An afternoon of Vogue @100....

With London Fashion week in full swing, one of the must exhibits to see between shows is the celebration of Vogues 100th birthday at the National Portrait Gallery.
Vogue launched its first magazine in the UK in 1916 and has continued to be the most aspirational, and fashion leading magazine.  US Vogue's Anna Wintour is still one of the most influential women in fashion and most models & celebrities see the pinnacle of their career when they grace the front cover of Vogue . This exhibit showcases some of their iconic covers to its absolute best.
The exhibition is staged over several rooms, with each room having its own purpose or decade.
On entering the exhibition you are met by library stripes of vogue covers in glorious technicolour, seeing how the pencil drawn fashion covers evolved to the leading styled images of today.

Vogue 100: A Century of Style features work by many of the leading photographers, including Cecil Beaton, Lee Miller, Irving Penn and Snowdon. 

More recent pictures by celebrated photographers David Bailey, Corinne Day, Patrick Demarchelier, Nick Knight, Herb Ritts, Mario Testino, Tim Walker and Albert Watson are also included.

Some of my favourites include a fab image of the fab 4 The Beetles commissioned by Diane Vreeland and photographed by Peter Laurie in 1964.

Multiple images of Kae Moss feature including the iconic Brit Pop knicker flashing image by Mario Testino in 2008.

My favourite room was the 1990's and the fabulous Supermodel shoot whch featured 4 models that are still in great demand today: Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Cambell and Christy Turlington.

A Vogue exhibition would not be complete without an image of the late Princess Diana who graced vogues cover on at least 4 occasions; shot predominately by Patrick Demarchelier the image is stunning.

I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and is a must for fans of fashion, photography, styling and British  history. My afternoon was complete with another British institution of cream tea in the cafe crypt at the Gallery.

A morning of Crime....

Last week I spent some time travelling through the crime history of the UK at the Crime Museum Uncovered exhibition at the Museum of London.
For a woman who spent her whole school studies, and teenage years studying and aspiring to be a criminal pathologist / forensic scientist; this exhibition ticks so many boxes for me.
Having worked closely with the police over many years in various jobs, it also allowed me to see some of the infamous exhibits from the Black Museum of Scotland Yard.
The exhibit houses some amazing artefacts, evidence and historical references to some of the most prolific and hi-profile cases of the UK this century.

• Dr Crippen - including telegrams from the liner where they were finally apprehended.
• The Krays - Reggie Krays gun and transcripts from interviews.
• Ruth Ellis - gun and newspaper from the day o her hanging.
• Hangman ropes - Multiple hangman ropes used for corporal punishment along with a Hangman's box on loan from Wandsworth prison.
• The Great Train Robbery - multiple artefacts of evidence from the house, along with paper that was wrapped around the banknotes and original wanted posters.
  

Two of the items I was most thrilled to see was the evidence case from the esteemed pathologist Sir Bernard Simpson and evidence box from Professor Keith Simpson 

Along with many infamous murders; the exhibit houses espionage; micro dots & an adapted talcum powder tin used for smuggling. Offensive weapons - including umbrella shot gun, Chanel lipstick knife, and poison induced syringe adapted briefcase and terrorism with replica bombs used in the last 30 years; Hyde park, 7/7 and IRA attacks.
This exhibit is only open until April and a must for any fan of crime, history or forensics. Its interesting, thrilling and incredibly fascinating, I loved it.

Reading Challenge 2016

So this year I've set myself (with a little help from Goodreads) to read 75 books in 2016.  As you all know I am an avid reader and to aid my progress I have set up a separate page to share my reads from 2016.
January's reads look a little like this;

* The Book Lovers - Victoria Connelly - Callie Logan is a children's author who after the breakdown of her marriage, relocates to a tiny village in the heart of Suffolk in the gloriously names Owl Cottage. Happy to seclude herself away and her books, fate throws not one suitor but 2 in the guise of Leo; a man at home in the elements and countryside and Sam the local owner of Nightingale books.
Victoria's description of the Suffolk countryside is gorgeous and bought back lots of lovely memories of my time in this part of the country and spending time with family that live there. Also having been to Victoria's home in this part of the world Owl Cottage is really bought to life for me. I really enjoyed this book and with the introduction of many characters I look forward to the next book in the series. Delightful.
* Meet and Delete - Pauline Lawless - 3 friends; Megan, Viv & Claire find themselves all single  and sharing a house together in their 30's. They turn to On-line dating to find their "Mr Right", what they do find are some Mr Nice, plenty of Mr Never-again and lots of adventure in between.  This book has sat in my "To read "folder for a while and when I started it I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it; along with the fun and friendship it also deals with some family angst along with lots of laughter. Fans of Cathy Kelly will love this.

