Crowdcube raise £1.2 million in 16 minutes as Glentham Capital proceeds with their second fund raise via Seedrs
This week the UK’s largest crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube, opened and closed their bid to raise £1.2 million to expand their company in just 16 minutes. This followed their having raised £3.8 million of investment from Balderton Capital last week. (more…)
Matthew Steeples reviews Toto’s in Knightsbridge, London
It takes something for me to be impressed with a restaurant but after three visits to the newly reopened Toto’s in Knightsbridge, I will boldly declare that I believe it to be the best opening of 2014 (more…)
This personable art dealer is president of Galerie Dumonteil and a jetsetter who travels between galleries in Paris, New York and Shanghai. In London annually for Masterpiece, Laverdin is a host par excellence and one of the most connected gentlemen to be found on the international arts scene.
Rupert Murdoch invests $70 million into Vice
Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. has just taken a slice of Vice. No, the billionaire’s not put his money into prostitution but instead – for those who haven’t heard of it – he’s invested in a local magazine business that has grown into an alternative media empire now valued at $1.4 billion. (more…)
The Steeple Times asks fashion management consultant Bhavna Ahluwalia: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Spirituality.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
That certainly isn’t mine. My motto is: “To love and to belong”.
ASmallWorld announces plans to charge members $100 per year
On the same day that Patrick Liotard-Vogt, the chairman of the social network ASmallWorld, is hosting a cocktail party for his members at The Gin Room in Madrid, the Swiss title Bilanz announced plans by the site’s management to charge members $100 per year to use it.
Is it time for “Keep Calm And…” to “Sod Off And Get Lost”?
Since 2001, whatever the situation and whatever the context, three words, “Keep Calm And…”, can and often have been applied. The rediscovery of what was originally a British wartime propaganda poster in a secondhand bookshop in Alnwick, Northumberland set about this trend and it has continued unabated.
The bookshop’s owners, Stuart and Mary Manley, seized upon their customer’s enthusiasm for “Keep Calm And…” and they, then others, printed it onto clothing, doormats, postcards, mugs and other merchandise. Millions of items featuring the distinctive font and “Tudor” crown have been sold worldwide and a trademark dispute about it commenced in 2011 and continues to this day.
On the Barter Books website is a link to a video giving the story of how such a simple phrase has become so popular. On it the narrator states:
“It’s perhaps the words on the poster that people find most enchanting. Like a voice out of history, it offers a very simple warmhearted message to inspire confidence in others in difficult times and it is something that should never fade from fashion”.
Adaptations naturally followed and amongst the many thousands created, some of the more tolerable ones include:
– Keep Calm Or Drink Wine
– Keep Calm You’re Not On The Titanic
– Keep Calm And Smoke Weed
– Keep Korma And Curry On
– Keep Calm And Get Over Yourself
– Keep Calm And Chillax (for David Cameron)
– Keep Calm And Kill Justin Bieber
– Keep Calm And Get Certified
– Keep Calm And F**k Off
– Now Panic And Freak Out
– Change Words And Be Hilarious
Increasingly, though, the overuse of “Keep Calm And…” has resulted in even Stuart Manley stating: “You almost get sick of it… Very few are genuinely funny”. There are hundreds of them and some are more bizarre than others. A selection numbers:
– Keep Calm And Have A Cupcake
– Keep Calm And Farm On
– Keep Quiet And Continue Working
– Keep Calm And Rule Britannia
– Keep Calm And Pass Me The Ball
– Keep Calm And Watch Skins
– Keep Calm And Go Watch The Hunger Games
– Keep Calm And Fake A British Accent
– Keep Calm And Hack On
– Keep Calm And Go Gangnam Style
– Keep Calm And Act Like Kate Middleton
– Calm You Shall Keep
Frankly, the majority of us are now bored. The time has come for reasonable souls to adopt the tone of Victor Meldrew. On sight of another piece of “Keep Calm And…” merchandise, the cry should ring out: “Sod Off And Get Lost”.
