Category Archives: The Columns

This Month's Magazines: Pippa Middleton and Gwyneth Paltrow Cover Girls/ Updated

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Here is the second in my monthly round-up, for July 2011.

Tatler has joined Pippa Middleton’s fan club and put her on the cover, the article on her inside weighs up her possible future husbands, and has a very good article on her and lots of pictures. It also let’s you know that Pippa does pilates at Pilates on the Go in Parson’s Green, and has a testimonial on their website.

Tatler also give the low-down on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s inner circle, who’s in and who’s out. Athina Onassis also has an article on her and multibillion-pound colossus Glencore has a four page article on them. Nathaniel Rothschild is one of their investors.

Tory Burch talks about what inspires her, Claudia Winklemann writes about her hatred of summer, Orlando had advice for your gap yah, Annabel Rivkin slams Made In Chelsea for making posh people look bad, and for not being posh at all.

One of the best article is their annual 100 most invited; The Middleton’s top the list, Natalie Massenet, Colin Firth, Nat Rothschild, Michael McIntyre, Dasha Zhukova and Liz Murdoch all make the list.

Tatler also has their first ever Hunting, Shooting & Fishing guide. Here at Frost we don’t hunt, but we love clay pigeon shooting.

Vanity Fair: Emma Stone is on the cover and talks about wanting to be a ‘covered up’ actress, but is on the cover in a bikini. Stone comes across well in the interview and states that she doesn’t want to make a career out of mere sex appeal. Ted Danson goes out to lunch, James Wolcott on Dominique Strauss-Kahn, There is a long form article on Groupon, one of the biggest growing business in history which will soon be worth $20 Billion.

There is an article to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11, there is also a very good article on Prince Andrew and his many troubles, but does let you know that he is The Queen’s favorite child, Elephants – which are sadly being hunted in their tens of thousands per year, and Catch 22 writer Joseph Heller. Jerry Lewis does the Proust Questionnaire.

Vanity Fair Jewellery has a supplement with a naked Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. It has lots of good articles on the history of Gold, The Windsor’s crown jewels, Daphne Guinness and a calender with Paltrow, Thandie Newton, Natalia Vodianova, Olivia Inge, Olivia Palermo, Uma Thurman and Poppy Delevigne.

Marie Claire has Audrey Tautou on the cover, the shy actress manages to give nothing away in the subsequent interview. George Clooney talks about his activism in South Sudan, there are wedding night confessions, a good article on women who earn money from blogging, a piece on the rise of Posh as Toff mania grips Britain.

There are QR codes abound in Marie Claire, exciting if you have a smart phone,

There is lots of fashion of course, it lets you nail your festival look, there is an article on couples who fight over wardrobe space, an article on love addiction and JK Rowling’s life story. Harry Potter star Bonnie Wright also gives an insight into her world and Megan Fox gives her beauty secrets.

There is a free gift of lip gloss, but not if you are a subscriber. Bad form.

Vogue has Kate Moss AKA Mrs Jamie Hince on the cover and in a forties fashion spread inside, though nothing on her wedding (American Vogue have been given the rights) Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain and Lily Collins.

Jemima Khan writes about conquering her fear of flying to save a long distance relationship. Jemima is a very good writer. Miss V is as brilliant as ever, with lots of parties and pictures,

Of course there is lots of fashion and the forties look is in. Christopher Bailey talks about 10 years at Burberry and Mustique is the holiday destination of the year.

The girls of Downtown Abbey are in vogue and in couture, complete with interviews. There is also a tan special and Christa D’Souza on the quest of a perfect ponytail. Gemma Atterton gives her Style File and talks about how hard it is to find cloths to fit her curvy frame.

There is also a free supplement of the Runaway round-up for Autumn/Winter 2011.

Glamour has Jessie J is on the cover and there is a free Personal Horoscope book.

There is a very good article inside where Jessie talks about her sexuality, her stroke and drugs and alcohol which you can read more about on Frost.

