Ever felt that if you aren’t getting something done, you are wasting time?

When it’s Game Over, will you have achieved a high enough score?

How rare is it these days to find an event in London which is current, relevant, inspirational and leaves you thinking about your day-to-day life attitude in a thoroughly different way.  And what a fabulous way to spend a couple of hours?  Sunday Sermons c/o The School of Life, aka Skool 4 Grown Ups are invigorating.

This had been in the diary for a while, further to looming hints that my natural gift of procrastination was back with a vengeance.  I was loathe to let it back in residence full time, only part part time if you please.  Back to Autumn at The School of Life, and to Jane McDonigal’s sermon on Productivity.  Jane ((Jane is a serious gamer from San Fran) was dressed to the nines, in a kind of mini frou frou ball dress complete with netting, ample cleavage on show and a flowing blond mane.  Not your average gamer me thought.

I was expecting a bunch of nerds and IT passionistas however, as ever. was totally misdirected with my ’other people’ assumptions.  In fact, the room was bursting with relatively affluent 30somethings in their Sunday best (no hats / frocks, just the prerequisite slick overcoats, pricey jeans, black boots, expensive accessories) all doing the London thing. What better way to start the crisp sunny day.

We were greeted at the door of the old Church Hall by a super tall circus-style man, dressed like a Pacman.  Nice touch.  Similar to morning hymns at school, we sang ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ in unison, led by ‘our music teacher’ up on the stage.  We were asked to write our ‘to do’ list for the following week on a red piece of paper, and then use same piece of paper to construct paper aeroplanes and fly them across the room.  Jane had cast her spell.  We were eating out of her hand.  Audience participation was a must, but in no way contrived.

Jane educated us on what it truly means to be productive.  FACT: This generation becomes bored frighteningly easily.  Is our ‘to do list’ merely an attempt to feel more adequate about our existence? Or are we going round and round in ever-increasing circles, creating lists to cross them off so that we can start all over again?  Pink Floyd immediately springs to mind.  Are we a blatant product of modern capitalism, ie. our relentless bitter sweet self-questioning and quest to fulfill our daily duty of contributing to the GDP?  Do you feel that if you are not getting something done, you are wasting time?

What we have achieved is a continuous rant to self.  As Jane said, when it says ‘Game Over’, will we have reached a high enough score?  So inherent is our fear of being unproductive, that we dont know what it is we are here to actually produce.

Jane taught us of the possible parallels to leading a more fulfilled life, via playing computer games.

According to Dr Martin Seligman’s new book, Flourish, due to be published by Simon & Schuster next spring, the following 4 x factors are necessary if if we are to flourish (and these same 4 things can be provided by playing computer games:
1. POSITIVE EMOTION

2. RELATIONSHIPS

The act of walking Boris has stepped my street cred in Maida Vale up a notch.  ’B’ is the new addition to the family in the form of an Irish Terrier – His divine, chocolate button eyes, verging on humane, are making fellow Maida Valians swoon without fail…a flirt at four months.

So many new friends and followers in the ‘hood, it’s getting more bewildering than Twitter.  Tell you what though, Mama will be delighted, for this means I can never leave the flat without fixing make up, hair and outfit.

FACT: More men are falling at his paws than you can imagine. Is this perhaps something to do with the fact that Boris resembles a living, breathing Teddy Bear?  Interesting to see would Freud would say on the matter…

Watch this space for dating installments; Boris is picking men up for Yours Truly at a faster rate than you can say scoop that poop for fear of a fine from Westminster Council. OK – there is a vague possibility that this ‘blogodrama’ might not be as riveting as Mad Men, but it’s not far off.

Who knew that dogwalking could be so fruitful? Barbara Woodhouse would be proud. x

Living Teddy Bear

x

www.ancac.com

Tell me the last time this happened to you: you pop into a slick boutique in a seriously posh part of town and walk out with the following: an item (or two) that firstly fit you as though it / they were bespoke, and you are safe in the knowledge that no other store this side of the Mediterranean or indeed the Atlantic, stocks said item(s).

My new Anca C dress

This happened to me a couple of days ago. In Chelsea of all places! Strolling down the fabulous Draycott Avenue has, in the past, been a window-shopping experience. No more, no less. Whether an inferiority complex, a phobia with upmarket band pressure or just a few less zeros in the bank in true recessionista style, I rarely make a purchase in SW3.

