Something For The Weekend

when Terry met Lisa - the verdict

We know you're all dying to find out how we scored on the matchmaking front, when we set up Terry, 30, (Pisces) with Lisa, 29, (Scorpio).  They're both musicians, Lisa's a singer/songwriter, check out her site! And Terry's in a band that's doing so well for themselves that they're booked up til 2008 - go and check out Pure Orange. Lucky that two such busy bees found time for each other, but they definitely had some common ground. The question is though, was love on the menu as well as copious cocktails?

Last night our nervous couple locked eyes over some Cuban grub at our restaurant of the month, Floridita, and this morning they battled their hangovers to bring us the verdict...

TERRY ON LISA:

"Great evening last night. Lisa was everything I expected and more! We had lots to talk about, especially music related topics, so time flew!

I had spoken to Lisa on the phone a few days before the date which helped to get to know one another. We also visited each others websites. I downloaded her music and was very impressed with her songs and vocal abilities.

The thing I liked most about Lisa was her sense of humour. Before we even entered the restaurant we were both cracking jokes. She is great company, easy to be with and very attractive. We have agreed to see one another again and I hope it’s sooner rather than later!"

LISA ON TERRY:

"I think having music in common was such a plus...kinda helps knowing we have some common ground! So by day Terry is a Graphic Designer and I’m an Event Manager....then it’s all rock and roll by night! Terry does big corporate/wedding gigs for likes of Vodafone and Deloitte and is booked up until 2008. Whereas I perform originals only (that’s my policy!) But we both do work full-time to fund our dream of stardom! So all in all pretty well complimented..."

As far as a second date goes... "that would be telling...let’s just say we’ll see!

Many thanks to all at Floridita and lastminute.com – it was well worth it!"

This weekend in London....

As usual, there's a ton of stuff being organised just for YOU. Well, not technically just for you, but heck, no one's going to oppose if you show up anyway...

Friday 1st - UK AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIPS
You know you want to.  There's something deep inside of you that makes you pluck those invisible strings whenever Sweet Child of Mine blesses a pair of speakers.  Well, now's your chance to show off your skills.  The UK air guitar championships takes place this friday at the Islington Academy and as a spectator it'll cost you just £8 to get in - that's gotta be worth it for the laughs.  You might just win a guitar from Brian May's collection.  But of course, you don't really need a real one, do you?
Find out more here

Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd - WATCH THIS SPACE
The National Theatre's free outdoor festival ends its run this weekend, so shame on you if you've not made it down there yet.  There's music on both days from 10pm to 1am in the Late Lounge and you can take your own favourite songs for the DJ to spin - how cool is that? If you're wondering what to do when the fun stops, you can always ask the fortune teller, Simon Daw. FREE

Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd - WATERBORN
You've got to book this to make sure you get in but it's free and sounds like it might be well worth a look. Performance company Small Wonder are treating us to an outdoor display of dramatic lighting (including fireworks, yay!), areial dance and projections.
Swiss Cottage Park, Eton Avenue, NW3 3EL. Call 020 7974 4590. FREE

Friday 1st - BLANK TAPE SPILLAGE FETE
We've all got them. Mix tapes, made lovingly by friends and ex-boyfriends to mark monumentous occasions. You just can't remember what they are. See what happened when Mat Fowler and Matt Hunt sent 21 artists a blank tape to fill and design packaging for.  Listen to the recordings at separate listening posts, all in a kitchy village fete setting. Bizarre. Click here for more.
Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regents Park Road, NW1 7AY. Tube: Camden. FREE

Sunday 3rd - VOLUNTEER TO WORK IN NUNHEAD CEMETERY
Not done enough for your country lately? Don't feel bad, just get your gardening gloves on and head down to Nunhead Cemetery on Sunday for voluntary work day.  There are trees to prune, ponds to tend, monuments to restore and inscriptions to be recorded. Not to mention tons of free tea.