Barter Books: http://www.barterbooks.co.uk
Watch the Story of Keep Calm And Carry On at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHkKXFRbCI&feature=player_embedded
If you must, purchase “Keep Calm” merchandise at: http://www.keepcalmhome.com, http://www.keepcalmstudio.com and http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com
This affable German’s address book spans continents and cultures. A graduate of the Cass Business School and the University of Madrid, Weber’s projects have variously included The Cuckoo Club, Salon Club and Wanted Gallery. Here’s a gent who knows how to combining partying and business and one whose invites are most definitely like gold dust.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen if my music career goes wrong,” states this Tottenham born singer. Having been named “one of the most influential people in the world” by TIME Magazine and broken the record for the longest number-1 album by a woman in Billboard history, she really need not worry. Adele’s still “Someone Like You,” except she’s now worth in excess of £23 million and is guaranteed a place amongst the music greats. Gordon Brown wrote to this Labour supporter to tell her that she’s a “light end of the tunnel” but we prefer the view of former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. Of her, he proclaims: “She’s great. She’s a shot in the arm for this industry.”
Christian Huhnt takes his first foray into the world of supper clubs
I don’t usually find myself in the east of London. It’s not because I don’t like it but simply because it’s just an awful journey to get there from where I live. Eventually, though, a “secret” was able to convince me to make this long journey. This “secret,” I was told, could only be revealed to me if I “attended” it. Of what, you may ask, am I am rambling on about? I am talking of something called: “The Secret Supper Club.”
Next, you’ll be asking: “What the heck is a ‘supper club’?” Well, in essence, a “supper club” is essentially a dinner in the company of a bunch of total randoms. It is a bit like blind dating, although you get to speak to many more people than just the one opposite you. As I had heard and read so much about supper clubs, I became very curious about attending one. Normally these gatherings happen in someone’s own home without any professional help, but the one to which I was invited was quite something else.
This particular supper club is on another level. It is run by Lime&Tonic, an international firm of event planners and costs just £35 per head. Lime&Tonic made their philosophy to: “Save the world from boredom” according to its co-founder Stefan Cordiner and in the London supper club they operate I certainly found plenty that fascinated.
The major idea of Lime&Tonic’s take on the supper club is to make new contacts. In this case it was as far reaching as it could get. We were 14 in total. None of us knew each other beforehand, but almost everyone came as a couple or with a friend. What, I realised, made it particularly special was how wide an array of people came: Where else would a pharmaceutical product developer from Birmingham have dinner with an F-15 pilot from the US?
The “un-restaurant,” as it is also referred to by Lime&Tonic, happens every month at a “secret venue,” but never a private residence. The location is revealed to the attendees one day before the event. It’s usually held in a venue with a “unique feel” but wherever it may be, the focus is on somewhere with “authentic charm.”
Suspense and surprise is the order of the day here as the “secret menu” is not revealed until guests sit down at the table either. On arrival we were told that our chef for the night was Paul Hannagen, a good-humoured young Irish professional who established his own catering operation, Cuisson, in August 2011. His passion for his craft was infectious.
The one element of “surprise” that I found hard to deal with was the “bring your own” wine policy. Without knowing what would be served, how could I know what alcohol my wine buff companion ought to choose?
The food itself, though, was delightful. We started with some small ‘lollipops’ stuffed with chicken liver and chunks of apple as an amuse-bouche. This was followed by a ham that had been cooked for 36 hours and served in a “British farmer’s style” with mini-cauliflower, sliced carrots, a rocket salad and a truly wonderful chutney. For a main we were served salmon, cooked “hot and cold” on one side only at 44.5°C in basil oil served with marinated prawns, mashed potatoes and broccoli. It was a great dish but perhaps a little more salt could have made it perfect. The final course, equally, was a delight: chocolate fudge with Baileys ice cream and salted caramel. I was in heaven.
In general, Hannagen’s approach to slow cooking and his use of local produce reminded me very much of that of Jason Atherton at Pollen Street Social. I was therefore not surprised when he later told me that Atherton was his mentor. He did a great job and my companion and I agreed that he deserves huge success.
The meal over, we ended up downing Patrón XO Cafe shots together while happily exchanging numbers. Though I may have been sceptical in the beginning, this concept is brilliant. I am very much looking forward to attend the next Secret Supper Club soon.
For more details about Lime&Tonic and their supper clubs, go to: http://www.limeandtonic.com/london/en/
For more details about Paul Cuisson, go to: http://www.cuisson.co.uk