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All posts by Ginny Marriott

Official video for Katy Perry’s “Part of Me”

Available on ‘Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection.’ Download the single on iTunes: Pre-order ‘Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection’ on iTunes: http://www.iTunes.com/KatyPerry

Director: Ben Mor

Producer: Tony McGarry & Danny Lockwood

Music video by Katy Perry performing Part Of Me. (P) (C) 2012 Capitol Records, LLC. All rights reserved.

1990’s Brit Pop Superband PULP played their first full live show of 2012 at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Saturday night (March 31).

As part of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs, throughout 2012. The show opened with a number of questions being projected onto a large screen above the stage. The final one asked the crowd ‘Do You Remember The First Time?’ before Pulp appeared on stage to kick off with the 1994 hit.   The set spanned Pulp’s vast career, including the inclusion of ‘My Lighthouse’ during the encore.

Lead singer and writer of most of the Pulp cataloague of tracks, Jarvis Cocker spoke about how the song, , featured his sister Saskia and her school friend Jill Talbot on backing vocals. The pair joined Jarvis and co  onstage to contribute once again, nearly 30 years later, at which point the crowd went insane with cheering.

“Dunno what you’re clapping for…” quipped Javis, “…nobody bought it.”

 

Jarvis admitted  the fact the band hadn’t played live in six months, aside from performing two songs at the NME Awards in February, when they also picked up this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust Outstanding Contribution To Music award. The show was a massive hit and the overexcited croed sung along to every track they played. It was definately a night for remiscing, and celebrating pure music Talent, that we must never forget.

 

Holly Willoughby is looking red-hot on the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Britain’s favourite tv presenter, and mum of two, Holly Willoughby is on the cover of the April issue of Cosmo Magazine, and she is looking smoking hot!!

Holly talks candidly to the magazine in an interview, telling all about family life, working with the silver fox that is Mr. Philip Schofield, and the secret of looking sexy, even when you have two small children at home and you hold down more than one full-time job. Gorgeous cover star Holly Willoughby reveals all about Cosmo’s fave topics: sex, love and lust  “I’ve always found that if you dress sexy, you feel sexy”, says Holly – and she’s a gal who’d know!

 

Jersey Shore Star Snooki has got engaged to her longtime boyfriend Jionni Lavelle .

Reality star 24-year-old Snooki, hit the headlines recently with the revelations that she and Lavelle were expecting their first child People magazine have now reported that a source close to the couple has revealed that they are officially engaged to be married.

Snooki is currently filming her spin-off series to Jersey Shore, the cameras will be following her and best friend and former housemate, j-Wow as they move in together, and spend the summer together. Maybe we will get a glimpse of Snooki arranging her up and coming nuptuals, but the question is, will the happy couple get wed very soon, or will they wait untill after the little bundle of joy makes arrives.

Tv favourite and fashion fixer Gok Wan, has been taken into hospital unexpectedly for back surgery.

Following  day of suffering some severe back pain yesterday, Gok Wan has now been admitted into hospital for surgery on his spine. Gok even took to twitter yesterday,  tweeting:

Really bad day with my back… Will check in later tweeties. Have a good day x

followed a while later saying:

Not a great day with my back… Love would be greatly appreciated! 🙁 x

the tweets poured in from other celebs, and Gok’s fans wishing him a speedy recovery, but this afternoon Gok was admitted into the hospital after being told bt doctors that he would need an operation on his back, and has had to pull out of his scheduled appearance with Alan Carr on the Million Pound Drop, hosted by Davina McCall.

Gok seems to be comfortable enough this afternoon  as he tweeted from his hospital bed that he had been having a good gossip with fellow patients on his hospital ward.

So… I managed to get to know everyone on my ward. We’ve swapped chocolates, gossiped and I dispensed fashion advise! Hospital Chic baby! X  he tweeted.

also expressing his disappointment of missing out on his attempt at the Million Pound Drop,

So gutted I’m going to be morphined off my ****** nut when I should be camping it up on MPD win @AlanCarr and @ThisisDavina 🙁

we hope Gok is on the mend soon, and everything goes well with his impending operation, which is said to be performed later today.

