Oct 22, 2009

60 fun things in a year

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I  was reading my friend Emma’s blog earlier this week and saw her list of 60 fun things she wants to do over the next year. Why 60? Well as she explains, after work and other necessary activities there’s space for 60 fun things to do each year. I think it’s a really good idea, so I’m going to make my own. And I’m going to stick to it. But I’m going to impose a few guidelines to make it a bit more achievable:
(a) Everything must be under £50. Like Emma, I’d love to eat at The Fat Duck but it isn’t going to happen on my budget at the minute. Also, do you have any idea how much lipgloss I could buy for the price of a starter? Rimmel wins.
(b) Everything must be in London. That means I have absolutely no excuse not to do anything on my list. There’s so much to see and do in London that I don’t feel I’m limiting myself by doing that.
(c) The list must only include things I haven’t done before.
Alex’s 60 fun things:
1. Go clubbing until the sun comes up
2. Throw a girly sleepover
3. Go to the Prince Charles Cinema
4. Find the perfect red (not plum, not rose brown but full-on red) lipstick at Selfridges
5. Go to Harrod’s
6. Go on a ghost walk
7. Try an absinthe cocktail
8. See a burlesque show
9. Make a risotto that doesn’t resemble wallpaper paste
10. Go to an art gallery in the evening
11. See a stand-up comedian
12. Visit Sir John Soanes’ Museum by candlelight
13. Take my two youngest sisters to London Zoo for the first time
14. Go to a costume party
15. Buy fancy underwear without blushing at the till
16. Go to a Bedtime Story Night at the 40 Winks Hotel
17. Spend an afternoon in Greenwich
18. Get to know Shoreditch
19. Have an evening picnic
20. Go to Borough Market
21. Do a pub crawl
22. Eat the best pizza in London (apparently) at Franco Manca
23. Go to 69 Colebrooke Row for a cocktail
24. Visit the Museum of London
25. See the Magna Carta at the British Library
26. Go shopping for vinyls
27. See a film with subtitles at The BFI Southbank
28. Watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show
29. Go to the Jazz Cafe
30. See a play at Shakespeare’s Globe
31. See a play at a pub theatre, like King’s Head
32. Go to the Breakfast Club
33. Take part in a pub quiz
34. Make raspberry lemonade
35. Go to a music festival
36. Go to a champagne bar
37. Visit St. John’s Crypt
38. Take afternoon tea at The Wolseley
39. Take a guided tour of Tyburn Convent
40. Go to a spa
41. Try a Brooklyn Blackout Cake from Hummingbird Bakery
42. Spend an evening inside Gordon’s Wine Bar
43. Go to the Grant Museum of Zoology
44. Go on the London Eye at night
45. Try a macaroon from Laduree
46. Go to Westminster Abbey
47. Rent a deckchair at Green Park
48. Row a boat down the Serpentine
49. Go to KOKO in Camden
50. Take in the view at Primrose Hill
51. Finally get round to watching North By North-West
52. Buy a brownie from Paul A. Young’s
53. Go to a concert
54. See ballet at the Royal Opera House
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.

I  was reading my friend Emma’s blog earlier this week and saw her list of 60 fun things she wants to do over the next year. Why 60? Well as she explains, after work and other necessary activities there’s space for 60 fun things to do each year. I think it’s a really good idea, so I’m going to make my own. And I’m going to stick to it. But I’m going to impose a few guidelines to make it a bit more achievable:

(a) Everything must be under £50. Like Emma, I’d love to eat at The Fat Duck but it isn’t going to happen on my budget at the minute. Also, do you have any idea how much lipgloss I could buy for the price of a starter? Rimmel wins.

(b) Everything must be in London. That means I have absolutely no excuse not to do anything on my list. There’s so much to see and do in London that I don’t feel I’m limiting myself by doing that.

(c) The list must only include things I haven’t done before.

Alex’s 60 fun things:

1. Go clubbing until the sun comes up

2. Throw a girly sleepover

3. Go to the Prince Charles Cinema

4. Find the perfect red (not plum, not rose brown but full-on red) lipstick at Selfridges

5. Go to Harrod’s

6. Go on a ghost walk

7. Try an absinthe cocktail

8. See a burlesque show

9. Make a risotto that doesn’t resemble wallpaper paste

10. Go to an art gallery in the evening

11. See a stand-up comedian

12. Visit Sir John Soanes’ Museum by candlelight

13. Take my two youngest sisters to London Zoo for the first time

14. Go to a costume party

15. Buy fancy underwear without blushing at the till

16. Go to a Bedtime Story Night at the 40 Winks Hotel

17. Spend an afternoon in Greenwich

18. Get to know Shoreditch

19. Have an evening picnic

20. Go to Borough Market

21. Do a pub crawl

22. Eat the best pizza in London (apparently) at Franco Manca

23. Go to 69 Colebrooke Row for a cocktail

24. Visit the Museum of London

25. See the Magna Carta at the British Library

26. Go shopping for vinyls

27. See a film with subtitles at The BFI Southbank

28. Watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show

29. Go to the Jazz Cafe

30. See a play at Shakespeare’s Globe

31. See a play at a pub theatre, like King’s Head

32. Go to the Breakfast Club

33. Take part in a pub quiz

34. Make raspberry lemonade

35. Go to a music festival

36. Go to a champagne bar

37. Visit St. John’s Crypt

38. Take afternoon tea at The Wolseley

39. Take a guided tour of Tyburn Convent

40. Go to a spa

41. Try a Brooklyn Blackout Cake from Hummingbird Bakery

42. Spend an evening inside Gordon’s Wine Bar

43. Go to the Grant Museum of Zoology

44. Go on the London Eye at night

45. Try a macaroon from Laduree

46. Go to Westminster Abbey

47. Rent a deckchair at Green Park

48. Row a boat down the Serpentine

49. Go to KOKO in Camden

50. Take in the view at Primrose Hill

51. Finally get round to watching North By North-West

52. Buy a brownie from Paul A. Young’s

53. Go to a concert

54. See ballet at the Royal Opera House

55. Find the perfect chocolate brownie

…And that’s all I’ve got? Any suggestions for filling up the last five spots?

