Young Ladies About Town

In a special guest post, Fiona Jarvis, founder of Blue Badge Style, picks her top spots in London...



I’ve lived and worked in London for 30 years, with varying degrees of disability, so choosing just 5 places is difficult. The dynamic nature of the city means that new places open all the time but BBS keeps up with the latest trends and places to go and we rate them on accessibility, style and facilities. Style is the prerequisite, which doesn’t necessarily mean expense! London is also home to some of the best chefs in the world so eating out has never been more delicious! So many places and not enough time, but I’ve got a current top 5:

The Paramount at Centre Point, Tottenham Court Rd. – a great place for cocktails as it has one of the best, if not THE BEST, view of London. Truly spectacular and the cocktails are interesting too, the nibbles not so, as they include the standard Hummus and olives. I’ve not eaten there but I would only go for drinks. It’s a bubbly crowd enthused by the view. It’s obviously accessible via a lift as it is 32 floors up!

To eat I love going to the ‘West End’ and the Pollen Street Social with Chef Patron Jason Atherton – he has truly inspirational dishes such as the ‘slow cooked egg, English breakfast’. There’s a buzz about the place and it’s easily accessible albeit through the kitchens. At least you get to see him at work. There’s also a disabled toilet so staying behind in the bar for late drinks is safe?!

Round the corner in Conduit St is another favourite haunt, Sketch. Unfortunately the Michelin Star restaurant upstairs is still inaccessible (initially highlighted in 2003 – maybe one day they’ll become 100% inclusive), but the Gallery downstairs (about 6/7 steps) is achievable with help from the staff and there’s a disabled toilet located just beside the East Bar. It has to be visited as it’s an art installation by Turner Prize Winner, Martin Creed where every item in the restaurant is different, down to the knives and forks. Open until 2 am with a DJ playing uber trendy music it’s great for a late night out.

The Art Deco Brasserie Zedel and its Crazy Coqs Cabaret in Piccadilly is a must for an all-encompassing night out with a restaurant, bar and cabaret all under one roof. All accessible via a lift and portable ramps.

For trendy drinks and bar snacks you can’t go wrong with The Zetter Town House in Clerkenwell. Don’t be put off by the collection of antiques; such as the stuffed and dressed cat or the boxing kangaroo, they merely add character. There’s no standing in this bar so everyone has to sit in a comfy chair or sofa, all at wheelchair height, so you don’t feel conspicuous. It is accessible with a disabled toilet downstairs via a lift. The staff look like they should be part of Mumford and Son and resemble 19th century workers, wearing an array of waistcoats, braces and collarless shirts. The nibbles are out of the ordinary and very tasty; I can recommend the ‘deep-fried anchovy olives’ and the ‘Parmesan shortbread’. The ‘Twinkle’ cocktail is also a must.

There are lots of places on my list such as the (open air) rooftop at the Boundary – a Conran hotel in Shoreditch; the Gilbert Scott Bar at St. Pancras with its new take on a British pub menu and the myriad of Brooklyn style restaurants that have popped up such as such as Polpo in Covent Garden.

As I said, so many places and too little time.

For more information visit www.bluebadgestyle.com

A yoga retreat you say? In a Castillo nestled in the Tuscan hills with a day trip to Florence? All I had to do was some photo-shoots? It was like Karma had sent me the phone call from heaven. After a full on summer of sport, both watching and competing, I need some quality downtime and was already packing my yoga mat before you could say downward dog.

Alpha Male scoffed at the vegetarian food, detox and meditation bit but then realised that he was also missing out on a week of girls doing yoga in bikinis by a poolside and wished he was more in touch with his inner energy, or I think that’s what he said…. Personally I need to indulge in a selfish week of me time away from the noises in London and feel the sun on my back.

Arriving at a new destination is always special, but some are quite magical. An hour from Pisa airport we arrived at the most stunning view over fields and distant mountain ranges  glowing in an orange sunset. I switched off my phone and listened to the crickets chirping the evening into darkness; wrapping a blanket over my shoulders I sat on bench and watched the stars gently glow, trying to bottle up that night up in my memory.