There is articles on cutting calories, getting in shape and being body confident, lessons from online dating, Karl Lagerfield on Lily Allen’s wedding dress, article on sex dreams, how to nail a wedding gift, Katy Perry’s body secrets.

This issue also had Glamour’s Women Of the Year Awards, their prestigious annual event, with news and gossip from the night. A running gag about sleeping with Davina McCall’s husband is funnier than it sounds. There is also 30,000 sex secrets and how to become red carpet glamorous, as well as an interview with the Inbetweener’s boys. Celia Walden interviews Rupert Grint and the stars spill their festival secrets.

A very good, fun edition with lots of fashion, stories, advice and fun.

 

 

 

The Inept Girl's Guide To Cooking: Stuffed Peppers

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I thought stuffed peppers would be hard, thankfully, I was wrong.

Take 4 peppers, any colour you want, chop the top off and scoop out the insides and clean. Place in a baking try, take some olive oil and drizzle lightly over the peppers. Cook for 20 minutes or until roasted.

While the peppers are cooking take some couscous and put it in a bowl. Add boiling water (the pack will tell you how much, generally 115ml or water per 75ml of couscous) leave for two minutes and it will be cooked! I know, I love couscous, it is so easy and quick.

Now, this is where the fun starts; you can stuff the peppers with whatever you want, I added Tomato, mushroom, onion and mozzarella. Quite simple but it tastes amazing.

 

While the couscous is cooking peel and chop up some mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. Put in a frying pan with a little oil and start to cook. Add the couscous when it is done. Keep checking on the peppers.

Add the mozzarella to the pan, take the peppers out of the oven and stuff the mixture into them. Put the tops on and then put back not the oven for a further 20 minutes. Cooking times may vary so feel free to adjust.

Take the peppers out of the oven and they are ready to serve. They taste great with the melted mozzarella, I also added some honey roast parsnips, which will be coming up soon in my column. I also added cooked apples on top as an experiment and it went down quite well.

The best things about stuffed peppers is the variety, you can have rice instead of couscous and any vegetable or even meat, so have fun.

Enjoy!

The Inept Girl's Guide To Cooking: Scotch Broth Soup

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Some cliche’s last because they are true, and the only Scottish cliches that I have found true (We’re not cheap!) are that we eat Scotch broth and porridge. I practically grew up on the stuff. If you get a big pot and make this soup, not only is it economical, it also lasts for days, even for a big family. It is also incredibly healthy. It is also so easy that I can do without trouble or injury. This is my family recipe….

You will need:
butterbeans (packet)
peas (packet)
Lentils (packet)
Broth Mix (packet)
Ham stock cubes (hard to find in West London, where I live, can also choose a vegetarian one)
Carrots 3 large at least
Leek

Steep the butterbean, peas and broth mix overnight, rinse in the morning, and then add stock cube once the water is hot.

Grate carrots and dice leek and then add lentils. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on it. Ideally I think it tastes better after being cooked for about 9 hours, get it ready about 9 in the morning and it usually ready about 6. It tastes even better the next day. you will need a good size pot.

And there you go! A healthy, filling meal for all the family that will last for a few days.

This Month's Magazines; Kate Middleton and Getting in Shape Lead.

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This is the first of Frost magazine’s new monthly magazine round-up. Here at Frost we are addicted to magazines and our guess is that you like them too, so, here goes….

Vanity Fair has the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the cover. The world has gone crazy for Kate Middleton and there is 16 pages on the new couple, including the interesting fact that Kate has never been to America before and is ‘beyond excited’.

Horrible fact of the month comes from Christopher Hitchen’s column, which is on Pakistan: in Pakistan not only is rape not illegal, it’s a punishment. Mark Shand tells Nick Haslam about the Elephant Family, Stieg Larsson’s girlfriend tells of their life together and there is good articles on Justin Timberlake, Silvio Berlusconi and the Falcons.

