Busy busy busy!

Hello there,

This week has been quite the blur what with the Brits and the kick off of London Fashion Week. The city is buzzing with so-hip-it-hurts fashiony types which always makes for good entertainment at the very least.

I'm not quite cool enough to be invited to the actual Brit Awards ceremony, however I was at the afterparty in Altitude 360 hosted by none other than Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan. The screening party in the Millbank Cinema had a carnival theme complete with candyfloss and popcorn stalls, stilt walkers, burlesque dancers and (slightly bizarrely) some dwarves. The champagne flowed as the beautiful people watched Cheryl belt out her hit "Fight for this Love" on the big screen - possibly the most eagerly awaited act of the evening. Once the clock struck ten everyone headed upstairs to The River Room, a futuristic white space with panoramic views of the city. Lindsay showed up looking quite the movie star - I had been expecting a bit of a hot mess if truth be told - and encouraged us all to dig deep for the evening's auction in aid of the Haiti disaster. Cameras flashed, people danced and lots of money was raised for a good cause leaving guests heading home with a satisfied smile (helped in part by the parting goodie bags - full bottles of Chase vodka, oh my!)and a sore head the next day.

On Friday I went to The Savoy to see Legally Blonde (a classic inspiration for my life), starring the still-fit early Noughties hearthrob Duncan from Blue. He didn't disappoint. And neither did the musical. Amy Lennox was standing in for an ill Sheridan Smith but honestly I can't see how the leading lady could have done a better job than her understudy. It was Amy's first time playing the role and as Sheridan had only bowed out hours before the cast hadn't had a chance to do a full run through. Despite this, it was fantastic, the songs were upbeat and the jokes kept coming. The dance routines were choreographed so well and with a fine attention to detail. No corners have been cut in this production and I thoroughly recommend going to see it whether you are a musical fan or not!

On a slightly arty note, I spent Saturday at the National Portrait Gallery. I went to see the Irving Penn exhibition, a collection of the renowned photographers portraits capturing a host of famous faces ranging from Salvadore Dali to Nicole Kidman. His personal development as a portrait photographer was evident - the images from the 1940's lacked some of the intimacy and depth shown in the shots from latter years. The strength of the images lay in how he captured the character and spirit of his models in a headshot - from the sheer glamour of Grace Kelly through to the childlike naughtiness of Audrey Hepburn. After viewing the Penn collection we took a wander through the Twiggy exhibition, documenting the life of the iconic model ranging from her awkward teen years through to the present day. The woman looks better now than she ever did. Seriously. I stumbled across an interesting Francis Bacon and a Warhol as well as the infamous 2009 portrait of William and Harry Windsor, with Will's head looking slightly more "thatched" than it does in paparazzi shots...