 

SPRING IS COMING: CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER TO REVEAL HIDDEN WARDROBE ASSETS

Top tips to make the most of your wardrobe this spring.   With the clocks going forward this weekend to welcome the start of spring, now is the perfect time to delve into your wardrobe to rediscover clothes from seasons gone by.  Research by home furnishing experts IKEA reveals that on average Brits are hoarding £1,212 worth of clothes in their wardrobes and the official arrival of spring on 21st March is the perfect time to uncover these hidden gems. Despite having wardrobes filled with the latest fashion, almost half of Brits claim to be bored with their clothes and only 3% say they feel excited about choosing a different outfit each day. A third also admit to wearing only 10% of their outfits, resulting in £1,090 worth of clothes left hanging on the rails untouched. According to the survey, we are not making the most of the clothes we already own and the lack of excitement around the contents of our wardrobes is due to poor organisation, as almost half of the nation describes the state of their wardrobe as ‘unorganised chaos’. Almost a quarter admit to grabbing the first thing that comes to hand each morning with a further 23% rotating the same old trusted outfits over and over again.  There are simple, affordable steps that can get your clothes in order this spring.

Bedrooms expert Pippa Swain commented, “Our research shows that despite having a wealth of outfits to choose from, Brits are often left feeling frustrated and uninspired by the contents of their wardrobes. Instead of buying new clothes, money savvy Brits should invest in storage solutions that help rediscover the items they once loved. ”

Grace Woodward

Celebrity stylist Grace Woodward has teamed up with IKEA to give some top tips on how to spring clean and reorganise your wardrobe chaos, she comments: “Just as you have many different roles to play in a day, so does your wardrobe. It needs to organise your clothes, hang them properly, show off your best bits and keep all those things you’d rather forget cleverly hidden away.. The key to great styling and feeling confident about what you wear all starts with your wardrobe – the home of your fabulous fashion and source of inspiration”.

Grace Woodard’s Top Tips for getting the most out of your wardrobe:

1. Clarity is Key: One of the worst wardrobe habits is hoarding clothes that we never wear, I recommend clearing out your wardrobe every year considering the season coming.  If it doesn’t fit or can’t be worked it into an outfit then you need to get rid!

 2. Hang with pride: Once you have de-cluttered the next step is reorganising! It’s important to make the most  of the space within your wardrobe, never over fill – you don’t have to hang everything. .

3. You Are Your Canvas: Making a great outfit is like painting, you are using colour and texture to create something interesting to look at. People think they don’t have time but if you know where to reach in and grab those little extras like accessories then your look becomes more interesting.

4. Kick Off: I encourage people to have a shoe to suit every mood, but we are emotional multifaceted creatures and so the shoe collection can get quite large. Shoe racks and boxes are the key to footloose and fancy free self-expression – a total must for good shoe care too.   Boxes with clear fronts, help keep dust away and make it easy to choose the right pair for your outfit.

UK consumers react to the budget.

So much for ‘Dave’s Big Society’ as the gap between the rich and poor widens – 8% say that the recession is building a community spirit and a “we’re all in it together attitude” –

52% of consumers agree that division in society between the haves and have-nots is getting wider –

Only 9% feel they will be better off

and 38% are worried about their finances –

58% say that they are negatively affected by the decision not to reduce petrol prices –

54% feel negatively affected by road tax increase –

31% cutting back on charitable donations

UK consumers are feeling more worried about their finances as a result of Wednesday’s budget, with cutting back on charity giving, eating out and turning to the Black Market among the measures they are considering to help ease their financial situation. Restaurants and food outlets will be hit hard, as the most popular cutback is on buying takeaways (41%) followed by eating out (34%). Charities will also lose out as 31% plan to cut back on charitable donations.

However, there is still some optimism in the air as playing the lottery remains a part of life that almost two thirds of UK consumers (59%) are unwilling to give up, while 3% said they will increase their spend on lottery tickets. When thinking about their financial situation and about how they manage their money between pay or pension days, UK consumers appear to be quite a sensible bunch with more than two thirds (69%) saying that they would never be tempted to use high interest payday loans. However, 8% say they are already using these.

More than half (52%) agree that the cuts as outlined in Wednesday’s Budget are creating great divisions in society between the haves and have-nots, with only 8% saying that a silver lining of the recession is that it is building community spirit with a “we’re all in it together” attitude. However, this sentiment increases among lower income earners with 63% thinking it’s causing a divide compared to 47% of middle income earners. When asked to think about their financial situation and whether the Budget will make it harder to stretch their money further, we asked consumers if they would be tempted to buy certain products on the black market, buy fake brands, or go over their duty limit on things like alcohol or cigarettes when travelling back from abroad.