Sadly my back wasn’t so relaxed, after 3 bulging discs the previous year and scrambling on yachts this summer it decided to play up again. My meditation instead was done alone at dawn, swimming 100 lengths in ice cold pool, swimming and thinking, swimming and thinking. All you need is space and yourself to process your thoughts, but being in a beautiful pool overlooking a Tuscan hill does help a lot too.


We’d started the week as a group of relative strangers but become great friends at the end and after a week it was hard to say goodbye to our Italian sanctuary. As much as we’d learnt to understand each other we’d also learnt to understand ourselves a bit better, and that’s an amazing gift to bring back from your holiday.

The Yoga Retreat was organised by Love Yoga Bum. Please see  www.loveyogabum.com for details of future retreats.

Words and photos by Kitty Buchanan-Gregory

There are times in life when it is perfectly acceptable to revert to a state childish excitement no matter what age you are. And this week I have spent a large proportion of time being childishly excited about Christmas.


But it's still ages away I hear you cry. Well that may be the case (although 45 days isn't a huge amount) but after attending the switching on of the lights in Covent Garden and the Disney store VIP Christmas party, I hope you will understand why for me, Christmas is very much here.


The London Gay Men's Choir filled the air with festive carols and as the sung Mariah Carey's classic All I Want For Christmas, Covent Garden was lit up by more than 150,000 twinkling fairy lights which sparkled as the crowd cheered and sung along.


As if it couldn't any more delightfully festive than that, we young ladies about town then attended the Disney store VIP Christmas party. With a gospel choir singing carols, mini Christmas pudding, snow cones (for the kids...and adults), cookie decorating and whole shop full of toys it's no wonder that the adults were just as excited as the children that were there.


On top of that we also got to chance to meet both Mickey and Minnie mouse, thankfully the queue to meet them consisted of four children and many more adults- it would appear I am not the only one the indulges in reverting to a state of childish excitement.

With 45 days to go until the big day and lights brightening city centres all over the UK I think it's fair to say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The London coffee scene is one of the most vibrant in the world. There are of course the ubiquitous chains – all of which have added seasonal confections to their menus (eggnog latte, anyone?) – but there is also a wealth of independent coffee houses championing the art of a proper cup of joe. Monmouth Coffee, close to The Lady in Covent Garden, always has a queue of people stretching down the Seven Dials.

But what if you want to enjoy a luxury blend in the comfort of your own home? We Young Ladies have recently discovered that The East India Company in Conduit Street can offer you the freshest coffee grinds around. They have a coffee roaster on site, which means you can select the beans in their green form, and they will be roasted (and ground, if you wish) to flavourful perfection as you peruse the store.

Coffee master Jurrian (who, incidentally, was responsible for introducing Starbucks to Holland) is on hand to take you through the different coffee origins and tastes. I was lucky enough to sample three as I waited for the machine to do its thing. My favourite was St Helena – a citrusy, floral coffee from the little island just off the west coast of Africa. According to East India Company lore, it was the coffee Napoleon asked for on his deathbed after being interred on the island.

Coffee and chocolate, of course, are a marriage made in heaven, and Jurrian is keen to recommend pairings. Chocolate covered lemon peel really brought out the citrusy element of the hot coffee, and when we paired chocolate covered caramelised pecans (my favourite) with Nicaraguan elephant bean brew…well, my morning was made.


The mouth-wateringly fresh roasted coffee will keep for up to three weeks if left as beans, and up to a week if ground. Frankly, you’ll want to return before then. The East India Company is a veritable treasure trove of delights.

For more information www.theeastindiacompany.com

Riverford was one of the pioneering organic vegetable box schemes, founded nearly 25 years ago by Guy Watson on the family farm in Devon. As well as vegetable boxes you can also get fruit, meats and a range of dairy products such as delicious cheeses delivered straight to your door.

The newest addition to the Riverford range is their tangy green tomato chutney boxes. With everything already weighed out the difficult bit is done. All you have to do is follow the step by step guide and you will be set.

Riverford market these new boxes as a great introduction to preserving. Apart from helping my granddad make pickled onions each Christmas, and when I say help I do mean that in the loosest of terms, I had never really tried pickling or preserving before. So an evening on one of Anna Colquhoun's (who works closely with Riverford) courses would be the perfect thing to whet my preserving appetite.

