Happy “Val-Entwine” From Links of London

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Links of London present Entwine, their luxury range from their Official Collection of London 2012

2012 is a special year of celebration for London with both the Jubilee and the Olympic Games taking place. For couples celebrating Valentine’s Day this Olympic year Links of London provide the perfect collection of jewellery with their Entwine range.

Inspired by ribbons on winning medals and rhythmic gymnastics with a creative pulse of energy rippling through gold and silver spirals the range is a celebration of precious materials and exquisite stones coming together in beautiful designs.

The core range is delicate, feminine, sterling silver and 18ct gold. Citrine stones compliment the gold range creating a warm statement. Cool silver necklaces laced with blue topaz, and delicate silver rings with glimmering white sapphire stones make for a sophisticated and elegant look.

For a memorable token of affection Links of London has created a bespoke diamond and gold capsule collection. The luxurious multi strand necklace and bracelet are adorned with diamond encrusted twists of gold. The three revolutions of the ribbon represent the 3 Olympic Games hosted by the UK in 1908, 1948 and 2012. 205 diamonds punctuate the strands reflecting the number of nations expected to take part in the games.

David Riddiford CEO of Links commented “Entwine is our most luxury offering from the Official Jewellery Collection of London 2012. The pieces are perfect for Valentines, to celebrate a special relationship.”

Links of London have created the Official Jewellery Collection of London 2012 which includes memorable gifts, beautiful women’s and men’s jewellery and the “must-have” Team GB band as part of the Official Collection of Team GB.

Entwine is available in all Links of London stores and online at www.linksoflondon.com

Chris Moon 'Love Hearts' {Art}

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Chris Moon, the self-taught British painter dubbed ‘a new art superstar’ by Harper’s Bazaar.

Chris’s first solo exhibition was a sell-out late last year and was bought by many high profile collectors as well as celebrities such as Gemma Arterton.

Chris will exhibit his most recent work – his Love Heart series – at the forthcoming Full Rabbit exhibition in Shoreditch Town hall this February.

The Love Heart series features confectionery at various stages of disintegration to tell the story of past relationships, from First Love to One Night Stand. The works range from small, limited edition pieces from £300 to larger works up to £1,500.

Audio Architecture Arts presents FULL RABBIT which will run 24th February – 11th March 2012 at Shoreditch Town Hall, London EC1V 9LT Private View 23rd February 2012, 6-9pm Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 12pm – 6pm

Full Rabbit is a group exhibition featuring the works of UK and Chinese artists, examining the notion of fortune. The exhibition will open in London from 24th February 2012 in the vast basement vaults of Shoreditch Town Hall.

Full Rabbit will showcase a multi-disciplinary collection of solo and collaborative work previously unseen in Britain, from twelve UK based and eight Chinese artists.

The artists featuring in the show include Catherine Shakespeare Lane, the British artist who showed a triptych featuring Francis Bacon’s dead body at James Birch’s A22 Gallery. CSL will exhibit unseen work including, Piss Artist for D.H, an installation of champagne bottle caps originally made for Damien Hirst, representing the celebration of 300 occasions, like drinks with Francis Bacon and other notorious Colony Room characters.

Much-talked about British painter Chris Moon (“A new art superstar”, Harper’s Bazaar), whose successful debut solo exhibition took place in London in 2011, will unveil his Love Heart series, eight installations using nostalgic Love Heart confectionary at various stages of disintegration to tell the story of past relationships, from First Love, to One Night Stand and Fantasy Girl.
Collaborative works between UK and Chinese artists include Local Whispers, shown at the V&A (January 2011), but further developed in Beijing to become a reference for the current interpretive situation. This involves Sui Jianguo, Experimenter En Couleur, Yan Jun, Jun Yuan, Ruan Qianrui, Christian Krupa and Ding Xin. Sound installation Rabbit Sequence by Experimenter En Couleur and Ruan Qianrui, sees 20 people ranging from 3-80 years old, asked to talk about their fortune and presents them as traditional Chinese clay ornaments.

