Cup Cakes 'A go-go'

If you are ever in ‘Soho’ London you must visit ‘Cox Cookies & Cake’ at 13 Brewer Street. The brainchild of ‘Patrick Cox’ - of Wannabe shoe fame along with his venture partner French patissier ’Eric Lambard’ have set up this really funky cake shop.

As you walk down Brewer Street you can hear the uplifting music pounding away. The exterior is sexy black with window displays illuminated in pink, baby blue & lime neon tubes. The interior has a black marble floor along with dark sequinned walls - totally fab, you feel you arrived at the legendary ‘Studio 54’ disco. The sign behind the counter ‘I keep haunting you’ was a gift from ‘Tracey Emin’.

Staff are eye candy - good looking men dressed in black with sexy studded black leather aprons. The cakes are the main attraction - cool groovy toppings in deep purple, red, black topped with suger diamonds & edible glitter. We chose ‘Pop cake’ a vanilla frosting and white chocolate homage to Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe. Also ‘Red Skull’ a chocolate cake filled with strawberry compote & blood red frosting and a dark jewelled skull! Both were an absolute taste sensation and keenly priced at £4.00 each. I will definitely will repeat the experience - the music is also pretty good!

Peace & Tranquility

Having had an early morning appointment in London we managed a free afternoon. Heading back home on the busy A4, at Hogarth roundabout we decided to turn off and park up. Neighbouring the roundabout is ‘Fuller Brewery’ est.: 1845 - sadly it is the last independent brewery left in London. The brewery is housed in an interesting clutter of buildings of which guided tours are available.

 

Walking down a very pretty side street we found ourselves on Chiswick Mall - totally gorgeous mix of period properties with gardens fronting the river Thames. The hustle & bustle of the A4 is just a stones throw away, but here we are in peace & tranquility - this is amazing! Walking upstream we pass Hammersmith Terrace, a sober terrace of Georgian houses, but interestingly no.7 was the house of ‘Sir Emery Walker’ close friend of William Morris. The house is now a museum, as it is a rare survivor of a complete Arts & Crafts interior. If you fancy refreshments try the ‘Black Horse’ nearby, though a little  further along  is  ‘The Old Ship’ - the 1st floor balcony gives superb river views. If you are ever in this location do make an effort to stop - the tranquility is wonderful after the buzz of the city.



Stanley Spencer Gallery



Luckily we still had time to spare, decided to drive over to the extremely pretty village of ‘Cookham’ in Surrey birthplace and lifelong home of my favourite early British modernist painter ‘Sir Stanley Spencer’. To celebrate his prolific talent the ‘Stanley Spencer Gallery’ was created - here you are able to trace his huge catalogue of work. Looking at his life studies you can see why ‘Lucian Freud’ admires his work. Sadly Spencer had a somewhat tangled marital arrangement; he died in 1959 at 68 of cancer. There is a huge unfinished canvas in the gallery that gives you a total insight of how he achieved his particular style. A visit to this gallery will definitely enrich your life.

Hettie enjoying the view.

Mid-Georgian porch

Café Culture

Sunday marked our annual pilgrimage to London for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. The amazing thing about London is free parking on Sunday’s. This attitude really encourages people to visit London. Sadly here in the Cotswold they take a totally different view and penalize the motorist seven days a week!

Having parked up we headed over to the Wolseley in Piccadilly where they serve probably the breakfast in London. The concept is grand continental café - chic understated décor - discreet efficient service & extremely good food. Each visit I have ’Eggs Benedict’ which are always superb. The venue is great for people watching especially if you are seated at the right-hand side looking out - perfect for surveying the celebrity comings & goings.

After breakfast we headed to the RA, the inner quadrangle now has a sophisticated water feature but when I visited as a child with my father this area was a car park - hard to imagine now. This year the exhibition was as fascinating as ever, you can certainly absorb the artistic vibe - it encourages & inspires you to pick up a paintbrush and see what you are capable of. Even if the result is bad at least you have tried! My favourite room is the Small Weston Room which is hung floor to ceiling in a multitude of small paintings in different mediums. Another room has a wall hung with colourful abstract paintings by Gillian Ayres, now in her 80th year but as fresh as ever. In fact I noticed the charismatic Tricia Guild founder of Designers Guild admiring her work. Other highlights were the ‘monster size Gorilla’ (Silver Streak) made of wire coat hangers, this years winner: Yinka Shonibare Crash Willy - the installation work of a now defunct battered vehicle with the registration no: ‘FTSE‘- the artists view of our battered/crashed economy - what an apt original statement.