All it took was an evening after work one weekday, a Riverford Chutney box, and some guidance from Anna and I had managed to make three jars of preserves; piccalilli, green tomato chutney and sage and garlic jelly aka three homemade presents for someone for Christmas! It's as easy as Picalilli...

www.riverford.co.uk/
www.culinaryanthropologist.org/

"You've got a nerve!" a total stranger called out to me recently as I cycled past him (ok, maybe I was a bit too close). Actually, what he should have said was "You've got a Nirve®" (they're pronounced exactly the same) because for the past month I've been road testing one of their high-fashion, American bikes.

It's been at least ten years since I got on a bicycle (well, fifteen if I'm honest), so at first, I was apprehensive about zooming off into central London streets with little more than schoolgirl faith to keep me upright. I've been testing the Wilshire, a Ladies 3-speed cruising bike in gleaming golden green and after my initial hesitancy it felt wonderful to feel the wind in my hair.


A bike definitely shrinks the city – all of a sudden you can get a lot further than on foot – and somehow, the elegance and charm of this bike attracted a lot of positive attention. Cab drivers seemed more polite, pedestrians crossed the street more quickly to get out of the way (although having a bell fitted would have helped there). Infact, it drew a lot of admiring glances.

Suddenly I started noticing other bikes – especially mens. Theirs seemed much more serious and earnest with their curved handlebars, like ram's horns. The Wilshire's, by contrast, are far more elegant – straight & covered in a leather-glove type material. Indeed, you can even have flamboyant colour schemes with different textured and embossed saddles. It all goes to prove how the concept of a cycle as fashion accessory is taking root.

As days went by, the cycling bug began to bite. Instead of sneaking out for the ubiquitous cigarette, I was sneaking out for a quick spin. I don't think the boss noticed I'd disappeared, and when I came back I always felt much more energised and refreshed. It was a great tonic.

You have to remember that the Wilshire Cruiser is just that – for cruising. It's not designed for you to go at fierce speeds with a grim expression on your face. It's for a civilised pace of pedalling. I know this because on occasions when I did try to get a bit of speed up, the pedals would lose contact with the wheels, and I had to let it glide instead.

Price: around £600. Other Classic Ladies Cycles: Real Classic Deluxe Bicycle - aluminium framed - £379 / Pashley Poppy Classic - elegant, sweeping frame - £449.99 / Real Classic Ladies Bicycle with traditional sprung saddle - £269.99 (source: www.halfords.com)

www.bigbikes.co 08700 707606

Words by Gillian Spickernell

Before today I would have said that I have small boobs and that the only bra for me would be a bra with padding. That was before I went to one of Peter Jones' new underwear consultations.

Peter Jone's new service focuses on the Baroque-inspired lace and delicate sheer silks seen on the catwalks this season and the fitters explain how to choose the best lingerie to flatter your figure and your outfit.

My fitter Michelle has been working as a bra fitter at Peter Jones for twelve years and my goodness does she know how to do her job. Before I even take off my coat and scarf Michelle has told me that I'm wearing the wrong size.

"What size are you wearing?" she asks me. "36B" I say. Well apparently that is wrong, still wearing my coat she tells me that I'm a 32 and when I take off my coat she adds a C to that 32. I couldn't have felt any more like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman! She did measure me once we were in a changing room and confirmed I was a 32.


Michelle then went around the lingerie department and grabbed me every style of bra so I could see how different shapes and styles would give me a nice shape, and she also grabbed some ones that wouldn't be so great so I would know what to avoid.

Balcony, balconette, T-Shirt, wired, not wired, seam free, the types of bra available to us young ladies is just a tad mind blowing.

After spending an hour with Michelle it's amazing how much you can discover about your own body. And I would go as far to saw that finding the perfect fitting bra is actually life changing, so much so that I did not leave empty handed.

The complimentary one-on-one consultations hosted in-store by Peter Jones' expert lingerie fitters. To book an appointment please contact Peter Jones on 020 7730 3434.

By Melonie Clarke

The foodie heavyweights behind the New Street Grill and Fish Market have recently opened a new cocktail bar on this quaint street. Elegant, fun and more than a little glamorous, the Old Bengal Bar is bound to become a top spot for a bit of post-work relaxation. In fact, we went along mere days after it opened and it was already bursting at the seams.s.