You have to trust me on this. Make a special trip to Anca C. The owner, Anca, knows what women want and she makes no bones in telling you what works, and what doesn’t. She has a magical in-built formula that manages to recognise what works for a client. Her aim? Bringing out both her client’s feminine side and personality. It really is a frock shop – frocks fill the rails. Let her choose you a couple of pieces to start with and play, enjoy, strut your stuff in her boutique and more importantly, trust her (and her team). Anca does all the buying herself, often discovering American labels that are almost unknown here with a realistic range of sizes, up to 16 (rare in Chelsea!). She has developed and produced her own label collections, clients adore her structured dresses, maxi dresses and vibrant kaftan-esque numbers. Anca has her own cashmere collection, hand-made in Kathmandu.

The boutique will open late for her regulars who know they won’t make it out of the office in time, and if a visitor to London needs a fabulous dress at the last minute for a dinner, an appointment can be arranged at the hotel where they are staying.

An Anca C customer? Well-travelled, independent, sassy, aware of their femininity and doesn’t follow the pack who buy labels for labels’ sake.

Style Bible has featured another piece, this time on Swarovski, for London Jewellery Week

http://bit.ly/swarstylebible

Swarovski Gems 2011 launches this week across the globe.. Approaching the HQ, I feel like I should be wearing an entirely new wardrobe. As in, in a perfect world, I would have bought the whole outfit yesterday. You know one of those truly urban moments, when you feel just a little bit six seasons ago? The handbag – which has gone down a treat at every event over the past three years – feels, well, a full three years old and shabby chic it ain’t.

It is day 2 of London Jewellery Week 2010. The sun is out – between downpours – and I have just arrived at the Swarovski Headquarters in Piccadilly. The white, ultra clinical yet elegant interior is sparkling. A waiter serves the prerequisite soft drink du jour, elderflower cordial, as I am led into a slick, stark boardroom that would fit perfectly in a scene in Ugly Betty.

Dr Birgit Rieder is Head of Gem Creative in Wattens, Austria, where Daniel Swarovski created his empire in 1895.

Dr Rieder’s presentation is, excuse the pun, absolutely flawless. She truly inspired me with her understanding of the power of these man-made zirconia gemstones, from (I think) one of the most powerful brands in the world today.

What fascinates me the most, is the importance the team gives to trend agencies and the evolution of trends. For Swarovski, it is not what’s ‘in right now’ that is important, but what the consumer genuinely wants, in all of her mood swings. As Rieder so rightly declared, ‘I wore a big cocktail ring yesterday and today, I’m wearing a more refined piece of jewellery’. Different days, different persona. She’s right, what we wear reflects our mood, as well as the zeitgeist. It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her tune, some every three minutes, but that’s for another feature…

Swarovski Gems 2011 launches this week across the globe. The designers of the collection want the pieces to reflect the personality of the wearer. With the consumers of the world so varied, in a world that is so vast, women in various markets want a host of different accessories. Big players in the jewellery and design worlds have been invited to take the Swarovski gems and incorporate them into fascinating pieces, playing with the offering of delicious colours and colossal strength (almost as strong as diamonds) of each zirconia stone. The fact that they are not precious, is even more ingenious. Jewellers from some of the biggest fine jewellery brands in the world, have actually given their respect – and names – to the brand.

Swarovski’s vision is to unite the world and work together, rather than fighting each other, very 2011. The brand speaks to all nations, empathising with the rainbow of customs, cultures and tastes. Rieder goes on to say that with the power of the web, our sense of wonder has dissolved somewhat. However, the sense of amazement we each get from nature is still just as fresh. We are actually appreciating natural beauty so much more in fact. Many of the collections feature shapes from the natural world; flowers and insects are plentiful.

Swarovski Gems is the ‘product brand for Swarovski’s genuine gemstones & created stones’. These Gems inspire some of the most talented minds in the fine jewellery industry to create pieces from their wildest dreams.

My by-line is up and hopefully this will last longer than the requisite 15 minutes.

http://bit.ly/skooloflife

Am published, am loving it, and am on a roll.  Style Bible posted my piece on the School of Life and I love the fact that a dinner I attended, after having read about it in the press (Telegraph Magazine) lead to a feature.

I am covering London Jewellery Week for Style Bible this week – so get the bubbly and gems merging into a lucid couple of words please.

‘What is your most surprising fear, and where does it come from?’ was up for discussion during the first course.

