Raindance Filmmakers’ Charity Ball | Events

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Frostie

Host of film talent attend inaugural filmmakers’ ball

– Sadie Frost, Helen George and Tamer Hassan attended Raindance Film Festival’s charity party –

A host of celebrities and film industry talent attended Raindance Film Festival’s inaugural Independent Filmmakers’ Ball last night to raise funds for The Independent Film Trust (IFT), the UK charity whose activities include the provision of film-making courses for disadvantaged adults and children. Guests included Sadie Frost, Helen George, Tamer Hassan, Nick Broomfield, Alan Parker, Matt Kernard and Kitty Brucknell.

Entertainment on the night came from soul band ‘The Indies’ as well as a ‘filmmaker’s dream raffle’, with prizes including a Canon EOS C100 camera and screening-room hire from Motion Picture Solutions handed out to lucky winners.

Raindance and British Independent Film Award founder Elliot Grove comments: “It was a pleasure to see the crème de la crème of British indie filmmaking come together under one roof for such a great cause and to celebrate their work. Away from the glamour of tinsel town, these guys work incredibly hard to deliver thought-provoking, disruptive and consistently entertaining material for our viewing pleasure and I can’t wait for the chance to showcase their work when the 22^nd annual Raindance Film Festival returns this autumn.”

Bills Putney Restaurant Review

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

We had heard amazing things about Bills in Putney. Our neighbours recommended their breakfast, saying it was ‘first rate’. Of course this meant we went in with high expectations. Which always makes it harder for a restaurant to impress.

The restaurant was very busy, all of Putney seemed to be here. We had a look at the menu and it looked great. As did the decor, the shelves were filled with product from Bills.

We started off with the Bill’s Prawn And Avocado Cocktail with spicy salsa and cocktail sauce with deep fried tiger prawns, ciabatta crisps and lemon. It looks superb and is very unique. However, I misjudged quite how spicy it would be and I couldn’t eat all of it. There could also be more avocado.

My colleague had the Crispy Duck Salad: spring onions, apple, radish, red pepper, coriander and watercress with a soy and lemon dressing. The salad was okay but not hugely impressive. It was quite bland and needed more dressing. For mains we had Bill’s Fish Pie: queen scallops, smoked haddock, salmon, tiger prawns, peas and baby onions topped with an English mustard and cheddar mash. The pie is very good with a generous variety of ingredients.

My colleague had ‘Sugar and Spice’ Marinated Half Chicken served with a Curried Slaw and Sweet Potato Fries. This was also good, the sweet potato fries were amazing in particular. We were very impressed with the mains after our so-so starters. Everything at Bills seems quite unique and has a twist. They make brave choices which sometimes work and sometimes don’t, obviously depending on a persons taste. Bills is a good place for something unique and different however.

For our dessert we had amazing warm cinnamon mini doughnuts with strawberries and a chocolate sauce- they were amazing. My colleague had lemon meringue pie cheesecake in a glass, with yogurt ice cream, which was also good.

146-148 Putney High St, London SW15 1RR
020 8780 2818

Beech’s Fine Chocolates Bar Review

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Frostie

Having previously reviewed Beech’s Fine Chocolates Creams we were pretty excited when these came through the post. An array of delicious chocolate bars in various, unique flavours.

Lime & Chilli Dark Chocolate

Delicious with a spicy kick. The lime is perfectly judged, not overbearing.

Dark chocolate

A high-quality, luxurious dark chocolate.

White Chocolate

Sweet tasting but not sickly: a delicious white chocolate.

Milk Chocolate Anglesey Sea Salt bar

This was unique and wonderful. The sweet and savoury work well together.

Dark Chocolate Ginger bar

A particular favourite. The ginger gives the right amount of kick without being too spicy.

Beech’s only use the finest, natural ingredients and it shows.

£1.50 for 60g from Amazon UK.