Saturday 2nd - 10th - E17 ART TRAIL
What a way to spend a day. Grab a map from the library or the website and head out on a cultural tour of 59 different exhibitions by 100 artists. You never know what you might see along the way. Don't forget a pack lunch. Find out more here. FREE

Saturday 2nd - VINTAGE FROCK FAIR
If you prefer wearing dresses your nan would have bought from a charity shop, you won't find anything better than this vintage frock fest in Chelsea. Forget your gladrags, go back in time.
Chelsea Town Hall, Kings Road, Chelsea, SW3. 10am - 5.30pm. Admission £3 (students with ID £1.50)

Sunday 3rd - THE SUNDAY SHOW
Fancy yourself a bit of a performer. This is the place to prove your worth.  A weekly open mic night complete with cheap drinks - perfect for a dose of dutch courage.
Upstairs at Trash Palace, W1. Call 020 7734 0522. 7pm - 10.30pm. FREE 

eat your heart out Cilla....

Meet our sexy couple, Terry and Lisa, the lovely Londoner's who put their hearts in our hands and their destiny on the line for the chance to meet their match.

We reckon they look rather spiffing together, kind of a Rocker versus Rock Chick.  They'll be getting sent on a hot date to our restaurant of the month, Floridita, where they'll be wined, dined and... well... the rest is up to them.

Here's a bit about them:

LISA. Age 29. Starsign: Scorpio

Lisa's a singer/songwriter so is into her musical men. We hope we've done her right with guitar-weilding Terry - "...conversation needs to flow as fast as the wine/champagne/cocktails! Someone boyish, naughty but nice...but no arrogance please! Looks-wise...sporty, good-looking, sexy, cheeky, sensitive and knows how to treat a lady without thinking about it...I'm either gonna click with you or not! Dinner (lurrrrve Lobster), music and fab company to keep me smiling...oooh and I do love to dance :-)"

TERRY: Age 30. Starsign: Pisces

Terry's in a band with some great musicians and is quite simply looking for "a little magic"

Well guys, we live in hope. Let's just hope you get on so we can all go out and buy our hats!

feeling like a lazy Sundazed...

NO WORK ON MONDAY! You know what that means, don't you?  No, it does not mean you can slob on the sofa even longer on Sunday night, stuffing Cadburys down your neck and shouting at the TV. It means that this is the perfect opportunity to get out and cruise the Thames in style with the Sundazed vs Dirty Groove Boat Party.

Last year, this event went down as the only boat party on the Thames worth going to and they promise us that this year will be no exception. In fact, it's gonna be bigger and better this Bank Holiday Sunday in full preparation for the Sundazed tour to Ibiza.  You'll find all the Sundazed residents on the decks - Alex Miles, Laura T, Lofty, Stevie Dee and more, oh, and not forgetting the Tenacious Sound System, featuring Clay and Julian Wilson... take a good pair of dancing shoes.

There are 2 dance floors and an outside deck, so weather permitting of course, you're free to enjoy the sights of London, whilst sipping drinks and listening (or dancing) to the best that upfront house can deliver.  We're talking 300 of the friendliest and sexiest people around, all making the most of what's left of the summer! What could be better, peeps?

The Secret Location after party has now been revealed as one London's hottest West End night spots - SIN, 144 Charring Cross Rd.

The boat departs from Temple Pier at 8pm (arrive for boarding at 7:30pm please) with an exciting after party lined up to take you through till 6am on Monday morning. So you've got all day to recover (and shout at the TV, of course).

To book your tickets click here

For more fun with water and lastminute.com, click here

Ask Uncle Ning...

Aaaah, he's had so many emails he's had to hire his own intern, but alas, alack, there could only be one problem.  This week Uncle Ning chose to help Sasha from London:

"I really, really need to find a nice little place to take my boyfriend. The problem is, we're both quite busy- and it would be nice to find somewhere cheap and quiet, so we can get some alone time together. Anything in the next 2 weeks would be great, so please, work some magic and pull something up for us. - Sascha, London"

Over to Ning...