Consuming Passions

I have to admit to an extremely serious ‘addiction’ - nothing mind altering, just a passion for Ladurée macaroons. I first became aware of these heavenly temptations in delicate colours - subtle flavours on a visit to Paris six years ago. For some unknown reason I had never been to Paris, my partner and I decided to rent an apartment for two weeks in January - not the warmest time but good for walking. It proved to be a truly magical holiday. The city is architecturally breathtaking, after two weeks I wanted to live there. To fully appreciate this beautiful city it is better to walk the different arrondissements, or as the French say a ‘flaneur’ & explore the different lifestyles/culture. One snowy bitterly cold day we chanced upon Ladurée on Rue Bonaparte. Originally the shop & home of ‘Madeline Castaing’ the influential French decorator. The property was revamped by ‘Jacques Garcia’ the arbitrator of ‘belle epoch style’ who is behind the design of ‘Hotel Costes’. If you appreciate this style of decoration you will be in heaven! As you enter the shop your eyes will be drawn to the tempting array of delicious patisserie in beautifully lit cabinets. The macaroons are the ‘jewels’ in an array of colours & flavours which will be packed in the prettiest boxes. From that first visit I am totally hooked, our kitchen is a shrine to Ladurée boxes I can’t bear to throw out. Though they are now empty I can still taste the addictive macaroons they once contained! Ladurée have four branches in Paris and concessions over the world, lucky for me I can buy them in Burlington arcade or Harrods, so I don’t have to travel too far for my fix. Believe me, once you have tasted one you will be hooked. There are comparisons available but none live up to Ladurée. Visit their website for the whole story http://www.laduree.fr/ , or visit Paris Breakfast blogspot http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com/ who is another addict!

'Amazing Grace'

The July issue of Vogue has an extremely candid interview with the normally shy 'Grace Coddington' - Grace has been thrust into the limelight since her appearance in the now cult film 'The September Issue'. The film follows editor 'Anna Wintour' as she pieces together the September issue - unwittingly Grace stole the show with her quite unassuming manner in the way she delivered dazzlingly beautiful fashion layouts. Since this exposure many more people are now aware just how supremely talented Grace is. She started life in the fashion industry as a model - becoming one of the super models of the 60's/70's. Since leaving the profession she has been working the other side of the camera as a fashion stylist. For the past twenty years she has worked along side Anna Wintour on American Vogue producing the worlds most influential fashion magazine. Do get the July issue of Vogue -the interview is a wonderful insight to the world of fashion.

"Let Them Eat Cake"

Almost everyone loves the visual impact of 'Cup Cakes', but why are they often so disappointing to eat? After all, its basically a sponge base with a dollop of sticky overflavoured badly coloured butter icing. Here at home we always opt for a more traditional, delicious homemade cake - surely what could be a nicer treat than a slice of cake served with freshly brewed tea in pretty vintage china. Pure nostalgic escapism in these strange economic times we find ourseleves in! The photo is 'Lemon cake' served with Lapsang Souchong bought from Mariage Frères on a recent trip to Paris.

Pop Magazine

One of my fav mags is the super cool & glossy 'Pop Magazine' from the publishers of the iconic 'Face Magazine'. Available twice yearly - current Spring/Summer issue is just fab - gorgeous layouts - mouth watering photos by leading photographers, plus editorial by artists, designers & celebrities. Having been to the 'Browns 40 year retrospective' I loved the interview with the revered Joan Burstein. If you want to be better informed about art/fashion this mag is a total must!

Testament of Talent

I experienced fashion heaven when visiting the stunning exhibition celebrating '40 years of Browns' the iconic fashiion boutique on South Molton Street, London. Over the years it has expanded from a single shop into five connecting shops. Browns was actually born from financial disaster - originally the founders Sidney & Joan Burstein had a very successful chain of shops called 'Neatawear', due to their bankers withdrawing funds they went bust causing them to loose everything. As with all driven self employed - you dust yourself down and start again! The new venture would only specialise in the rarefied field of high-end fashion & to survive takes skill & guts. Mrs Burstein with her impeccable discerning eye and Mr Burstein's business acumen they took the business to worldwide acclaim. Mrs Burstein was instrumental in discovering and stocking new talent such as John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Commes des Garcons to name just a fraction of designers whose careers she launched. Not content with this she also introduced to the UK Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Donna Karen, Missoni - now household names.
The exhibition takes you through the four decades of the designers they have represented. Wonderfully lit displays backed by stunning photographic images by 'Paolo Reversi'. The only sad note is that Sidney Burstein died in April and did'nt see this wonderful exhibition - though it is surely a testament to his vision and Mrs B's talent. A limited edition book is available celebrating 'Browns 40 Years' - of course we have a copy!

http://www.brownsfashion.com/