BECKI BIGGINS at The Bull's Head

Becki Biggins is a multi-talented musician and singer songwriter. I know her best as a wonderful teacher.

Becki has been Grammy nominated and won the 2009 American Billboard ‘Best Smooth Jazz Artist’ Award with Paul Hardcastle, and the ‘Best Newcomer’ Award at the 2008 Marlborough International Jazz Festival.

The Bull’s Head Pub in Barnes is lucky enough to have Becki once every couple of months, performing classic jazz numbers with her band. I have been along to several of these occasions, to listen, have a drink, and meet up with friends. It is great fun and a lovely way to spend an evening.

This Wednesday 22 September you have the chance to go too. Doors open at 8 pm and tickets are £10 on the night.

Check out Becki's website here.

SARGENT AND THE SEA at The Royal Academy of Arts

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was born in Florence and is best known as a portrait painter; sculptor Auguste Rodin called him ‘the Van Dyck of our times’. The current exhibition at The Royal Academy of Arts focuses on Sargent’s marine paintings that are less often displayed.

The show was crowded, and I felt slightly out of place as stuffy women walked past obviously judging my presence. I didn’t take long to look round because it was difficult to get to properly see a lot of the work without getting tutted out of the way. Why do galleries display art in near-darkness? I find it so irritating when I have to squint through dim light to properly see a piece of work.

On a more positive note: some of the seascapes are beautiful. A sense of immediacy is captured within Sargent’s tumultuous waves, sometimes just through a few clever brushstrokes. And despite only being in his twenties when he painted most of the paintings, his visual description of water is skilful and enchanting. I especially noticed the delicate reflections in the puddles on the beaches that make the pictures so romantic. I also enjoyed getting a glimpse of some of Sargent’s sketchbooks- a real insight into how this artist thought through and executed his ideas. Towards the end of the show there are a few watercolour paintings on show. These present a different facet of the artist’s output and show his intimate relationship with the sea.

Overall I was disappointed, the show as a whole is bland, and I left struggling to remember any one picture that particularly impressed me. The exhibition only consists of about six rooms – I personally feel the £8 ticket is too much.

Exhibition continues until 26 September 2010.

The 39 Steps 4th Birthday Show and Vintage Party

The Criterion Theatre was the place to be last Thursday night. I had a ball. John Buchan’s THE 39 STEPS celebrated its 4^th birthday in the West End, with an evening performance and a fabulous Vintage Party afterwards.

The Criterion in Piccadilly is an epic theatre, mostly below street level (you have to walk down several flights of stairs to get to the Stalls). The 39 Steps is a classic comedy, and hilarious for all the family. With the interval it lasts 1 hour 50 minutes, not too long and leaves you wanting more. David Bark-Jones is absolutely brilliant as Richard Hannay, he reminded me of a more quirky Ewan McGregor. The very talented Dianne Pilkington is in the spotlight as the leading lady, having previously starred as Glinda in Wicked. Timothy Speyer and Jeremy Swift make up the other half of the four person cast. In 100 minutes a mere four people tackle 139 characters. The two men between them cover a huge number of parts, their quick wit makes them irresistibly funny – I particularly enjoyed watching them as the Scottish couple who owned the hotel.

The 39 Steps goes into its 5^th year as the West End’s and New York’s longest-running comedy. It is an adaptation of the famous Hitchcock film, a murder mystery; the story follows the ordinary Richard Hannay on a mad chase from London to Scotland and back again. It has won numerous awards, including an Olivier in 2007 and two Tonys in 2008. It is no surprise, with jokes for all ages and a superb cast, this is a must see show.

The vintage party was just as good as the preceding production. Held in the beautiful art nouveau Greene Bar inside the Criterion Theatre, the order of the day was definitely "dress to impress". Guys and gals came in their best vintage gear and if you were embarrassingly unprepared (like me) there were clothes, scarves, gloves, hats on hand to try on and borrow for the night’s festivities. I chose a black fur cape and silk scarf, and some dainty little gloves too. Feeling a bit more the part, I wandered round picking up my tea cocktail, a stylish cupcake and had my photo taken. All in all it was a wonderful evening, Happy Birthday to THE 39 STEPS.

Gaucho Grill

Definitely the best steak I’ve ever had, rivalled only by my granny's supreme cooking. I’d often heard about Gaucho Grill from friends, but being slightly sceptical of chains, was never actually intrigued enough to try it. Until now.

