Good Afternoon
16:24 pm
Saturday 28th November
 |
|||||||||||
About Most Read
We study your activity on LondonTown.com and this column suggests similar pages requested by other users in the last 30 days. 
|
 |
 Love tokens don’t have to be expensive, outsized and ostentatious. We’ve come up with a few tasteful suggestions below - one of which won’t cost you a thing.
 The Apple Store 235 Regent Street, W1B 2ET If your partner is one of the few who doesn’t already have one, it’s about time they were treated to an iPod – now available as an iPod touch using the same finger tip technology as the iPhone. The best bit is you can get it engraved with whatever you want on the back. Not only does he get the latest must-have digital toy but he also has a constant reminder of your feelings towards him. How this rates romantically depends entirely on what you get put. ‘I Think You’re Cute’, for example, is more tentative than, say, ‘You Rock My World, Stud Muffin’. Personalising the stainless steel back with a custom laser engraving is free – the iPod will set you back though. On the Shuffle you can have 1 line and up to 38 characters while on the Nano, iPod classic and iPod touch there’s room for two lines with up to 29 characters on each line. But how many characters do you need to say ‘Be Mine Forever’? (that’s 15 including spaces, by the way). Address: 235 Regent Street, W1B 2ET Phone: 020 7153 9000 Timing: Mon to Sat 9:00 - 21:30, Sun 12:00 - 18:00 Nearest Station: Oxford Street Tube The Apple Store - Information   Cath Kidston28-32 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9JE As an alternative to cut flowers - they'll be next week's rubbish, after all - give her some florals that will last. Fresh, modern and eccentric, Cath Kidston's designs play heavily on the floral print and possess an infectious childlike sense of fun. Stars, flowers and polka dots cover her products which range from indoor kit like stationery, bath robes and crockery, to the great outdoors with her designer tents (ideal for summer festivals). You can even buy a floral Roberts radio (very generous of you) or a pretty flower festooned tea pot. How very civilised. Address: 28-32 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9JE Phone: 020 7836 4803 Timing: Mon to Wed 10:00 - 19:00, Thu 10:00 - 20:00, Fri & Sat 10:00 - 19:00, Sun 12:00 - 18:00 Nearest Station: Covent Garden Tube Cath Kidston Covent Garden - Information Cath Kidston (all branches) - Information  Coffee, Cake & Kink61 Endell Street, WC2H 9AJ Caffeine, sugary snacks and sex aids aren’t what you’d expect to find at your average Starbucks but this kinky cafe is anything but average. Billed as the UK’s only erotic cafe, gallery and shop, you can get excellent coffee – imported from the nearby famous Monmouth Coffee Company – cake and some kinky knick-knacks while you’re at it. Pop in for a skinny latte and you might well come out with some butterfly nipple tassels. There are some good gift ideas for him too – a Multiple Orgasm mug will bring a smile to his breakfast time, there’s a selection of erotic story books to fire his imagination and pin-up glamour girl cufflinks as well as more adventurous vibrating items. One note of warning: evenings get a little frisky with Friday nights as fetish nights you can expect to see the more colourful side of Soho with punters dressed up in rubber clad costumes... Bring a bottle after 6pm (£5 corkage applies) and add an alcoholic kick to your coffee, cake and kink. Address: 61 Endell Street, WC2H 9AJ Phone: 020 7419 2996 Timing: Sun to Thu 11:00 - 20:00, Fri & Sat 11:00 - 23:00 Nearest Station: Covent Garden Tube Coffee, Cake & Kink - Information  ec one | Ben Day | Hatton Garden | Nicholas JamesTricky one, this. Presenting a small, ring-sized box over your romantic dinner a deux could all too easily turn a pleasant enough evening out into a disastrous date. Especially if she’s expecting your next sentence to be on bended knee beginning with “Will you…” while you had no intention of it. You can however avoid this painful pit fall and still safely give jewellery as a love token on 14th February. Choose a larger box for starters and ditch the ‘There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you’ speech before passing your gift over the table. If you want to give your other half something shiny and pretty, a trip to one of the three ec one branches is recommended(Clerkenwell, Chiswick or Westbourne Grove). These gallery-shops owned by husband and wife team Jos and Alison Skates sell Jos' own statement pieces alongside jewellery by more than fifty designers including Alexis Bittar, Tomoko Furasawa and Scott Wilson. Alternatively, try Ben Day whose bold, colourful gem stone designs are all about conveying love, lust and passion. He suggests shimmering pink kunzites framed with star dust diamonds for Valentine's though