Ping

Location: Earls Court , SW5 9QG

If you fancy a little friendly competition and want to hit up some bat and ball, then PING is the place to go. Inspired by the game of Ping Pong, this is a kitchen/bar/games area all in one. We recommend PING if you are looking for a relaxed, creative and all round fun night out. The atmosphere is more chilled out from Monday to Wednesday and thereafter is rather busy until Saturday night with DJs playing after 11pm. PING serves yummy pizzas and amazing cocktails from about £7.70+!

Bubbledogs

Location: 70 Charlotte Street, W1T 4QG

Who would have thought… combining Champagne and Hotdogs?! Well, it’s been done and it works well! The hotdogs range from the classic (dog in the bun) to the super naughty Horny Dog ranging from £6-£8.  You can have Sparkling Wine, Champagne or Beers to accompany your Hotdog, these range from a by the glass £6-£11.50 or bottle at £32+ and beer £5.50-£6.50.

Burger and Lobster

Locations: Mayfair, Soho and Farringdon

It’s that simple. Burger or Lobster. The portion sizes are good and prices range from £20-£40 per meal. You can have a variety of different burgers and lobster cooked in a few different ways. It’s a simple idea that is well executed and loved by many. This is trending big time!

The Mayor of Scaredy Cat London

Location: 12-16 Artillery Lane, E1 7LS

The Breakfast Club serves breakfast, lunch and dinner… however if you want a quirky, different dining experience then when arriving at The Breakfast Club ask to speak to the Mayor. Without giving away too much… make your way through the Fridge Doors. The menu consists of Burgers, Bangers &Mash, wraps, chilli and salads. If you are going just for drinks you can choose between some refreshing smoothies, cocktails, wine and beer.

The Jam Tree

Locations: Clapham, Kensington and Chelsea

Based on modern European gastro pub trends the different locations offer different rooms and dining areas such as a garden, bunk bed area and basement. The cocktails are amazing and largely based on the base ingredient of jam, such as the Jam Mojito and 9 different types of Bloody Marys. All of the locations are great for a large group of friends or birthday parties.

So, we don’t want to hear any of this ‘I don’t know where to go tonight…’, these 5 places won’t disappoint. Go check them out and let us know your thoughts!

There’s a ton of sequels and blockbusters coming out next year (Star Trek Into Darkness, Man Of Steel, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, Thor Dark World, Iron Man 3, Anchorman 2, Kick Ass 2, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Wolverine, The Hangover 3, etc) which look very exciting, but you will all be aware of them already so I’ll focus on the ones you may not have heard of yet.

Here are our top 10 films to look out for in 2013, trailers included where available.

10. This Is The End

No comedy film in 2013 has a better cast than this. British comedy fans will be outraged here and rooting for the new Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg film, The World’s End, but for me the American version wins hands down. Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Jason Segel, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, Aziz Ansari and more, all playing themselves in one film about how celebrities deal with the end of the world. I can’t think of any better recipe for hilarity, and this looks set to be 2013’s Ted.

9. Oldboy

Whilst I am not generally a huge Spike Lee fan, this remake of the classic Korean film is not one to be ignored. The film has gone through numerous hands over the past few years, with people like Spielberg and Will Smith attached at various times, finally settling on Spike Lee at the helm and Josh Brolin in the lead role. It’s a bold move, recreating one of the most iconic thriller’s and martial arts films of all time, and it is bound to be incredibly polarising. Whether Lee delivers or not, this will be one to keep an eye on.

8. Elysium

The second feature film from South African director Neil Blomkamp, best known for his hugely successful debut District 9, is looking to be the most promising of a string of sci-fi films in the next 12 months. With Matt Damon in the lead role, Elysium is set in the year 2159 where Earth’s elite live above the planet on Elysium, a man made space station. The rest of the world is left slumming it back on an overpopulated and ruined Earth, and Matt Damon is put in a position where he will either die or bring equality to the two worlds.

7. The Great Gatsby

Whilst this may be counted as a blockbuster, I find it difficult not to get excited by anything with DiCaprio in it these days. With a great supporting cast of Tobey Maguire, Cary Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and more, this will be director Baz Luhrmann’s first film since Australia over 5 years ago. This will be the 5th time the iconic novel has been put on the big screen, and it is the most ambitious attempt to date. Strangely, Luhrmann seems to have decided to place it in 3D, but from the director most famous for the visually stunning Moulin Rouge I will hold my scepticism off until I’ve seen it.