Full Rabbit completes a collaborative project exploring perceptions of fortune by artists in both the UK and China. The Beijing show was exhibited at Platform China Institute of Contemporary Arts under the title Half Rabbit in June 2011, halfway into the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. Some of the Chinese artists in the forthcoming London show have never exhibited work outside their country.

Full Rabbit artists are: Maria Castro, Experimenter En Couleur, Paul Davis, Leslie Deere, Felicity Ford, Gogo J, Sui Jianguo, Yan Jun, Christian Krupa, Catherine Shakespeare Lane, Alex McLean, Chris Moon, Tim Norris, Ruan Qianrui, EunJoo Shin, Seaming To, Neil Webb, Ron Wright, Ding Xin and Jun Yuan.

Curator Alexis Bamforth of Audio Architecture Arts comments, “The reaction to the Half Rabbit exhibition in Beijing in 2011 was extremely positive, even though many of the Chinese artists were nervous about their works being in such a public show. We look forward to unveiling the London group show. We’re particularly proud of the collaborative work produced by British and Chinese artists and the struggles we overcame to make it happen. Full Rabbit celebrates the concept of fortune and the cultural exchange of work between UK and Chinese artists, and we are extremely excited to showcase some of the most interesting emerging talent in China, on an international stage.”

The exhibition opens to the public 24thFebruary to 11th March 2012. Entrance is free.

See www.audioarchitecture.co.uk for more information on Audio Architecture.

Frost's Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

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Frost is a sucker for Valentine’s Day. With so much hate in the world what is wrong with a day celebrating love? Gift buying can be a nightmare so Frost has done some of the hard work so you don’t have to.

SWATCH 2012 Olympic Watches. Functional, cool, what better way to say ‘I love you’.

Stockist: WatchShop.com – www.WatchShop.com – 0844 736 5340

WatchShop.com Price: £36.00 each and free shipping in the UK

These Swatch Olympic 2012 watches are made from plastic/resin and powered by a quartz movement.

Created with one eye on fashion and the other on the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games, they merge pro-sport aesthetics and classic London design. The new watches are available in brown/pink and blue colourways and each features the 2012 logo.

The designers have given a nod both to British fashion’s mod-heritage and the London 2012 Olympic Games logo by means of a two-toned palette.

Water resistant to 30 metres.

It’s never easy for a man to find that perfect give for his loved one on Valentine’s Day. But with these mobile phone cases featuring Rebecca Bonbon, a charming little French bulldog designed by the creator of Hello Kitty, it’s a lot easier. We think the range is cute.

Available in a wide range of designs and colours – rose, fuschia, white, black.

Managing Director, Andy Tow comments: “ Our range of accessories is continually expanding and we now have mobile phone cases for all occasions.”

If edible is more your thing then Pierre Herme should be your port of call. Try these, our mouths are watering already.

Macaron Envie (Composition: Macaron biscuit, violet cream with whole blackcurrants). A small round biscuit, with a crunchy outside and smooth, velvety violet cream filling with whole blackcurrants.

Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes

The Valentine’s collection also features limited edition boxes created by designer and scenographer Marianne Guély. The box, in vibrant shades of pink and green and filled with either macarons or chocolates, will make the perfect Valentine’s gift. Available from the 6th February in the boutique located at 13 Lowndes Street as well as in our in-store boutique at Selfridges.

Valentine’s 16-piece Macaron assortment: £33
Valentine’s 200g Chocolate Assortment: £31
Macaron Envie : £1.85 per piece
Available online at www.pierreherme.com

Feeling adventuress? Then try something fun and different.

Looking for an exciting way to woo your valentine this year? Does squeezing into a packed restaurant among hundreds of other couples sound particularly unromantic, and corny to you? Why not impress the love interest in your life with something completely out of the ordinary for a valentine’s date?