Among smokers, however, there is a greater tendency to search out the black market or stretch the duty limits in order to get alcahol and cigerettes. (49%) also said they planned to cut back on holidays.

“These figures provide interesting insight into the way the general population is feeling as a result of the Budget,” said Marco Scognamiglio, CEO of RAPP UK. “While reports have suggested that some people will be better off, there are large numbers of people who will be worse off or who at least feel they will be worse off. “It is critical to listen to consumer conversations and sentiment following the budget and to respond in relevant ways as the power and influence they can have on brands and society is not to be underestimated.”

 [RAPP Proprietary Research using Toluna. Sample: 500 UK consumers.]

Kwoklyn Wan talks about the Martial Arts Show Live, Working with his little brother Gok, and his new Movie Role.

Kwoklyn Wan
Kwoklyn Wan, is one of the biggest names in the UK Martial arts scene today, as founder and original host of the very first Martial Arts Festival, and co developer of the biggest Martial Arts Expo in Europe-Martial Arts Show Live -he definitely knows his way  around a dojo.  Wan’s impressive martial arts credentials, and business ventures alongside his business partner Paul Clifton, has definitely kept the hard-working 38-year-old father of two, busy,  he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.   February this year we saw Kwoklyn Wan on our tv screens along side his ‘Fashion Fix’ younger brother Gok Wan, using  his experience as a bullied child into helping UK teenagers with their confidence issues, in Gok’s Teens on C4 . And now the most exciting news for Wan this year so far, that he has been cast in a british movie alongside some big names, which we couldn’t wait to find out about.
Hi Kwoklyn,
Well where do we start, you seem to have so many strings to your belt, lets start with the Martial arts,
What was your original vision and purpose of the Martial arts festival uk?
In 2008 we attended Leicester’s Riverside Festival, the sun was shining, and everyone was having a great time. I then bumped into some good friends of mine who were performing their Capoeira (Brazilian Martial Arts) as part of the featured entertainment. Everyone loved the movements, the music and the overall feel good feeling of a group of martial artists training and playing together in the glorious sun. From that point on I couldn’t get the idea out of my head about creating a similar event that’s main focus was the diverse world of martial arts but also catered for the non martial artist, and MAF-UK was born. We hunted out suitable locations and finally decided that Parklands in Oadby was the perfect location. It had a huge hall just in case the weather wasn’t that great and loads of outdoor space. We set the date for April 2009 and created the UK’s largest martial arts festival to date.
Did the Festival exceed your expectations?
 Yes it did! We expected around 2,000 visitors as we had marketed the event everywhere. We didn’t quite expect the 10,000 that finally turned up and had a fantastic time.
Will there be a next one?
We have full intentions of re-launching MAF-UK but we have all been kept very busy with its sister show (The Martial Arts Show Live) which was created in 2010 at the NEC in Birmingham. TMAS Live is now in its 3rd year and has become the largest martial arts expo/show in europe. This May will see our biggest show yet incorporating 3 Huge Halls at the NEC on 12th & 13th May with a new addition being launched The MMA Show Live in one of the Halls. We have pretty much every single huge name you can think of from UFC fighters to screen action hero’s.
Your Martial arts company Urban Martial Arts, where can we find you?
Urban Martial Arts is located in Leicester city centre but we do have several franchise schools dotted around (Anstey, Aylestone, Wolverhampton, Welwyn and London) please log onto URBAN MARTIAL ARTS WEBSITE for full details.
Are there any plans to expand and open some new dojo’s?
We are in the process of restructuring the way Urban Martial Art schools are run but this is still A Plan in Action. We do have our eye on several new locations across the UK.
Where does your passion for Martial arts come from?
I guess it’s the crazy Kung Fu films my dad used to let us watch when we were growing up and the now, cult classic tv programs. I remember as a very young child playing “Monkey Magic” with my brother using a painted broom stick as my staff/pole.
You have a working partnership with Paul Clifton, and together you launched the Martial Arts show, tell us a bit about it?
Paul and I had our first meeting after my first event MAF-UK and hit it off pretty much straight away. It was decided then that we should launch a new show at the NEC as the midlands was lacking a first-rate martial arts event based in middle england. Paul being in the publishing industry for years would be the official media partner and I would concentrate on the logistical side of running the show.
How proud of that, are you?
We are both very proud that in less than two years we took a product that did not exist and turned it into the largest most talked about event in the martial arts calendar.
