Londonewcastle were fortunate enough to stay in the beautiful Mears Ashby Hall, located in the countryside of Northamptonshire.

Ready to meet and greet us at the front door was our butler Martin, who was with us for the rest of our stay and took care of any requests.

After some lunch in the garden we were all ready to get started on some activities. As we were on farmland there was really only one thing we could do - clay pigeon shooting. We all really enjoyed this as some were complete beginners and others had taken part before. We were briefed before and had an instructor with us the whole time.

Once we had finished our afternoon activity, we headed back in to get ready for the evening ahead. The girls from Lipstick and Curls arrived to help the ladies with their hair and makeup. Once we felt glamorous enough, the costumes were on and we headed downstairs to enjoy canapes and a live Swing band.

Dinner was served and was truly delicious - three courses cooked by the fantastic Wowhouse Caterers. Joining us for dinner were The Murder Experts who put on a murder mystery to remember.

For the rest of the evening we were entertained by the Twin Swing duo, and enjoyed cocktails made by the staff from Mobar Hire.

For more details on the companies we used please see below.

The latest artwork to grace the buzzing South Hall of Covent Garden is a truly beautiful installation by Charles Pétillon.

Heartbeat was created by the French Artist to symbolise the movement and history of the area and has really brought to life the iconic building in the West End. The lighting feature of the artwork begins daily at 7pm, in which you can really capture and admire both the simplicity and the thought process that has gone into the sculpture.

A pop-up gallery has also been opened in the plaza, allowing you to see other work from Charles Pétillon and view a short film about the installation.

Heartbeat will be open to the public daily until the 27th September. Click here for more information.

London is heaving with coffee shops. From Pret A Manger to Starbucks to Costa, you can’t turn a street corner without seeing one. But growing alongside these huge chains are the more trendy shops, the type that don’t have to scream out for your attention and showcase an unappealing lengthy queue. As popular as the huge chains are, I feel that they often lack character and the coffee doesn’t impress as much as you’d hope.

Whilst walking through Bishopsgate and Spitalfields Market, I came across a chain that I had never heard of before - Department of Coffee and Social Affairs. Both shops were unique had completely different layouts and interiors; Bishopsgate was light and open with windows and an organised seating area, whereas the Spitalfields shop kept with the market theme and was set in a small corner comprising of open brickwork and just a few benches to share with other customers.

Whilst being a little on the expensive side, you get to choose which coffee beans you would like for your brew and the staff make your visit really enjoyable. I think Department of Coffee and Social Affairs should be the place you visit next to give you your morning coffee hit.

For more information and locations, click here.

Not that we’ve been blessed with a sweltering hot Summer, but it’s still warm enough to want something cold after being stuck in the office all week or on the tube.

Whilst ice cream would be most people’s port of call, others still wish to watch the calories. So instead of a fattening Mr Whippy, you can now get fat-free frozen yoghurt from Yog.

They offer a range of yoghurt flavours such as natural, dark chocolate, pomegranate, passion fruit and coconut. These are all lovely on their own, but if you want to make it even better you can add toppings like mini brownies/oreos, blueberries, strawberries, smarties, granola and banana.

Click here to find your nearest Yog shop.

Strolling through Soho in the sunshine the other day I spotted a glorious new shop - Crosstown Doughnuts. Having already used up my lunch hour I came back to the office and hit their name into Google.

Now I’m a fan of Krispy Kreme, but I’ve been dying to try something new: enter Crosstown - offering a wide variety of original doughnut flavours such as Creme Brûlée, Seven Berry Glaze and Peanut Butter and Berry, to name a few. Aside from the wacky collection they present, what really impressed me was that they are made from sourdough - the new ingredient that seems to have taken over the bakery world.

Now you can forget about the £12 mixed dozen you’re used to, as a box from Crosstown will set you back around £30. But if you fancy a sweet treat to satisfy your afternoon cravings and don’t intend on buying a box for your office, then head on over to Crosstown - you won’t regret it.