6. Mama

Whilst most eyes will be focused on The Hobbit and Pacific Rim next year, the most exciting Guillermo Del Toro project for me is the upcoming Spanish horror film Mama. Jessica Chastain (The Tree Of Life, Lawless, The Help) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (best known for playing Jaime in Game Of Thrones) take the two lead roles with upcoming Spanish director Andres Muschietti at the helm and Guillermo Del Toro supporting as an executive producer. Coster-Waldau stars as Lukas, who is tasked with raising his two nieces after they are lost in the woods for 5 years. However, when they are discovered there seems to be something supernatural following them…

5. Stoker

The second horror film on the list comes from Park Chan-Wook, the Korean director best known for creating Oldboy and Sympathy For Lady Vengeance. His English speaking debut stars Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and Matthew Goode. When Wasikowska’s father dies her uncle moves in with her and her emotionally unstable mother, and although she finds him suspicious she finds herself drawn to him. Little more is known about the plot just yet, but it has one of the best trailers I’ve seen in years, complete with some of Chan-Wook’s incredible framing and editing.

4. Only God Forgives

After the huge success of Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling have once again teamed up in this upcoming crime thriller set in Thailand. Ryan Gosling stars as a drug smuggler operating a Thai boxing club who is forced to find and kill the person responsible for his brother’s death. This will be Gosling’s most physically demanding role to date, and after his fantastic performances in Drive, The ides of March, Half Nelson, Lars & The Real Girl, and Blue Valentine, it’s great to see his increasing depth and repertoire.

3. Twelve Years A Slave

Shame was one of the best surprises of 2011, with British director Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender pairing up in the uncompromising drama. The two of them return in 2013 for Twelve Years A Slave, alongside Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti and more in this film set in 1800s Louisiana. Lead actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (best known for Serenity, 2012, Children Of Men, and American Gangster) stars as a New York citizen who is kidnapped and sold into slavery, and struggles to return to his family.

2. The Wolf Of Wall Street

Has Scorsese ever done a bad film? An argument could be made for New York, New York, but I think most people would agree that is an exception in a long line of successes. The Wolf Of Wall Street is his next project, off the success of Hugo in 2011, and it marks his 5th collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio. The crime drama focuses on a New York stockbroker who refuses to co-operate with the fraud and corruption occurring on the corporate banking hub of the world.

1. Untitled Terrence Malick Project (aka Lawless)

After Terrence Malick returned from a break last year with The Tree Of Life, he is coming into 2013 in a big way with two new films. Whilst the other one, Knight Of Cups, looks very exciting too, the cast of Lawless is too exciting to pass on. Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender and Rooney Mara star in a film about two intersecting love triangles taking place in the music scene of Austin, Texas. Lawless was reportedly the name originally until Malick decided to let John Hillcoat’s film take it instead. It is currently unnamed but will be very exciting regardless!

Honorable Mentions

Carrie, Warm Bodies, Ender’s Game, Movie 43, The World’s End, Trance, Gravity, Knight Of Cups, Oz: The Great And Powerful, Spring Breakers, Foxcatcher, Pacific Rim, Malavita, Oblivion, The Lone Ranger.

What else have we missed? What films are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments.

10. Passion Pit – Gossamer

The second album from the Massachusetts band came with high expectations. Off the back of their hugely successful debut album, Manners, they were given the dreaded task of following up and proving their unique sound was more than a one hit wonder. Passion Pit came back with style, delivering catchy singles like “Take A Walk” and “I’ll Be Alright”, as well as a more mature sound on tracks like “Constant Conversations”. No album on this list captured the sound of summer as well as Passion Pit, and they have a unique ability to transport you to the beach no matter where you physically are. Gossamer wasn’t a massively evolved sound from Manners, but it refined the platform they had already built.

9. Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg

The debut album from the Nottingham singer songwriter was one of the most welcome surprises of the year. Coming from nowhere, Jake Bugg brought a unique and refreshing sound to the table with the easiest comparisons drawn to a young Bob Dylan. With witty lyrics and an exceptional ability to story tell Jake Bugg has launched from small town Nottingham to national star in a matter of weeks, and despite polished production from Mercury Records his raw talent and hunger for good music is apparent throughout the entire album.

8. Purity Ring – Shrines

Another debut album here from a Canadian electro duo, Purity Ring. Whilst Passion Pit delivered the sound of summer with their synths and pitch shifted vocals, Purity Ring took a similar route with a very different outcome. Shrines is an incredibly haunting album, sitting somewhere in between Burial and early Crystal Castles. Purity Ring were a great surprise as I had no previous knowledge of them before hearing Shrines but was absolutely blown away. They will be touring the UK in March and I thoroughly recommend everyone makes the trip to see them, as they will be one to watch in 2013.