You're both quite busy?  Too busy to see each other?

If this is really the case then I suggest that you and your boyfriend should barricade yourselves in a hotel room at the  Leisure Inn - up to 58% off with the Home Porn Kit - Now with 25% off.  Don't know if that will be a quiet night or not... that depends on whether you and you boyfriend are screamers.

When you guys decide to come up for some air, go get some cheap eats at Bankside Restaurant.  Our exclusive offer means you can get three courses for just a tenner each. This is a contemporary gem with sleek dark wood and low lighting. The staffs are sparky and the honest brasserie dishes are simply pleasing. All in all, this is place for straightforward and enjoyable city dining, without breaking the bank.

After dinner head back to your hotel room with Champagne in a bed of truffles

Bubbles and chocs? You know it rocks. After this tastebud and body senstation, you guys will never want to spend time apart again!

don't cry for me Argentina...

Our resident thespian cutie Katie Spain packed another suitcase in another hall and set up camp for a night with Evita...

Every so often you leave the theatre with songs in your head and lyrics dancing between your lips.  Evita takes it one step further, sending shivers down the spine and leaving an imprint on your heart. 

If this imprint were to have a shape, it would be silhouette of a tiny little dancer by the name of Elena Roger. What this pint-sized Argentinean actress lacks in size, she more than makes up for with voice and talent. Sharp features and a commanding stage presence are effective in portraying the powerful and seductive character of Eva.

The musical returned to the West End this year with a gusto to rival any past performances. It may be 20 years since the last production but the wait was worth it.  After an evening at the opening at the Adelphi theatre, I found myself speechless (a rare thing) and singing my own praises for a stunning performance. 

The story of Evita is a well-known one.  Set in Argentina, it is based on the life of Eva Peron, a lower class woman with sky-high aspirations. Determination led her down the path of wealth, power and politics and, after a successful acting career; she became the second wife of Argentine dictator Juan Peron. Adored by the public and stalked by power, the feisty female won the hearts of her people before dying of cancer at the age of 33.

I'm sure the star-studded opening night audience would agree with me. It's a story worthy of a faultless performance and Roger rose to the challenge. Rod Stewart may be known for his vocal chords but even he must have been blown away by the spectacle before him. Philip Quast as Juan Peron and Matt Rawle as narrator Che Guevara provide the testosterone and male bravado needed to support such a cast.

No matter who you are, there's something quite magical about an evening of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice inspired musical drama.  Michael Grandage’s reinvention is not to be missed.

I came out tear soaked and blinking with confusion against the lights and traffic on the street outside the theatre. Somehow, after the beauty of Argentina I wasn't ready for the bustle of the modern world.  Yes, the set really is that good. Madonna, eat your heart out - this production proves that the true Evita belongs on stage. 

Book Evita now with lastminute.com. Tickets start at £30

how do you solve a problem like Maria?

Ever since Julie Andrews danced across the fields, exclaiming them to be “alive”, (too many magic mushrooms?) you’ve had a secret yearning to live high on the hills with a lonely goat, yodel your way into the hearts of unsuspecting townspeople and surround yourself with a hundred children. Haven’t you?

The Sound Of Music was the last collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and became one of the most successful Oscar-winning film musicals of all time in 1965.  I know.  That’s way before a lot of us were even born.  That’s a long time ago.  And dancing across hills and "climbing every mountain" was what people did before they had mobile phones and the Internet to distract them.  Sadly, Oscar Hammerstein  II died of cancer just nine months after the opening of the musical, so it wasn’t one of his “favourite things” for very long – although, obviously, the world lapped it up.

This November, a brand new version is returning to the West End, produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and directed by Jeremy Sams.  Brilliant, we cry, how fantastic, a true musical classic, hoorah!  However, nothing’s sacred anymore, is it.  You’re probably aware of the BBC’s intentions to cast a total random as Maria Von Trapp, via the reality TV contest ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria?’  Every week, the public gets to break another heart and crush another young thespian’s dream of hitting it big on the Palladium stage, by voting off the girl who looks rubbish in her chosen dress, or trips slightly on her expensive heel, or, (very rarely so it’s obviously not that important), hits a dud note. 