For more info visit their website.

Londonewcastle threw a wedding party to remember for Emma and Dorota, who are both getting married in the next two weeks. All members of staff joined in to congratulate the girls at the event held on our roof terrace at Londonewcastle. Complete with veils, pizzas, Pimms and champagne we gave them a great send off.

We would like to congratulate both girls (and their future husbands) and we hope that they both have lovely, memorable days.

It’s London Collections: Menswear once again and Londonewcastle is proud to be supporting our good friends at British brand YMC / You Must Create by co-sponsoring their Autumn/ Winter 2015 Collection Show to be held at the Old Sorting Office on Saturday 10th January before the party rolls onto The Cavendish in Marylebone for some after-show madness.

Regretably, both events are invite only, so if your name’s not down…

www.youmustcreate.com

Does Marylebone really need another drinking and dining establishment? Well, if it’s this good then yes, it bloody well does. Tucked away just off the upper stretch of Marylebone High Street (at 35 New Cavendish Street) this establishment has been given a new lease of life - and then some.

A lot of thought and attention to detail has been lavished on this place - to create a spot that you want to visit - not just once, but time and again whether its for a quick drink or a long lingering dinner.

A fine bar with views onto the elegant Regency streets outside through open shelving; skilled barman equally adept at pouring you a pint as mixing you a cocktail;

sophisticated bar bites on one side and an inventive menu that mixes modern European influence, with a dose of Spanish and Britishness into the mix in the first floor dining room on the other;

an edited wine list with some firm favourites and a few surprise finds (notably Antinori’s sublime Cervaro della Sala - drink this and tell me you still don’t like Chardonnay); and a cigar list too (Cohiba’s for players and Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto’s for those in the know).

But don’t take my word for it - book a table and go and see for yourself.

THE CAVENDISH 35 NEW CAVENDISH ST MARYLEBONE LONDON W1G 9TR

020 7487 3030 www.35newcavendish.co.uk/

info@no35cavendish.co.uk

Walking back to the office after lunch along the Derwent London regenerated Stephen and Gresse Streets, I came across this scene that seems to sum up the area in transition pretty well…

Rather than a residential development, today’s post concerns a new bar and restaurant to open very soon in Marylebone. Replacing a rather confused tapas/ beer joint in a handsome building at 35 New Cavendish Street (just off the mid to top end of Marylebone High Street), the new place will offer something new in the area’s rather well-endowed food and dining scene.

More information to following in a week or two - but if you want to get in on the action early then visit www.35newcavendish.co.uk and follow the links for their Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Works are coming to a completion at our new development in Clerkenwell - situated off the perennially attractive Exmouth Market. Th shots below give a glimpse of what buyers can expect from the 4 luxury duplex penthouse apartments within.

The architects - Macdowell + Benedetti have done a fantastic job on the external appearance of the building - retaining the historic facade while bringing it bang up to date with refurbished and new windows and frames in gloss black that really complement the brickwork.

Internally, an expressive materials palette has been used by interior designers The Sheldon Studio, including cracked bronze feature panels that connect the kitchen and living/ dining areas.

The apartments, priced from £1.375m, are available for viewing now through our joint sole agents Hurford Salvi Carr 020 7250 1012 and Pilcher Hershman 020 7399 8600.

At last I’ve made it to the top … the top of London, that is. After sweeping aside all of the grumbling about the cost (£25 per visitor), I took the twin lifts (why not one? Must be a reason, though it remains unexplained…) up to the 68th floor and then the stairs up to the open air viewing platform on the 72nd floor. Thankfully, London was enjoying a sunny spell so the temperature was comfortable up there in the clouds (actually all of the clouds seemed to be higher up in the sky).

