Two Dogs Dining - Very Funny Video

Absolutely unrelated to London in any way whatsoever, but I'm completely captivated by 'Two Dogs Dining' - a romantic evening for a rather odd couple who are eating dinner at a restaurant - it's really put a smile on my face on this cold early winter evening. You can see all the other videos that I've 'liked' on YouTube by clicking on the icon on the right-hand side of the page - I seem to come across a lot of good stuff so check them out. Enjoy!

Olympic Update - Gold Challenge Stadium Event & Olympic Torch Relay Route Announced

Gold Challenge, one of the official London 2012 legacy projects which will support sporting activities post the Olympics, has announced a new event to take place in the Olympic stadium in April 2012. There will be a Gold Challenge Parade, and an opportunity for members of the public to run in a 100m or 4 x 100m race on the track itself, with 20,000 spectators looking on. This special event will culminate in a number of celebrity and athlete races and a celebratory show.

To take part, all you need to do is to register on the Gold Challenge website by selecting a sporting challenge and a charity who will benefit from your fundraising. Those who have raised the highest amount of money for their recipient charity by 29 April 2012 will be invited to compete in the Olympic stadium and get involved in the Gold Challenge ceremony. For spectators, tickets will go on sale in early 2012, which will be a fantastic opportunity to be one of the first people to see a sporting event inside the stadium.

Great British Chefs Website Relaunch @ TechHub

Towards the end of the week I was invited along to a reception to mark the relaunch of the Great British Chefs website and the introduction of their new iPad app, over at TechHub - the popular technology start-up workspace just off 'Silicon Roundabout'. Great British Chefs is a website aimed at helping the gourmet in all of us, and features the recipes of 49 of the UK's best culinary experts, as well as reviews of top restaurants, how-tos on basic cooking skills (well not exactly basic - how to butcher a quail and open an oyster feature at the moment!) and a community area for aspiring cooks to share ideas. They've recently added an iPad app to their repertoire - perfect for propping up on the worktop while you're working out how to assemble that four-course feast.

Sickboy’s ‘Heaven and Earth’ Exhibition @ Truman Brewery

For 3 days only one of Bristol’s premier street artists, Sickboy, is exhibiting his new show ‘Heaven and Earth’ in one of the Truman Brewery spaces on Dray Walk in Bethnal Green. Going along to the preview last night I can tell you that you’re in for a treat! Sickboy’s work includes incredible psychedelic detail, a host of visual tricks and funny asides (look carefully at one of the large canvases and you’ll find DangerMouse shooting rainbow lasers our of his eyes) and he also pays tribute in this new series to some of the greats of the art world – just after you enter the space, the canvas on the right is a very well-executed urban art tribute to the work of Gustav Klimt, and there are visual references to surreal artist Hieronymus Bosch throughout the installation.

Karachi to London at the British Council

Sitting outside the British Council's offices just on the south side of Trafalgar Square you'll find a truck decorated by young people from Luton in the style of a Pakistani folk truck, as part of 'Eastern Exchanges' which is a London 2012 Cultural Olympiad 'Stories of the World' programme. Along with artist Rory Coxhill the young people visited the country a year ago to find out more about Pakistani folk culture and returned to create what is an incredible feast for the eyes.

Rich Mix Cinema Celebration & Artist Olivia Strange

I’m a big fan of Rich Mix, the arts and cultural centre over on Bethnal Green Road, and I’m always keen to support them. They’ve got a lot going on at the moment, including their celebration of the 60,000th ticket sold at their independent cinema, which tends to feature the edgier end of Hollywood releases and a big repertoire of independent and world film. From next Monday, 7 November they will be rewarding every 100th customer with a free ticket for one week, and the lucky person who actually walks through the doors as the 60,000th customer will get a pair of Joint Cinema Memberships. For visitors who aren’t winners, the cinema supports local residents by offering £5 tickets every Monday and Tuesday to Tower Hamlets’ Library and Idea Store members – of course all profits generated by the cinema and the other activities at Rich Mix are ploughed back into the organisation to support its continued work in the local community.

Oxford Street Lights Up!

As a guest of Marks and Spencer and the New West End Company, last night I was at the switch on of this year's Christmas lights over Oxford St.

Starting off in the mocked-up shop floor decked out for Christmas on the top floor of Marks and Spencer's Marble Arch store, we were treated to samples of the store's seasonal party food that will shortly be going on sale. Lovely stuff, including the cutest little miniature steak and ale pies and crunchy pork scratching sticks of all things. Then it was downstairs into the VIP area in front of a huge crowd on a blocked-off Oxford St for some compering from Toby Anstis of Heart 106.2fm, a speech from Lord Mayor of Westminster, Susie Burbridge, and Steve Rowe, Director of Retail at M&S, exhorting us all to shop until we drop.