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The Northumberland at Trafalgar Square

8 Northumberland Avenue

London's Most Central Venue

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  • Recent Posts

    • Fashion Week: Glamour or Madness?
    • Food + the right people = magic
    • 2011 forcast, which way is it to easy st?
    • New Years Eve
    • The end of Christmas

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    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011

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    • 2011
    • Festive Period
    • Good Food
    • Pleasures

Fashion Week: Glamour or Madness?

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Charles

Most of us imagine that fashion week is pure Glamour, everything running like clockwork in perfect synchronisation. A room full of chauffeured (we had 30 black limos on one day) beautiful people, draped in Bond streets finest; killer heels (men and women) and scented with Chanel number 5, and largely it is. However I thought I knew what it was all about and so we went through our first Fashion week at 8 Northumberland thinking that everything would go according to plan as laid out in the 125 meetings we had prior. What could be missing?

If you are thinking food let me remind you that this is fashion week! Would you eat something just before going down the catwalk for a Lingerie designer with your bum on show?

Thought not! P.S.: they all had cellulite (or so I am told)

We did not take full consideration to some logical factors such as:

  • Male staff do not perform at their best around female models (and vice-versa), you knew that didn’t you!
  • Do Girls really need to discuss shoes that much, are they really that important?
  • Within 10 mins. of a show starting, 500 beautiful people descend on the bar and they expect a champagne cocktail!
  • Designers have a very sharp eye for details (I guess that’s why they shine)
  • If production put a carpet on a carpet and it is not properly attached, when 500 people walk on it, it moves unbelievable distances!

It was a great week and when you check our Fashion Week videos and photos on Facebook you realise that Nikki and her team from The Space Show London are great.  It was great fun with loads of famous people draped around the bar from Film, TV, Radio and music.

To summarise ‘darling’ fashion week is like the preverbal swan, serine on the surface, paddling like mad below and I loved it.

Posted in 2011, Pleasures | Tagged central, designers, fashion, venues | Leave a comment

Food + the right people = magic

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Charles

I asked the dictionary; what is food? (fortunately food is a word I can spell!) “Food is any substance that can be metabolised by an animal, (watch the news, we are animals), to give energy and build tissue, it’s any solid substance (as opposed to liquid) that is used as a source of nourishment.

But is it what food is all about? Do you book a table in a restaurant thinking, “I need a source of nourishment”? of course not, since the time we lived in caves all sat around the fire enjoying the original BBQ, great pleasure has been drawn from social intercourse, I do enjoy good intercourse while eating, this is the magic in a restaurant.

There are several great restaurants where the food is very average. I remember an amazing meal at Chez Nico the food had everything, technically stunning, but the restaurant was a cold experience. Equally I remember 20+ years ago, one freezing cold icy day in a Manchester garage my self a couple of petrol head friends after a hard mornings work on the car sat around a paraffin stove eating thick cheese and beetroot sandwich’s with mugs of Bovril, it remains one of the most memorable meals/occasions in my life.
Food for me is one of the biggest pleasures in life, and it’s place in the economy has become more and more important; no wonder 1 in every 3 adverts in television is related to food! You cannot live without it? It is so powerful that it can change your whole mind set from the moment it’s presented in front of you and you start connecting all those colors and smells with the explosion of flavors in your mouth! Add the right people and the magic begins.

All big occasions center on a meal Christmas, Valentines Day, New Years (although this one can include a large amount of drinks J) Weddings royal or otherwise and the list goes on and on… Of course the surroundings are also an important factor and the same meal served in a dungeon (when you have not chosen to be there!) does not have the same taste and joy as a meal served in grand surroundings, – combine both and you are sure to have a great time! I am going to change that, Grand surroundings don’t make a good time; the right surroundings married to the right food and company – combined and you are sure to have a great time!
So gather your friends with no special reason and book a table in the right restaurant (Boyd’s is good!). Transport yourself to wonderland, where work problems and the stresses of today’s lifestyle don’t matter!