Oh yum. We went at 6.30 pm to the Hampstead branch, before a show, so had the restaurant completely to ourselves and several waiters willing to give us, in depth, steak explanations. After the drinks were delivered, a polite girl came (with her board of raw meat) to ask about our steak choices. Poor thing, I was probably more demanding than she’d expected. I chose Sirloin (a beef steak cut from the rear part of the animal) with unbelievably good peppercorn sauce. My date had the same, cut with mustard sauce (not as good). The chips were perfect and mixed salad, definitely above average as mixed salads go.

One negative – I did not like the music, why civilised restaurant put on aggressive dance music in the background, I will never know; and as we already had a time limit to eat within this made me feel pressured and on the edge of indigestion. However I will definitely be going back, pricey but worth it, and with Gaucho branches all over London, there are many to try out.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 16

Why wait for a man to buy you a ring, when you can buy yourself one (or ten) from new jewellery phenomenon DAISY JEWELLERY? Only the coolest kids in town know about these pretty accessories, and their fan base is filled with big celeb names like Sienna Miller.

Daisy’s stackable rings come in every variety: gold, silver, hammered, studded, twisted, plaited, brushed; the list goes on. You can create your own stack of rings on the website. They start from just £22. The clever website even lets you ‘try’ your rings on a virtual hand, complete with OPI nail varnish manicure! Once you’ve made your selection they are yours to mix and match and wear however you choose. The best combinations, I think, use a few different styles, with spacer rings in between, the more eclectic the better.

James Boyd is the brains behind the idea, which is said to take its influence from the work of eminent English designer Wendy Ramshaw and her interpretation of stack rings in the Seventies.

Start stacking now, here.

The New MATT BLACK cars

How many of those spooky matt black cars have you spotted whizzing around London? I had to do a double take when I first saw one, but then more and more began appearing, especially around my Knightsbridge workplace (the new Harrods crew seem to have a whole family of them). I have begun to wonder if these strange looking cars are the new must-have accessory.

Apparently the correct term for this car finish is ‘East Coast Suede’. Perhaps men like this new ‘look’ because it makes them look mean and aggressive – just as cars should be. Hmmm... I think they are a bit scary. I think if I had my own I would buy some chalk and have a fun time decorating it each day according to my mood.

Matt Black cars are being made by many of the major auto brands now... What you may not know is that there are now services for car 'wrapping'. So if you fancy giving your car a whole new look you can take it in for a matt black makeover, or any other colour for that matter.

So are these slick cars really something to write home about? Are they more striking that normal shiny cars? Or is it just the excitement of seeing something completely new on the road? I’d be interested to know what everyone else thinks about them, I’m certainly not a fan.

HOW TO BE AN OTHER WOMAN at The Gate Theatre

How to be an Other Woman is based on Lorrie Moore’s collection of stories, 'Self-Help'. The talented Natalie Abrahami has adapted and directed this story for the World Premiere at the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill. I’d never been to this theatre before, despite spending a lot of my time in the Notting Hill area. The Gate is cute and cutting edge cool, How to be another Woman could be described the same and suited the venue well.

As we sat down the atmosphere was sexily chilled out. Girls wandered across the stage, the audience muttered excitedly amongst themselves and the sweet smell of menthol stage cigarettes wafted through the small theatre. It was slightly Sex and the City–esque. The play itself is slick, and delightfully interpreted for the stage. Recurring motifs pepper the narrative, and are used cleverly throughout, the most obvious of which are a conspicuous trench coat and high-heeled shoes. Each girl has a turn at being the ‘mistress’ (and wearing the trench) while the other instructs her as to how such a character should act and react. It was a weird coincidence that my friend had, just a few days earlier, been given a similar coat for her birthday. Of the four women I was most drawn to watch Faye Castelow. Her chirpy character acting is full of energy and endeared her to me. My friend was captivated by Ony Uhiara who apparently stole the show recently in the Young Vic’s ‘Eurydice’. All the ensemble are good, and contribute equally to the amazing fluidity and sensuality of the production, the onstage chemistry between them is a pleasure to watch.

Abrahami interestingly has cast four women and no man, leaving the male part to be alternately taken by each actress. My theatre expert best friend found this particularly intriguing and afterwards explained her interpretation of this casting decision - that it proposes the empowering of women. And yet throughout the women are similar to little girls playing in their bedroom, dressing up and giggling.