Located in a fetching grade II-listed building (which was originally built by The East India Company), the interior of this establishment – much like the classic City-types – is impeccably put-together. Slick mirrors contrast with the exposed brickwork, and the black marble bar adds a real note of decadence to the place. How could you not enjoy a cocktail served on such an opulent surface?

Indeed, it is this cocktail list which will have people coming from afar. It stretches on page after tantalising page, covering all the crucial cocktail classics. Bar manager Milos Popovic has previously held court at Claridges, and his concotions are something to behold. We sampled the Italian classic Negroni which was perfectly bitter and perfectly refreshing.


The Old Bengal Warehouse comprises the aforementioned fish restaurant and modern British grill, but if you can get food at the bar too. The homemade Scotch eggs are dangerously delicious, as are the Bengal hamburgers.

In our opinion, tucking into aged steak and sipping time-tested cocktails is a very fitting end to a long day.

For more information visit www.oldbengalbar.co.uk 

Sailing you say? How relaxing and civilized I thought, and in January signed up to being part of an all-female crew to race at the prestigious Cowes Regatta. A few months later I found myself in the middle of The Solent at 45 degrees, flattened on the Bow and hanging on for dear life as a sail flapped over me.  As I tried not to go overboard into the freezing Spring sea I ‘politely’ shouted at the Skipper that perhaps she could mention we were about to tack, but my request was lost to the wind so I swore at a passing seagull instead.

I’m part of ‘The Sisterhood’, an infamous troupe of adventurous girls competing at Cowes as one of few female crews.  Apart from our skipper we were all novices and had taken on the challenge of racing against a 99% male competition and 186 years of tradition. In a world where the discussion of wind speed and the cut of ones jib is taken seriously, a gang of 20  girls clad in hot pink lycra kit was about to shake up the salty sailing world. The press seemed to love our appearance but Poor Cowes wasn’t quite sure what had hit them, but ironically the story of the week turned out to be what was hit us…

...

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar was a bestselling album before it arrived on and conquered Broadway in 1971. On its arrival in the UK it ran for eight years in the West End to much acclaim. And now the story of Christ with its edgy, rocky score is back in a new arena production by Laurence Connor.


Sitting front row at the O2, before the show even started I was incredibly excited. And as the ear splittingly loud chords of Jesus Christ Superstar filed the stadium I was on the edge of my seat. The performance kicks off with video and news footage from what looked like last year's London riots, which were then brought to life on stage by an ensembl -  half of the cast as the rioters, the other as police officers in full riot gear. An acrobatic staging of a clash between civilians and the law worked well, and when flames shot up from the stage the chaotic atmosphere was heightened.

Although the use of last year's riots as the back drop for the rise of a new political leader, aka Jesus, was in my opinion, a tad controversial considering the negative message that comes with the London riots. Despite this, the modern take on the passion and crucifixion of Christ did work well.


The principles Ben Forster, Tim Minchin, Mel C and Chris Moyles played their parts brilliantly. Forster, who won his part after taking part in a televised talent contest quashed any doubts that he was not up to the part the minute he opened his mouth.

Chris Moyles as Herod was incredibly funny and I imagine little acting was involved as his character was not miles away from his real life persona- full of life and incredibly comical. In a world full of television series such as X Factor and Strictly where we are urged to reach for our phones and vote for contestants, the concept of the game show to determine if Jesus is a 'Lord of Fraud' was a clever spin on the story.


Mel C as the Rasta Mary Magdalene - tattooed, streetwise and down with the kids -  was a brilliant choice and I found her very believable. And at the end of the day as a Spice Girl uber fan back in the day, she couldn't have put a foot wrong in my eyes.

For me, Tim Minchin was the star of the show. He brought an intelligence and desperation to Judas which made his transformation from disciple to traitor and then his consuming guilt all the more real.

Personally I would say the arena setting took away from the performance. Cameramen running across the stage mid song filming the action so those sitting in the heavens of the venues could see the action gave the whole production a behind the scenes, made for TV feel. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the venue, however, it was a brilliant evening and as I took the tube home I couldn't help but hum the tunes the whole way.

Jesus Christ Superstar runs until the 21 October. For more information and to buy tickets visit www.jesuschristsuperstar.com