So was it any good? Hell yes … if you love London and our ever-changing skyline. Weirdly the position of the tower is not the best point in London in which to enjoy 360 degree views, but some really interesting things pop out like: (1) the amount of railway lines - and trains - that run from Waterloo to and beyond London Bridge; (2) the fact that the Walkie-Talkie building shadows out not only the Cheesegrater, but the fantastic Lloyd’s building, lost to all but the keenest of eyes (look low and spot the pipes); (3) how like Central Park Hyde Park looks from this angle; (4) How ugly the new St Bart’s hospital is; (5) ditto Strata in Elephant & Castle - with its joke turbines stationery on the roof; (6) and of course, how many great development sites there still are!

Bad Points? Yes - the entry point and all of the graphics throughout are beyond naff - seems they got ideas from ten different agencies and implemented all of them at random BUT with no actual information about the building (there is one schematic but it’s by the lifts and you are ushered passed it before you have time to consider it fully).

Tips: - don’t waste time on the 69th floor, hit 72nd straight away - The coffee at the ground floor cafe in the Shangri-La is excellent - Don’t plan on popping to the restaurants between 31st and 33rd if you are wearing sneakers (how provincial?!).

A recent site visit to our new boutique development on Rosebery Avenue, just off Exmouth Market, revealed work is continuing at a pace for a proposed completion in early-May.

The new roof is on and the apartments are being formed on the inside. No windows in yet, but the openings look big and the view from the south-facing roof terraces towards St Paul’s and the city’s new skyscrapers (The Shard, Cheesegrater, walkie-talkie etc as well as icons like 201 Broadgate and the Barbican) is a view that no lover of London will ever tire of.

No launch date or pricing as yet. More information here.

A clash of the titans was avoided by an intelligent Monocle 24 radio debate between Robert Soning, COO of Londonewcastle and Nigel Barker, London Planner & Conservation Officer for English Heritage on the subject of Demolition: When is it time to clear it all away and start afresh?

The debate focuses on those who decide when to list buildings, those who build new, and the artists, activists and architects that are taking action.

NB: “Each owner should be regarded as a custodian.”

RS: “There is tension, but English Heritage is vital in cities like London. Each area and building should be judged on its own merits…”

RS: “There is a long hard process to go through and it’s not for the faint hearted.”

Click here to listen to the full show online.

Click here to subscribe to the show on iTunes.

About The Urbanist

Hosted by editor Andrew Tuck, the show is about the people making city life better, from dedicated mayors to hi-tech businesses. monocle.com

The A4 Hammersmith Flyover built in 1961, helps around 90,000 people commute daily in and out of London. It was no surprise that in 2011 when the flyover shut for 5 months to under go emergency repairs due to salt water damage that disruption was caused to tens of thousands of commuters daily lives.

Since then the A4 flyover, further more with the closure of the flyover again during the busy Christmas period of 2012 for emergency repairs again, is often refereed to as an “eye sore”, has been under constant scrutiny.Throughout recent years many possible solutions have been drawn up in an attempt to reduce the noise, pollution as well as fix the physical divide in the community cause by the flyover. But recently the discovery of a disturbing 20 years remaining on the bridges lifespan has promoted a resurgence of ideas which have been flooding into Hammersmith and Fulham Council.

One solution which has quickly gained support from engineers, politicians, and most importantly local residents alike, is the creation of a 2.3 mile “fly-under” or tunnel which would connect Earls Court to the Chiswick roundabout. Put forward by a group of local architects under the name West London Design Link,The fly-under would be constructed with in the 20 years remaining on the Flyover’s life span as well as offer new land to the community which would be used for green spaces, landscaping, and finally the room for development.

One problem West London Design Link will face in implantation of their project is the mouth watering £500 millions it will cost. With idea of the funding coming from Transport for London as the land and flyover is owned by them. With the country in it’s 5th year of economic recession, and with the recent 215 million pounds spent on new buses which have been scrutinized by the public, TfL cannot simply afford the fly-under scheme put forward.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council along with West London Design Link, with cooperation from the local community have come up with a solution. Construction costs of the fly-under will be financed by the sales of the new developments, built on the new space made available from the new tunnel.

