The South end

From Kentish Town to Camden Town

Growing up in London generally means that when you hit adolescence you become part of the cool kids of Camden. Hanging around the lock attempting to get in to any pub or club that will allow you in. Thinking your the crème de la crème of the London scene. A few years pass and Camden is still the center of the universe only now you can legally get in to all wonderful bars that smell like other peoples sweat and urine and you feel like you need c fold towels to even touch anything in these establishments. However as time goes on and your sense of taste changes you realize that Camden high street is NOT the place to be.

Actually the place to be is the back streets that stretched from Tufnell Park to Camden and on to Chalk Farm. These roads are packed with some of the best pubs and bars in London.

If you are a true Londoner or want a glimpse of what going out in London is really like, head to this area. You will find something for everyone, whether you’re in to your boutique clubs or old-fashioned pub or niche bar this area has a place for you.

Kentish Town holds one of the best of these little gems; The Southampton Arms is one of the best pubs I have been introduced to. It is an ale and cider house and has an unbelievable variety of the two. Not only does it provide you with the most delicious beverages, they also have a fabulous atmosphere and the staff are brilliant. If you are an ale and cider fanatic this is the place to go!

Don't Celebrities Know How to Do Glamour Themselves Anymore?

At one time it seemed that celebrity women had elegance and grace for the most part yes, but they also had a sense of glamour.  Today’s celebrities may look the part of the glamour puss, but how much of it is their own natural flair, and how much of it is professional advised? 

For decades the stars of entertainment have given their names to fashion trends and although in some cases it’s quite possible that they were advised on this by professionals in the fashion industry, they still had enough >   A young person who wants to emulate a celebrity really needs the one thing that they have – and that’s someone else who goes out and finds the great clothes that will look perfect on them.  I’m sure that the celebrities will say that they just don’t have the time to tour fashion houses, but even if they did, would they really know what suits them best?  I doubt it.  If they did, why would they put their all important appearance in the hands of someone else? 

Celebrities are, by the nature of the profession they’ve chose, automatic role models.  As such is it really necessary to require a team of people to make you look good on the red carpet?  Somewhere tucked away at this year’s awards ceremonies were an army of stylists, personal shoppers, make-up professionals, hair stylists – and of course plastic surgeons – who were responsible for that glamour we were presented.  We are so used to air brushed images of famous people in magazines, that it would be refreshing to see how they really looked.  However, rather than see a real person on the red carpet, we are given an act, another piece of make believe – yet another glimpse at the "air brushed" façade rather than a genuine look at the real people who make magic on screen.

Halloween

The holiday of Halloween is something that has recently arisen in the consciousness of British society.  Five years ago, the concept of ‘Trick or Treat’ was something still viewed with amusement and fifteen years ago was pretty much unheard of.  At least in the past, the children that asked for sweets, actually got sweets and so were able to spend the remainder of their October celebrating the delights of a massive sugar rush.  Today, trick or treating now involves gangs of teenagers threatening house owners for money and then proceeding to egg their doorways whether or not they receive money.

Halloween in the UK has gone from being a relatively harmless bit of American adopted fun to another night when screaming teenagers can legitimately vandalise whatever and whoever they please.  Possibly the only winners is Britain’s egg industry as sales of their product reaches epic proportions that even beat the Easter season.  So how did this transformation occur?  And why is nothing done about it.

To run the gauntlet of Halloween, you need to make sure your car is parked far away from your own home.  No lights should be lit within the house as you cower away and hide from the relentless slaughter of eggs and flour.  To escape with a minor bruising should be considered a victory for all members of the public.  Anyone travelling on a bus that night is witness to the new decorations that adorn these vehicles and one should feel sorry for the cleaners at the depots that have to deal with the aftermath of this torrid holiday.

One thing that is also surprising is how much Halloween tat is readily available in the shops during this part of Autumn.  Pumpkins, both real and fake as well as witch costumes and tacky masks are readily available for all to use for their one night of fun.  I swear that the price of eggs also rises during this time.

All the more surprising, as during this time of the year there is a perfectly good holiday available in the UK and in itself has a long and proud tradition - Guy Fawkes day.  It seems that while Halloween is in ascendancy, the traditional Bonfire Night has become something a bit passé and is now a much less marketed event than the ‘night of the undead’.  It is a sad passing when plastic witch hats and hollowed out pumpkins hold more appeal than a display of fireworks.