you can't go wrong with red hot rubies off-set with voluptuous chalcedony drops. Hatton Garden, London’s jewellery quarter, is the place to go for the largest concentration of jewels and gems. Among a bewildering amount of jewellers to choose from, seek out Nicholas James where the minimalist lay-out and modern designs make investing a month’s salary in a big rock all too easy. Ben Day - Information Hatton Garden - Information Nicholas James - Information ec one - information  Elemis Spa | The Spa at Mandarin Oriental | Agua at Sanderson |If you want to get into your girlfriend’s good books treating her to a day at one of London’s top spas is a surefire way to do it. Professional pampering, massaging and relaxing: what’s not to love? Tucked away in Lancashire Court, down a side street off Bond Street, the Elemis Spa is among the best. Using their own brand of aromatherapy oils, facials leave you feeling so revitalised you’ll believe they’ve knocked five years off while massages are all about well-being and de-knotting. They even offer ‘Time for Two’ couples massages if you don’t want to be left out. The Mandarin Oriental has its own spa which caters to the well heeled ladies of Knightsbridge; your girlfriend will love a treatment here, not least so that she can pop into Harvey Nicks afterwards and sample the lady of leisure lifestyle – even if it is only for one day. Another highly rated relaxation spot is the clinically clean Agua spa at the Sanderson which has consistently glowing reviews from blissed out city girls. Once you’ve sampled the Aromatherapy Associates Jet Lag Revival treatment you’ll know why. Day packages start at £150 or you can go a la carte and make up your own wish list. We like the sound of the appropriately named Bed of Roses Body Booster. Elemis Spa - Information The Spa at Mandarin Oriental - Information Agua at Sanderson - Information  Miller Harris21 Bruton Street, W1J 6QD From 8th to 15th February Miller Harris is offering a special Fragrance Consultation where you and your loved one can discover which fragrances suit you and each other while enjoying a glass of champagne. Your personalised scent will then be presented in an engraved bottle and will serve as a fragrant reminder of your loved one. It'll be one thing that you can wear every day without ever getting bored. Miller Harris founder Lyn Harris specialises in bespoke perfumes, created in consultation with the customer, so you'll be guided by one of their experts to discover a scent that suits your tastes, working from the base notes up. The elegantly designed bottles are works of art in themselves - with the simple yet distinctive black floral design snaking up the clear glass bottle. The Valentine's consultation service is available at the flagship shop in Mayfair's Bruton Street as well as the Miller Harris store in Notting Hill. Bookings should be made at least two days in advance. Address: 21 Bruton Street, W1J 6QD Phone: 020 7629 7750 Timing: Mon to Sat 10:00 - 18:00 Nearest Station: Green Park Tube Miller Harris Mayfair - Information Miller Harris Notting Hill - Information  Myla | Agent Provocateur | Coco de MerYes, it’s a horrible cliche – up there with roses and chocolate – but buying underwear for your girl on Valentine’s can still be a lot of fun. A few helpful pointers though: red and lacy from Ann Summers is a 'no', nothing is more likely to offend, ditto maids' outfits (so unoriginal) and only consider buying underwear if you’ve seen her in hers already. Think of what she’d like – it’s meant to be a present for her, not you. If you’re still not sure, you can’t go wrong with something from Myla, the classy undie shop that sells vibrators designed by Tom Dixon. One of their most famous items is the Lace & Freshwater Pearl G-String as worn by Samantha in 'Sex and The City'. Agent Provocateur also rates highly on the glamometer with 1940s inspired stockings, suspenders or a flirty French slip to choose from. Shopping at Coco de Mer in Soho is an experience in itself. The shop’s changing rooms come complete with peep holes so that, if shopping with your beau, he can see the goods before buying. Special gifts for Valentine’s include an Intimacy Box with edible hazelnut massage oil, a wooden spanker and blindfold as well as condoms and black ostrich feather. Is it getting hot in here? Myla - Branch Information Agent Provocateur - Branch Information Coco de Mer - Information  Travis & Emery | Nigel Williams Rare Books | BiblionCecil Court, the pretty pedestrianised street linking Charing Cross Road and St Martin's Lane, is a wonderfully old fashioned Victorian walkway lined with shops specialising in second-hand books and classic prints. It’s rich hunting ground for a one-off Valentine’s present for your fella as well as a quaint place to stroll around – it’s also the start of the first loop of the Jubilee