Weekly News

DRAYTON MANOR ALL SET FOR ITS 60TH YEAR

Drayton Manor Theme Park, near Tamworth, Staffordshire, will launch its 60th Anniversary year on Saturday 20th March, with the premier of a brand new film for its 4D Cinema, the Oscar-winning animation, Happy Feet.

The specially adapted 12-minute film tells the tale of penguin Mumble, who bravely tries to save his friends from starvation after humans steal their supply of fish. Visitors will watch the film in 3D whilst seated in specially designed chairs, which react to scenes in the film by moving up and down, releasing sprays of water, bursts of air, bubbles and various smells, guaranteeing a memorable experience for all.

The award-winning family attraction will also unveil the new Dino Trail, located in Farmer McColl’s Farm, which has been created to intrigue and educate visitors about dinosaurs.

This year is a momentous occasion for Drayton Manor as it is the park’s Diamond Jubilee Year. It was 60 years ago in April 1950 when Mr & Mrs George Bryan first opened Drayton Manor to the public. Today, it remains a family owned attraction, which is run by three generations of the Bryan family.

Managing Director Colin Bryan, who is the son of Mr & Mrs George Bryan, said: “When my parents opened the park in 1950, there was one restaurant, a tea room, three hand operated rides, six rowing boats, some pedal cars and a set of second hand dodgem cars

“Today, we have some biggest, wettest and scariest rides around, including Maelstrom, Apocalypse and G-Force. There’s also Europe’s first and only Thomas Land™, and a 15-acre zoo, which is now home to some new residents – a pair of baby meerkats, who I’m confident will be a popular addition to our zoo given the recent meerkat revival. But over the years, one thing has always remained the same, our passion and core belief of providing an amazing day out for all the family.

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TUSCANY WITH KIDS – NEVER A DULL MOMENT

Tuscany’s glorious countryside and history-rich cities brimming with magnificent sights make for a region-sized kid’s playground. From outdoor activities and Italian-themed cooking lessons to catching glimpses of dinosaurs in prehistoric parks and visiting quirky architecture, Tuscany’s year-round mild and sunny climate makes it all very kid-friendly and enjoyable. Sean Caulfield has been renting out villas in Tuscany http://www.to-tuscany.com since 1998 through his company To Tuscany and has been living there with his family for 12 years. With two eight-year old twin girls and a five year old son to entertain, he lists some of his favourite child-friendly activities in Tuscany and shows why a Tuscan holiday could be the perfect way to pry the kids away from their computers, into the outdoors and learning about food, art, nature and history. Something that may just stick when you get back home...

Foodylicious fun

Cheese-making in Pienza
The countryside area around Pienza is famous for its Pecorino cheese. Its vast open landscapes are perfect for the grazing sheep and mean the area offers some of the best Pecorino you’ll find in Tuscany. It is possible to visit the cheese-making process at the Cugusi Dairy and taste the different varieties. On my visit here, I stocked up on some of Italy’s finest cheese, while the children learnt how sheep’s cheese is made and met the animals – they loved it!

THE GREATEST FASHION SHOW ON EARTH
On March 18th until 20th, Westfield London - in partnership with leading fashion magazine - Sunday Times Style, is delighted to host The Greatest Fashion Show on Earth. The three day spectacle kicks off on Thursday 18th March with a star-studded VIP night, in collaboration with the British Fashion Council, supporting Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Relief Campaign and the White Ribbon Alliance to raise funds for mothers and babies in Haiti.

THE GREATEST EVENT
The Greatest event must be hosted by the greatest hosts and so Westfield London will honour the presence of British fashion icon and supermodel, Erin O'Connor who will open the event, alongside Chairman of The British Fashion Council, Harold Tillman.

The VIP evening will bring together designer and design-led fashion retailers, fashion influencers and celebrity fashion fans with a champagne reception, spectacular fashion show and a charity auction to support the White Ribbon Alliance, with special guest Sarah Brown, The White Ribbon Alliance Global Patron.

Television presenter, George Lamb will also be hosting, bringing you access to behind the scenes and up-to-the-minute interviews with the creative masterminds of the show. There’s even a whisper that a celebrity model may don the runway. Watch this space....

Don’t miss the greatest finale – two of the BFC Vogue Designer Fashion Fund short-listers will be showcasing their talent on the runway. The short-listers include Christopher Kane, Clements Ribeiro Erdem, Nicholas, Kirkwood, Marios Schwab and Richard Nicoll….find out on the evening who it will be! What’s more, Angel Jackson will be creating a limited edition Fashion for Relief bag which will be sold at Westfield throughout the three day event.

THE GREATEST FASHION SHOW
Set in The Atrium exhibition space, the site will be transformed into the greatest fashion event. The show will showcase 54 looks from the season's latest trends, from over 700 fashion brands, from luxury labels to high street favourites, chosen by stylist Charlie Anderson and produced by London Fashion Week’s On|Off designers The Doll. Watch the highest calibre models, styled by Toni & Guy strut their stuff whilst listening to a live orchestra who will be positioned to fit seamlessly into the set design.

BOKKS LONDON LAUNCHES MOTHER’S DAY GIFT BOKKS

BOKKS London, the exclusive luxury gifting service, launches the 2010 Mother’s Day collection of new BOKKS, each one tailored to a different type of mother, making it easy to find the perfect gift to pamper any special lady on Mother’s Day.

