Viva Designs

In grim and grimy London, I always think that it’s nice to just add a touch of colour to brighten up the home. Colour is definitely back with a vengeance; forget boring beige walls - think vibrant patterned wallpaper. Forget those neutral plain curtains - think cabbage roses and flock! However, you needn’t just rely on your curtains and wall paper to brighten up drab living spaces, what about your furniture and accessories too? This is where Viva Designs steps in andtakes centre stage. We aren’t just talking furniture here – think telephones (makes an interesting conversation piece), lamps, crockery or even an umbrella stand – you name it they’ll cover it!

Viva Design duo Vicki and Val hit on an idea to transform their everyday items. It started with floral off-cuts and then progressed to quirky decoupage. They soon realises their potential when family and friend asked for commissions, they then searched out other items to breathe new life into.

So before you think about getting rid of your well-loved (but so-over) castoffs give a little thought to its potential transformation. Give Viva Design a call and let them weave their magic to give it that ‘born again’ feeling.

Magic Choc

With the release of Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part 2 a decade of immersion in the magical adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermionie has come to the end and potter-maniacs like myself are left feeling somewhat bereft. Thankfully The In Thing have provided some comfort by debuting their magic chocolate. Magic Choc takes everyone’s favourite sweet treat and gives it a magical twist, allowing you to squish, shape, model before finally eating your creations. A patent protected method for creating the chocolate allows it to set, while remaining flexible, kind of like edible plasticine. Each pack of the Magic Choc includes milk, white and dark chocolate, an anti-bacterial hand wipe sachet and a model guide—everything you need to create a little magic of your own. Made with 100% Belgian Chocolate, Magic Choc is perfect for creating cute tasty decorations for party cakes. It also provides great entertainment for kids, one of the Amazing PR team even took some away on a hen-do this weekend – though we’re guessing what was created was slightly more x-rated than the model suggestions provided!

For more information, please visit their website.

Big Butterfly Count

Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the roses...or in this case count the butterflies. In our fast paced modern lives it is so easy to forget about the bigger picture, but our environment is something we are all responsible for. That is why the Big Butterfly Count has been launched with the enthusiastic backing of Sir David Attenborough, President of Butterfly Conservation, and Alan Titchmarsh MBE, Vice President of Butterfly Conservation. Between the 16^th and 31^st of July we are being encouraged to spend just 15 minutes during bright and preferably sunny weather (fingers crossed for that then) counting butterflies. This gives an invaluable insight into the health of our environments as butterflies react very quickly to changes in their environment which makes them excellent biodiversity indicators. Butterfly declines are an early warning for other wildlife losses. As David Attenborough explained, "The Big Butterfly Count is about more than just counting butterflies - we'll be taking the pulse of nature". If you don’t know your Admirals from your Peacocks then this is the perfect opportunity to get a little clued up, it is also a fun exercise to keep kids entertained. The Big Butterfly count website provides you with all the tools for identifying and logging your findings.

You can find out more info about the Big Butterfly Count and how to take part here.

Urban Physic Garden

Everyone at Amazing PR loves a pop-up, so far this summer we have frequented Tom’s Terrace at Somerset House for an (almost) too-hot-to-handle chilli martini...or three. Headed to Southbank for traditional Indian street food and deliciously spiked coconuts at Dishoom’s Chowpatty Beach Bar and hit up Basil’s Beach Bar at The Goring for a taste of genuine Mustique glamour, sans airfare...and weather for that matter. But all this eating and drinking has taken it out of us a bit (I know, woe is us) and we feel something a little more alternative is in order.

Enter the Urban Physic Garden, which has burst into bloom on a neglected patch of land in South East London. Thanks to the work of a collective of designers, urban growers and over 150 eager volunteers the garden is now flourishing with medicinal plants and healing herbs. Taking inspiration from the Chelsea Physic Garden - a centre for plant-based healing, research and experimentation for over 300 years - the Urban Physic Garden aims to inform and inspire on this fascinating subject.

This summer the Urban Physic Garden welcomes all budding botanists and medical mavericks to their festival of talks, workshops, film screenings and events. The garden provides a platform for artists, designers, gardeners and health practitioners from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures to showcase their talents. It is a place for lively debate – an outside space where a range of people can come together to explore the role of plants in science, health, well-being and the environment.

There is a fascinating programme of events coming up over the rest of the summer: Free lunchtime talks in the on-site ‘Rambulance Cafe’ (whose kitchen is a decommissioned ambulance), walks around the garden with Professor Peter Houghton an expert in medicinal plants, private consultations with a medical herbalist and creative workshops that cater to all ages.

The Urban Physic Garden is a work in progress. If you have some free time, and would like to get your hands dirty helping out, sign up to volunteer.

The Urban Physic Garden is open Tuesday-Sunday 11am – 6pm until 15th August. 100 Union Street, London SE1 0NL.

The Black Farmer

I would love to keep up the weekend traditions of big lunches with family and friends, but since I have moved away from home I have found I have neither the time nor the space. I know I know, these are excuses and every now and then I do attempt to rouse my inner hostess and try to impress my friends with some home-made dishes. Last weekend was the perfect opportunity and with a little help from The Black Farmer I think they were left suitably impressed.

The Black Farmer is a range of gluten free foods, including 100% British premium pork sausages, chicken, sweet mature cheddar cheese and a new range of sauces. The Black Farmer is based at a farm in the Devon hills, true cattle country with views of North Cornwall and Dartmoor. In addition to their award-winning Sweet Mature Cheddar Cheese, Premium Pork Sausages and The Black Farmer Bacon, they have also produced three delicious sauces. The Ginger and Lime, honey sweet with a lovely balance of ginger and garlic, is truly a zingy sauce for Indian meals and Chinese stir fry. The Spicy Muscovado, a mix of dark muscovado sugar, red wine and soy sauce, goes wonderfully with fish, meat and cheeses. The Sweet and Spicy Tomato Sauce, with 72% tomatoes and a hint of hot chilli and garlic, tastes great stirred through cooked pasta and as a topping for pizza. I got a bit inventive with the Sweet and Spicy Tomato sauce by topping cooked pasta with it, some mushrooms and a sprinkling of cheese and baking until the cheese began to bubble, delish.

Congrats to The Black Farmer whose free range, corn fed chicken products were recently awarded the Good Chicken Award by Compassion in World Farming’s Good Farm Animal Welfare 2011.

Check their website for more information and recipes.