A welcome cocktail had been thrust my way just moments ago, as I apprehensively joined a table of strangers who were sharing their views on the various aphorisms, or amuse-bouches, which were printed on laminated cards. Guests were under strict rules to focus on what was written on the cards, rather than veer towards predictable topics, such as the nightmare tube journey to the restaurant or the weather!

To admit that I am a sucker for novelties in the world of networking, would be an understatement, however this dinner retained my attention – and that of my fellow guests – until long after the coffees had been served. Chair-swapping between each course was encouraged, so as to mingle with as many people in the room. The delicious dessert course culminated in the newly formed group pontificating on, ‘how will our culture change in the next 100 years?’

I was at a Conversation Dinner, a regular on the curriculum at The School of Life. Established in 2008, The School was founded by Alain de Botton and Sophie Howarth (former curator of the Tate Modern), offering programmes for grown-ups who are instinctively curious, enjoy the process of thought and relish stimulating conversation. The founders’ intention was to create a modern-day apothecary for ‘pupils’ to come to be treated for common ailments of our zeitgeist, ie. jobs, relationships, personal philosophical dilemmas and so on. The School is based in Bloomsbury, with a retail space bursting with an inspirational offering of literature and prose.

De Botton and Howarth are no strangers to the power of words, concluding that in adulthood, our thirst for learning must be regularly quenched. Random yet like-minded strangers are offered a programme of Conversation Dinners, secular ‘Sunday Sermons’, Evening Classes, the Breakfast Club (sessions run weekdays for an hour, 7:30am) and Weekends (in London and outside). The Sunday Sermons were launched with the following in mind, ‘in the old days most of us looked to religion for direction on how to live. Now we flick through the Sunday papers or surf the net, finding little by way of good counsel’. Workshops include, ‘How To Be A Good Friend’, ‘How To Be Cool’, ‘How Necessary is a Relationship?’, ‘How To Have Better Conversations’, ‘How To Be Alone’, ‘How To Make a Difference’. The evening classes are led by VIP guest speakers, with a maximum of 30 per class, for people with busy lifestyles to meet new people, enjoy, relax and unwind, with wine and a bite.

Current Director Morgwn Rimel, (during Howarth’s maternity leave), says, ‘we forget to feed our soul at the weekend, turn your off-time into on-time…we have forgotten how to be free….we need to embrace our creativity in spite of how accomplished we are’. She is currently organising summer ‘play weekends’ where students are invited ‘to be more judgemental with yourselves, open up a little more’. One idea is a full day of urban gardening, a ‘taste voyage of epicuriosity’ headed by Tom Hodgkinson, of ‘The Idler’.

The ratio of women to men is usually 70:30 for the evening classes, while the monthly sermons are 50:50, with 400-500 people attending.

The School of Life is a nutritious chicken soup for the soul of the Noughties. In a refreshing take on the world which in no way preaches, the School advises us to grab a brief moment out of our daily schedule and re-awaken our dormant minds. In these times of increasing uncertainty, punters are offered a menu of programmes that curate ideas and process them, in a manner which is intelligent, thought–provoking and far from laden with psycho-babble. And Stylebible can whole heartedly reccomend that you give this new found way of thinking a go – who knows what you might come away with?

Observation: Humans and their foibles

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Sports Injury AKA Is This My Body Saying, “Juju, Maybe This Recent Fad of Regular Training Isn’t Really You?”

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4cm wide internal bruise on right calf and the blogger hobbles.

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Going for a late evening mini jog last week caused a sports injury to yours truly. Nothing severe mind you. A sensation of sudden ‘pinging’ inside the leg, akin to something being brushed harshly on outside of right calf.

Diagnosis: Right calf injury, 4cm internal bruise, aka rupture of the gastrocnemius or soleus muscle (without Google I wouldn’t be quoting these words in this manner, guilty and fine about it).

What am I to do without regular twice-sometimes-thrice-weekly sessions alongside sweaty alpha males Please see earlier blog on boxing if you have no idea what I am harking on about, for fear this may sound a little bit like I am regularly partaking in nawty nocturnals to cope in recession – a thought that is starting to be taken more seriously (internally). No big deal, right?

While they’re not getting laid, aren’t footballers laid up for weeks with serious injuries? Difference is, they have servants serving / kneeding / pampering.