Win Wine And Champagne Courtesy of BAFTA

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Frostie

The Arqiva British Academy Television Awards will be taking place on Sunday 18th May and to celebrate, the official drinks partners of BAFTA invite you to sip like the stars. As the official Champagne and Wine Partners to BAFTA, Champagne Taittinger and Villa Maria wines from New Zealand are delighted to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a bottle of Taittinger Brut Réserve NV and a bottle of Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2013 and Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, as served to the guests at the special awards dinner and after show party.

Adding extra sparkle to the awards, Champagne Taittinger is one of the few premium Champagne houses to remain owned and actively managed by the named family. Taittinger is widely available in all good retailers. Visit www.taittinger.com.

Villa Maria is New Zealand’s most awarded winery and remains proudly family-owned. Villa Maria wines are widely available in all good retailers. Visit www.villamaria.co.nz

Terms & Conditions: Entrants must be 18 or over. Entrants will have to provide a mainland UK address and telephone number for delivery. Visit www.bafta.org for more information.

To win follow @Frostmag on Twitter or Instagram, or like us on Facebook. Alternatively, sign up to our newsletter. Or subscribe to Frost Magazine TV on YouTube here: http://t.co/9etf8j0kkz. Then comment below saying what you did.

Competition ends on the 17th of May.

Affordable And Amazing Wedding Cakes | The Wedding Diary

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

The craziness of the wedding industry really shows up in the price of wedding cakes. When my fiancé and I first started looking, we couldn’t find one for less than £350, and most of them weren’t even nice. If you take away the fact they have the word ‘wedding’ in front of them, would anyone actually pay thousands of pounds for a cake? I think not.

In saying that, there are a lot out there with the craftsmanship and design that makes the price worthwhile. If you want great design at a good price then I recommend going the supermarket route. My fiancé and I got our wedding cake from Waitrose.com. Marks And Spencers also do great, affordable wedding cakes.

Here are some beautiful wedding cakes from Waitrose.com

Fiona Cairns Ivory Rose Petal 3-tier Wedding Cake (mixed filling)

Fiona Cairn is the Royal wedding cake maker. So if she is good enough for Kate and William….

Fiona Cairns Vintage Fairytale 3-tier Wedding Cake (Sponge)

Chocolate Wedding Cake – Gold – 3 Tier

If chocolate is your thing and you don’t want a traditional cake.

And (drum roll) here is our wedding cake. It matches our wedding colours of pale pink, pale green and white. We love it and got it in a mixed filling of vanilla sponge and fruit cake.

When buying a wedding cake make sure you check how many people it serves. The website should tell you or ask your baker. Another thing to check is if decoration is included. Some cakes look amazing but the small print says that the decoration is not included. This is also an easier way to get a cheaper cake, if you decorate it yourself, it costs less. Although there is the added stress.

While researching wedding cakes I saw a lot of gorgeous wedding cake toppers on ebay and ribbon is very cheap to buy from a haberdashery. You could also make your own or get a relative to make one. Although I would not do this if you weren’t brilliant at baking. Waitrose.com also have some guides on decorating your wedding cake and the BBC also have a great blog on making your own wedding cake.

Good luck and let us know about your wedding cake choices.

Where will you get your wedding cake?

If you are planning your wedding then get your hands on The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. It has great advice on every aspect of wedding planning and lots of great advice on choosing the perfect wedding cake.

Piquadro UK Flagship Store Launch Event

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Frostie

WHAT: THE LAUNCH OF PIQUADRO’S UK FLAGSHIP LONDON STORE

WHEN: Tuesday 29th April

WHERE: Piquadro, 67 Regents Street

Jack Guinness, Oliver Proudlock, Henry Conway, Piquadro CEO Marco Palmieri

VIPs from the world of fashion and business converged at 67 Regents Street to toast the opening of Piquadro’s London flagship store

Piquadro is an innovative Italian leather house specializing in business and travel items with over 100 stores worldwide

Set over two floors, the beautifully modern store features bespoke interiors designed by Karim Azzabi

The basic concept that inspired Azzabi is the idea of a cocoon defining a unique and original exhibition format in which the elements that make up the internal structure are bands that line the walls like ribs and that also act as display elements

CEO Marco Palmieri hosted the event along with celebrity DJ’s Amber Le Bon and Jack Guinness

Marco Palmieri guided guests around the store whilst conversation flowed over the bespoke Garden Martini cocktail and delicious canapés.

