Young Ladies About Town

Are you eating/sleeping/breathing the Jubilee? Well, now you can drink it too.

The mixing maestros at The Botanist, in London's fashionable Sloane Square, have created a range of cocktails inspired by members of the Royal Family.

This week we were lucky to taste all the provocatively-titled tipples. Bitter and Twisted (The Camilla), Strong and Stoic (The Duke of Cambridge) and Ginger Nut (Prince Harry - who else?) were all delicious, but our favourites were those representing The Queen and The Duchess of Cambridge.

What's more, we managed to get hold of the recipes, so you can recreate them at home. Enjoy!

To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Chris Levine and Asprey have created a new work based on his celebrated portraiture of the Queen.

Levine’s original art work was commissioned by The Jersey Heritage Trust in 2004. Now 1000 beautiful white cut diamonds have been set in platinum by Asprey craftsmen and have been overlaid onto the original. The result is a three dimensional image of The Queen, crowned with 1000 white diamonds, 25 freshwater pearls and a natural intense yellow round diamond. It is a truly stunning work of art.

The beauty (and occasional danger) of internet shopping is that it is so easy. A little browse, a few clicks and in no time you can have a delightful new outfit delivered straight to your door – no tedious bag carrying involved.

The only snag is sometimes, sometimes, it is hard to choose the perfect fit, the perfect colour and the perfect fabric. As lovely as the items may appear on the website, there is no substation for running a new dress through your hands or feeling the weight of a great pair of jeans.

Being the least Rock'n'Roll person I know - I'm more Al Bowlly than Aerosmith - I had no choice than to go for a floral number and just hope I wasn't the only one who hadn't adopted a rock look for the event. Luckily when I rocked up (sorry couldn't resist) to the Shaftsbury Theatre after work I wasn't greeted by a swarm of leather and ripped jeans- phew!

Once we were seated a steward handed us LED lights in the shape of lighters. Without explanation, I could only assume that we would be urged to use these during the slower numbers and as the lights went down I clung onto mine, eagerly waiting to use it.

About a second in and I was in fits of laughter. A large video screen showed a typical 80s hair metal guy giving the "please turn your phones off during the performance" message, going onto say that people who text during productions look like "douchebags". Setting the tone of the evening I knew I was in for a comedy filled, 80s cheese-fest and I'm not even ashamed to say that I was very excited!

The Jubilee is nearly upon us. Our specially-themed issue will be out this Friday (not to be missed) and this weekend I attended my first Diamond Jubilee celebration. "It's a wonderful Vintage Jubilee Jamboree" in London which proved to be a real old-fashioned knees up!

Natty Congeroo and The Flames of Rhythm

Taking place in two great locations near Kings Cross, I donned my fifties dress complete with full petticoat, and partied like it was 1952.

We young ladies have been fortunate to sample a range of delicious drinks, from whiskey tasting to cocktail concocting to quaffing the Queen’s favourite aperitif.

Not wanting to give the wrong impression, we are fond of partaking of a tipple or too (all in the name of work, obviously). So last week when we were invited along to experience the new range of Jacob’s Creek wine, we said a resounding: ‘Cheers.’

James has teamed up with the Mushroom Bureau in a bid to get Brits eating more mushrooms and has created six new ways to enjoy them, which I was lucky to sample yesterday.

I got to try two out of the six dishes he whipped up: mushroom soup with coriander cress and sautéed chicken livers, and the classic mushrooms on toast. They were both delicious. Like Oliver, I would have quite happily asked for more!

Norman Hartnell, Victor Stiebel, Zandra Rhodes, Catherine Walker, Vivienne Westwood...it was just like that scene from Sex and the City where Carrie tries on all the stunning wedding dresses by amazing designers (though unfortunately we weren't allowed to tries these dresses on).

From red carpet glamour to catwalk showstoppers, this new exhibition displays the best of British Ballgowns since the 50s, and it is truly a feast for the eyes.

There is something quintessentially British about creating sumptuous ballgowns to wear to debutante balls and dazzling dances. As I walked around the gallery, eyes passing from one beautiful piece to another, I imagined all the glamorous young ladies about town from the past that might have worn them and what fabulous events they went to.

Stephen Jones said: “If a woman wears a hat…she always has the door held open for her."

So when I learnt that Peter Jones was to hold an exclusive evening with milliner to the royals, Vivien Sheriff, to mark the opening of their new Hat Academy, I grabbed my hat and set off to their Sloane Square department store.

Vivien Sheriff started making a business out of hats 7 years ago and since then her business has gone from strength to strength. In fact, Vivien made more pieces for the Royal wedding last year than any other milliner and made the hat Kate Middleton wore for her first royal engagement; a service of dedication for a new RNLI lifeboat in Anglesey.

Other than a cheeky gin and tonic, handbags are another of my vices. There is nothing quite like a new handbag to make these miserable days of late seem a lot brighter - and stylish!

So you can imagine my excitement at the opening of an exhibition by Hermès celebrating its 175th year!