Liz Earle
“This month I’m hoping to escape the grey and be in Kenya for a few weeks, visiting my eldest son Guy who lives and works there. We’ve had a family home in Kenya for twenty years and I’m in love with its many varied landscapes and activities – camping under canvas with the big cats of the Maasai Mara, laid-back beach life on the coast with its white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters, or heading to the northern hills to hang out with the elephants… I’m taking all my tech with me though, including my mic to continue podcast recordings plus the all-important ring light and phone stand for my bi-weekly Instagram Lives. I started these during lockdown and have built up a wide and highly engaged Instagram community – it’s like live TV (which I love doing on This Morning) but with instant viewer feedback! I’m hoping my Kenya travels will provide an interesting and varied backdrop to my wellbeing chats.”
Liz Earle MBE - Wellbeing Entrepreneur and Multi-brand Founder
Restaurant: Booking Office 1869
The original 150-year-old booking office for St Pancras station has been transformed into our latest dream restaurant destination. This is not a shoddy little cabin dear Hotlist friends, no no this is a vast and cavernous space filled with palm trees, ginormous pendant lights, a huge emerald green bar that is 22 metres in length, large windows, vast ceilings and so much more. It’s been described as majestic and we couldn’t agree more. Elegance exudes from every corner and you feel transported back to the late 1800’s just being in the space, even though it’s a brand newly renovated and decorated venue. But a restaurant needs more substance in its bones than just a stunning interior and thankfully Booking Office 1869 has not fallen short there, with Patrick Powell, former head chef at The Chiltern Firehouse and the Allegra in Stratford, leading the charge in the kitchen. The menu is filled with globally inspired dishes which makes sense for a venue housed in a space that was built for travel. Dishes include a Tuscan brussel sprout salad with crispy chicken skin, cranberry & Pecorino, Poussin roasted over coal with Cracked wheat, preserved lemon & green chilli, a Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder cooked in chermoula spices and Gingerbread & Bourbon Poached Pear Trifle to name but a mere few. Behind the gargantuan but stylish bar is Jack Porter who has come across from The Ned and curated an exquisite cocktail menu that compliments it all. Live music and a roof garden finish off what is set to be THE place to be seen we think!
Book: Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
“New Year New Me”. It’s a phrase we’ve all heard so much it’s totally lost its sentiment but January is a month when so many do genuinely make a change in their lives for the better. Life is for living and by default it’s therefore for learning so if you aren’t making changes to your actions, routines, beliefs and habits, then you aren’t really giving yourself the chance to be the best you can and working on yourself at the beginning of a new year just makes perfectly organised sense. So if you too are wanting some mental assistance and are feeling drained and a little bit frazzled by the last two years of madness then you may wish to pick up a copy of Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? It’s a book of ‘everyday tools for life’s ups and downs’. Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, this is a must-have handbook for optimising your mental health. Dr Julie's simple but expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient no matter what life throws your way. Written in short, bite-sized entries, you can turn straight to the section you need depending on the challenge you're facing - and immediately find the appropriate tools to help with everything from managing anxiety to building self-confidence. No need to sign up to an expensive gym chain to clear your mind, find the answers in this gem of a book instead.
Shopping: Peckham Salvage Yard
We’re big fans of a sustainable and circular lifestyle and so a Flea Market is right up our street. The people behind the ever-popular Hackney Flea Market have turned their attention south of the river and are bringing their love of a vintage find to Peckham on Sunday 16th January. Located within Copeland Park, Peckham Salvage Yard is South London's largest indoor vintage market, hosting over 40 handpicked traders that include veteran vintage sellers from established markets like Spitalfields/Bermondsey, and locals clearing out their loft. Explore an amazing mix of salvaged, one of a kind, lost and found objects, that include 20th Century furniture, records, twee glass & ceramics, salvaged French homeware, antique luggage, curiosities & collectables, textiles and much more. It’s free to head in and browse the stalls and there is a DJ providing a perfect Sunday shopping soundtrack. Open from 11am until 6pm we’d recommend heading down early to snap up the best treats!