Filed Under: Fun & Games · Tagged: , ,
Oct 21, 2009

“Look mum, I’m in Time Out!”

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Remember when I interned at Time Out over the Summer? Well in my two-week stint, they let me help out loads on the  2009/10 Student Guide and I even got a few things published.

And I’m very pleased. Not least because I would eat kittens for a byline in Time Out, but because the Student Guide is a really fantastic magazine – certainly the best student-aimed publication I’ve read. It’s incredibly useful without being patronising, and I’m very proud to have worked on it.

Regardez:

That’s a whole page with my writing! All about interiors, which is apt considering I write for Domestic Sluttery.

to_makeover

And another full page all about Camden, which I co-wrote (it’s mostly my writing though – soz Josh Heller!):

to_camden_intro

A little write-up about art fairs:

to_artfair

Not to mention a few bylines I got for additional research (e.g. tramping around East London art galleries).

I’m going to be unbearably smug over the next few days. Just so you know.

Filed Under: Life Things, Writery Things · Tagged: , , ,
Oct 16, 2009

I’m doing that thing again

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You know, where I eschew social contact in favour of holing up in front of the telly. Or in the bath. Or going to bed at 9.15pm. It’s not very good, but I like it. So why stop?

Because I have a niggling feeling that it’s not that healthy. So what to do?

Answers on a postcard please.

Filed Under: Brain Dumps, Life Things · Tagged: ,
Oct 11, 2009

I got a Posterous!

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Social media whore that I am, there’s few things I like more than a new blogging platform. I’ve had various flings with Tumblr and Blogger before settling on WordPress, so it’s only fair to give Posterous a try too. (By the way, if you don’t know how Posterous works then read this Mashable post –  it’ll explain it far better than I ever could.)

On my Posterous, I’ll be posting the stuff that I find online when I’m supposed to be doing something more constructive. It’s basically the stuff that doesn’t quite constitute a blog post, but deserves more attention than a tweet. And  anywhere I can wax lyrical about Mayer Hawthorne and My Milk Toof will always get a thumbs-up from me.

Alex Sheppard’s Posterous. Subscribe and that. Go on. Please.

Filed Under: Writery Things · Tagged: , , ,
Oct 5, 2009

The month that was…September

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My last blog post was a bit rubbish, really. Bullet points are fine once in a while but, if I’m to practice my writing in this blog, it’s pretty poor form. So I’ve edited it and given it a bit more attention. Wow, I feel much better now.

When I first got my blog, I meant to do monthly reviews as a way of keeping track of the good things that happened (kind of like a diary minus the gossip). But I didn’t because I’ve been busy and generally a bit rubbish. So, here is the inaugural ‘Month that was…’ post. Take it away, September:

Twestival

I’ve always thought that there’s a direct correlation between the awesomeness of a night out and the intensity of the subsequent hangover. Twestival London proved that theory correct – worst hangover of the year. Even thinking about the sparkly pink wine (which was very nice) makes me feel a bit queasy. Brr. Enough of hangover talk.

Anyway, because of said hangover I don’t remember a great deal about what happened. I do remember the sheer size of Vinopolis (the venue), bumping into lots of people I chatted to on Twitter and somehow making it to the Spoonfed party in Shoreditch. If someone could remind me about what happened in between, I’d be grateful.

Sluttery in your Inbox

Domestic Sluttery let me be their Newsletter Editor (yay! woot! etc!), which means that once a fortnight I put together an email full of prettiness (and Sian double-checks I’ve spelt “stationery” correctly). Our first newsletter went out on September 21st and we’re rather proud if it.

Also: Check us out in the November issue of Ideal Home magazine!

Wilton’s Music Hall

Wilton’s is one of the most beautiful venues I’ve visited in London. It’s the world’s oldest surviving music hall and has a decrepit, spooky charm that makes it perfect for “gothabilly” bands like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and rather strange cabaret acts. There’s a lovely little bar (with cocktails!) and it’s very cosy. I visited a couple of times in September and fell in love with it – it’s a really amazing building. I think I’d like to have my wedding reception here. That’s if it survives – it’s semi-derelict and needs to raise a huge amount of money to stay open.

Qyper of the Week

The lovely people at Qype.co.uk made me their Qyper of the Week in September! I got my face in the newsletter, Jess gave me a lovely write-up on the blog and a big bag of sweets aaaaaall to myself. See? Staying in on a Friday night typing reviews does have it’s rewards.

And finally…

…I done got me a new job! It’s at Webjam and I blogged about it’s brillance here, including the fact that I finish at 1pm. As it’s only part-time, I’m still on the hunt for something to do in the afternoons. I should mention that people who find me jobs get plied with cocktails for their trouble. Just sayin’.

Filed Under: Fun & Games · Tagged: , ,
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