Marie Claire (who are in my bad books, as they do not send the subscribers the free gifts that come with the magazine. This month it’s a choice of eyeliner or eye-shadow, last month a Body Shop moisturiser, not nice way to treat those who are most loyal) Jennifer Lawrence is on the cover, and has a very good interview inside where she says that she tells director she won’t lose more weight and was initially scared of fame.

Emily Eavis, daughter of Michael, talks about growing up as part of the world’s greatest music festival, there is lots of fashion and a summer’s sandals piece that I enjoyed, there is a low down on the Russian invasion of Chelsea; lead by Roman Abramovich and Dasha Zhukova, Writer Natasha Green writes about choosing between her husband and her lover and 5 friends, who all went to university and did a performing arts degree, meet up to discuss where they are 10 years later. Marie Claire also have an exclusive interview with Aung San Suu Kyi. Other good article are dating advice you don’t need from your friends, a good piece on Jean Paul Gaultier and a brilliant article on the life of Princess Diana, very apt.

It’s Elle’s body issue, Elle always give there subscribers the free gift, as do RED and Glamour, Rosie Huntington-Whitley is on the cover and interviewed inside, and there is a free vest top my Kate Middleton fav Reiss.

Celia Walden ponders over why we fawn over the famous, the impossibly stylish Ines De La Fressange is in Elle edits, my personal style crush tells us about her philosophy on life, House of Holland are this month’s Style Spy, make up artist Lisa Eldridge gives a peak inside her closet and Debbie Harry tells is what books changed her life. Rob Lowe is interviewed and there are a lot of great articles on how to get in shape and be happy with how you look. Of course, there is also lots of great fashion. Lorraine Candy is temporarily stepping down from the Elle editorship to have her fourth baby.

Tatler has Romola Garai on the cover, she is interviewed inside and talks about her “ordinary body” and her desire for people to find her sexy. Kate Reardon has been the new editor for a few months now and is doing a good job, though I couldn’t find an editor’s letter.

Royal Wedding photographer Hugo Burnand talks about photographing the biggest wedding in decades, there are other articles on the top 10 poshest ghosts, Clive Anderson writes about losing his cool, there is lots of gossip, A very good guide to the Murdoch dynasty, an article on how the rich buy life (a very good read), some property porn as Belvoir Castle is featured by it’s owners the Duke and Duchess of Rutland.

There is also an article on (the last taboo!) woman’s facial hair and how to get rid of it, Alice Temperley also spills on all of her beauty secrets. If you buy it form the news-stand you get a free pair of sunglasses, but Tatler doesn’t give free gifts to it’s subscribers.

Vogue has Vanessa Paradis on the cover, she talks about staying on the move and being comfortable with your body, Stella Tennant models (can you believe she is in her 40’s!)

I really like the article by Carol Woolton on the lost world of legendary balls, including the jewellery that Elizabeth Taylor wore to the 1971 Rothschild Proust Ball, lots on the Royal wedding and who wore what, editor Alexandra Shulman was one of the guests and gives a good account. The rise of folk (as in music) gets a good spread and supermodel Arizona Muse keeps a diary for Vogue.

I also love the inspirational women who feature in Vogue’s Wonder Women piece, scientists and theatre directors alike. There is also an editorial on fashion dynasties, if you love glamour the way I do you will love reading about the Guinnesses, Dellals, Agnellis/Brandolinis and the Jaggers.

Donna Karen also does a wonderful interview and writer Vicky Ward talks about her divorce; “the equivalent of undergoing heart surgery without anesthetic.” There is also a brilliant free beauty supplement with lots of celebrities and models giving their beauty and health routines, tips and hints.

Glamour has a free Benefit beauty product (I got the Benetint) Karl Lagerfield on fashion do’s, celebrity couples you forgot about, how to find a man anywhere, the rise of gold and fame digging men, why is friendship so hard?, how the Glamour staff got their job, a very good, and slightly depressing article on female war reporters; read about the same time I saw Channel 4’s Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, you think women are equal and safe….