7. Poliça – Give You The Ghost

The American indie rock band, headed up by the charismatic Channy Leaneagh have had a great year. Coming from relative obscurity in 2011 they rocked SXSW, were described as “the best band I’ve ever heard” by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and were picked by Jay-Z as his favourite indie band. If there was one band on this list that you might not know but definitely will in the future, this is it. Give You The Ghost is one of the strongest debut albums in recent years, best described in a quote from Rolling Stone – “It’s the sound of heartbreak and celebration happening simultaneously”. Having seen them perform at Heaven a few months back I can 100% vouch for their live performance and Channy’s stage presence, and look forward to seeing Poliça continue to grow in the next few years.

6. Beach House – Bloom

Beach House have been around for a while now, though Bloom is by far their strongest offering to date. When researching this article I tried to define what their sound was and found one of my favourite genre definitions on their Wikipedia page – Dream Pop. As silly as it sounds it’s incredibly fitting as Bloom has an incredibly ethereal sound to it, as if you should be listening to it as you walk through a world made entirely of clouds. There isn’t a bad song on the album and it is definitely worth a listen.

5. Jessie Ware – Devotion

This came as a very nice surprise as I downloaded it with no knowledge of who Jessie Ware was or what to expect, off the back of a poster on the London Underground. What I found was one of the best pop albums in recent years, with a sophisticated soulful sound from an incredibly exciting UK songstress. Clash described Jessie as “filling the gap between Adele, SBTRKT and Sade”, which is a perfect description of her blend between pop vocals and darker beats.

4. Grimes – Visions

I will freely admit that though I am not proud of it, Visions was the first time I had heard Grimes. Her single, Oblivion, is arguably the best single of the year, and the whole album manages to deliver on the high level that Oblivion sets. 2012 seems to be the year of ethereal vocals and Grimes follows in the trend set by Passion Pit, Beach House and Purity Ring, layering her voice in a variety of ways to build an eclectic sound unlike anything else on this list. Unfortunately Grimes cancelled her European tour due to depression, so we will struggle to see her in a small venue before she blows up to a much bigger scale, but when she’s playing arenas in 2014 we’ll all be able to look back and remember how great this album was.

3. Twin Shadow – Confess

George Lewis Jr. is one of the most controversial figures in indie music, often overshadowing his own music with his controversial statements and egotistical attitude. However, Confess managed to eclipse it’s creator with an 80s fueled road trip of an album, best accompanied with a Jack Kerouac novel. Detailing his journeys on tour and his failed relationships, Confess is the most raw album from Twin Shadow so far and easily his best. At times it seems almost farcical how much emotion he puts into it, but there genuinely isn’t a weak song on the album. We were lucky enough to see him at Brixton earlier this year and it was one of my favourite gigs in the year with every song filling the venue with his husky vocals and over the top emotive body language.

2. Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE

I took so long trying to determine whether this should be #1 or #2 as it is probably the most important album on this list. Redefining the genre of R&B and reclaiming it from the hands of Jason DeRulo and NeYo, channel ORANGE showed the world that R&B still has plenty more to give. Before this release Frank Ocean was best known for his collaboration with the OFWGKTA rappers (Tyler The Creator, Hodgy Beats, Earl Sweatshirt, etc), as well as for coming out as being bisexual before the album’s release. However, once the album came out all of the background and build up became irrelevant as Ocean brought soul back to music in 17 tracks of near perfection. An incredibly emotive album, channel ORANGE was possibly the most impactful album of the year and one of the bravest releases in recent times. Frank Ocean put everything into this album and the world responded with open arms.

1. alt-J – An Awesome Wave

The debut album from the indie rock quartet is the best release of the year with a huge range of styles and layers of music that takes several listens to sink in fully. On first listen a few songs will instantly jump out (Fitzpleasure, Tesselate, Something Good) and you will instantly realise that you’re listening to a good album. You’ll probably obsess over these for a few weeks, not really paying attention to the other tracks on the album. One day you’ll be travelling on the train and you’ll forget to put it on repeat, and you’ll find yourself listening to Taro, Bloodflood, Dissolve Me, and all the other tracks on the album and you’ll realise you’ve stumbled on to something amazing. The tracks are incredibly diverse with Joe Newman’s vocals layering a consistent thread throughout. Having recently won the Mercury Prize 2012, alt-J are here to stay and may well take the main stage as the darlings of British indie in 2012.

The Outsiders

There were a ton of artists who released albums this year that were fantastic but did not make the top 10. Here’s our abridged list:

The xx, The Maccabees, Solange, Band Of Horses, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Sleigh Bells, Michael Kiwanuka, Best Coast, Two Door Cinema Club, Grizzly Bear, Crystal Castles, Tame Impala, Dirty Projectors, Cat Power.

So there you have it, our albums of the year! Did we miss any off our list? Who would be your #1? Let us know in the comments!