With the support from many influential people through out the London community, such as Lord Rogers, M.P. Andy Slaughter,many councils & communities in the area surrounding the proposed location of the tunnel, and finally the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, it looks like that the proposed Hammersmith A4 tunnel is a serious contender in the ever growing pile of solutions for the failing Hammersmith flyover.

Following quotes such as the tunnel being a, “No brainier” from Lord Rogers and, “…the west of London would see it as a huge benefit”

support for the proposed tunnel is ever growing reaching the general public through the press with stories in the Times, Evening Standard, LBC, and on the BBC.

Obviously the 500 million pound cost of the tunnel is restraining the proposed plan from going forward compared to the 1.3 million pounds spent on the flyover originally in 1961, a solution needs to be put in place sooner rather then later in order to prevent any more long term closures, elongated hours of work, and pointless sums of money spent of repairs of the A4 flyover.

At Londonewcastle, we await further developments with interest. The re-establishment of Hammersmith with a proper town centre that links it to the River will no doubt boost the attractiveness of the area and increase land values. Who knows - we could even see Hammersmith as the new Notting Hill? Stranger things have happened…

And we will be right there, playing our part in regenerating the area - with significant experience in developing complex brownfield sites - including the multi-award winning Arundel Square in Islington - where an engineered deck was installed above existing mainline rail lines to green light the development and significant improvements to an under-utilised public garden square.

To the Affordable Art Fair (AAF) Private View in Battersea last night. Always mobbed and proved to be so last night. Just getting there was epic, with traffic at a standstill along Chelsea Bridge Road. No matter, once safely inside and with tickets picked up (thanks to Hobby from TAG Fine Arts) we embarked on our tour. Mission: see it all in 2 hours and don’t be too sniffy about what’s on show.

Refreshingly there seems to be a move away from a majority of pieces priced either in the under £500 or £3,000 - £4,000 brackets with little else in between and as such there was much to enjoy. Also much to sneer at - the definition of ‘contemporary art’ is a broad one, but some dealers/ exhibitors stretch this with pedestrian classical offerings (fine in themselves as long as they are well executed, but sometimes they are not. Buyer beware.

Beelines were made for TAG Fine Arts (handily placed beside the main bar in the centre of the hall), StolenSpace gallery and as always Rebecca Hossacks who had this fantastic Toby Burrows photography entitled Breathe hidden away in a corner.

Fuelled by cheap wine, spotting Kelly Hoppen and a chat with hairdresser Richard Ward, we ploughed on. But the wallet remained shut despite temptations including new Shepard Fairey album cover pieces from his latest show (£1,500 each from StolenSpace gallery), Samuel Hick’s Impala print on the Crane Kalman stand (see below), Morgan Silk’s work on the same stand - and that Burrows piece.

Mercifully there were few interpretations of Battersea Power Station (a favourite a few years back), but still too many cut out butterflies in perspex boxes. Obviously good sellers. Innovations seemed few and far between, but this is good clean fun and the variety on show is always interesting. Just don’t expect a bargain.

Affordable Art Fair, Battersea runs from 25 - 28th October in Battersea Park. See the website for details.

Legendary US graffiti artist Sherpard Fairey has just completed a new wall in Ebor Street, Shoreditch to coincide with his forthcoming show at the StolenSpace Gallery. The Obey “Sound & Vision” is showing from 20th October to 4th November.

The Sound and Vision show is Shepard Fairey’s first UK show in five years and will feature a range on new material including mixed media paintings on canvas, works on paper, retired stencils collages, rubylith cuts, and as well as serigraphs on wood, metal and paper.

The new wall replaces the piece produced by FLIP earlier in the year and is keeping the calibre of creative collaborations at a peak.

