(Things we're doing and stuff we like)
Sheekeys has added a new oyster bar that opened 2 weeks ago and is alongside the restaurant. The interior has been done by Martin Brudnizki and is very elegant with burgundy bar stools, wall mounted photographs and subtle lighting. To celebrate the opening of the J. Sheekey Oyster Bar they are offering a glass of Théophile Roederer Champagne with half a dozen Strangford Lough rock oysters for £15.
I’d never been to Dubai before but I knew one of my first stops had to be Atlantis. Clearly visible from the mainland in salmon pink with its distinctive hollow arch, this new hotel is on The Palm Jumeirah and is reached by driving under the sea! With a high- end, boutique mall and a Nobu this billion- and- a- half dollar project is impressive but it’s the open-air, two storey aquarium which steals the show. Housing 65,000 fish, stingrays and a shark the tank dwarfs guests leaving them spellbound. This ocean- themed, 113- acre resort certainly has wow- factor, but at £13,000 a night it might be slightly over budget!
War Horse is based on the celebrated novel by the Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo. The National Theatre’s powerful adaptation follows the tight bond between animals and humans and the slaughter and terror of the First World War. Actors work with astonishingly life-sized puppets (horses, tanks, soldiers, geese etc) designed by the South African Handspring Puppet Company whose movements and sounds are so meticulously captured that one forgets that they’re not actually real. The result is an incredibly moving and imaginative production that all age groups will love.
We braved lashing rain and freezing temperatures to catch Seizure- an art installation created by Roger Hiorns that is also a chemistry experiment on a grand scale. A flat that is part of a housing estate in south east London, and due for demolition, was filled with copper sulphate solution by Hiorns and left for three weeks. The solution was then drained from the flat leaving sparkling blue crystals on the walls, ceiling and floor. The effect, when you walk in, is of some surreal grotto where the recognisable fabric and fittings of the flat assume a strange beauty. It’s on until 30th November but be prepared to queue!
You never forget your first building- the one that made you know, in your heart of hearts, the ineffable power of architecture to evoke emotion through space. Last week I got to ‘meet’ the building that started my love affair with architecture, when I was allowed access to the TWA terminal – designed in 1962 by Eero Saarinen. Although being restored the building has lost none of its iconic splendor. The curves of the design create exhilaration for an airport terminal design that has never been bettered. The original departures board rising up out of an information desk like the head of an alien was breathtaking.
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Moblog
Fashion Talk Series at The Arts Club - London
Chelsea Textiles at MaisonObjet
Deco off paris
Jim thompson showroom paris
Royal morceau paris