Bella Valentino

So this weekend I worshipped at the temple of a designer God with a visit to the Valentino exhibition at Somerset House. The three month long exhibition, celebrates the talent and glamour of Valentino, who has been one of the leading forces in fashion for the last half century.

Now everyone knows Valentino, well maybe not personally, but you'll have heard of his name at least. His stunning gowns have graced the stars of the golden age of Hollywood right through to modern day Oscar winners.  

After quite a long queue in the snow, plus a struggle to find my e-ticket hidden among my emails, I was finally permitted to enter the hallowed exhibition and what a feast for the eyes it was. 

From the moment you step inside you are swept up in a journey exploring the very beginnings of Valentino through to his break in to the fashion world. 

From letters of congratulations from Anna Wintour to glorious photos of Jackie Onassis in head to toe Valentino, you can't help but be amazed at the impact that one single man has had on the lives of women across the world. 

Aside from the letters of love for Valentino, my favourite part was the opportunity to parade down a catwalk whilst designer dresses spectate. I had to hold myself back from jumping over the barrier and attempting to squeeze myself in to Julie Roberts dress from her successful trip to the Oscars in 2008.

If you love fashion, dream of elegantly sweeping down red carpets wrapped in designer dresses or simply like me enjoy staring at pretty things then hot tail it to this exhibition before it closes. You've only got a few days left to enjoy it!

Ping Pong Madness

So this weekend I decided to drop in to Pongathon at the Village Underground in Shoreditch to check out why everyone is obsessed with ping pong.

Now originally I thought we would be watching ping pong masters in action, but alas as usual I was wrong. We were in fact the competitors.

You could enter one or as many different competitions as you wanted. You could make a bid for glory on your own, battle with a buddy, fight against the machine, play sofa ping pong or indulge in mini ping pong.

Not confident in our abilities, my sister and I chose mini ping pong. This was quite possibly the worst decision we've ever made together. One of us has no spacial awareness, whilst the other has an aversion to games with balls.

After some dutch courage, a free cranberry and vodka, my sister and I took up our mini paddles to face our competition. Could we be in with a chance of winning?

Well to cut a long story short we lost every game. I had a John McEnroe style meltdown and we most definitely won't be on the plane to Rio.

Murder in the Library

So this weekend I indulged my passion for crime fiction and ventured to the British Library to check out their ‘Murder in the Library’ exhibition.

I am a little obsessed with Agatha Christie and have long held a dream that when I draw my pension I’ll transform into a crime sleuth like Miss Marple. It’ll be murder solved in time for tea and cake every day.

Yes, it is a rather small exhibition hidden at the back of the library, but I think the saying small but mighty, is quite true. As you are guided through the A-Z of crime you can’t help, but exclaim in surprise at some facts or desperately want to smash the glass to get hold of original Arthur Conan Doyle manuscripts.

For instance did you know that one in three novels published in English around the world is a crime novel? That the very first official mystery novel was Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 novel ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ or that the word detective didn’t appear in the English dictionary till 1843.

I’m still trying to get my head around some of the people who have picked up the pen to enter the literary world. Who would have thought that Pele and Terry Venables hid desires to be writers off the pitch?

I've never been to the British Library (shock horror), but this has to be one of the best free exhibitions that I have been to in a long time. You are captivated from A-Z and can’t help but take note of authors to learn more about and continue the exploration into the world of crime fiction.

If there are any aspiring detective novelists out there, then below is ‘The Decalogue’, Ronald Knox’s rules, if not slightly absurd, for detective fiction.

1.	The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow
2.	All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course
3.	Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable
4.	No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end
5.	No Chinaman must figure in the story
6.	No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right
7.	The detective must not himself commit the crime
8.	The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader
9.	The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader
10.	Twin brothers and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them

Works of Ice

So this weekend I decided to brave the cold weather and head to Canary Wharf for the annual London Ice Sculpting Festival.

Sculptors from all over the world descended upon the Isle of Dogs to compete against one another; show off their skills and win one of the many coveted titles up for grabs throughout the weekend.

Each year there is an interesting theme to drive the creativity of the sculpting geniuses and this year was no exception as they were challenged with the themes of ‘The Wonders of the Universe’ and ‘Infinity.’

I have an irrational fear of ice, one too many bum meets pavement incidents for my liking. However; this didn't stop me from venturing across, on floats, to Wood Wharf to see the impressive ice sculptors created by the Latvians, Dutch and the Americans, just to name a few.