Go Ape! Tree Top Adventure has found a rising number of pri(mates) are visiting the forest adventure courses for a romantic date, taking the time to bond while helping each other tackle Tarzan swings, zip lines and rope ladders up in the tree-tops. With 27 courses set in beautiful countryside locations across the UK, Go Ape provides the perfect fun-filled adventure.

Prefer to keep your feet closer to the ground? Go Ape also has a range of other activities available for adventure-lovers wanting to escape the norm this Valentine’s Day. Explore the forest off-road with Go Ape! Forest Segways? The self-balancing electric segways are a totally unique way to tackle tough trails and have plenty of fun at the same time. Or why not jump on a bicycle in the great outdoors? Go Ape! Forest Biking is available in the beautiful setting of Black Park Country Park, Slough.

Or play it safe with stuff they will use and cherish forever;

Iconic striped china Cornishware from T.G.Green & Co. has a new addition to its range of Cornish Red for last minute Valentine’s Day gifts. A couple of mugs are a pair of red mugs which can be personalised with up to 12 letters each in a stylish gift box for £25. If two sets are bought postage is free from Cornishware maker T.G.Green & Co’s online shop www.tggreen.co.uk. The mugs solve any Valentine’s Day dilemmas with last orders for Valentine’s Day midnight on 5th February and also make great wedding presents.


Happy Valentine’s Day from Frost.

Celeb joins overnight campers to get her hands on the Lynx Effect

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Model and TV presenter Abbey Clancy joined a throng of beautiful women who camped overnight at a local supermarket store to be first in line to buy the limited edition Lynx ‘For Her’ fragrance.

Looking more like a scene from a music festival, scores of young women pitched up tents in Asda’s car park and settled in for a long, cold night to get their hands on Lynx’s first ever female body spray – Lynx Attract For Her – which went on public sale alongside the Lynx Attract For Him on Tuesday 7th February.

Leading the charge for the ladies’ Lynx Effect was famed UK model, Abbey Clancy, “Ever since my stint as a Lynx girl, I’ve been calling for Lynx to make a female version. I am so excited they listened to me it is finally here! Can’t wait to see the mayhem that will happen now both sexes have the Lynx Effect.”

With the power of the Lynx Effect now doubled there are concerns that men and women throughout the UK will not be able to keep their hands off each other. The New Lynx Attract ‘For Him’ and ‘For Her Fragrances are reportedly so seductive they will bring the opposite sexes together and create chaos in everyday life.

Kieran Danaher, Lynx Brand Manager at Unilever UK, said: “The news that Lynx launched a product For Him and For Her for the first time in its history has generated a lot of excitement. We certainly didn’t expect the scale of reaction from girls wanting to get their hands on the Lynx Effect and prepared to queue overnight. ”

The demand for the new For Her body spray has been so intense since being unveiled that the whereabouts of the product retail launch was kept under wraps until the day before. Once Lynx revealed the location online, women flocked to camp outside the store to get their hands on the product.

Men watched in awe as gorgeous girls desperate to buy the new scent set up their own tent town at Asda in Wembley causing quite a stir and scene.

The mating game has just evolved.
New Lynx Attract For Him and For Her – Unleash the Chaos Visit www.facebook.com/lynxeffectuk for more information.

The Fringe Report Awards 2012

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John Park has run the Fringe Report for ten years, and I am as unhappy as the other 400 odd people who turned up to the Fringe Report Awards that The Fringe Report is ending this year. John has run the Fringe Report without profit and has connected everything and everyone on the fringe of London, and indeed, the UK.

James Aylett, James Yardley and Lynn Howes.

The Fringe Report Awards took place at Monday 6 February 2012 at The Leicester Square Theatre. The Leicester Square Theatre was packed with the great and good of Britain’s theatre and acting talent. [Disclaimer: I am an editor, writer and photographer for the Fringe Report].