So OK, we had been suffering for some days, but really not taking it seriously. Just under a week later, I take myself to All Stars for my fix, do the warm up, do the pads and then it’s skip skipping time…not an intelligent move. That ‘pang’ feeling happened again, rather akin to the sound of a spring popping in a mattress…Properly hurt, found some ice, tried to stand on it, not happening.  Apparently my face was ‘pale grey’ and I looked like I was about to pass out – hobbled back, having decided not to take the car to class that evening. An ironic rarity.

Frozen peas, elevated leg and spasming through body. Had been advised to do the peas, elevation thing three days earlier and had ignored.

Lovely new friend Aimee di Marco is a doctor at St Mary’s – we met through boxing and she witnessed my faint visage…said she would organise an ultrasound scan. Love useful friends – a bonus.

The next day was ruled out for a visit to A&E due to a ‘filming’ day with a friend who is trying to get a documentary idea commissioned by heads of TV on a miracle worker.  Said miracle worker with angel wings is Gali, who makes wigs and sadly I have met her after my mother recently underwent chemotherapy..., no way I was going to cancel the day, a lady with alopecia since the age of 12 for hers, and the angel herself…So I was a wobbly and moaning assistant for the day, with spasming through my body head-to-toe, simultaneously experiencing out-of-body occurrences, with no drug assistance.

The following morning, fabulous Nikki (aka Nikki Busmate) collected and transported to St Mary’s. Great service with a smile and I was discharged, being told to rest up and carry on popping ibuprofen and no sport for at least two weeks. Doctor buddy Aimee said not to leave the premises. SHO Damian kept running to the waiting room in his busy day, updating me on availability of scanner and I was treated impeccably – Bupa-style-service-on-the-freebie health service- thoroughly recommendable.

By 1pm I was limping up to 3rd floor with Damian leading the way (trained perfectly by Aimee) to Dr Dick – and kneeled elegantly on all fours with gel being smoothed over achilles and calf. It was then that we were informed of internal bloody huge bloody bruise. Fortunately no tear, no crutches and big special needs black boot with velcro required.

Still spasming, still house-bound, but we are taking slow steps to recovery. Friends are delivering groceries. Am slowly observing an out-of-body realization; not sure training is what body is aching for. How about I start training in the same way as I drive, visualising toned bod as I visualise parking spaces.

(Boxing boys I’ll be back soon).

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Why do the Italians always get it right?

Something in their DNA just exudes vibrancy, passion and of course, style.

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Only the Italians can get away with launching a jewellery collection for teens, maintaining a cuteness, without trying too hard to be too grown-up, or a carbon copy of middle-aged women, just smaller in size..Check out the new line from Amore & Baci, gorgeous, colourful, wearable 20%-30% smaller dimensions than the grown-up range and 20%-30% less pricey. Perfect too for those femmes with teeny wrists.

What an innovative idea for the brand who sells their composable bracelets all over the UK & Ireland. 100′s of colourful charms to choose from.

Perfect for winning over teen stallions summer 010 – just you wait!

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Boutique Travel Consultancy

The Girls To Know For Bespoke Travel Concierge Service To Southern African & The Indian Ocean Islands

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Are you dreaming of an African summer? Have you booked your main holiday? You have to check out Here’s My Card. Bespoke travelling has just stepped up a notch.

Two sisters, brought up in South Africa, of British heritage, are running an incredibly successful boutique travel consultancy; Here’s My Card. Kerry and Clare Collins have a slick, select and tantalising set-up, specialising in a concierge approach to travel within Southern Africa & The Indian Ocean Islands.

Here’s My Card specialises in tailor-made itineraries to suit exact client specifications & requirements.  With utter precision and care, clients at Here’s My Card are taken care of from right from the start through to the end. After all, for old-school ‘bespoke’ to truly work, it is all in the detail.

Kerry and Clare’s hands-on approach means that all organisation and bookings are undertaken, from boutique hotels to barefoot luxury retreats, from sumptuous villas to private lodges – as well as chefs, chauffeurs, helicopters, private hikes, car hire, restaurants etc….the list is endless.

The Collins sisters have ‘tried & tested’ most of the properties themselves, meaning that all properties come with their personal seal of approval and they both have personal relationships with the owners & management teams, in order to ensure that Here’s My Card clients have the best experience & service.

How incredibly tempting is the chance to relish the land of intense sights, sounds and unrivaled natural beauty and have a holiday created just for you and your loved ones?