There is interviews with the Glamour women of the year awards, including the brilliant Adele, who is on the cover. There is lots of brilliant fashion and beauty, a very good article on why we should all see Bridesmaids by Zoe Williams, there is a number of articles on how to fake tan well and I really enjoyed the piece on Get a Blockbuster body, what Blake Lively, Jennifer Lawrence and Rosie Huntington-Whitley did to get in shape for their films. There is also a good article on the secret to good health in 100 words or less.

So, until next month!

Sir Richard Branson and friends party at The Roof Gardens to celebrate 30 years on top in London

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Last night Sir Richard Branson hosted an 80’s extravaganza at The Roof Gardens to celebrate 30 years as one of the top clubs and venues in London.

Famous faces including Princess Beatrice, Jimmy Carr, Alexandra Burke, Sarah Harding and friends were treated to a fun packed evening including a variety of live music – which included a fantastic performance from The Overtones and an amazing DJ set from 80’s legend Boy George. Guests also enjoyed a roller disco and to round off the evening, a spectacular fireworks display with views across London

.

As part of the celebrations a live charity auction was held helping to raise money for Trekstock – a charity which aims to raise awareness of cancer in young people. Some of the brilliant auction items included a fabulous trip for two to Necker Island and a studio session with Mark Ronson and Daniel Merriweather.

It was an evening of double celebration as Babylon, the award-winning restaurant at The Roof Gardens; also celebrated its 10th birthday and regular guests were invited to a delicious dinner before joining the party downstairs.

For the past three decades, the venue which is also part of the Virgin Limited Edition luxury portfolio, has entertained and enchanted Londoners and visitors from around the world with its 1.5 acres beautiful gardens, its exclusive private members nightclub and the award-winning Babylon Restaurant.

Sir Richard Branson commented: “I am thrilled that we are celebrating owning The Roof Gardens for 30 years, I can’t believe how time flies! This evening has really celebrated everything the venue has to offer and was a fantastic way to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years.”

Bird of the Week: Blue Tit

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If I turn my head and look out of the window, I can see a lot of young birds getting to know my feeding station. They are now old enough to fend for themselves, although they’re still trying to get their parents to feed them.

There are young sparrows, starlings, greenfinches, great tits and blue tits. The young ‘blueys’ are the most vocal, constantly calling their scruffy-looking parents. This is a very stressful time for the adults. It is hard work rearing up to 14 (!) babies that are hungry all of the time! Sometimes the adults return to the nest with insect food every 90 seconds! Once the little ones have fledged, they follow their parents around.

FEED ME!!

Now that the young ones are old enough to eat seeds, bits of peanut and fat balls (although insects will still be their main diet), the adult birds have brought them back to my garden where they spent much of the winter. They know there’s always some food available – which is very important.

Blue tit in winter

Once you start feeding wild birds, especially when natural food is hard to come by, don’t stop. Blue tits in particular will come to rely on this food source. In winter, they might not have enough energy to find food elsewhere, so if you decide to help these little balls of fluff, make sure they don’t visit your garden in vain and waste valuable energy.

If you’d like to be part of the family, blue tits will happily accept a nest box in your garden.

Blue tit

The blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is among the nation’s favourite garden birds. They’re tiny, fluffy, colourful, cute and bold as brass. When I first set up my feeding station, the first bird to explore it was a blue tit – and I hadn’t actually finished. And yet, it was only a couple of metres away! This little bird didn’t take any food, but hopped from feeder to feeder, checking everything out and then flew off. Five minutes later it returned with all of  its mates for a snack.

Watching you..

Blue tits are great fun to watch – they are little acrobats and will entertain you for hours, hanging from your feeders upside down.