Jack Bowman and Catherine Balavage

The awards were as fun as ever and the list of winners is below. Goodbye to the Fringe Report. The fringe now weeps at your loss.

Elliot Grove – Outstanding Achievement Award – Film
Steve Forster – Best PR – Theatre
Flavia Fraser-Cannon – Best Creative – Producer, Photographer, Publicist
Paul L Martin – Best Producer – Cabaret
Sibyl Madrigal – Best Music Curator (for Boat-Ting)
Performers Without Borders – Best Encouragers of Talent
Steve Henwood & Wendy Matthews – Best Festival Directors
Guy Chapman – Outstanding Achievement Award – PR
Kiki Kendrick – Best Creative – Actor and Writer
Becky Talbot – Best Presenter – Radio
Kevin Sampson – Outstanding Achievement Award – Literature & Film
Vocal Motions Elastic Theatre – Best Theatre Company
Sasha Regan – Best Venue Director
Adam Morley – Best Director – Theatre & Film
Ricky Dukes – Best Artistic Director (Lazarus Theatre Company)
James Hyland – Best Performer – Solo Show (for A Christmas Carol / Jacob Marley)
Paul Sayers & Simon Bolton – Best Shakespeare Producers (Rooftop Theatre)
Paul Levy – Best Publisher
Tactful Cactus – Best Short Film (for Starcrossed)
Alison Wright – Best PR – Arts
Stuart Price – Best Creative – Director & Writer
Laura Pitt-Pulford – Best Performer – Musical (for Parade at Southwark Playhouse)
Alexander Parsonage – Best Artistic Director (Finger In The Pie)
Andy McQuade – Best Director – Theatre
Catherine Brogan – Best Poet

THE BODY ADORNED: DRESSING LONDON

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Temporary Exhibition Gallery Saturday 24 March 2012 – Thursday 3 January 2013

Why do we wear what we wear? Does the way we dress have deeper meaning or is dress superficial? What influences our choice of dress?

The Body Adorned: Dressing London opens at the Horniman Museum on Saturday 24 March and will look across time and cultures at the relationships between dress, the body and the emergence of London as a world city. It will consider how the movement of people, objects and ideas have influenced London dress in the past and explore body adornment in today’s capital.

The first part of the exhibition features masterpieces from the Horniman Museum’s extensive world class anthropological collections which reflect body adornment practices across the world, and asks what this can tell us about how societies work. Some 300 objects will be on display including an Ancestor figure from Papua New Guinea, a shaman figure from North America, early tattooing instruments, a native American headdress, European folk costumes and a spectacular Maori ancestor figure on loan from UCL collections. The objects give an insight into the messages dress conveys in these societies, and visitors will see the role dress plays in magic, religion, warfare, social status, gender, marriage and death.

The focus of the exhibition then turns on to contemporary London, with film and photography used to consider dress choices in London today, with:

· A specially commissioned film by the innovative, internationally renowned filmmakers and designers The Light Surgeons, where people in London will talk about their own and others’ dress choices. A fully immersive experience, the large scale film shows people in various parts of London discussing their own choice of clothes, while on four smaller screens participants comment on the dress choices of others.

· Urban portraits – a superb display of large scale photographs taken by young people working in partnership with the Horniman Museum and Goldsmiths College exploring the many ways in which Londoners dress.

· Wardrobe studies – what are the intimate choices, and even anxieties, of Londoners who express their fluid identities through dress? Explore a multi-faith wedding wardrobe, a sharp suited business woman and the mysteries of a teenage bedroom.

The Body Adorned: Dressing London will be the Horniman Museum’s major exhibition for 2012.

The exhibition is one of a series of four Stories of the World: London exhibitions exploring different aspects of life in this World City. These form part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme, Stories of the World, which presents exciting new exhibitions across the UK created by young people.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 24 March 2012 and entrance is free.