Best Regards,

Charles

Posted in 2011, Good Food, Pleasures | 1 Comment

2011 forcast, which way is it to easy st?

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Charles

2011 Financial forecast;

I like to think in the past I have had a reasonable feel for the year ahead especially in our sector in the centre of London, last year I believed we would see the economy bouncing along the bottom for a while with blips of success before mid September then gradual positive improvements as confidence grows, wrong!!! No confidence and no improvements in 2010 just bloody hard work for virtually no profit.

So what does this great guru of hospitality finance forecasting think for 2011 you might wonder? I believe we will see the economy bouncing along the bottom for a while but then gradual improvements as confidence grows. 2 factors will drive this, a royal wedding and then the dawn of the Olympic year, this really should give us a lift, I will be amazed if it does not.

Worryingly;

• the Euro,
• religious fanatics (narrow minded, power hungry, selfish and greedy ugly people from most if not all religions),
• political maneuvering in Westminster (by narrow minded, power hungry, selfish and greedy ugly people from most if not all party’s)
• Bad country’s or bad big businesses (lead by narrow minded, power hungry, selfish and greedy ugly people who get confused between good business and dishonesty)

and other events can remove any confidence very quickly.

If we don’t see a recovery soon, I believe the rate of business and people going bankrupt will increase significantly.

As much as I would like it, this is not a time to be flashing the cash personally or business wise (presuming you have some!), so it will be another year of prudent spending and grinding out a profit.

Does anyone know the way to easy street please? 1 million reward for the right answer.

Let’s finish positively; money will not make you happy, it will only make the journey more pleasant. Things could be a whole lot worse!

Cheers

Charles

Posted in 2011, Festive Period | Tagged forcast, forcast 2011, forcast london olympics, royal wedding | Leave a comment

New Years Eve

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Charles

The New Years Eve fireworks on the thames were really fantastic, the last time I watched them it was on millennium night 11 years ago from the deck of the HQS Wellington (where does the time go?). The sheer size, volume of noise and light from this years fireworks, was really special and I loved the silver stars fluttering down to Elton Johns ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’ what a treat, it made everyone smile and I felt proud to be an adopted Londoner. Looking around me whilst the fireworks were going off I was reminded that London is the most visited city in the world and rightly so.

Approximately 200 Boyd’s Guests were all able to ‘walk down the avenue’ (who sang that song?), with a bottle of champagne in their hands, just a hundred meters and you get great views of the countdown, the fireworks and comfortably close to the sound system, really civilised but right in the action, we really are in the centre of London here, what a fantastic place it will be for the Olympics.

Afterwards it was back to the warm and busy Boyd’s for a couple of hours, then an enjoyable cycle home, so many people around, what a great city this is.

We need to make more of this opportunity next year, perhaps a champagne bar and restaurant in the ballroom, a dance floor and a good DJ on the decks, fireworks and champagne at midnight, bacon sandwiches at 1am for a full evening. For under £100 that is a good night out, what do you think?

Posted in Festive Period | Tagged fireworks, new year eve, new years eve 2011, northumberland avenue, olympics 2012, trafalgar square | Leave a comment

The end of Christmas

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Charles

It’s the 23rd of December, we have done a large number of Christmas events (first one was on the 1st of December) interestingly the 15th was the first day crackers were requested and the 16th the first time Turkey was requested, at this moment no one has requested Christmas pudding (correction one party did) and none of the themes include a Christmas tree of any sort!

Is this the start of the breakdown of Christmas and society as we know it or is everyone just bored with the saturation and happy doing the traditional Christmas at home on Christmas day, or is it just me been Bah Humbug as I am delighted to just have Christmas day and hallas that’s it? What do you think?

If you’re likely to be the organiser for next year book your dates now, don’t confirm it unless your certain, the best dates in the best venues have usually gone by the end of February (honestly).

Have a very Happy Christmas and a happy healthy New Year

Ps looking I am for ideas to use up 500 portions of Christmas puddings???

Posted in Festive Period | Tagged Christmas, christmas puddings, end, events, london, trafalgar square | 1 Comment

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