"Is that a tree? Or are you just pleased to see me?"

Although I am a fan of art, I don’t consider myself a proficient artist, especially at drawing. So when a friend suggested going to a life drawing class I was a little apprehensive.  After a little encouragement we decided to go to a class at Cafe Kino, Stokes Croft, Bristol. Cafe Kino is a not-for-profit vegetarian and vegan cafe with a ‘community events space’ on it’s lower ground.

The life drawing class are un-tutored which allows for the classes to be a very reasonable £5 per session. Sessions are 2 hours long consisting of various poses for different amounts of time, the longest being the last pose which is for 50 minutes. Participants are invited to bring their own equipment although pencils, charcoals and pastels are available to use and paper can be bought at cost price.

There was a mixed crowd of different ages and an even mix of male and female, lots of people seemed to be on their own with a few couples in the mix. My friend and I were most worried about getting into a fit of giggles, however as the robbed female revealed her ‘lady garden’ the seriousness of the rest of the class was apparently contagious.  As the ‘poses’ past I started to feel a little more confident, although I wouldn’t go as far as saying - ‘practice makes perfect’.  The two hours flew past and we left the class feeling happy and relaxed.

Cafe Kino run weekly life drawing classes every Monday between 6pm and 8pm, if you are tempted, I urge you to go, I loved it. 

Is that a tree?

Not quite to scale!

"Call me Bubbles darling, everybody does!"

So Bubbleology, the Taiwanese bubble tea café is celebrating it's first birthday this Sunday 22nd April! As a thank you to customers and a way of celebrating a year of the quirky bubble teas, if you visit either their flagship Soho store on Rupert Street or their Fifth Floor store in Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge  between 12-3pm  you'll be rewarded with a free Kumquat fruit tea or al Almond or Taro flavoured milk tea.

 Perfect for anyone in London to support the London Marathon or for any of the runners as a sweet reward!

Bubbleology describe bubble tea as;

"refreshing flavoured fruit and milk teas served ice cold or piping hot with chewy natural tapioca balls that you suck up through a fat straw! Yum!"

Virgin London Marathon

With 99 days to the much anticipated Olympic Games, what better way to begin the patriotic participation than watching the Virgin London Marathon? For the past 4 years my family and I have enjoyed a full free day out at the event, and 2 years ago my Dad took the plunge and ran for MENCAP  – making the family very proud.

The London Marathon has been running for 31 years, with almost 35,000 insane individuals taking place last year. Watching, for me, is both embarrassing and inspirational. When you see people old enough to be your grandparents puffing over the finish line, it makes you proud to be British. The atmosphere is great with cheers of support from the crowds to all participants. Many runners in fancy dress – last years include; a giant nurse, a group bus and Danger Mouse to name but a few.  Another highlight of the race is – ‘celeb spotting’, every year we have seen a number of ‘celebs,’ and celebrities running this year include; Will Young, Gordon Ramsey, Linda Barker, Nell McAndrew, Iwan Thomas and many more.

Mile 13 (The Highway, London Borough of Tower Hamlets) is a great place to watch as you get to see both sides of the race, although this area can get a little busy. If you arrive around 11am you should be able to get a front row view around Tower Hill underground station (this is my favourite spot and where I will be this year). The finish line (The Mall, City of Westminster) is a brilliant place to watch, although it can be very busy, so arrive early to get a good spot. An interactive map and other information for the race can be found on the Virgin London Marathon website: http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/ .

The Virgin London Marathon takes place this Sunday (22nd April).

(Tower Hill is accessed via both Circle and District lines and Fenchurch Street Over ground C2C services. Although the Circle line has a ‘good service’ this weekend there are some closures on the District line - Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 April, suspended between Richmond and Turnham Green. Rail replacement buses operate. Bus service: between Turnham Green and Richmond, calling at Chiswick Park, Gunnersbury and Kew Gardens. See – www.tfl.gov.uk for other closures this weekend.)

Princess Beatrice 2010