There’s something quite sad, but spectacular about ice works. They are not permanent and their memory will only live on through a camera lens. However; their beauty is unlike anything I have ever seen and even if it is only temporary it still holds some magic and reminds me of Edwards Scissorhands.

There was the opportunity for you try your hand at sculpting, but I decided to leave it to the experts. Okay so that’s a lie it was because my hands were absolutely frozen!

Enough of my jabbering on, just take a look at these beauties!

A Revlonutionary 80th

So this weekend I immersed myself in the wonderful world of Revlon as they celebrated 80 years as one of the pioneers of the cosmetic industry.

To mark the occasion, a pop up exhibition appeared at the London Film Museum to entertain fashion and make-up enthusiasts for one weekend only.

Treasured artifacts including iconic adverts and a pot of nail varnish from the 40's mingled with art installations created by young artists to capture the essence and impact of Revlon. 

I'm very familiar with the Revlon brand, but I must admit that I've never purchased any of their make-up - yup just feeling a little bit guilty. However, as you wander around the exhibition it's clear to see that women have been caught up in a passionate love affair with Revlon for the last eight decades. 

I always find it strange that you always find out unusual facts about a brand when they celebrate a key milestone. For instance, did you know that nail varnish is a weaker form of car paint? That the reason that Louboutin shoes have red soles is because Christian Louboutin used Revlon nail varnish to get rid of the black sole. 

Just remember girls the wise words of Charles Revson - the colour of your lips should always match your nails!

Creativity or Hyperactivity?

So this weekend I decided that Tuesday is the new Friday night as I opted to check out one of the free public lectures at the London School of Economics.

Sadly I didn't follow my father or brother in to the world of finance and if I'm honest I've never been fussed about economics. However, thanks to a random spot on Facebook, I discovered that the university happened to be hosting a debate right up my street - the creative mind.

Now I'm a firm believer that each and every one of us has some inkling of creativity in our minds. Unfortunately we are just not that great at accessing this creativity nor are we given many opportunities to do so as we are a society obsessed with fact over fiction.

Unluckily for society I love fiction and take every opportunity to be creative or as my friends describe it "hyperactive." It also happens to come in handy as my profession requires a good bit of creativity.

With a prime position in the lecture theatre (has it really been four years since I last stepped in to the educational arena?) I embraced the philosophical, psychological and linguistically to explain creativity.

Chaired by Dr Kristina Musholt we were overwhelmed by the knowledge and passion of the expert panel. Professor Margaret Boden, Research Professor of Cognitive Science, broke down the word 'creative' in to three key words - new, surprising and valuable. A sleep deprived Professor Nicholas Royle, professor of English, created anagrams from the word creative, but the most thought provoking was philosophy professor Gregory Currie.

He listed four ways to look at creativity which will now shape how I think in the future.

1. Don't think of creativity as special

2. Don't over-intellectualise creativity

3. Don't think exclusively about individuals

4. Creativity has cognitive costs

Check out the LSE website, www.lse.ac.uk, to find out more about their public lectures and to see what's coming up!

Hidden Gem in Cannonbury

So this weekend I decided to get my dose of weekly culture and learn more about modern Italian art by taking a trip to the Estorick Collection. 

Now it's not the most well-known gallery and to most it just looks like a residential property in Canonbury Square. However, behind the Georgian facade is Eric Estorick's prestigious collection of paintings and prints from the Italian futurism era. 

My impromptu visit coincided with their latest exhibition which included works of art by Italian artist Bruno Munari. Not only was he one of the leaders of the futurist movement, but he also set up the first advertising company in Italy.

A mixture of intricate sketches, designs using various mediums and obscure art installations, Bruno was acknowledged as the twentieth century Leonardo. I particularly enjoyed his sketches and interpretations of objects and link between technology and art. Despite enjoying Bruno's work I felt confused with some of the other paintings on display especially one called the boxer. I tilted my head, squinted my eyes, stood up close and stood far away, but it looked nothing like a boxer.

I know my sister will be shaking her head as she reads this as she has seen first hand what my feelings are towards modern art. Art is not a piece of plain paper and I don't feel the need to splash out on a Tracy Emin original - I have my own version of unmade bed every day thank you very much. Yet I found myself intrigued by Bruno's work. Am I finally becoming a modernist? I doubt it as nothing will dampen my love for the pre-raphelites! 

I will leave you with this quote from an interview with Bruno in the 1950's. It really puts in to perspective the changing movements of the art world and how sooner or later we will have to move on with the times, but not just yet!

"Art is not dead, it has merely altered course and this is where we must look for it. It no longer responds to the old" - 1952