Partnering with only the most luxurious of brands, BOKKS has created a bespoke gift collection for Mother’s Day, making it easy to choose the perfect gift. Make her eyes light up with one of the stunning gift BOKKS available now.

In addition to the personalised BOKKS collections, treat her to a bespoke BOKKS experience, in which BOKKS arranges for an expert to come to her home to treat her to the ultimate, personalized dream-come-true experience. Whether it be a day making her own chocolates with an expert chocolatier, having a professional family photo shoot with a celebrity photographer, or a day where the Dorchester hosts a private afternoon tea at her home, BOKKS experiences makes it possible to give her a gift she’ll remember forever- seamlessly arranged, glam-packaged and delivered for an astounding surprise.

The world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel has proved as popular as the Taj Mahal, greeted over 3,000 celebs and become a celebrity in its own right: all by the age of 10!

London, 9 March 2010: The London landmark and global icon, the Merlin Entertainments London Eye, today celebrates its tenth birthday. Having welcomed over 36 million visitors, with more than 45,000 rotations, 433 weddings (including 21 civil partnership ceremonies) and over 3,000 celebrity visits; the modern icon now stands alongside heritage sites such as the Taj Mahal and Statue of Liberty as one of the most popular worldwide visitor attractions.

Launched in 2000, amidst the capital’s Millennium celebrations, the world renowned structure was originally expected only to reside on London’s Southbank for five years with an estimated 1.5 million visitors each year. The London Eye has since risen to such popularity that, with an average of 3.7 million visitors per year, the initial lease was extended to 2025 and is now regarded as a permanent fixture on London’s skyline. The attraction also launched the London Eye River Cruise in 2002 and recently extended its visitor experience to include a pioneering 4D experience developed at the world famous Pinewood Studios which is included in the ticket price. The 4D experience is a £5 million project that illustrates the positive investment being made by the Merlin Entertainments Group who own and operate the attraction.

Mothers and Daughters and Sisters too!

As Hot Brands,Cool Places is a Mother and Daughter business we thought it might be fun to find out about other Mother and Daughter businesses as part of our celebration of Mothering Sunday. What we discovered was as well as Mother and Daughters in business there are also Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Sisters-in-law too! Here are their stories.

MAMAS & PAPAS

What made you decide to work together?

Luisa:
In the past few years I have had the pleasure of working with my daughter Amanda on a luxury range called Famiglia that was inspired by our collective reminiscences about childhood and which was a real delight. Amanda was the reason for starting Mamas & Papas and now 29 years later we have created something truly wonderful together. Family is one of life’s greatest miracles and to be able to work together on a collection is very special to me. My youngest daughter Olivia joined the business a few years ago and now she is Head of Creative and responsible for the look and feel of the brand. Her husband is our brand photographer and together they create our beautiful catalogues. Amanda is now Head of New Product Design and responsible for the look and performance of our pushchair and baby equipment ranges. The new ‘Mylo’ pushchair is her ‘little baby’ and has taken 3 years to come to fruition. Mylo arrived in store at the same time as Amanda’s first baby arrived so she felt she had two birthing experiences. I now have two beautiful granddaughters, Olivia has baby Marni and Amanda has baby Milla. The female dynasty seems set to continue! (In the picture from left to right: Amanda, Olivia & Marni, David and Luisa)

JASMINE HARMAN HUSKY TREK FOR DOG'S TRUST
Jasmine presents A Place In The Sun – Home or Away with Jonnie Irwin and series five has just started on Channel 4.

From 12 – 18 March, Jasmine is taking part in an Arctic Dog Sledding Challenge to raise money for the Dog’s Trust.

She will be surrounded by a frozen landscape, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle at temperatures of -28C! With a team of Alaskan Huskies she will travel 180km in just five days. It will be a huge challenge, both physically and mentally but Jasmine is passionate about the cause and hopes to raise over £2,500 for the Dog’s Trust. She is a huge dog lover and Shadow, the 8 month old Bernese Mountain dog is the love of her life.

She is almost half way there with donations going to http://www.justgiving.com/jasmineharman. This will help to rescue and re-home unwanted, abandoned and stray dogs.

(Jasmine’s photograph by Dave Poole)

Montréal: Through the Looking Glass
“If man doesn’t possess the power to shape the world to his liking, then he can at least tailor the lenses through which he sees it…”
- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Montréal, February 2010 – From now until December, twenty-three museums* will unite with a host of art galleries and libraries in Montréal to proclaim 2010 as the Year of Glass.

As part of the city-wide celebration entitled “Montréal, City of Glass 2010” a multitude of exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations dedicated to glass will be on offer to Montréalers and tourists alike.

Categorised into four themes – art, architecture, history and science – glass, in its many forms and uses will be the focus, bringing together some of the most internationally-renowned artists from the industry.

From the Louis C. Tiffany exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts to the stained glass window demonstrations at the Château Dufresne Museum and “Glass and the Solar house” at the Biosphere, there will be no shortage of breath-taking glass-themed events and activities taking place.

The concept of glass will also embed itself through the original creations of Montréal’s renowned fashion designers Philipe Dubuc and Laura Donefer. The duo, in collaboration with artisan glass blowers will create and host a one-off glass fashion show at The Belvedere of Montréal Science Centre on 29th May, sure to bring a unique twist to the proceeding.