WHO:
Amber Le Bon

Jack Guinness

Oliver Proudlock

Henry Conway

Marco Palmieri – Piquadro CEO

WHAT THEY ATE: A bespoke menu for Piquadro including

Carpaccio of Scottish beef

Truffled goats cheese

Salmon mi qui beach herbs melon and ponzu

Lobster cocktail

Beetroot macaroons

Peeled prawns tossed in chilli and lime zest

WHAT THEY DRANK: The “Garden Martini”

Convicts Take Over Children’s Charities

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Frostie

Kentucky-based, heavy metal band Corprit Convict is partnering with Kosair Children’s Charity and the Ronald McDonald House in an effort raise money for the children’s hospital and family-housing facilities.

On May 9, 2014, the female-fronted-foursome will be headlining a show at Phoenix Hill Tavern starting at 9:00 pm. All proceeds earned by the band for that show will go to support both charities.

On April 22, 2014, the band released their debut, Come Clean, with a portion of the album sales also going to support both charities.

KT (singer) and Evan (drummer) have a deep, personal connection with both charities. “Our son, Hayden, spent the first 4 weeks of his life at Kosair before he passed away 3 months later. The nurses there took excellent care of our boy and they were just amazing all around. I’m so happy we can finally give something back,” – KT.

Kosair Childrens’ Hospital is Kentucky’s only full-service, free-standing pediatric care facility dedicated exclusively to caring for children and is an advocate for the health and well-being of all children.

Ronald McDonald House Charities is a place families of seriously ill children call home during crisis and uncertainty. Since opening their doors, they have helped more than 70,000 family members from all 50 states and several international locations. Since opening their doors 30 years ago, they have given more than $1,000,000 in grants to organizations that support children.

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“When you get a metal band, like Corprit Convict, you get a taste of what Reverbnation says is #1 in that genre….Starting from a 2 piece garage band to a high ranking group is no small feat….No matter what, you should definitely be able to notice the potential these guys have.”

– Daniel Morrison, CEO, Hip Rock Magazine

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Come Clean is now available for $5 on Bandcamp, the band’s website and ReverbNation. They have posted 4 songs from the upcoming album. To preview, simply click on the song names below in blue.

Come Clean track listing:

1) Sickening

2) Rattlesnake

3) Applicator

4) Disavow

5) Left for Dead

6) 3 Ring

7) Jackknife

8) Crawl to Learn

The Duchess of Cambridge Causes Sales Of Yellow Dresses To Soar

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Frostie

eBay, one of the world’s largest marketplaces, has seen a 95%* rise in sales of yellow dresses. This has been triggered by consistent trendsetter HRH The Duchess of Cambridge when spotted wearing citrus tones during The Royal Couple’s 19-day Australian and New Zealand tour.

Arriving in sunny Sydney, Australia wearing a striking, canary yellow pencil dress, Kate looked every inch the immaculate fashionista (despite being cheekily labelled a ‘banana’ by The Duke of Cambridge.) Four days later, Kate was pictured in a pastel number for Easter Sunday at Taronga Zoo with William and George, causing the total sales of yellow dresses on the UK site to almost double during this period.

Kate is not alone in her fondness for the summery hue. The yellow trend is on the up in the UK, with the likes of Susanna Reid pictured in a lemon yellow frock for Good Morning Britain as well as Hollywood sweetheart Emma Stone, who wore a fiery full-length yellow gown to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 premiere in London, last week.

In addition, sales of both floral (+94%)** and green dresses (+88%)*** spiked hugely overnight from the moment Kate was pictured wearing these styles during the tour.

eBay spokesperson, Laura Wilkinson-Rea comments, “The Duchess of Cambridge’s wardrobe undeniably affects what’s in when it comes to style-hunting on eBay, with sales consistently skyrocketing after she is photographed in the latest trend.