*  Meet Me in Manhattan - Claudia Carroll - Holly Johnson is a budding journalist and thinks that she may have found her perfect guy On-line  - the only issue is that he lives in America and she lives in Dublin...after 3 failed attempts to meet up in her city; she decides to cross the Atlantic and surprise him in New York... however not everything is as it seems and Holly gets the shock of her life when she finally tracks down her mystery man. Suddenly Holly's life is tipped upside down and her future, job and life all become a little bit of a nightmare. - This was a fun read, with fabulous moments in New York. (gave me a warm Manhattan hug) and gives a great insight into the Catfish elements of online dating. Claudia Carroll really does write a very clever rom com adventure.
* What would Lizzy Bennet Do - Katie Oliver - Katie Oliver has done it again and put her own twist and style on a classic. Lizzie Bennet has been in love with Hugh Darcy for years, however when he returns to the family estate after many year, he is accompanied by a fiancé - Holly James. Holly is completely unprepared for Hugh's life as lord of the manor. With a film crew shooting Pride & Prejudice in the grounds of Hugh's stately pile and the dastardly Mr Wickham (Holly's ex) setting his sites on one of the Bennet sisters a summer on the English Riviera looks far from tranquil. - a fun read, perfect for all fans of Austen. Look forward to reading Emma Bennet's adventure next.
* Stirred with Love - Marcie Steele - A sweet story of finding a family & friendship in the most unlikeliest of places.. Lily owns the run down cafe and whilst grieving for her husband she advertises for some help to put some life back into her cafe. Kate & Chloe apply and a beautiful story of friendship across generations unravels as they embark on their new adventures opening the cafe as a coffee shop. This story spans 3 generations and as well as being very sweet and lovely, it can at times be heartbreaking. .. looking forward to Marcie's next book.
* Its Now or Never - Jill Steeples - When smooth-talking Alex Fellows tells Jen Faraday he can predict her future – and leaves a note with the bartender for her to collect in one year’s time – she thinks it’s just a line. After all, how can a man she’s known for only one night see what her future holds? - Fun read and characters that you warm to quickly. Loved the relationship with Jen and her Gramps. Resonated lots with me as I too had a Gramps. An easy read that absolutely brightened my January gloomy commute... especially as Alex Fellows is quite delicious.
My final read for the month is the autobiography of the gorgeous Dan Carter - All Blacks flyhalf and rugby legend. - Halfway through and I am gripped; fascinating read of a boy who became the David Beckham equivalent of the Rugby world. With the 6 nations kicking off on February and my fabulous autumn of World cup rugby this was the perfect non-fiction book to kick-off 2016 with
Along with the challenge to read 75 books; 12 of those are to be factual as opposed to fiction and I am hoping to tie them in with my current affairs of that month!... watch this space

6 Flicks to look forward to in 2016

So it feels like ages since I shared a movie moment and some time since I spent an evening at the cinema. There wasn't a great deal of movies released in 2015, that I thought warranted an evening at the cinema and I only went a few times. However I do believe 2016 may be a little different as there are a number of movies being released this year that I will definitely want to see on the big screen.

Me Before You
I am so excited to see this movie; I adored the book, have cried through the trailer and know that I will sob throughout the film. Fabulous casting and cant wait to see it when its released in June. This will be "The Notebook" movie of 2016.

Money Monster 
Its been some time since the gorgeous George Clooney did a movie that got me giddy!... but Money Monster looks interesting, not too arty and looking forward to seeing him & Julia Roberts back in screen together (loved their chemistry in the Oceans series) and directed by Jodie Foster

My Big Fat Greek wedding 2 

So thrilled to see this Greek family back again, with another wedding to plan along with lots of love, fun and laughter! This looks like the perfect girls night out movie.

Batman V Superman 

Henry Cavill is pulling on the blue tights and red cape again and Ben Affleck is pulling on the bat suit to see who is the best superhero for Gotham City... I'm team Cavill, but looking forward to see this summer release.

and finally 2 movies that have yet to release any trailers but some images have been posted frequently on social media.... Bridget Jones and baby!... I am a little excited about this winter release and looking forward to seeing Bridget back with Mr Darcy and the gorgeous Dr McDreamy Patrick Dempsey!!!... oh my, I am a little giddy... how gorgeous does he look on this motorcycle.

The final movie that I am looking forward to is Mother's Day; directed by Garry Marshall from Pretty Women acclaim it follows in the genre of his previous 2 movies Valentines Day and New Years Eve and stars an ensemble cast featuring Jennifer Anniston, Julia Roberts and Kate Hudson.

As you can see its a varied movie bag and I look forward to a night with a big box of popcorn being entertained... what movie are you looking forward to in 2016?

Hello February.....

Hello February, its a new month so I've said goodbye to my January blush and gold styling and hello to a little winter blues. This probably suits my  mood at the moment as I'm in a little fog of January blues and hoping that February will lift me out of it.

I have a little more planned in February than I managed in January, as I am hoping that my workload reduces, so I am going to have a Thankful February...

• Weekend brunch planned for the Forest restaurant on the roof at 400 Oxford street.
• Spent many hours with Mr Selfridge in Jan and enjoying series 4 of his amazing life.
• I am liking that the mornings are a little lighter as I walk to work each morning.
• Planning a visit to the Crime museum exhibition at the London museum - excited to see some of Scotland Yards Black museum.
• Have plans to explore a little more of London and walk a little more as the weather improves. 

I am also celebrating some friends and families birthdays in Feb, so watch this space for further updates. I hope that you are all having a lovely start to the new month and look forward to reading your adventures. x