This play is dangerously moreish, perhaps like an affair is. And at only an hour long ended too soon for me.

How to be an Other Woman continues until 2 October, 2010.

OXO Tower Restaurant

The OXO Tower Restaurant is located on the eighth floor of London’s famous tower, along with the less expensive brasserie. This rooftop venue is owned my Harvey Nichols and has all the style of the Knightsbridge shop. The relaxed attitude is noticeable immediately you are welcomed in, unusual for a restaurant of this calibre.

Not quite Michelin star standard food for Michelin star prices, but the beautiful view makes up for it - best to go on a clear evening and watch the sun set as you eat. We were lucky enough to see a spectacular red sky that reflected a romantic glow over the whole restaurant. With one of the most impressive wine lists around, you can drink anything from OXO's own-label Vin de Pays d'Oc at £18 to '82 Petrus at £4,200.

The staff were ridiculously attentive but not in a distracting way, although I was a little disconcerted at the start of the meal when there seemed to be more waiters than customers. I struggled a bit with the predominantly fishy menu but eventually the tempting descriptions led me to a few suitable options. I had the vegetarian starter, arancini, which are essentially fried risotto balls, these were little bundles of joy, although I found the accompanying greenery a bit plain and the truffle quite flavourless. For mains it was hard to choose, and as all around us couples were devouring delicious looking meat food envy made it hard to make a final decision. We went for lamb and duck, I had the lamb (well actually I had the duck too as it was too good not to steal several bites off my companion's plate). There were none of these silly ‘tiny’ portions for mains – I had lots of different things to try on my plate, including parmesan gnocci (amazing) and mango and carrot sauce (surprisingly delicious). It was so good I was almost too full for pudding, which I always find to be a very upsetting dilemma at the end of a meal. We shared the chocolate plate, which was rather large so better for two. It included a mini tower of earl grey chocolate mousse and a bizarre chocolate and mint sorbet.

A walk along the South Bank after dinner concluded the perfect evening.

Close Examination at The National Gallery

‘Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries’ explores and displays revelations about some of the Old Master paintings in The National Gallery. A topic I find particularly interesting as my mother is a restorer of paintings similar to those on display.

It is a large exhibition with completely free entry. As you wander round you inevitably learn a bit of art history too... the interactive nature of the show meant I began to feel slightly like a detective, desperately trying to work out the anomaly in a particular painting and the reason why it had made it into this exhibition. An interesting final room features works by, and not by, the Renaissance master, Botticelli – it is surprisingly difficult to spot the differences! The pretty pictures sit alongside case studies explaining the background and discoveries in a clear and informed way.

I cannot say much here without giving away secrets, but if you happen to be near Trafalgar Square go in and see this show, I found it accessible and intriguing. Considering that fakes and forgeries are commonplace in the art world, an exhibition of this type is long overdue.

Exhibition continues only until 12 September, 2010.

OTTO Cornmeal Pizza

The idea for Otto pizza came to creators Tom and Rich when they were on a road trip across America. In Portland, Oregon they tasted cornmeal crust pizza in a local restaurant there, Dove Vivi. After tasting this heavenly pizza they decided to bring the idea to the UK, and so recently opened up OTTO in Westbourne Grove.

Cornmeal is a flour made from dried corn and is a staple food in many countries. Often it is known as polenta or grits. At Otto they use a cornmeal and flour mix for the crust to achieve a delicious texture and flavour. This cornmeal crust is much thicker and sturdier than most standard pizza bases allowing Otto to load the pizzas with more creative and generous toppings.

Although these pizzas aren’t completely gluten- or wheat-free, they have a much lower wheat content making them much more enjoyable for those with mild intolerances.

At Otto you can enjoy quirky, alternative flavours. Last weekend I tried three varieties: Jerk Chicken, Sweetcorn & Caramelised Onion and Pepperoni & Roasted Vegetables. All three were yummy, although I preferred the meat toppings. Unlike most pizzas, Otto’s food won’t leave you feeling bloated, despite the cornmeal crust being more filling. Unusually I found myself savouring the crunchy crusts rather than begrudgingly pushing them to one side to nibble on at the end. And after two slices I felt well-fed, healthy and completely satisfied.

Don’t believe me, try it for yourself...