Check out this piece and then get down to the gallery to see the rest!

If you’ve been hiding and know nothing about the artist…

Shepard Fairey has been on a meteoric rise over the past five years. In 2008, his ‘HOPE’ portrait of then Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, became an internationally recognised emblem of the campaign and a symbol of political change for many. In 2009, Fairey’s Obama portrait was inducted into the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery as the official presidential portrait.

Since last exhibiting in London, Fairey has continued to progress with his art and with a 20 Year Retrospective museum exhibition that began at the ICA, Boston in 2009 and continued to the Warhol Museum and Contemporary Art Centre in Cincinnati. In 2011, he was commissioned by TIME Magazine to design his second cover for the magazine.

To The Old Vic Tunnels last night for the opening of Lazarides’ final instalment in his dark art exhibition/ experience trilogy, following successes with Hell’s Half Acre in 2010 and Minotaur in 2011. As before, the show gets out of the traps before Frieze starts and serves as an antidote to the bright lights of the Regents Park based fair. As Steve himself has said,

“Bedlam over the years has become synonymous with madness, chaos and pandemonium, it seemed like the perfect theme for a world gone mad. Be afraid.”

It is with this in mind that we entered the fray and after a beer to settle the nerves, set about exploring the tunnels and the pieces hung, installed and found within. And what a treat it was. From the disturbing works of Dan Witz set into the crumbling brick walls to the cinematic staging of Conor Harrington’s paintings. And from Doug Foster’s immersive Psychotron to his frightening yet mesmerising Brainwasher (that no one I saw dared sit in) there was plenty to keep you engaged.

My favourite piece in the show is Doug Foster & Nachev’s enormous projection entitled Lidless which shows the movements of a human eye - absorbing, distrubing and beautiful all at the same time.

Participating artists: Conor Harrington, Doug Foster, Nachev,Tessa Farmer, Karim Zeriahem, Tina Tsang, Tobias Klein, ATMA, Del Naja, War Boutique, Jane Fradgley, Klaus Weiskopf, Lucy McLauchlan, Artists Anonymous, Michael Najjar, Dan Witz and Antony Micallef.

‘Bedlam’ is brought to you by Steve Lazarides and The Old Vic Tunnels and is running from 9th - 21st October.

Free tickets are available here.

Fashion idol Tommy Nutter, the original rebel of Savile Row, who created the outfits for both the bride and groom at Mick Jagger’s and at John Lennon’s Weddings, died 20 years ago.

His groundbreaking perspective on the three piece suit equaled narrow, square shoulders, wide lapels, tightly flared trousers, and waistcoats.

With the Gatsby look on its way via Essex, expect a resurgence in interest in him very soon…

www.nosr.co.uk

As part of BMW’s sponsorship of the London Olympics, the brand has brought their Art Cars to a brutalist multi-storey car park in Shoreditch. It’s co-hosted by the ICA and their touch shows in the cool, minimalist staging.

It’s the first time in 35 years of the programme that the cars have been to the UK and they are only here for 2 weeks - so we would advise a visit before the show closes on 4th August.

There are 16 cars in the exhibition which span international road and race cars from 1975 to 2010. The vehicles might be highlights alone for car fanatics (3.0CSLs, Z1, M3s, 850CSI, 635CSIs, M1, 535i…), but it’s the line-up of international artists and their interpretation of moving art that impresses most.

it all started with Alexander Calder in 1975 and takes in Frank Stella, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Fuchs, Rauschenberg, Hockney, Holzer and others, ending with Jeff Koon’s 2010 M3 GTR which raced at Le Mans.

Everyone will have their favourites. I’d take Frank Stella’s 1976 3.0CSL as a daily driver and put Jenny Holzer’s 1999 V12 LMR up on my heated garage wall.