It’s positively joyous.  How we love this heinous way of hand-picking our celebrities.  Unfortunately, there’s a lot at stake with this one.  Whoever wins will be taking to the scariest stage in the UK, and thrust into the spotlight before thousands of paying critics.  It’s not Pop Idol.  Theatregoers are cruel.  They know what they want, what they like, and with musical shows costing anything up to £50 a ticket these days, these people want to be sure that whoever they’re trusting to belt out their classic faves, does so to perfection.

Plus, there’s no editing with this one. No clever backing tracks or mixing to disguise a flaw.  The winner must be pitch perfect and ooze a confidence like no other.  She must take to the role like a goat takes to tasty fencepost. She must shine.

So, do any of the potential Maria’s on offer look suitable?  Personally, I like Connie.  She’s only 23 but can out-act anyone on the programme.  You believe her when she sings.  The others might have good voices but hers draws you in with a passion that leaks more than just an urge to be famous.  It’s stunning.  However, in an age where looks do matter, does this cheeky lass possess the Von Trapp trimmings?  Of course it shouldn’t matter - she’s pretty, talented and seems to be winning the crowds. But don’t forget, this is reality television.  It can go in any direction. And she hasn’t flashed nearly as much cleavage as temptress Siobhan.

This blonde bombshell is, in my humble opinion, probably more suited to a pop career than the boards of Broadway or London, but the girl is gorgeous – any man with a doe and a deer would give his left testicle to be with a nun like that.  You always want what you can’t have, after all.

Also up on offer we have Leanne – the baby of the group at just 20 years old.  She’s definitely got a powerful voice (did you hear her belt our Bjork in the first week?) But would someone that young be believable as a wizened nun?  And would a girl with such a wicked twinkle in her eye really have been able to resist the Captain's charms for quite so long? Hmmm...

Talking about the believability factor, what about Simona, a receptionist and actress from Romania?  She’s fantastic but is battling with her accent.  Would a theatre full of critics believe a Romanian Maria?  And at the end of the day, in spite of the panel’s insistence that she change, does she really want to? - "I don't think about the accent when I'm actually acting," she said. "It's about the meaning and what you put in it. It's such a part of you that you don't think it exists. It's inside of you, but you just have to let everyone know that it exists."

Fair play.  It’s definitely a battle worth watching and whoever wins it’s a sure bet that by the time November rolls around, fans of the show as well as the musical will be itching to see their winner on stage.  In fact, it's quite possible that by then, the only sound in the West End, come November, will be the sound of music…

Book your tickets now
Who’s your favourite to win? Post your comments below.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers...

What’s it like?
You can use your imagination for this one.  Think towns versus mountains, boys versus girls and a whole load of dresses like the ones worn by those dolls your gran used to sit over the spare loo rolls in the bathroom – ie – big, floaty and highly impractical for dancing.  Of course, there’s dancing. Ain’t no clothing gettin’ in the way of a good ol’ knees up.

What’s it about?
You’ve seen the film, right?  Or did you switch it off half way through because you couldn’t stand the sexist attitude of the bloke in the lead role – a mountain man so handsome, so rugged, so perfect for our female heroine that he’s bound to be flawed?  And he is, obviously.  He’s a sexist pig who wears far too many checked flannelled shirts to be taken seriously, but hey, without these minor setbacks, there would be no story, there would be no music and there sure as hell would be no reason to sit in this here theatre.

Basically it’s set in Oregon in 1850 and is the story of how our masculine lead comes around and realises the woman he strolled into town and married just so she’d cook and clean for himself and his six disgusting brothers, is not about to settle for a life in his shadow.  She wants equality, dammit. And quite possibly, a man for all her girl friends too, so she’s still got some people in the hills to paint her nails with.

