Fat Duck's Heston Blumenthal: How to Cook Creatively with Sherry

I had a brilliant time at the Heston Blumenthal sherry and food pairing back in September. This six minute cooking video is an excellent reminder of the yummy lessons learned that night:

London Daily Photo: Old Street Stare

London Daily Photo: Old Street Stare
Photography by Chris Osburn © 2008
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Frieze Art Fair: Chapman Brothers Signing Money

Jake and Dinos Chapman signing money at the 10 October preview of the 2007 Frieze Art Fair.


Photography by Chris Osburn © 2007

Madonna at Exmouth Market or Don't leave home without your camera!

Note to self: Always always always take your camera with you, dummy!

A lesson that's been impressed upon me many times (especially over the past year) but that I still can't seem to heed, is this: if I leave my camera at home, I'm sure to happen upon a very photogenic moment. Case in point: Friday around midday, I needed to go out to run some errands. Before leaving, I took a good long look at my camera bag, wondering if I should sling it across my shoulder for my brief outing. 'Nah,' I thought, 'I'm not going to be out that long or going anywhere interesting.'

So, I walked up to nearby Exmouth Market where I happened upon a huge crowd gathered around some vans, camera and lighting equipment, people walking around with clipboards, and ... Madonna, who was working on an upcoming film. Just a few minutes from my flat, I made a U-turn, heading back for my camera. Less than 10 minutes later, I returned to a much more mundane scene: no crowd, no vans, no clipboards, no Madonna. Oh well. Click here for some photos by some Flickr folks with a little more luck than I had.

Anyway, I took being out with the camera as an opportunity to take some shots of a couple of Banksy pieces, one of which has been getting an awful lot of publicity (like this, this and this) as being a new piece. However, I can verify that it's been there at least a year when I first noticed it. The other (the rat) seems to have fallen victim to a zealous but ineffective art collector.

Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007

Blair likes his tea "properly strong"

Blair pines for 'good cup of tea'
He may be keeping tight-lipped about what he plans to do next, but Tony Blair has revealed one major regret about his time in power.
BBC News
Last Updated: Friday, 18 May 2007, 14:15 GMT 15:15 UK










[Blair] ... said he wanted to uphold the British tradition of a well-made cup of tea.

Click here for complete article.

Shilpa Shetty Dining Hall

Shetty said to plan UK curry houses
Reuters UK
Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:26AM BST

Shilpa Shetty, the winner of reality television show "Celebrity Big Brother", will open a chain of Indian curry houses in Britain, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Click here for complete article.

Wondering why you can't get into Mahiki?

This might have something to do with it:

Prince Harry et al at l’esculsivo Mahiki Club

Wow. Rich and powerful people at Mahiki. Even the Italian papers are taking notice. Thanks to Emiana for pointing me in the direction of these articles.

Harry out on the town... again
By JAMIE PYATTand TOM REILLY
Sun Online
February 08, 2007

[Prince Harry] ... arrives at trendy Mahiki nightclub in London’s Mayfair with 15 pals including Guy Pelly and ex-girlfriend Natalie Pinkham. They meet Madonna and hubby Guy Ritchie in club. Glamour model Dita Von Teese and Big Brother’s Donny Tourette, from punk band Towers of London, are also present.

Click here for complete article.

Principe Harry, notte brava con Madonna
Dallo stadio alla festa in discoteca con la popstar: la nottata del giovane Windsor (annaffiata dall'alcol) raccontata dal Sun
Corriere della Serra
09 febbraio 2007

Alle 22 Harry lascia il terreno di gioco e un’ora e mezzo dopo, presumibilmente rimandati i commilitoni in caserma, si presenta all’esculsivo Mahiki Club insieme a 15 amici tra cui la ex Natalie Pinkham (la fidanzata Chelsy Davy è impegnata in un lungo viaggio); tra gli altri clienti Madonna con il marito Guy Ritchie e la modella Dita von Teese.

Click here for complete article.

Dave Gorman on Flickr

Although you probably know him best for his documentary-style comedy, Dave Gorman is quite the London photographer too.










Click here to check out his work at Flickr.

Disney does Sir Elton John

Did anybody else chuckle when they saw this pic on page 7 of thelondonpaper yesterday? Hilarious.