It's August! Let's go out and play...

August has just begun, with some sunshine! Hurrah! June has been busy, July was busier and August promised to be even more chaotic. Here are just a few of the things happening here in London:

Tashes picni..err I mean cricket match..

I’m not very interested in sport and quite disinterested in cricket. Fortunately however the annual ‘Tashes’ match, hirsute versus clean shaven seems to basically be a big picnic free for all. Held  on August 13th in the wilds of Roehampton it is an opportunity to pack a hamper, bring some bubbly and sit in the sun. Oh…and there are a few people knocking a small red ball around in the far distance. Easy to join in, or even to play some cricket: this is one of the rare instances when fake face topiary is acceptable. See here for further information:

Candlelight Club.

After Vintage at Southbank on Saturday we took a ‘breather’ at the delightful art deco Knight’s Bar above Simpson’s on the Strand. We were sitting there minding our own business drinking our cocktails when in breezed Librarian around town and NSC fixer Artemis Scarheart. In full white tie he was heading off the Candlelight club.  Entirely lit by candlelight this event has really taken off but unlike many so-called speakeasy events it does not, despite an expansion in numbers, seem to have attracted that dodgy crowd that turn up at other prohibition-inspired events. Not necessarily a typical retro crowd they do dress up, are very friendly and dance uninhibitedly. In August on the 20th they are having a Ball in an as yet secret location although they say it is somewhere special, I can really recommend this well run event with delicious cocktails, further details here.

Dancing at the Candlelight Club.

The Vintage Mafia are holding the second of their sales on Sunday 21st August at the Love Shake  Here you can find well cared for clothes at decent prices and honestly sold. Last time I picked up a lovely thirties style Karen Millen dress and a hand- made felt brooch which has earned me lots of positive comments. Pop in to Johnny Vercoutre’s Time for Tea for a quick cuppa beforehand, there are diner style drinks and food at the sale and then you can wander off to examine you buys at the pub afterwards. Perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Details here.

Stylish Clothes from stylish ladies.

Seaside frolics at the Kiss Me Quick party.

The high point of the month is for me the New Sheridan Club's Kiss me Quick! summer party on the 27th of August. These events are closer to the Chap Olympiad in spirit than anything else. They only happen twice a year and are organised for love rather than profit and are inclusive not cliquey. This summer’s theme is seaside/maritime and it will include some form of entertainment not to mention the famed silly games. They also provide an excuse to either wear your finest finery or take the more, ahem, dramatic route. My challenge this year is to choose between sailorette or pirate: now that is what I call a quandary.  This year’s event will take place in the Tea House Theatre in Vauxhall, very close to tube, train, bus connections and MI6 headquarters. Further information: here.

Photographs of recent NSC Summer events below:

A heads - up for early September , on Saturday the 10^th those lovely ladies ‘The Vintage Mafia’ are hosting their initial evening social event: ‘The Ric Rac Club’. Details are sketchy at the moment but I anticipate it will involve good music and some of London’s more stylish night owls. Bearing in mind the general ebullience of the hostesses themselves it is also very likely to be a lot of fun as they don’t take themselves too seriously. I also anticipate booze, well the venue is the Fox which is a characterful old pub close to Old Street Tube. Oh and by the way for those who may be wondering, ric rac is a kind of trimming made of curvy woven cotton, not a medieval torture gizmo! Details of the night can be found here.

Ric Rac!

Le manifeste Chap photoshoot.

A couple of photographs from the L'Optimum shoot of the Chaps and Chapettes lurking in Soho. Connected to the success of the Chap Manifesto by Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood in it's French translation. Available from Amazon and selling like hot croissants!

In the French House.

Le Chap Manifeste.

Don't mess with the vintage crowd...

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Minn x

New Sheridan Club Christmas Party...

The hadron collider did something with neutron-bits and speed the other day. Has it impacted on real time without our knowing? I don’t know about you but this year the acceleration of time between now and Christmas feels quite unnatural. Not that I am complaining, after spending years in Asia in a country where Yule doesn’t take place I am happy with mince pies in October and Reindeer the moment the smoke from the fireworks clear. The tinny strains of jingle bells emanating from plastic Santas in the pound shop (I am so classy) remind me that plans have to be made and presents bought.