Who’s in it?
Dave Willetts - direct from his West End starring role in Cats, plays Adam Pontipee. He’s also been in other West End shows including Les Miserables, and Phantom of the Opera. So yes, he can sing. He’s really believable as the gruff beloved, actually. (Oh for a mountain man of my very own – ed)

Shona Lindsay – she’s also been in Phantom of the Opera and Grease.  You can just see her as Sandy or another lead, especially with her curly locks.  She plays sweet yet feisty Milly to perfection.

Apart from that,… six guys who start off as scruffy Neanderthals and are eventually resurrected as handsome, worthy partners for Millie’s six (rather desperate, unfortunately) friends.

What should I look for?
Well, we’d hope that they’ve fixed the DVD player now… it didn’t work for about ten minutes at the start so we were forced to listen to the orchestra playing the opening tune on loop until they fixed it, but the projected scenes are really cool. Look out for the avalanche which falls behind the brothers after they’ve kidnapped their would-be brides.  You’ll also recognise some of the songs you didn’t think you would, how about 'Wonderful Wonderful Day' 'Goin' Courtin' and 'We Gotta Make It Through the Winter'?

Note also, the way every single song seems to end with the obligatory jazz hands, bent knee crouch positions, or fists high in the air to a resounding “YEAH!”  Amazing.

Verdict
Fabulous costumes, dazzling dance routines and a barn you can actually imagine snuggling up with a loved one in, during a snow storm.  Plus some musical numbers that make your toes tap of their own accord and fit men doing back-flips across the stage.  Altogether, this one’s for the family, your visiting grandparents and anyone who fancies a trip back in time to see how far women have come in the face of the sexist males who dominated households (and barns, and mountains) for far, far too long. 

Book your tickets to the show here

Ask Uncle Ning...

Claire from Bow asked our relationship and advice-in-general guru, Uncle Ning, exactly what she could do this weekend with her elderly gran.  Let's see what Ning pulled out of the bag...

"So the old fossil is coming to visit you for tea and scones. Yeah Whatever!

You should first crack off the night at The Medieval Banquet, with unlimited Beer and wine. That should really get her happy and she will feel right at home with the other crony's from the Victorian Age. Once she's pulled the falsies out and tucked into the four course banquet she'll have energy to burn.

Next stop, Ibiza Spain. Defected in the house @ Pacha - Ibiza Clubbing 2006. If she complains about her hip then just hand her a whiskey and send her up to the dance floor to bust some moves with the house legends like Junior Jack & Kid Crème, Sandy Rivera, Simon Dunmore, Shovell and Trevor Nelson. Book tickets before you go to skip queues and ensure discounts

Pop out of the club around 5am, if you can tear your Gran away from Raul the pool boy, and catch the stunning Spanish sunrise while chowing down on a Spanish Omelette at the local eatery. Get yourself back to London for a two for the price of one Floatation Tank Experience where you and your granny can recover and reflect on living every lastminute.com."

Er, thanks Uncle Ning. No shameless plugging there at all, is there...

strangers with angelic faces...

Catch it before it closes - Tijuana Organic: Women's Border Realities presents artists and projects from Tijuana, Mexico.

Ever wondered what really goes on in the city that acts as a magnet for thousands of migrants, criminals and illegal workers, all hoping to cross the border? This exhibition reveals the harsh realities of life in Tijuana, Mexico.  See real photographic evidence of the sometimes brutal life in this busy and notorious border city, and witness a woman's incredible experiences within its culture.

Tijuana Organic reflects the dynamic cultural scene that has emerged from this tumultuous environment, using a diverse range of media including photography, painting, installation and new media to explore questions of female identity and the evolving role of women in Mexican society.

This exhibition suggests that life is too complex to be reduced to categories, whether they be feminist, immigrant, man, victim, or border, and so includes work that addresses the apparently everyday, common and trivial, making the universal a reflection of the infinite possibility of the human experience.

DON'T MISS. CLOSES ON FRIDAY