Events

Friday Favourites - New and Unusual Workouts

Are you tired of the same workout day after day? Here at The Amazing Blog some of us struggle to fit in a daily workout with our busy schedules. Plus, we get tired of following the same routine. In order to spice up our exercise routine and convince ourselves that working out CAN be fun, we have discovered some new and unusual workouts for everyone to try.

Yoga has become so popular nowadays that even dogs want to join in. Originating from the USA, yoga activates your pooch’s parasympathetic nervous system and can help relieve your loyal friend of his or her stress. Of course, the owner will be right there practising alongside their pups, performing a set of Hatha yoga poses while the dogs roam around and participate when they choose to. This series of yoga postures are inclined to incorporate canine massage, yogic stretches, chanting, breathing and lots of cuddles. Plus, who doesn’t want to work out with their best friend?

Mahny Djahanguiri started Dogamahny, running weekly classes in Fulham and teaching private Paw to Paw classes for all sizes, breeds and ages of dogs. If you’ve always wanted to work out with your pup, then check out Dogamahny’s website to sign up for some doga classes.

If you’re obsessed with Strictly Come Dancing like we are, then you might want to check out Swing Patrol. It’s a community of over 1,000 dancers, teachers, staff and volunteers that hold over 40 weekly classes at 34 venues across London. They put on weekly Lindy Hop and Blues social dances and they have swing balls in London and around the United Kingdom. They even host an annual London Swing Festival and a Blues Baby Blues Festival. Go online and search for classes in your area. It’s time to turn back those time machines and dance like it’s 1920!

For those of you who consider dancing at clubs your only exercise, we have the perfect workout for you. Ravercise is a HIIT cardio dance with a live DJ playing energising bass music. It’s a fun and healthy way to enjoy underground music during the week. Classes are choreographed by professional dancers and include an interval training cardio workout. Plus, you get to socialise with friends and meet people that enjoy the same music as you! Head on over to the website of this low-lit club dance floor in Shoreditch and sign up.

If you’re looking to loosen up a little bit, try Barrecore. It is a series of movements designed to stretch every muscle group in your body. Each workout targets a major muscle group, integrating the fat-burning format of interval training with static stretches for muscle relief. Using a ballet barre, your own body weight and strength training exercises, your muscles become longer, stronger, leaner and more flexible. Think of it as an intense cardio ballet class. For more information on Barrecore classes, you can look at the website and decide if you want to sign up.

With the holidays right around the corner, I think it’s time we get healthy, try something new and have fun while doing it!

 

 

 

 

Etsy House - London Pop-Up Event

Still working on your Christmas shopping? There's no need to panic just yet! We here at The Amazing Blog have discovered the perfect event to find items from all over the world and finally get that Christmas shopping taken care of.

After a successful pop-up shop in Soho, New York last year, Etsy.com, the world’s most vibrant handmade and vintage online marketplace, has announced its first UK pop-up shop in Covent Garden this weekend.

Etsy House will be open for three days, selling a selection of the best handmade and vintage gifts from over 100 independent creative businesses across the UK. With handmade presents, home decorations, jewellery, stationery and more for sale, Etsy House will provide customers with a convenient online shopping experience mixed with the fun and surprise of discovering something new in person.

Visitors will be able to watch live crafting by Etsy artisans, take part in workshops led by Etsy designers and have gifts customised by makers in store. It's the perfect place to shop for those 'hard to buy for' friends and relatives, who seem to already have everything.

Etsy House will open in London from 5th -7th December at 5 Great Newport Street, London, WC2H 7HY (nearest tube Leicester Square) from 10am - 8pm on Friday and Saturday and from 12pm - 6pm on Sunday. So if you're looking for a little inspiration this Christmas, pop down to the pop-up event. You're bound to find a unique gift for your loved ones.

Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair This Weekend

Still trying to figure out when you’ll have the time to go Christmas shopping? Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair is here to help. The last fair of the year takes place just in time for everyone at The Amazing Blog offices and all of you to check off some names on your Christmas shopping list.

The vision behind Clerkenwell was a vintage ‘experience’ with traders from all over the globe. They also offer on-the-spot alterations, a vintage salon, personal shoppers, vintage style experts, resident artists, a florist and live music.

