In association with Soppköket, we present the ultimate Brazilian Charity Party at the exquisite Albannach in the heart of Central London seconds from the world famous Trafalgar Square.
With all proceeds going to help Brazil’s poorest children it is the perfect opportunity to party and show you care.
Expect the best funky house, RnB and latino music as well as special drinks offers to get you shaking your stuff with the hottest Friday crowd in London.
Today see a protest by amateur and professional photographers in London’s Trafalgar Square following rising tensions between photographers and police over the implementation of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Many photographers feel intimidated by Police as a result of actions to target possible terrorists who may be on reconnaissance missions in areas of Central London including Mayfair, Soho and St James’s and other major cities.
The protesters are echoing the views of the European Court of Human Rights who last week ruled the power to stop and search people without suspicion was indiscriminate and therefore illegal.
It is estimated up to 36,000 people were stopped under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act between April 2009 and June 2009.
John Yates, the head of counter-terrorism at the Metropolitan Police, has stated that Police risk losing public confidence as a result of the tactics they are employing under the controversial law.
Lord Carlile, the government’s independent reviewer of anti-terrorist legislation has publically stated that he believes “section 44 is being used far too often on a random basis without any reasoning behind its use”.
Marc Vallee, one of the photographers behind the protest, said, “Photographers will be exercising their common law right to take a picture in a public place – and they will be doing it collectively. People are fed up about being stopped and they want to challenge a culture that sees photographers as a threat.”
New Year’s Eve in London is the biggest night of the year with millions of people flocking to the centre of the capital to enjoy the nightlife and the top night clubs hosting their most extravagant celebrity parties.
Although 2009 has been much publicised as a bad year for the economy the best London clubs are still pulling out all the stops with VIPs expected to be arriving in limousines and enjoying the events, popping Champagne bottles, as they normally would during the festive season.
Some of the most well known night clubs and private members clubs in Chelsea, Kensington, Mayfair and Soho include famous names such as Amika, Boujis, Cafe de Paris, Chinawhite, Disco 24, Embassy, funkybuddha, HEYJOCLUB, Maya, The Mayfair Club and Vendome.
These are clubs regularly frequented by A-list celebrity clubbers such as P.Diddy, JLS, Girls Aloud, Jay Z, Kate Moss and Beyonce where entry is controlled by strict guest lists and the crowd is mostly made up of elite clubbers more used to gracing the pages of Tattler than The Sun.
James WJ Wilson, Director of Forbidden London Clubs, one of the leading promotion companies in London’s club-land believes the top bars and clubs have everything to look forward to as he forecasts a great Christmas and New Year in the West End.
“London is the most fashionable city in the world and despite Gordon Brown’s best attempts to derail the economy, the nightlife – bars, night clubs and restaurants – particularly at the top end of the market, are still performing well.”
“People are perhaps not spending at the same level as they were two years ago, maybe we’ve seen the last of the bankers splurging £30,000 on bottles of Cristal Champagne for now, but overall most of our clients are wealthy and still want to enjoy themselves. In my opinion there is no better place to do that than at the best events in London which are hosted by the top clubs and promoters.”
Lord Dave West, owner of the HEYJOCLUB in St James’s is well known publicly thanks to his Cherie Blair assisted battle against the smoking ban and his penchant for bright pink suits; he echoed this view.
“I own one of the top clubs (HEYJOCLUB) and one of the best restaurants (Abracadabra Russian Restaurant) in Central London and we are finding that the high-end customers we entertain are still enjoying spending their money on fine food and fine wines”
“Many of our best clients are Russian and the government has not managed to ruin everyone’s fun yet, they’re still spending.”
With Christmas and New Year’s Eve just round the corner and most companies still planning on rewarding their staff for what could be considered a difficult year, things are looking bright for the glamorous London clubs the VIPs and celebrities love.
Albemarle Street is a street in the heart of Mayfair in Central London, off Piccadilly, just five minutes away from Green Park underground station. It was the first one way street in London, aimed at getting traffic flowing better and has historic associations with Lord Byron. Best known for its art galleries, it is a host to such well known galleries like the Albemarle Gallery, which represents contemporary paintings and sculptures from around the world, and has a tradition of supporting controversial artists and create superbly presented exhibitions. The Belgravia Gallery is here too, along with the Marleborough Fine Art Gallery.
