Blackout Party, 26th February 2010

26 February 2010, 7.30pm – 1am, ‘The Tunnels’. Looks like a fun event, don’t think I can go, but it’s in aid of a good cause, so hopefully this gives a bit wider publicity to the event.  You can also follow them on Twitter.

Make Do and Mend (with Oxfam)

Oxfam Chelsea invites you to “Make Do And Mend”, an all day event being held at St Mary’s Church on Saturday 28th November.

Inspired by the WW2 campaign, this event is taking the “credit crunch” head on an offering visitors an alternative way to get their fashion fix. A selection of many fantastic Oxfam pieces will be strutted up the catwalk and then auctioned off.

Expect a fun filled day with a whole host of stalls selling everything from vintage accessories to wedding dresses, as well as the “Customisation Corner” where visitors can take pieces to be customised, swap shops, an exhibition area, and live bands and DJs.

And, to top it off we have a fabulous catwalk show created from pieces kindly donated and all available for you to get your hands on in our super auction to follow.

But there is, of course, a very serious point to all of this fun and frolics. Due to the current poor economy, The Chelsea Oxfam feel as though it’s more crucial now than ever that people start taking notice of charities, who are even more in need at this time. This is a fantastic chance for you to get involved see what we do, what we believe in and how we plan to achieve our goals: How to be Humankind.

We hope that the event will raise awareness of the fashion world and how our culture engorges on disposable fashion. Long gone are the days when you would save up in order to afford a piece of good quality clothing. Now, it’s so much easier to pop into a high street discount store and purchase a cheap knock off version in exchange for a couple of pounds. And, the result is: people constantly buying and throwing away every time a new trend jumps into the spotlight.

‘Make Do and Mend’ is all about breathing life into old existing garments. Whether it be swapping them with a friend (it will feel brand new to you), cutting up an old pair of jeans you haven’t dug out the back of your wardrobe, or purchasing a garment from a charity shop – where your money will be going to a worth cause.

For more information on the event (where you can get tickets etc), ideas on how to “Make Do and Mend” and much more, make sure you keep coming back to this page, where we will be posting regularly!

Saturday 28th November, St Mary’s Church, Marylebone

Doors open: 2.pm
Catwalk show: 6.pm
Auction: 7.15.pm
Live Music 8.30 – 10.pm

** If you would like to get involved, and to volunteer your services, for this event then we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Philippa Hall (philippa_hall[at]hotmail.co.uk) or Carys Rolley (carysrolley[at]hotmail.co.uk) **

****TICKETS: AVAILABLE FROM: THE OXFAM STORE: 432 KING’S ROAD, CHELSEA OR ON THE DOOR AT THE EVENT! ****

Oxfam is a registered charity in England and Wales (no 202918) and Scotland (SCO 039042).
Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International

(Take from information on Facebook Event)

Birthday Boogie in the Bunker!

“The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War rooms in association with the London Swing Dance Society is proud to host the 10th anniversary celebrations of the incomparable South London Jazz Orchestra with an evening of song and dance ‘Birthday Boogie in the Bunker!’

The Cabinet War Rooms, the historic site where Churchill led Britain to victory during the Second World War, commemorates its 70th anniverary this year from becoming operational in 1939.  In November we also commemorate Churchill’s 135 birthday. Come on out on 20 November for a night of song and dance, our birthday boogie in the bunker.”

Find out more on the Imperial War Museum site.

Tomorrow: Meet the Step-Grandson of “Monty”

Where The Hell Have You Been?
In November 1942, two nights after the Battle of El Alamein, a young British army officer was captured by German forces. As the Nazis deliberated about what to do with him and his peers, Richard Carver had particular reason to be afraid: unknown to anyone else, he was the stepson of Lt-Gen Bernard Montgomery, who had just inflicted the first serious land defeat on the Third Reich…

This enthralling wartime story tells of Richard’s internment in a POW camp in northern Italy – the same made famous by Eric Newby – and of his subsequent escape. Having decided on the high-risk strategy of making his way back to Allied HQ in the south, he embarked on a gruelling 500-mile journey through German-occupied territory, evading capture again and again and ultimately being saved by a family of brave Italian peasants who jeopardised not just their own lives but those of an entire village to hide him.

In the winter of 1943, a year after he had disappeared, Carver staggered back into army HQ, gaunt and exhausted – to be greeted by a delighted but characteristically gruff Monty with the now infamous words: Where the hell have you been?

This is a tale of great adventure and derring-do.  It is also an account of the relationship between a strong-willed father and his diffident son – told by the grandson, who displays some characteristics of both of them.

Tom Carver
Tom Carver was a longtime foreign correspondent with the BBC. He lived with the mujihadeen during the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, walked with the Kurds over the mountains of Iraq and reported on the Rwandan genocide and the Bosnian war. He was latterly the BBC’s Washington Correspondent and continues to live in Washington working as a writer and consultant. He is the step-grandson of Field Marshal Montgomery

Tom Carver visits Winchester on 16 October 2009  Tickets from P&G Wells, College St  tel 01962 852016