You’ll find a huge variety of products with over 50 stall holders containing designers dresses, pearl earrings, men’s silk ties, suits and pocket squares to vintage sewing patterns, haberdashery and more.

All of the traders are handpicked for selling top quality, authentic vintage, which will increase in value as time goes on; and when we say authentic vintage, we are talking about garments and accessories dating back to the 1800s. The newest accessories you will find are from the 1980s so trust us when we say that shopping at a vintage wonderland fair is the perfect way to find something that's one-of-a-kind. 

Plus, if you get tired of carrying around all of those shopping bags, you can sit down, relax and enjoy delicious food and refreshments in the English tea room.

It's about time you getting that Christmas shopping taken care of so make sure you attend Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair's last fair of the year on Sunday 23rd November between 11am – 5pm. It's £4 entry or £2 with an NUS card.

Beauty Shortlist Awards 2015

Calling all beauty lovers! The prestigious Beauty Shortlist will hold its fourth annual awards next year on the first day of spring, Friday 20 March, 2015.

For the first time, the awards will include Men’s Grooming as well as expanded Health Supplement categories.

Don’t forget! The deadline to enter your products for the awards will close much earlier this year, at midnight on Friday 12 December.

The new Men’s categories include:

Best Grooming Product

Best Skincare Brand for Men

Best Skincare Product for Men

Best Fragrance

Best Cleanser

Best Shaving Product

Best Body Wash    

 

The new Health categories include: 

Best Health Supplement  - Overall Wellbeing (tablet form)

Best Health Supplement  - Overall Wellbeing (powder or drink)

Best Health Supplement – Targeted (e.g. skin/hair/digestive system, etc.) – tablet form

Best Health Supplement – Targeted (e.g. skin/hair/digestive system, etc.) – powder or drink

Best Supergreen Powder Superfood

Best Healthy Snack or Food Bar

Best Health/Herbal Tea (single infusion)

Best Health/Herbal Tea (blend)


For full details and the complete category listings, please visit The Beauty Shortlist here.

For more information contact Fiona Klonarides, Editor, The Beauty Shortlist.

 

The Draycott Nursing & Care Carol Service In Aid Of Canine Partners

The festive season is fast approaching, and with it comes the planning of one’s Christmas calendar. If you’re looking to do your good deed this Christmas, then join Draycott Nursing & Care Charity Carol Service to raise monies for Canine Partners.

This year’s celebrity readers joining the event are ITV’s Brideshead Revisited star Anthony Andrews, BBC’s eminent journalist Esther Rantzen and applauded opera singer Constance Novis.

The Carol Service this year will be held in the heart of Chelsea, at the Holy Trinity Church in Sloane Square, SW1X, London on Monday 15th December at 6.30pm.

The beautiful place of worship is an excellent example of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman called Holy Trinity church the ‘Cathedral of the Arts and Crafts movement’ and that indeed is what it is, containing treasures by William Morris, Edward Burne Jones, Christopher Whall, Henry Hugh Armstead, Frederick William Pomeroy among many other skilled artists of the Arts and Crafts movement.

All the funds raised during the evening will go directly to help train the assistant dogs for Canine Partners. These highly skilled dogs help a disabled person with everyday tasks and maintain their independence. These amazing dogs bring greater independence and a better quality of life by performing tasks that are difficult, painful or even impossible for their partners, such as opening and shutting doors, unloading the washing machine, picking up dropped items, pressing buttons and emergency response.

Of course, the adorable dogs will be attending the event, handing out programmes and helping people to their seats. Take a look at our video, and see if you can resist the cuddly canine companions.


It’s sure to be a wonderful Christmas celebration with everyone’s favourite carols and readings, whilst raising money for an incredibly worthy cause.

Tickets are £20 (adults), £10 (children – 12 years and under) and include festive refreshments and canapés after the service. You can buy your tickets now through the Canine Partners website. Alternatively, if you need more information, want to book tickets or make a donation, please contact at Paula Dagger on carolservice@draycottnursing.co.uk at Draycott Nursing & Care or call 0207 351 7171.