Dates for your diary: late August & September

The weather's perked up (for now, at least) and it seems at long last a slice of summer may have arrived. Here's our run down on the top Fulham events that will help you make of the Bank Holiday and beyond.

Take in some basement bar blues in the infamous absinthe bar at the elegant Brompton Bar and Grill, this Thursday 23rd of August. In collaboration with Nova Music, the wonderful Heard and Story will be performing a soulful mix of jazz, blues, soul and funk. With performances at 10pm, and 11:45pm, entrance is free, meaning many more pennies and pounds for champagne, and absinthe... if you're brave enough.

Drink, dine and dance the night away in style with a weekend of Carnival Chaos at supperclub, Notting Hill. There are 3 nights of top DJs, risque entertainment, and dining on decadent day beds, on Friday. Saturday and Sunday, and tickets from just £15. This is definitely the classy way to finish a day at Carnival. For more info and to get your tickets click here.

Get a double dose of culture, and enjoy the balmy late summer evenings (fingers crossed) and take in a movie at the beautiful Fulham Palace. The Nomad Cinema is bringing their 'Love in the garden' series to Fulham's most historic and picturesque venue throughout September, with open air showings of the classic Casablance on September 6th, Romeo + Juliet on September 13th, and The Artist on September 20th. Tickets start at £8.50, and don't forget to pack a picnic! For more details and tickets click here.

Many of you will have already been to one of the amazing Dayzed and Confused rooftop parties at Broadway House. We thought they might be done for the summer, but due to popular demand they've squeezed in one more event on the 8th of September, promising more balearic beats, plenty of champagne and a true holiday feel. With their two beautiful roof terraces high above SW6, Broadway House is an ideal location for a day long party, and not surprisingly tickets are selling out fast. Make sure you grab yours here.

Close your eyes, take and bite and you could (almost) be in Morocco. The tagines and Mediterranean fare at Del Aziz, in Fulham Broadway, are gorgeous, and taste even better when accompanied by live music. Thursday is the night to drop in for an evening's entertainment, and supper on the cobble stones, as each week a different artist treats diners to an eclectic mix of world music. This Thursday Aimee Penman treats us to easy listening pop, whilst on the 30th Helen Burnett shows off some vocal jazz. Artists featured in September include Josephine Arthur (smooth and classic jazz) on the 6th, and Jandira Silva (bossa nova) on the 13th.

Comedy Chops is the fab monthly comedy night hosted at The Hurlingham pub, and after a summer hiatus the session on September 6th promises plenty of belly laughs. There are usually 3/4 acts, live music and plenty of food and drinks deals to boot. The entertainment starts at 7:30, so sit back with a drink, tuck into their traditional pub grub, maybe have a game of ping pong (my favourite thing to do at the Hurlingham) and prepare to have a good giggle.

If, like us, you've been feeling just a little inspired by the Olympics, but this late onset of summer has caused you to somewhat overindulge, Lush Escapes may have just the thing for you. On September 2nd they're hosting a 'Raw Food and Yoga for Athletes' workshop in Parsons Green. From 10:30am you'll enjoy a blissfully relaxing day full of stretching, smoothies and scrumptious raw food recipes and nutrition lectures to help kickstart your training programme the healthy way. Hosted at the beautiful Cupcake Mums, the session costs £95 and tickets are available here.

If your business is hosting an event this September, or you think there's an event you think our readers would like, don't hesitate to drop us a line.

Pilates with precision

For some people, it's not exercise unless they're panting, dropping in sweat and aching all the next day. As far as I'm concerned, that all has it's place, but sometimes it's the minuscule things that make all the difference.

Housed in a little brick mews just off the Munster Road, The Pilates Room is a compact but really well equipped studio that offers both group and private pilates sessions 7 days a week. Group sessions are in really small class sizes, the maximum I ever had was of 4 people, and you'll use a range of specialist equipment - the chair, cadillac, and reformer bed - as well as the floor, pilates rings, bars and ropes to stretch whilst reducing the impact on your joints.

To a casual observer, pilates can seem like a pretty lazy excuse for "exercise". Apart from the scary torture-rack style beds you practice on, the movements are gentle, slow and controlled. But as I learnt through my several sessions at the studio, that's exactly why it's so tough. With pilates, it's all about the precision. When the moves are done properly, you're moving with control and balancing just so, you REALLY feel it in the muscles. Although sessions at felt too 'easy' to have an impact at first, the instructors have got an eagle eye for the slightest clues in your posture that you're not doing the moves exactly right, and the smallest adjustments make all the difference. After 5 or 6 sessions my stomach and thighs really did feel 'sculpted', and I could really feel the difference as I learnt the minutiae of the postures. Pilates is definitely not as easy as it looks!

Although pilates will never be the only form of exercise I do (I like a good sweat occasionally!) it was amazing to notice my body stretching further, and just the smallest of stomach muscles emerging, as I continued to attend classes. The sessions at The Pilates Room offer loads of personal attention, essential for beginners, as you do need be very precise with your practice to reap the benefits, and I hadn't been able to practice on the chair or cadillac at other studios I had visited, so that was great to do. Sessions are quite expensive, but what pilates studio isn't. This gets a thumb up from me.

The Pilates Room
9 Filmer Mews
75 Filmer Road
London SW6 7JF

The Pilates Room also has a Putney studio located at 22 Upper Richmond Road, London SW15 6TG

Flossie & Bumble get local at The Sands End

Next Thursday sees our favourite local pub, The Sands End supporting its neighbours by hosting the Flossie & Bumble pop-up sample sale in its function room. An array of cute local businesses will be offering some bargain booty for local residents. From bespoke jewellery to home wares and cupcakes, there will be something to suit all SW6 shoppers. 

                                               

Businesses in the pop up sale will include;

Rebs and Sas started Two Little Tarts a few years ago and it has grown from strength to strength; from pretty cupcakes to imaginative birthday ones to stylish wedding cakes, there is nothing these two gorgeous blonde girls can’t do! www.twolittletarts.co.uk

Andara was created by the lovely Sophie and Tiff, their smart and unique gifts and home wares are hand printed and are made using traditional techniques with the emphasis on beauty, comfort and style. www.andarahome.co.uk

Laura amazingly makes all the beautiful exclusive jewellery herself for Harry Rocks. Her designs add style and glamour to any outfit. www.harryrocks.com

Too Food was started by the lovely dedicated foodie, Sarah Baxter, whose aim is to give you the opportunity to buy the very finest food from around Europe and to accomplish her mission of offering food lovers something special. www.toofood.co.uk

Henry Little is a distinctive quintessentially British children’s brand filled with beautiful chic clothes for your little ones, designed by the creative Henrietta.www.henry-little.com

Flora McKillop London is my other business for leather handbags and accessories, all made by myself and designed with a pinch of British Eccentricity. www.floramckilloplondon.co.uk

It starts at 5pm next Thursday 16th August- hope to see you there!