What’s On in London – February 2016

The craft beer scene may have traded its knitted jumper image for trendy beards and urban cool, but there’s been no loss of boozy cheerfulness. Craft Beer Rising is a mobile festival that takes place in cities all over the UK and February sees London take centre stage at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane.

150 independent beer and cider makers will be exhibiting their products. Fermenting beer is an endeavour that can be full of happy accidents and kooky ingredients which makes it a funkier pastime than wine-making or coffee bean roasting. As a result, Craft Beer Rising features a mix of bars, live music and street food stalls that don’t all necessarily complement each other – but that seems to be the joyful point.

www.craftbeerrising.co.uk

A whole festival dedicated to one plant? If that seems like overkill, consider the fact that there are four times as many types of this single plant category, than there are species of birds on the face of the planet! Orchids flourish in the tropics and their vivid colour is what immediately springs to mind when we think of the lush rainforests and sun-drenched islands.

Kew Gardens have gone for a Brazilian theme in portraying the role the orchid plays in supporting the vast ecosystems of South America. Imaginative displays, giant tree sculptures and even a tunnel made entirely of flowers give a thrilling sense of the sheer sensory overload that orchids give in the wild. The exhibition’scentrepiece, entirely made up of orchids, is a group of five huge lakeside figures, depicting the lavish costumes of the Brazilian carnival.

This year’s Autumn/Winter edition of the London Fashion Show takes a hard left turn in terms of location. Decamping from the period splendour of Somerset House, it will now be housed in the Brewer Street Car Park. Organisers have referred to a closer proximity to Oxford Street but they’ve probably opted for a more Louboutin-friendly surface than the cobblestones of the old venue.

The various fashion houses will still pick individual settings for their eagerly awaited catwalk shows and, as a result, London will be awash with A-listers, designers, bloggers and press. Roksanda, Gareth Pugh and Sibling are just some of the best and brightest U.K. fashionistas looking to throw shade on New York, Paris and Milan. Anyone wanting to catch sight of Kate, Cara or Kimye (LFW celebs have dispensed with second names) will have to beg, borrow or steal a ticket to the Topshop Unique event.

When the U.S. editions of Vogue magazine were unable to reach Britain in 1916 because of WWI restrictions, a home grown operation was started and this U.K. style bible celebrates its centenary this year. For decades, a Vogue cover shoot was the highest honour that the fashion establishment could bestow and even though today’s celebrities have dispensed with many formalities, those kudos remain.

The National Portrait Gallery offers a retrospective that is full of historic moments and iconic images. Stars of stage, screen and catwalk are captured in by photographers that in turn became stars. Beaton, Newman, Parkinson and Testino have all had their careers boosted by working with Vogue, which remains, at heart, a document of glamour and chic.

www.npg.org.uk

The name may evoke some obscure local tradition or even a quirky Elizabethan obsession, however this event is thoroughly modern. Pancakes are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday which precedes Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent on the Christian calendar. It’s a day of feasting before the long 40-day fasting period, hence its calorie rich signature dish.

Despite the religious connection, the event at Spitalfields is set to be a light hearted affair. Teams of people from all faiths and none will dash around with pans of eggy goodness and attempt to complete some kind of relay circuit without making too much mess. There’s no entry fee but many teams are sponsored to wear the craziest costumes possible in a bid to win an extra prize.

www.alternativearts.co.uk

The pre-Lent tradition of using up any excess ingredients gave rise to Pancake Day in the Middle Ages and London has many venues that will be enthusiastically joining in the fun. My Old Dutch is a specialist eatery that serves pancakes all year round and offers an extensive range of fillings, should you tire of the traditional lemon and sugar topping.

The Rib Room serve a “Mancake” which is made with buckwheat flour and Guinness, making it a more substantial offering. Topped with bacon and syrup, it has a definitive transatlantic taste.
Those going for the ultimate luxury pancake might try the “Wellington” at The Botanist in Chelsea. Filled with steak, foie gras and truffles, it probably has its own butler! Unsurprisingly, it’s available on both lunch and dinner menus – having this for breakfast could be fatal.