Walkway which begins at Leicester Square. With around twenty antiquarian shops in one street it’s difficult to know where to start so leaving time for leisurely browsing is best. Travis & Emery might have just the thing if you’re dating a musically minded chap; it sells musical scores, second-hand and out of print classic music books, sections on jazz, blues and world music. Down the street, Nigel Williams Rare Books has classic books like Dr Seuss ‘The Cat in the Hat’ as well as first editions of Dickens and a strong collection of 19th and 20th-century literature with signed copies of well known 20th century novels. Alternatively, head to Biblion on the ground floor of Grays Antiques, near South Molton Street, for first edition or signed books. They also have a comprehensive online catalogue which is worth searching if you know exactly what he wants. Travis & Emery - Information Nigel Williams Rare Books - Information Biblion - Information  Poetry Cafe | Poetry LibraryYou don’t have to spend a fortune lavishing your loved one with expensive gifts on Valentine’s Day, sometimes the simple things are the most effective. Music may be the food of love but what with email and txt msging, putting pen to paper is something of a lost art. The physical act of writing is almost as obsolete as ink wells and feather quills. All this means there’s a wonderfully old fashioned romance to putting something in writing and if it you can pass it off as a poem then so much the better. Get inspired at the Poetry Cafe, 22 Betterton St, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9BX , Tel: 020 7420 9887; or attend one of the Poet in the City gatherings, see www.poetinthecity.co.uk for the next event. A visit to the Poetry Library, on the fifth floor of the Royal Festival Hall and overlooking the Thames, is sure to provide inspiration with 90,000 items to browse through. If coming up with a few rhyming couplets is proving too tough, you can always borrow a couple of lines from Byron... or the Beatles – they’re the ones who said ‘All you need is love’, after all. Still need help? Don’t worry, the library offers a ‘Find a Poem’ service through which you can locate a specific love poem you’re looking for. Poetry Cafe - Information Poetry Library - Information  Smythson40 New Bond Street, W1S 2DE Smythson is to stationery what Tiffany's is to jewellery; both specialise in luxury goods and both come gift wrapped in elegant blue boxes. First opened in 1887, this historic, high-end stationers with four Royal Warrants counts Grace Kelly, Queen Victoria and Madonna among its customers. Gilded or embossed, bound or buckled, their luxurious goods have a classic appeal. Pulling one of their notebooks out of your handbag is a style statement. With Mrs Cameron as creative director it continues to attract a young, trendy crowd, drawn to its unique, customised service and high-quality fashion accessories. Personalised paper and stationery gift sets are the height of elegance. Leather bound books, desk accessories, picture frames and key fobs come in a whole spectrum of covetable colours. For Valentine's choose a ‘With Love and Kisses’ notebook in Fuchsia (£28) or ‘I Love You’ heart key ring (£20) in red. And, if you want to make the ultimate gesture of selfless devotion, you could always chuck out your old Smythson ‘Blondes, Brunettes and Redheads’ little black book. Address: 40 New Bond Street, W1S 2DE Phone: 020 7629 8558 Timing: Mon to Wed & Fri 9:30-18:00, Thu 10:00-19:00, Sat 10:00-18:00 Nearest Station: Oxford Circus Tube Smythson New Bond Street - Information Smythson Sloane Street - Information  Urban Golf33 Great Pulteney Street, W1F 9NW If your guy is a bit of a golfing bore – his Tiger Woods duvet cover would be a dead giveaway – get him some golfing lessons at Urban Golf. Happily sauntering about on the simulated greens of the world’s best courses, top-of-the-range Callaway club in hand, he’ll love you for indulging his hobby that can, if you’re a golf widow, leave you feeling a little left out at times. Whether he’s a scratch player or just getting to grips with a 9-iron, the computer simulated courses and high-tech gadgetry used to assess his swing will have him hooked. Lessons with the resident team of golfing pros are also a good, if slightly more expensive, gift-for-him option (from £50) but for that you get expert tuition – founder James Day who set up Urban Golf after working as a golf pro at Stoke Park and has ten years’ pitch and putting experience is among them. For lessons at Soho email jamesellis@urbangolf.co.uk, for Smithfield email steve@urbangolf.co.uk. Address: 33 Great Pulteney Street, W1F 9NW Phone: 020 7434 4300 Timing: Mon to Sat 10:00 - 23:00, Sun 10:00 - 18:00 Pricing: £20 - £50 Nearest Station: Piccadilly Circus Tube Urban Golf Soho - Information Urban Golf Smithfield - Information |
|||||||||