Plans for the season  for me always include what to wear to the New Sheridan Christmas party customarily held in the twinkly and festive Punch Tavern. This year it falls on the 11^th of December. One of the joys of this event is the determination of the organisers to avoid obviously festive themes. Over the last four years we have had an Agatha Christie like murder theme at which I won the raffle booby prize: an axe. Torquil has now hidden this, admittedly I do have a bad temper. The next was 'The Kredit Krunch Kabaret 'in which the Club presciently chose to return to the Wiemar Republic and we all had fun shooting a capitalist. Last year’s 'Yes we Can Can' party saw an outbreak of Entente Cordiale and something to do with pinning a moustache on someone.  This year they have announced an Avant Garde theme with a futurist, expressionist, any damn ist theme. This is a fine choice, between the wars London’s bohemians and artists had a series of art balls with Avant Garde themes often held by the Chelsea Arts Club. My favourite was the Dazzle ball celebrating the mad yet strangely effective geometric shapes applied to battleships. Details of the 'Back to the Futurists' party can be found here along with lots of other interesting events.

One fun thing about the NSC parties is the dress up opportunity. The options are wide, jeans and trainers would frankly be silly but every thing else from a low key suit, to a sequin suit, to a birthday suit would be happily accepted.  The events are smallish and very friendly, most attendees know each other. People who turn up for the first time will find those at the party are accessible and welcoming. Overall the guests are fans of the past: Victorian to fifties with the 30’s and 40’s aficionados being probably the largest group. The membership are a real mix in background, profession, enthusiasms and political leanings. The latter is very marked, everyone from Marxists to the Libertarian right. I can always someone to bicker with. I’m also amused by the range of professions: journalists, the priest hood, policemen, poets, librarians, artists, musicians, tailors, writers, plumbers, retailers, designers, loafers and students. The NSC party's also have their parlour games, performers (up close) and a raucous raffle.They are smallish convivial events and my Christmas wouldn’t be quite the same without one. Hopefully I'll see a few of you there? xx

Yes we Can Can Party

NSC Far Pavilions Party.

NSC Kredit Krunch Kabaret Party

Far Pavilion Party Guests

August in Mayfair's Salon D'ete, reviewed here, wonderful photos with pretty French ditty at website below. Red Legs is lurking in a couple of 'em. xx

http://cafephoto.zenfolio.com/

The Far Pavilions Party

Interior of Salon D'Ete Far Pavilions Party.

I suspect that many of those reading this will know of the New Sheridan Club. It is an offshoot of an offshoot of that splendid magazine The Chap (although not officially affiliated, the NSC doesn’t really do official). They hold monthly meetings in Fitzrovia upstairs in the Wheatsheaf. These usually include a small talk or show or presentation encompassing a frankly bewildering range of subjects. Yours truly once gave a talk on typewriters cunningly disguised as a discourse on vampires. It is quite a blokey version of vintageyness. Be prepared for blathering on about cricket and other entirely tedious gentlemanly pursuits. However the reactionary wannabe an aristo type of pseudo doesn’t really fit in here, but the profoundly eccentric or simply cheerful type does.

The Committee themselves, an entirely voluntary foursome set the tone: the Chairman, whom I, ahem know rather well is a furry charmball who tempers his cleverness with, well, light inebriation. Artemis the Louche Librarian, quipper and afficianado of rather severe uniforms. Mr Clayton Hartley whose expression of bemused dapperness hides a handiness with both saucepan and bass guitar (although thankfully not at once) and the other Chairman, a gentleman who combines dressing his infant daughter up in a series of bizarre hats with running an imaginary rowing club.

Mr Clayton Hartley

The club which has about 300 members across the globe has an influence in vintage circles as pernicious as the illuminati. The dominate the Chap Olympiad, can be seen faffing around at most retro events (or more likely propping up the bar) but their most natural environment is the NSC party. An event that descends upon London twice a year. The Christmas ones are distinctly lacking in yuletide references, 2008’s ‘Kredit Krunk Kabaret’ was followed by last years superb ‘Yes we can can’ do. A couple of weeks ago saw this year’s Summer event, of which this post is supposed to be a review.

The Far Pavilions Party was held this year at the Salon D’Ete, a pop up club near Selfridges set up by NSC members Ed Saperia , Willow and with chef Will Sprunt (also a club member). Prominently featuring lots of greenery and with a glass roof it has the air of a colonial café circa 1890. Thus the theme. This was interpreted very widely by the attendees. One of the strengths of these parties is that people do go for it, although the NSC member tends to be the kind of person that has fly whisks, pith helmets and silk kimonos in their wardrobes. We had lots of khaki and the British raj, but also elements of South Asia and the Orient.

Far Pavilions guests..

Plotting under the palms..

Torquil Arbuthnot manned the door, looking frankly rather seedy in a Last Man in Africa Foreign Correspondent gone to pot way. MC Fruity manned the shellac playing hits from the 30’s and 40’s. There were at various points during the event, outbreaks of lindy hopping, jiving and a large amount of maniacal Charlestoning.