Are there any new Wan/Clifton projects in the pipeline?
We have literally loads of new up and coming projects ranging from Apps, to Film Production and TV. It’s all very exciting though at the same time all very tiring. All I can say is “Watch this Space”
How was it working with your brother on Gok’s Teens “The Naked Truth”? tackling teenage confidence issues ?
 I loved every minute of it, Gok and I are very, very similar (being only 1 year apart in age), we have the same sense of humour, and our values and attitudes are almost identical, so, it was very easy working with him on camera. We were both bullied at school for being Fat & Chinese, so it was very easy for us to really understand the pressure and negative comments that these kid’s were being exposed too. It felt great when off camera the kid’s came up too us and said that we really had made a big difference to their life’s. I know that we shall continue to keep helping other children for the rest of our lives’.
You definitely seemed to put your heart into it, teaching the youngsters to love themselves again, did the teens, teach you anything ?
I guess the teen’s taught me that with the right kind of help and support we really can make a difference. These kid’s want to listen, they want to learn and they do want to be children and not have a care in the world. Gok is a great ambassador for this and I will support him all the way.
It seems that you are part of a very hard-working family, where did you and your siblings get this work ethic from ?
As we grew up, it was very evident that Mum and Dad worked their socks off to give us every thing we ever wanted. It was never thrown back in our face that they worked 7 days a week, nor was it a chore to them, “it was life” and that was that. So hard work is a mind-set, it’s only hard work if you make a fuss about it.
Soar Magazine was quoted saying you could be Leicester’s most successful brothers since David and Richard Attenborough, we think they might be right, what do you think ?
 What a huge accolade! Gok and I have been very fortunate that we have both found jobs that we thoroughly love. Success is measured by three simple but very important factors. FREEDOM, RESPECT and PEACE. Once you have truly worked out what they mean you will have success.
Now, we spotted that you tweeted recently that you have been cast in a movie, how exciting!! what can you tell us about it ?
Yes I can. Bredrin filmworks are currently working on a new film called “The Law of One” it is a mixed martial arts film and has some big names attached (Top Secret). The Director was watching Gok’s Teens and spotted me, a larger than life character and liked what he saw. He contacted me and I sat a very short screen cast audition and was offered the part.
Who is directing the movie ?
The Director is Winston George Ellis who personally has appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp, and Batman Begins.
Who else is going to be in the movie?
My Character plays alongside Andy Beckwith (Film: Snatch) and the lead is Top Secret at the moment but they are HUGE!
When do you start filming?
We start filming in September at Wimbledon Studios London for 6 weeks.
You are another example of amazing success coming from hard work, and doing something you love, what advice would you give our young readers, who have a passion but just do not know how to get started ?
It’s not as hard as you think to get started, you just need to have the confidence to believe in the product you are creating and understand that sometimes if not all the time you will be required to work 7 days a week and for 16/18 hours a day. You will only get out what you put in and remember FREEDOM, RESPECT and PEACE.
Thanks for talking to us Kwoklyn, it’s been a pleasure.

summer is on its way-apparently- so we had better get our summer wardrobes in order.

MUI MUI spring/summer 2012

The catwalks of London, Paris and New York fashion week, showed as it’s  usual an

MULBERRY spring/summer 2012

eclectic array of fashions, from a collection of designers, but a few trends are shining out already, and are definitely being translated into the high street stores.

Lace fabrics, and single prints grand enough to use as statement wallpaper are the biggest shout this summer, and this year the catwalks seemed to take us back to the two piece and layered look, so skirts, trousers and blouses, dresses with jackets, and dresses with design separation at the waist.

The lace trend is the biggest of them all this season, and the more intricate the better, Channel, Mui Mui, and Vera Wang all show lace in their collections, and it can now be seen in the hight street stores including at, Zara, H&M, New Look and Next.

single prints were scattered throughout most of the catwalk collections, and bring us a bit of class and glamour to our wardrobes this summer.

GUCCI summer 2012

The Channel and Gucci collections were full of two piece outfits, making the waist a focal point, and again the high street has picked up this trend pretty quick and filled its shelves with blouses, jackets, tailored pants and pencil skirts. So get mix and matching ladies, and you won’t go wrong.