Albermarle Street London
One of the best museums in London, The Royal Institution of Great Britain, is on Albemarle Street which runs a variety of exhibitions throughout the year. Club wise, one of the best karaoke bars in London is here: Cousin Jills, which offers an upmarket Mayfair setting to host events for corporate clients and celebrities.
Lovers of shopping will be pleased to find Guinot and London fashion designer Paul Smith’s stores are here, and along with the oldest jeweller in the world – Garrard & Co. Sort out your grooming dilemmas at Guinot, while the don of British fashion Paul Smith can sort out your sartorial ones at number 9.
There are some top London restaurants here too. Chor Bizarre serves top-class Indian cuisine, or go Italian at Ristorante Mosaico. There’s Japanese and Korean food here too from Sumosan and the Korean Kaya restaurants.
If you’re looking for somewhere to stay as well as food, Browns Hotel is here with its in-house restaurant, The Grill. It is London’s oldest operating five-star hotel, opened in 1837 (the year Victoria ascended the throne) by the enterprising James Brown, who was once Lord Byron’s valet.
A new £5m diagonal crossing for pedestrians has been opened at Oxford Circus, Central London – one of the busiest parts of London – in a bid to improve the world famous West End shopping area for the estimated 43,000 shoppers who negotiate the area each hour during peak times.
Based on x-crossings in Tokyo, the new design stops cars, taxis and buses in all directions, allowing shoppers to cross the junction diagonally. The junction – between Oxford Street and Regent Street – will now be able to handle double the number of pedestrians and ease overcrowding at the busy intersection, easing access to Oxford Circus tube station for the estimated 230,000 passengers who use the station each day when visiting the West End to enjoy the capital’s shops and nightlife.
London Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled the crossing by striking a two-metre high cymbal in homage to its Far Eastern inspiration, as Japanese musicians played taiko drums.
A giant X, in the form of 60m (196ft) of red ribbon was also unfurled by devotees of cult Japanese Manga characters dressed in colourful costumes on the day of the unveiling on Monday.
Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall will return to a London West End Theatre next year, alongside Spooks star Matthew Macfadyen.
The on-screen couple will play volatile former lovers, despite an 18-year age gap, in a new production of Noel Coward’s comedy, Private Lives.
The characters meet again five years after divorcing when both are honeymooning with new spouses in France and the spark is rekindled. Cattrall, 53, best known as Samantha in Sex and the City, is no stranger to divorce herself, having been married three times.
The play, directed by Richard Eyre, runs from Tuesday, 24th February 2010 at the Vaudeville Theatre, just off the Strand in Central London.
A Polish man has been charged and sectioned under the Mental Health Act after punching Leona Lewis at her book signing in Central London.
Peter Kopwalczyk, 29, from South London, was arrested at the Waterstones’ book shop on Piccadilly late Wednesday afternoon.
It has been reported the Kopwalczyk auditioned for X Factor in 2006, the year that Leona took the top spot, but failed to impress judges.
A Scotland Yard spokesman revealed, “Peter Kowalczyk, aged 29 of SE1, has today been charged with common assault and sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He is due to appear at city of Westminster Magistrates Court on October 26th.”
Leona has only suffered minor injuries but has had to cancel future signings including a trip to Germany. The Bleeding Love singer, currently one of the UKs biggest and brightest RnB stars, said via a statement, “Thank you again for all of the lovely messages. Love you all.”
X-Factor celebrity Leona Lewis was rushed to hospital on Wednesday afternoon after being slapped in the face at her own book signing in Central London.
The crazed ‘fan’ who attacked the singer waited patiently in the queue at Waterstones Piccadilly before launching himself at 24 year old Leona – but only after she had signed his book.
Security staff quickly restrained the thug while police arrived before the star was taken to a Harley Street Medical Clinic.
A spokeswoman said “Leona’s understandably badly shaken and apologises to the fans she was unable to meet and complete signings for.”
