image credit: Max Webster

Chivaree Circus and Upstage Creative present CRASH Winterville, Clapham Common, London 28th, 29th November and 12th, 13th, 19th 20th, 22nd December 2018

“I woke to find myself in a dark wood, Where the right road was wholly lost and gone.”  – Dante

CRASH is a tale of love, danger and mystery, featuring heart-stopping acrobatics, astounding aerial dance and eerie balletic pieces to a lyrical electronic soundtrack.  Inspired by the 19th century French ballet La Sylphide, CRASH is a retelling of this European folktale through impressionist, mixed media pop-conceptual circus.

This new show in the round comes from the award-winning team that brought Becoming Shades to VAULTS earlier this year.  Audiences will be taken on a journey through a compelling emotional landscape of circus, dance and beautiful atmospheric soundscapes.

Image credit: Max Webster

Setting the pace in the London circus scene this is a show that demonstrates Chivaree will not rest on their laurels and will continue to push boundaries in circus (London Theatre 1).

CRASH is a shadow blinking at twilight, the hint of a love that was never meant to be, where shadows breathe and dance amongst the trees.  When a mysterious woodland creature appears to a man on the morning of his wedding day, he can’t resist following her.  Their love is immortal for true love conquers all.  Or does it?  When the forest comes alive, who is to say what is real and what is not?  Who can you really trust in the moonlight?  Who is the hunter and who is the prey?

This promises to be a spectacular combination of high impact circus, dramatic aesthetics and powerful visual narratives. Their last production was a sell-out and Frost Magazine is willing to bet this will be too.

CRASH: Performance Dates  28th, 29th November and 12th, 13th, 19th 20th, 22nd December 2018     Variable times

Running time   1 hour

Twitter    @Chivaree_Circus

Box Office Tickets are available priced from £20 (plus booking fee).  Book online at https://winterville.co.uk/attraction/chivaree-circus/

The Frost Magazine team were talking about Christmas presents – rather desperately it must be said –  and ways to ring the changes. Someone mentioned personalised gifts. ‘But so expensive,’ said I. Then we came across PersonalisedgiftsShop.co.uk

‘Let’s give it a try,’ came the cry. (Have I produced a bit of a rhyme there?)

So we did. And here is the result. A personalised gin flask – mine. For ‘Him Indoors’ to give me, though he doesn’t yet know it.

It was simplicity itself to order from this 100% UK owned and family run concern, and the ‘personalised’ turn-around is immediate. This fabulous stainless steel flask with my own message on my own present arrived in about 36 hours, (they say between 24 – 48 hours)

The word GIN sits in the centre of the flask with the personalisation set around it.  In my case, Marg’s GIN and tonic. Don’t touch, which rather shows that I am not a sharing person – in some respects.

A fabulous product that I will be thrilled and surprised to unwrap on Christmas Day and Him Indoors will bestow it with pleasure, as it only cost him £14.00 plus £2.99 for the funnel. (What’s the point of a gin flask if the gin splashes on the way in. Such a waste and would lead to me licking the table – not a good look) I will of course, have bought myself, from him, a bottle of gin.

For a family the Prosecco Hamper would be a good idea at £29.99. What’s not to like. The personalised prosecco hamper includes a 20 cl miniature bottle of prosecco and a personalised prosecco glass to sip from. The hamper includes other goodies, including a Prosecco Made Me Do It bottle stopper and a bag of prosecco gummies. There’s a card for a personalised message.

This company, offers over 14000 gifts, all of which can be personalised ranging from gifts for a one year old to – well my age – let’s just put grumpy granny. And their are gifts for all occasions: birthday, wedding, anniversary … and next day delivery is available for last minute presents. They have been awarded the feefo gold award for the last three years for a plethora of great reviews.

We don’t often gush, in fact, never so I won’t this time. But from the evidence, I do feel PersonalisedGiftsShop.co.uk is a thoroughly excellent concern, and I just love that it is British and family run.

Personalised Prosecco Hamper – £29.99

Personalised Round Pink Hip Flask – £14

PersonalisedgiftsShop.co.uk

Michael Rowan hopes to say goodbye to socks and ties and hello to Gingle Bells when he discovers the true spirit of Christmas

As Julie Andrews never sang, ‘Christmas and Gin are two of my favourite things.’ so, Pickering’s Gin Baubles should be the perfect gift to find under or indeed hanging from, the branches of my Christmas Tree. (hint to my wife).

I do find that Christmas can be a bit hit and miss on the present front, so should these gin filled baubles be on my naughty or nice list?

In fairness these would make a very welcome gift in the box of 6 (hint to my wife) or even as singles or pairs in my, I mean, anyone’s Christmas stocking.

Gin fans across the country can now deck their Christmas trees with these tasty baubles, marking the start of the festive season with a fun twist – mixing up the traditions of gold, red and tinsel with a burst of gin-filled fun.

Available in a rainbow of colours, the gin-filled baubles come in pink, blue, purple, yellow, red and green with a rose gold screw lid and a silk red ribbon, sure to add a splash of Christmas joy to trees and households across the land.

Pickering’s Gin Baubles are sold in a gift pack containing six differently coloured plastic baubles, each containing 50ml of Pickering’s Gin (RRP: £30.00). (hint to my wife)

Pickering’s Gin is based on an original Bombay recipe dating from 1947. The marvellously mixed gin is spectacularly smooth, refreshing and flavoursome and is handcrafted at Summerhall Distillery – the first exclusive gin distillery to be established in Edinburgh for over 150 years.

So far so good, but how does the gin taste? As a seasoned gin drinker, I can happily report that it is perfect for the Christmas Season (hint to my wife). Fresh, light with bold flavours of citrus and juniper giving way to intense warming spice of cardamom, coriander seed and clove.

Try it with Ice, tonic and a slice of pink grapefruit.

Should my wife be reading this and succumb to my subtle hints, I promise to help take the tree down, starting with the baubles of course.

These baubles are sure to sell out fast so I strongly suggest that you pick yours up from Pickering’s, Selfridges, Sainsbury’s (Scotland only), John Lewis, 31dover.com, GettingPersonal.com and over 200+ retailers across the country.

Pickering’s Gin Baubles are sold in a gift pack containing six differently coloured plastic baubles, each containing 50ml of Pickering’s Gin (RRP: £30.00). (hint to my wife)

Images courtesy of Michael Rowan