Activity: Pinbowlz
There’s always room in London for a new games-centric establishment and the latest to feed our childish game-loving souls is Pinbowlz, a brand new concept bar, mixing the best bits of crazy golf, with the best bit of boule and throwing it into a fun 40 minute game for 2-4 players per lane. Confused? Don’t worry, we were too to start with. Instead of rolling a metal ball along a flat lawn, you’ve got to roll it up ramps and make jumps into different score zones, which is the crazy golf-esque element of the game. It’s easy enough for anyone to play, but complex enough to make it challenging and addictive. You’ll get to try 4 different lanes during each session as you move across each course. There’s obviously a rad drinks list to keep you quenched as you go in this retro-tastic new site, located a short walk from Hackney Central station. However….since writing this up, Covid and unsurprising subsequent staff shortages have meant a slight delay and change to their opening times but stay tuned on the website for the latest info and when you can head down to try your hand at Pinbowlz. We have left included as we don’t want you to miss out when Omicron stops ruining all the fun!
Art: The Courtauld Gallery
After a major three-year refurbishment, The Courtauld Gallery in the Strand has finally reopened to the public! The Courtauld is home to one of the world’s great art collections, located in the magnificent historical setting of Somerset House. We can all once more visit the collection of spectacular art gifted to the Gallery by a series of donors with works such as iconic Impressionist masterpieces like Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Manet’s A Bar at the Folies Bergère. Other artists on display include Cézanne, Monet, Gauguin, Rubens and more. The major programme of renovation has transformed its historic building beyond recognition and expanded its activities allowing the art to be enjoyed by everyone. You don’t need to be an art critic of any level to be able to revel in the works on display. Check out the website for all upcoming events that including talks and a multitude of other launch events but mostly just book in to marvel at the newly opened space and all the magic housed within its walls.
Music: One Track Minds
Everyone has a story about the song that changed their lives. And One Track Minds at Wilton’s Music Hall mashes up an entertaining cross between Desert Island Discs, The Moth Radio Hour & TED Talks into a live storytelling event which explores the transformative power of music. They are bringing together a vibrant selection of writers, thinkers and musicians each presenting a thought-provoking story about how music inspires the way we live our lives. The 2022 guest line up is still a secret but previous guests include Jessie Buckley, Jane Horrocks, Jay Rayner, Mark Dolan, Tim McInnerny, Sir David Suchet, Deborah Frances-White and Katie Melua. Where better to discuss the power of music than the oldest Grand Music Hall in the world. Wilton’s is a Grade II* listed building and home to over 300 performances and over 80 productions each year. It’s an iconic building and a must visit, located a stone’s throw from the Tower of London. One Track Minds kicks off in 2022 on the 21st January and tickets start from a mere £7.
Charity of the Month: UN World Food Programme
Afghans have long been food insecure due to years of drought, conflict and COVID-19. Due in large part to the more recent increase in conflict, in addition to the factors already mentioned, almost 23 million people, more than half the country, don’t know where their next meal is coming from and the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) see clinics filling up with severely malnourished children. The WFP are rushing in supplies to feed people as best they can, especially with the ongoing winter climate making the situation more dire for so many. They have estimated that throughout 2022 they will need around $220 million a month to fund its effort. To help, please visit their website, linked above, and donate what you can to help this nation that so desperately needs aid. For less than £15 a month you can provide vital emergency meals for 35 people each month.
App of the month: Follo
Follo is the world’s first fully automated walking safety app - a revolutionary new digital tool, created to empower people to feel safer, more confident and independent when making journeys by foot. The app is completely free to use, works worldwide and, when activated for a walk, monitors the user’s device with four innovative Safety Triggers until they safely reach their destination. If something unusual happens while the app is activated, Follo will send a timed and security-enabled notification to the user’s phone checking in on them first. If unresponsive, the app automatically alerts the user’s pre-selected Key Contacts via text message. The message contains the user’s last recorded location, the reason for the alert and a link to recommended guidance on how to respond. The Safety Triggers that monitor a user’s journey are automatically activated if the device starts moving significantly faster than walking speed, it deviates from their chosen route, the device stops moving for too long, or if it becomes disconnected. Whilst a shame to have a need for such an app, it brings peace of mind and allows the user to exercise more freely safe in the knowledge they are a little more protected. We think it’s great and will be downloading to use ongoing.