This is what you get when you play music people actually want to dance to. Live music was also provided by one half of Twin and Tonic and her band.

One of the unique elements is that NSC parties have games, cheese rolling, pinning the moustache on Poirot, Tiger Hunting and my personal favourite so far ‘shoot the capitalist’. This years games included balloon shaving and poppadom shooting, an interesting indoor variation clay pigeon shooting.

Poppadom shooting.

The committee had cleverly obtained some ‘subsidised gin’, which softened the shock of the usual bar prices (usual for Mayfair that is) along with free white absinthe from the absinthe ‘fairy’. Some of those who indulged in the latter reported the next day that they did indeed feel as if they had spent the night in a fairy ring: having their head walloped with a big stick.

It was a good atmospheric night and I have few criticisms. Letting in non NSC members or friends was not perhaps the best idea, some were really annoying but fortunately they were outnumbered. This also watered down the usual feeling of clubby repartee and membership. It did feel a bit more like a club night than a party. But as a change it was a good evening and vastly superior to most of its competition. Congratulations to the organisers and to the attendees!

NSC Ladies...

Yours truly....
last 2 pics courtesy of Jenny

oh la la! French frolics in Fleet Street...review and pictures.

A little bit of France in rainy London

The New Sheridan Party took place last Saturday. Despite losing a few of our favourite members to the Rythm Riot plenty of others braved the gales and driving rain to make it to the Punch Tavern. Actually the stormy night made what is one of the most attractive pubs in London even more welcoming, and once through the door one was greeted by Torquil de Arbuthnot, replendent in waiters garb. In fact the committee were all dressed as waiters, I should watch out next time you visit your favourite bistro. The interior was mirrored and full of the twinkling of candles and, later on, gentlemen's monocles. One of the greatest pleasures of the night was watching the flamboyant guests arrive in small groups, shaking the rain off.
The entertainment of the night included Marcel Lucont, a French styled comedian who had nice line in droll dry wit and a dislike of the London Tube system. In addition the lovely Maria Trevis warbled her way through a selection of French, and not so French ditties, teasing and involving the crowd (always a brave move at the NSC). In the games room onion battle, a variation on the game 'orange battle' popularised by the Burlesque Brunchers was played. Pinning the legs on the frog, well a frog of distinctly non-French origin anyway, kept things going. The raffle was keenly followed and to celebrate the club's anniversary the 'Northern Contingent' represented by Mr Rupert Bell presented the committee with a monster sized French Fancy.

It was a splendid night. Attendees were as ever eclectic yet stylish, berets, can-can ruffles, plus-fours, corsetry, feathers and uniforms, napoleonic or otherwise were much in evidence. The New Sheridan Club bi annual parties are small, perfectly formed and in my experience of London's night life unique. Antique victorian ankle boots, hand sewn ruffles, rainy tits, rogue moustaches and absinthe induced languor were all in evidence.
The pictures below give some indication of the flavour of the event. Hopefully I will see everyone again at the Chap ball for a bit of seasonal fop-anarchism...

Claudia and Krista discussing X factor...(no not really)
Bon vivants!
Mr Rupert Bell





The cure and Jessie


Its that gentleman again.....
Baron and Baroness of Bermondsey

Pretty ladies

Liberty, fraternity and crisps...
Oi! who nicked my tickler?!
Suave guests...
Hmm, not sure if I'd want to run into this lot on a dark night in Montmartre..
Laurence tells JJ about his plans for world Alpaca domination
The Earl of Waveney points at Catherines drink...

Grace certainly can-can as Chuckles and Harry indicate..

The committee in their pinniesMr Arbuthnot .

More photographs can be seen on the NSC flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheridanclub/sets/

And also here, taken by Mr Bertram: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebeatnut/sets/72157622738743489/

Fantastic french shenanigans this Saturday!

For those not rioting on the South Coast this weekend, an alternative. The New Sheridan Parties are unique. Bringing together a diverse combination of night people, chaps, stray steampunks,vintage mavens and assorted reprobates under one small charming roof. The events include parlour games, performances, a special menu, a tongue in cheek theme and are guaranteed to be free of Peaches Geldof look-a-likes and crap club music. Always somewhere to sit and natter, lots to drink and not crammed, underground yet friendly, bohemian but not pretentious and one of the best opportunities around to dress to the nines. This years theme is of entente cordiale, the 'Yes We Can Can' party. Full details can be found here :http://www.newsheridanclub.co.uk/NSC6.htm , held this Saturday the 21st, at the Punch Tavern. Below is a small selection of pictures from last years Christmas 'Kredit Krunch Kabaret' held at the same venue. All welcome, but in le bleu jeans or sports shoes you may feel silly.