On Monday, February 8, large parts of the West End are scheduled to turn into a vibrant sea of red as London welcomes in the Chinese New Year. The actual chronological event is on the previous Monday but Chinatown, naturally, needs a whole weekend to celebrate. 2016 coincides with the year of the monkey and curiously that isn’t good news for anyone born in that cycle. Anyone born in the preceding monkey years will need extra dollops of good luck so expect this year’s celebrations to be particularly fervent.

Dragon dances, stilt walkers and acrobats will form a colourful procession following a route through Chinatown to Trafalgar Square. It’s traditional for Chinese families to get together and feast throughout the day so it’s advisable to book ahead if you’re planning to eat out anywhere around Shaftesbury Avenue.

If being with the one you love makes you feel “on top of the world” then enjoying champagne 800ft above the streets of London will go along way towards keeping your romance going. The Shard Skydeck is extending its opening times on Valentine’s weekend and couples can sample the high life until midnight.

The 72nd floor will be specially decorated for the occasion and there’s even a Marriage Proposal Concierge Service available to help you pop the question in true Hollywood style. The sun sets at around 17.30 on February 14 and that is when most couples will want to get up there, so it’s best to book ahead if you want that slot. Otherwise, expect the city lights to form its very own twinkling backdrop to your romantic evening.

At the dawn of the 20th century, flowers and the Impressionists seemed made for each other. Tranquil lily ponds and scenic bridges have since become the calling card of a movement that transformed art history, but there is a profound sentiment behind all that hazy colour. After World War I, artists like Claude Monet were determined that peace be the main theme and preoccupation of all creatives, hence their focus on the gentle beauty of gardens, parks and streams.

The main highlight of Painting the Modern Garden is undoubtedly the 15 metre Agapanthus Triptych by Monet, a huge three part depiction of the iconic water lilies that grew in the artist’s backyard. Each part has been kept in different venues and this is the first time that they can be viewed as Monet intended – together. Aside from Monet, the exhibition features work by Van Gogh, Matisse and Klimt and will run until mid- April.

www.royalacademy.org.uk

Leonardo DiCaprio gets his best chance to snare that long overdue academy award as he pits his wits against nature in this beautifully shot film by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Part revenge tale and part survival epic, the story concerns a fur trapper left for dead by his companions after an attack by a grizzly bear. The trapper, played by DiCaprio, not only survives but sets out to hunt down his deserters.

The fur trapper ranks with the cowboy in that revered pantheon of “Rugged Individualists” that so resonates with Americans and that’s why The Revenant is a hot favourite to land an Oscar. DiCaprio certainly pulls out all the stops and keeps filmgoers onside even when he’s doing gross stuff like using a dead horse’s body cavity as a tent.

www.viewlondon.com

This isn’t the definitive document of the 2008 global financial meltdown, but it’s a sly look at the psychology of greed and fear that makes sensible bankers tip over into fiscal insanity. Focusing on three real-life individuals working in the Wall Street jungle, The Big Short supports their subsequent allegations that even though red flags were popping up all over the markets, banks continued to recklessly underwrite dubious loans until a crash became inevitable.

Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carrell play the three amigos with pitch perfect tone and timing. Their instincts tell them to milk the system dry but the consequences begin to look so dire that they can’t help but sound a warning. Like most Hollywood morality tales, The Big Short refuses to directly condemn unchecked capitalist greed and instead leaves an environmental expert, played by Brad Pitt, to mumble some platitudes. But as a pure depiction of the rockstar corporate culture that ruined whole economies without a shred of remorse, it fairly nails it.

www.viewlondon.com

As part of the national consciousness as the Queens Speech or the FA Cup Final, Strictly Come Dancing bursts out of its televisual confinement in order to strut its stuff at the O2 Arena. Featuring a host of celebs accompanied by the dazzlingly talented pro dancers, the live show promises glamorous outfits, smooth moves and bitchy comments – and that’s just the judges!

Unlike its TV parent, Strictly Live doesn’t subject the audience to lengthy back stories or practice diaries. What you get here is the cream of the crop as the field is mostly made up of the show’s winners, finalists and semi-finalists. The band are tight, precise and totally in tune with the dancers needs as they display both their ballroom and Latin prowess. On the judging panel, Bruno Tonioli supplies the gestures, Craig Revel Horwood provides the venom, and Len Goodman, the common sense (but not necessarily in that order).