Observation: humans and their foibles

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Do nice Girls Go Boxing? (Well, I think so)

All Girls Out There Please Listen Up! I have some wisdom to share…

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Do you know about the fitness / training regime whereby weight-loss and toning is almost immediate? A two-hour work-out where your body actually changes shape and tones your natural form exactly how you want it to? Add that to the unadulterated chemical-free high and pure pleasure from punching the life out of a bag or smacking a pair of pads held in front of you by a hot dude! And one more thing – any irritable angst / annoying niggle you’ve felt during the day is simultaneously released, pretty much on impact.

Boxing, with circuit training to boot, is where it’s at girls.

AKA: Boxing is the new yoga – no mumbo jumbo, no psycho-babble – we are so over sitting cross-legged and contemplating our pristine and overly exfoliated navels – just let it out and vent!

What a marvellous way to end a day at work – whether you work at home (a sanity boost for freelancers) or at the office, just let it all out. (Also, FYI, not a bad idea to visualise someone’s face who has irritated you in your working day – those jabs are SO much more powerful when you do this!!).

Since discovering boxing as a twice/thrice weekly 2-hour session, I have found myself to be calmer, less uptight, a friendlier person (on the roads and to my family) and sleep is definitely deeper.

Boxing is of course hugely positive in boosting a girl’s confidence and her self-defense reactions.

No complaints either from being in extreme proximity to (straight) sweaty, well-built alpha males (being the minority sex in class is fabulous too, and a rarity at a yoga or ‘legs, bums, blah blah’ class at the gym).

Forget psychoanalysis, psycho-babble, self-help; get a bag, some gloves, don’t forget the wrist straps, and practice that jab.

Q: How did I get into boxing?

A: Always have had a ‘lock’ at the back of my shoulder, literally behind my heart; pain, but not excruciating – hauntingly dormant. In times of stress and tension, it spoke out in pain, almost like my subconscious in times of angst. After years of massage, yoga, swimming, jogging, acupuncture, you name it I have tried it to release the pain, it was not until I visited an Osteopath (Byron Spiers) who, after two sessions of trying to snap and twist my body, load it with needles, was professional, candid and succinct.

His diagnosis: the complaint was not treatable with any form of massage or indeed my beloved yoga, and not to spend any more money or time on these therapies – ‘Juliet you just need to let it all out and take up high impact exercise’.

I spent a month researching a host of local (and not so local) boxing schools. I finally found All Stars, Harrow Road. A truly wonderful bunch of guys run the joint, take an interest in all the students and are making their voice heard for the 2010 Olympics.  Skipping, weights, mat-work, circuit training also thrown in.

Let your anger out and forget the OM-ing.

In this world of ipods and laptops, reality TV and box-sets, it so refreshing to have social interaction and physical contact during recreational sport.

A full work-out; for the mind, the body, and the soul. Euphoria immediately afterwards.

1. Physical change – Noticeable changes to the body in record time, incredible results
2. Utter focus – no time for losing concentration otherwise you get hit!
3. Release and unleashing of tension like no other sport (it personally healed a ‘lock’ in the back of my shoulder)
4. Many boxing clubs now let women join the classes, as equals (irritating to certain males am sure)
5. Improvement of sleep
6. Inexpensive: just need to buy straps and gloves and that is it, no special footwear required
7. Good for gaining confidence, literally and psychologically, as a woman for self-defense, and good to be surrounded by sweaty (straight) men
8. Great to learn how to perfect your technique, there is an art to perfecting your jabs and improve your style
9. It’s fun!
10. Women Box for Britain! For the first time, women have been invited to box for their country, in the 2012 Olympics.

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Observation: humans and their foibles

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“The Body Never Lies”, Martha Graham

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Is this the adult version of The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole?

(listen to your Prana goddamit!)

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This is a true story; there was something going on, within, and I had no idea what it was. This is not mumbo jumbo. Trust me.

On a balmy morning, mid-week, mid-March and feeling ever so middle-of-the-road, a ‘voice’ was shouting out from inside and forcing me to listen. If you can picture the following: I’m alone, not nuts (yet), it’s intangible, it feels good, I’m sober, not hungry, pretty relaxed and content.

I’m not ranting about DAB radio and my new daily  XFM religion, nor about the whistling kettle (never liked ultra-modern home apps), nor the landline whose ringtone I’ve never got on with, nor my neighbour’s electric drum-kit above my head (no lie).

I took a few breaths, let my system ‘be’ and breathed calmly.