There’s no other place like London for discovering innovative, sophisticated, one-of-a-kind design, be it fashion or furniture, jewellery or artwork. The Londonewcastle ethos is all about pioneering great design and the very best emerging talent, so here we share with you a selection of our favourite design stores across the capital, where you can get your hands on something rather special.

SCP Department Store Deserving of our top spot is SCP Department Store, with its flagship store in the heart of Shoreditch. A foray through the warehouse-style shop on Curtain Road uncovers everything from contemporary homeware and artwork to gifts and accessories, with glorious things such as Seletti neon lights, Peter Marigold shelving and Rob Ryan crockery to be found - and that barely scratches the surface. If you’re into Donna Wilson, then even better, because SCP stock an impressive range of her products, from her signature soft toys to especially commissioned, SCP-manufactured furniture. You can buy it all online too and those in West London needn’t worry about travelling east, because SCP has a second store on Westbourne Grove.

Tom Dixon Shop Skip across town to a perennial favourite - the Tom Dixon Shop in its tranquil location at Portobello Dock, Ladbroke Grove. Mainly showcasing the Tom Dixon lighting and furniture collection, the store has some other interesting gems that complement the home range. There are classic Adnet mirrors, embroidered products by social enterprise Fine Cell Work, which trains prisoners in needlework to help their skills and self esteem, Made in Nano tiles and tabletops, infographic homeware textiles by Stuart Gardiner, and Cire Trudon candles for a spot of indulgence, to name a few.

Dover Street Market Whether you’re planning to part with your cash or not, a visit to Dover Street Market is an experience in itself that every fashion fanatic should seek out. Six floors of carefully curated stock, pitching fashion icons such as Alexander McQueen beside lesser known emerging talent, make up the brainchild of Rei Kawakubo, of Commes des Garcons fame. It’s a department store-cum-market-cum-fashion addict’s dream. Be prepared to lose quite a bit of your day, and seek out Rose Bakery on the fourth floor to give your energy levels a delicious boost. We’ll wager you’ll need it!

Aram Store Positioned as ‘London’s best furniture store’, the Aram Store near Covent Garden is a stalwart of the contemporary furniture scene, and family-run too. Zeev Aram, with a little help from Terence Conran’s then-new venture, Habitat, started something of a design revolution in Chelsea back in the sixties, with his first tiny showroom on King’s Road. Today, the Aram Store, in its substantial, architect-designed warehouse space on Drury Lane, brings together innovative, cutting-edge design of the highest quality. The Aram Gallery on the upper floor holds some pretty interesting exhibitions too, with a focus on new techniques, experimental design practice, and fresh talent.

Fab UK

Fab UK Of course, we couldn’t ignore the internet altogether, so we’re throwing a new online design store into the mix. Fab UK is a carefully curated site that has grabbed our attention lately. The team previously known as Llustre, has been taken under the wing of existing design e-commerce business, Fab.com. Now it’s busy signing up some of the most sought after designers around, offering their products at discounted prices, presented as online ‘sales’ for defined periods of time. You have to sign up to be a member, but it’s completely free of charge and a no brainer really if you’re after something truly unique.

Folklore Our wild card, just because it’s brand new, is Folklore in Islington. Opened in January by husband and wife team Danielle and Rob Reid, the company was created on the premise that ‘better living is possible through design’. Well said, we say. Less is certainly more, not only in the design of the shop which features stripped floorboards and upcycled fittings galore, but also in the product range. Folklore sells homeware, lighting, art and lifestyle accessories that have a focus on high quality craftsmanship, be they antique, upcycled, recyclable, or brand new. Environmental sensitivity is another key attribute of their carefully selected ranges. One to watch we think.

The Who? is Londonewcastle and some friends and guest authors that will pop up from time to time giving us and you their views. The What? is London life. What else? It’s who we are, it’s what we do, it’s what we breath. And for us and above all else, it’s where we live. The Why? is to share our enthusiasm for this greatest city on Earth … its richness, its diversity and its ever changing nature.