Brighten Up Valentine's Day in Aid of UNICEF

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PURPLE RONNIE BRIGHTENS UP VALENTINE’S DAY WITH A SPLASH OF COLOUR

– Retro poet provides uniquely created poems in aid of charity –

Romantic rhyming favourite, Purple Ronnie, is creating a series of one-off poems for loved-ones this Valentine’s Day, to accompany a very special gift – your very own colour.

A world first, men and women will be able to gift their loved-ones an actual colour for them to own, through Facebook.com/OwnAColour, for a minimum donation of £1 – an initiative in aid of UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organisation.

A number of celebrities have named their own colour, including;

Jemima Khan – CFC Blue, named hers for her Chelsea mad son

· Sir Roger Moore – Swedish Blue, I chose to name this particular shade of blue Swedish Blue as it is the colour of the Swedish flag, the homeland of my very wonderful and very beautiful wife, Kristina, and not far off the cyan blue that represents UNICEFfor his wife

· Matt Dawson – Arcos Olive, Reminds him of his wedding day as it was the theme of my Wedding so will always be associated with good memories

· Duncan Bannatyne – Scottish Saltire Blue, It represents my proud Scottish roots

The gift of colour, accompanied by a unique Purple Ronnie poem, will be available from 8th February – for those who are organised – until Valentine’s Day itself – for those not so organised – and provides a special solution for all those Valentine’s Day gifting dilemmas, whilst also contributing to a great cause.

The limited-edition poem, in Purple Ronnie’s iconic cheeky style, will appear on your loved-ones Facebook wall on the 14th February, along with a link for them to pick and name their colour of choice.

Stewart Longhurst from the Own A Colour team comments:“What’s great about the Own A Colour initiative is that, not only does it allow people to put their name to a never-before-owned colour, but it harnesses the power of colour to have a positive impact on saving lives of children. Colour is such an important and personal method of expression, so what better way to show someone you love them this Valentine’s Day than with a colour of their very own, accompanied by an original love poem?”

PURPLE RONNIE OWNACOLOUR

With Own A Colour, your Valentine will be the exclusive owner of one of the 16.7 million colours that the average computer, smartphone or tablet can display.

Recent celebrity donators include The Saturday’s beauty Frankie Sandford as well as other UNICEF Ambassadors and fans such as Jemima Khan, Matt Dawson and Sir Roger Moore, who have all been inspired by their loved-ones in buying and naming their colours; Jemima Khan named hers CFC Blue for her Chelsea mad son, Sir Roger Moore’s Swedish Blue for his wife and Matt Dawson’s colour reminds him of his wedding day.

To Own A Colour, and for more information, visit: Facebook.com/OwnAColour

The Bourne Legacy Trailer Hits the Web

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The Bourne Legacy has hit the web to a very warm reception from fans of the franchise.

Renner; fresh from his role in Mission Impossible stars as a new character called Aaron Cross, although he calls himself Kenneth in the new trailer.

As the first titles come onto the screen we are told that ‘Bourne was just the beginning’

Like Bourne before him, the trailer appears to show Cross being perhaps double crossed and ‘going rogue’ as he goes on a violent rampage, which features a novel unique use for a fire extinguisher and a house being blown up.

As Byer tries to find a way to hunt Cross down he says: ‘Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg,’

later we hear Cross being described as an Outcome agent or – ‘Treadstone without the inconsistency’.

Rachel Weisz is a new addition to the cast as Stephanie Snyder while Joan Allen has reprised her role as Pam Landy.

Director Tony Gilroy has gone on record as saying that Renner was not replacing Damon and The Bourne Legacy was a ‘stand-alone’ film.

He told Mania.com: ‘This is not a reboot or a recast or a prequel.

‘There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter…this is a stand-alone project. The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal… Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he’s very much alive.

‘What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I’m building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy.’

The Bourne Legacy is released in the UK on August 15. Keep this one firmly in your sights.

You can watch the trailer below

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVPpc4pk6RE&w=560&h=315]