If you read our review of the documentary Searching for Sugarman you will be familiar with the background behind the mystery that is Rodriguez. 42 years after his first album Cold Fact was released, and 70 years old, Rodriguez took to the stage to entertain the crowds at the Royal Festival Hall and at the Round House this past week. Although aged, he is still a brilliant performer, one with his guitar and engaged well with the audience (cracking a few jokes here and there). His supporting band was Phantom Limb, who performed with him as his backing band during his performance.

Rodriguez sang all the favourites including ‘Sugarman’, ‘I wonder’ and ‘Crucify your Mind’… and for the (largely South African) audience the evening brought an overwhelming sense of nostalgia; it felt unreal and bit like we were living a dream watching the legend that is Rodriguez on stage!

If you missed his London gigs, you can catch him on the last leg of his UK tour in Liverpool, Gateshead and Edinburgh. See the dates here.

The venue wasn’t too cosy itself however the atmosphere felt intimate enough and relaxed, which was lovely as Julian, Jessica, Gareth and Allen all seemed to enjoy the evening’s discussions. It was also particularly enjoyable as the audience partook in a questions and answers session; squeezing as much information out of the Downtoners as possible knowing that they have to wait until Christmas Day to watch another episode.

When asked which episode has been each of their favourites, they all agreed that it was merely impossible to pinpoint one episode as Julian writes the script so captivatingly that the blend of mixing in the old or familiar with the new and unexpected. However, Gareth Neame mentioned that perhaps the most important scene from the entire series was the scene at the railway station in Season Two where Mary and Matthew say their goodbyes as he departs for war. Neame says that “it landed perfectly” as both Mary and Matthew capture what they are feeling and thinking without words.

Focusing on political and social issues around the First World War and progressing into the early 1920s, the characters each have to face and overcome their own obstacles and challenges which present themselves throughout all three of the series. For the women, and particularly shown through the Crawley sisters, they found a strong sense of purpose during the war, such as Sybil’s work as a nurse. After the war, there was a problem with the surplus of women, to which Edith is determined to find her voice and claim her stake. For Mary, she shows her strength of character, especially when in the presence of her parents.

When asked which daughter Cora (The Countess of Grantham) was most similar to, Julian feels that there is a little bit of all three daughters in Cora, however she has a personal struggle with the fact that she is a foreigner, and her daughters are not. Personally I feel that Cora sees herself or her desires in her daughter Sybil, which I feel is grieved for by Cora on Sybil’s death bed.

Allen Leech spoke of his enjoyment playing Catholic Irishman Tom Branson, who has strong political affiliations, saying “it was fantastic. Your character has a grip to it. It gives energy to Branson. It’s been really wonderful”. Upon discussing filming the emotional scene of Sybil’s death, to which involved a long day of filming, Leech mentioned “…as an actor it was really good to do. I was really tired at the end from crying constantly for 10 hours…” The scene was also the last scene for actress Jessica Brown Findlay who played Sybil and as a result was a naturally emotional day of filming.

Julian Fellows spoke of Maggie Smith’s performance as Violet Crawley (The Dowager Countess of Grantham), saying that she “understands the rhythm of comedy” as she captures the small moments where the script calls for comedic flare.

By the end of the evening, it was clear that the entire cast and crew thoroughly enjoy working together; there is no divide between those upstairs and those downstairs. From the venue of Highclere Castle as Downton Abbey, to the props, exquisite costumes, hair and makeup and script writing, fans were sitting at the edges of their seats to find out if Downton Abbey would be returning for a fourth season. Whilst Julian, Allen, Gareth and Jessica were all coy about an answer it looks to be likely!

After the Q&A session there was a book signing, for the new book ‘The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era’ written by Jessica Fellows and Matthew Sturgis and meet-and-greet, which put a smile on most fans faces!!

If you are a Downton Fan, be sure to watch the Christmas special episode on Christmas Day. If you missed Season 3, you can purchase this from Amazon (it also makes for a good Christmas present) or go grab yourself a copy of the new book.

To build up a bit of excitement for the event Nike hosted an evening at their flagship store where 3 Rams legends (including two superbowl winners) hosted a Q&A. Marshall Faulk, Jackie Starr and Torry Holt were available to answer questions from Sky Sports’ Neil Reynolds and members of the audience.

The Rams cheerleaders also did a brief performance, and the players were available for a meet and greet afterwards.

Whilst the night was a great laugh generally, it was disappointing when they started throwing prizes into the crowd, as one of the greatest running backs of all time, Marshall Faulk, threw a football right at me and I fumbled. The ball bounced straight out of my hand and into the person behind me. Guess I won’t be taking over for Tom Brady any time soon!

Visit the Nike’s Flagship Oxford Street store for more information as Nike continue to deliver the ultimate International football experience. Will any of our readers be at the game on Sunday? Or watching it on TV? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!