Snapshot: Urban Sunset

Snapped in Shepherd’s Bush, West London. #Picfx

Jubilee Royal Name Generator

Some classic viral marketing from Innocent. Love it.

Cheerobics proves cheerleading to be a credible fitness regime

Not that we ever doubted it. But some might have.

Cheerobics, the fun alternative to aerobic fitness (with poms), has been around in Richmond and Covent Garden for some time, but for those who remain unconvinced of its true benefits, a handy little interview with its founder (the gorgeous Jess Rossi) has emerged, which I thought worth sharing:

Jess hasn’t convinced you? A little more on the programme:

Those of us who have cheered always knew it was a tough work-out, and now the sceptics can be initiated. Still don’t believe us? Well how about you put your £8 where your mouth is and get involved!

3D Building projections – Vienna & Marble Arch

The latest trend in impactful digital stunts has seen buildings in every major city in the world adorned with a 3D light show, that at once enhances and plays with their architectural structure. I love them. Well, the ones that are done well.

I’ve seen two in the last week, both from London, that I thought were really special – one done yesterday for the Vienna Tourist Board, and another that I only just picked up on YouTube, executed in February this year.

Enjoy:

Above: Vienna Tourist Board stunt, on the (appropriately named) Imagination Building, central London, last night.

Above: Marble Arch 3D light show, from February this year. Produced by LCI projects

Legally Blonde hits London – 5th December

Omigod you guys – from Broadway to the West End, it’s finally here:

The Times’ Playlist magazine had a very pink looking cover wrap this weekend, shouting loud and proud that Elle is coming to town.

I’m a huge fan of the movie – that low-budget, enormously profitable surprise smash hit of 2001, that grossed $141m worldwide and catapulted a young Reese Witherspoon firmly into the A-list (she went on to command $15m for the sequel). My girlfriends share the love of the Blonde, but arguably I am the most ardent fan amongst us.

Hence why, on our New Year break in New York the year before last, when we were searching Broadway for a show that we all wanted to see, I somehow ended up winning the battle and dragging all four of us along.

Safe to say, they may hate to admit it, but we all had a total blast.

The biggest success for me – I guess as every musical should boast – was the music (rightly so, the Original Score earned the show one of its seven Tony nominations). The soundtrack, in lyric and arrangement, perfectly captures the exuberant, confident fun and frolics of Elle as she careers through the Harvard Law application process to win back her man. From the explosive opening Omigod You Guys to the empowering  So Much Better (Elle’s first victory over Warner at Harvard). The bridge of the piece (the titular Legally Blonde) comes when Elle admits defeat and decides to pack her bags back to LA - one of the only slow numbers of the show, it culminates in a powerful duet with Emmet.

The Broadway cast in action, led by Laura Bell Bundy

A fairly eclectic mix of a cast are bringing us the West End version. The naturally comedic Sheridan Smith (TV’s Gavin and Stacey, Two Pints of Lager…) takes the lead, and from the video preview on the show’s website, we’re assured she kicks ass with some very strong vocals. Boy band Blue’s Duncan James (having already proved his worth in the West End from a stint in Chicago) plays the smooth, gorgeous, arrogant object of Elle’s affections, Warner – while her emerging love interest Emmet is played by Canadian-born Alex Gaumond (fresh from We Will Rock You as Galileo). Two other very promising castings can be found in Jill Halfpenny as Paulette and the wonderful Peter Davison as Professor Callaghan.

Fairly obviously, it’s decidedly a show for fans of the movie, girls and those who are willing to suspend and notion of serious theatre for one night of unabashed silliness. It’s very pink, very blonde and never claims to be anything else – but if you are not enthusiastically tapping your foot and wholeheartedly rooting for Elle by the key change of the final reprise, I’d be surprised.

Tickets are on sale now, with previews starting towards the end of the month. Naturally I’ll be taking a front seat to see if the West End measures up to Broadway – and no doubt I’ll be dragging the girls along again. Only this time, they know they’ve got a guaranteed fun night ahead of them.

And if you’re not convinced, at least get your hands on the soundtrack. I personally promise it will get you dancing round your bedroom with a hairbrush.

Britney hearts Jack Wills too!

Clearly, to anyone that knows me, the idea of Britney shopping at JW is possibly the biggest news highlight of my day/week. So when this evening’s London’s free sheets told us as much, I figured it was worth sharing.

Apparently, so dedicated is Miss Spears to her London retail outlets and the comfort of her plush Mandarin Oriental suite, she was driven the 200+ miles from Manchester to London following her set there on Wednesday evening. Cue regional Mancunian outcry that, not only had she greeted her adoring Manchester fans with ‘What’s up London?’ (oh, Brit…), but she rejected their kind hospitality and shopping malls in favour of the South. No surprise – even her little pup is named after the English capital.

Question is, which of the cute little white dresses currently on display in the Kings Road store could our favourite pop princess have purchased and immediately donned before departing? Judging by her cute taste in short shorts, she probably walked away with a pair of these too. 

Manchester may have a Harvey Nic’s, but no Jack = no Brit. Yet another reason to love the Britster.