Juvenile blue tit: it has a dull cap and yellow cheeks

Blue tits are also very clever birds. Two examples: blue tits have been familiar with the concept of aromatherapy much longer than humans. They use herbs such as mint or lavender to line and disinfect the nest or feed the leaves to their young in order to help them fend off parasites. And in the 60s, blue tits learned how to peck through foil milk bottle tops to get to the cream. This behaviour was passed on to other members of their flock and more and more birds learned how to do it. Clever or what?

Clever blue tit

A worthy bird of the week indeed!

For more blue tit  photos please have a look here:
http://www.finepetportraits.co.uk/blue-tit-bird-photos.html

Sandra Palme
www.finepetportraits.co.uk

Bird of the week: Long-Tailed Tit

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As you will have gathered by now, I love all birds – they’re all different, and they don’t need to be colourful to be beautiful. Some are majestic (I will soon introduce you to a bird of prey), some are pretty, some are colourful, some are elegant. When it comes to cuteness, there’s one bird in particular that springs to mind: the long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus).

Long-tailed tit

Long-tailed tit - AWWWWWWW!

A small, round ball of fluff with a very long tail, big eyes and a stubby beak – you can’t help but go ‘awwwwwwww’.

These little acrobats always come in flocks and constantly chatter with each other. You can’t watch them and not smile.

Upside down

If you’re lucky, they might come and visit your bird table in winter and feast on nuts and fat cakes, or mealworms as they are insectivorous birds.

Long-tailed tit with food for young

Their nest is a work of art made out of moss, lichen, loads of soft feathers and spider’s webs. And the fledglings that emerge from this nest are…you guessed it: too cute for words.

Long-tailed tit fledgeling

So go for a walk in the park or in the countryside – you might be lucky and come across a family of long-tailed tits that will keep you entertained for hours!

LTT flying

For more LTT photos please have a look here:
http://www.finepetportraits.co.uk/long-tailed-tit-bird-photos.html

Sandra Palme
www.finepetportraits.co.uk

Bird of the week: Common Whitethroat (Sylvia communis)

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Today I’d like to introduce you to the wonderful family of ‘Old World warblers’.
I love all warblers but the whitethroat is a particular favourite of mine so I’ll start with this species.

Whitethroat saying hello

Whitethroat saying hello

Like most British warblers the whitethroat spends the winter in Africa. This means it has only just returned to Britain and I am happy to report that this year record numbers have made it back to their breeding grounds! Great to hear something positive about bird population numbers for a change!
Whitethroats can be found in open country and shrub/bramble where they feed (on insects and berries in autumn) and nest.

So if you go for a walk in the countryside (and you really should, there is so much to see!) you are very likely to encounter a whitethroat – in all likelihood a male. He will probably be perched on top of a bush (or possibly be skulking in a clump of bramble) and sing, sing, sing!

 

Or you might witness one of his display flights that he performs while singing. The one thing he won’t do is sit still for you. Whitethroats are completely hyper, always in action, never bored!

Male whitethroat in full song

Male whitethroat in full song

 

 

Whitethroats are also very inquisitive little birds – you can be sure they have been watching you long before you know they’re around.

Inquisitive whitethroat

Inquisitive whitethroat

 

 

They do like to announce their presence though by scolding you with their grumpy-sounding alarm call. Always makes me smile!
Check out the whitethroat’s scratchy but lovely song and alarm call here:

 


As you can tell, I love whitethroats. They’re full of character and although they might not be colourful, they’re both beautiful and SO cute!
Male whitethroat

Male whitethroat

Female whitethroat

Female whitethroat - she lacks the male's grey head and pinkish chest

Male whitethroat gathering nesting material

Male whitethroat gathering nesting material

Juvenile whitethroat in late summer

Juvenile whitethroat in late summer

Whitethroat fledgling

Whitethroat fledgling

 

For more whitethroat photos please have a look here: http://www.finepetportraits.co.uk/whitethroat-bird-photos.html

 

You will meet more warblers here  over the course of the summer!

 

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