoint’, except it did a little. Wat Maha That is stunning without question. And one can not help to marvel at the skill of the ancients who built the complex but it somehow just did not have the majesty and splendor of Angkor.

We wandered through the historical gardens and over the road to other ruined temples and buildings which were not open. I pondered on the irony of some of these ancient ruins amidst modern day Ayutthaya as many of them are. Again something different from Angkor – or it certainly was more than a decade ago when I visited it. In Angkor you feel like you have stumbled across something magical, in Ayutthaya it feels like the ruins are struggling to compete with the pace of modern living. Although I had to smile at all the bike helmets left on the wall of one ruin as chickens clucked in nearby pens and the drivers swung in hammocks hung between the trees.

We crossed the road briefly stumbling across the paths of elephants carrying a hoard of Chinese tourists around the periphery of the gardens. The mahouts did not take kindly to Mr P patting the elephant’s trunks, oblivious to this being our first ‘official’ elephant experience so far on our Thailand adventure. I suspect these are not the ethical elephants we dream about introducing the kids to at some point.

We discovered a modern temple where a recently renovated Buddha resides, one of the largest in Thailand and one the Queen herself has helped restore to its former glory. In the gardens surrounding the temple the bushes were shaped like elephants – probably more ethical to be honest than those up the road. The Ancient Palace and Wat Phra Si Samphet nearby were more impressive. A little off the beaten track, they had more charm somehow.

By now it was time for lunch and we settled on a quaint restaurant over looking the river where we both inhaled a Singha and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Afterwards we drove out to Wat Chaiwatthanaram over the river. I loved this set of ruins. Here there was a majesty and splendor as we explored the cloisters and the decapitated Buddhas that surround it. It was here that I took a quiet moment of solitude in front of the huge restored Buddhas that overlook the river surrounding this island of ancient temples, monasteries, palaces and statues destroyed by the Burmese in 1757. And here that I realized that none of it disappointed. I had arrived with expectations and they had disappointed. The temples and palaces, statues and stupas were all splendid and don’t deserve to be compared to Angkor which I fear in the intervening years since my first visit has possibly lost some of it’s magic as chain hotels creep into its being.

And I remembered why I love Thailand. I love places that are not completely touristy (it was midweek and still blissfully quiet) and still retain a rustic charm. I love that real life juxtaposes right next to stunning temples and glorious ruins, that everyday people, often on the brink of extreme poverty, live right next door to these fabulous and stunning spiritual reminders. I hope they find it as spiritually uplifting as I do.

Looking at the map of Ayutthaya I realized we barely scratched the surface of all the ruins. But I did the same in Angkor. Once can get a little templed out. It doesn’t mean the memories aren’t vivid and wonderful. And I have no doubt our memories of this day will be the same because in the end it did not disappoint. And we didn’t run out of conversation either.

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