Open House - British Summer Time

In a city like London, one can get lost in the endless options of things to do. It’s almost unavoidable to become overwhelmed when deciding on plans. So, The Amazing Blog is here to help and put your mind at ease. Join us at the OPEN HOUSE in Hyde Park from Monday 9 July until Thursday 12 July. This four-day event is free to enter, and includes a free outdoor cinema, live music and activities!

With a wide variety of food, OPEN HOUSE’s street food market will satisfy all of your cravings, and importantly, will keep your spirits high with pop up bars, serving from 12 pm onwards. Each day, attendees can to partake in Birra Moretti’s “taste tour of Italy.” Additionally, Upswing, the aerial circus company, will have performances and workshops from 4pm-9pm. Every night has a themed movie with showings at 5:30 and 8:30 pm. You can expect free Wimbledon Championship screenings, from 12 pm onwards, without the hassle of a crowded bar. On Tuesday through Thursday, stop by the Royal Parks Showcase and hear daily talks, go to the plant sale or ask for advice.

Here’s a breakdown of each day.

Monday:

Starting on Monday, the event will kick off with family favourites: The Lego Movie (U) playing at 5:30 pm and Matilda (PG) at 8:30 pm. Live music will include Mister Kanish and Daytoner. Mister Kanish, a new artist on Open House’s line-up, began in 2008 and has since been mixing 90s style hip-hop, with folk and rock riffage. Afterwards, Daytoner will perform. Enjoy the sounds of baritone, sax, flute, keys, bass, drums and DJ.

Tuesday:

There is no reason that you cannot enjoy everything that OPEN HOUSE has to offer over the course of the four days. On Tuesday, welcome Freddie & the Freeloaders and London Gay Big Band. Freddie & the Freeloaders received national recognition for the live shows and inspired interpretations of golden era Soul and Motown. London Gay Big Band is a jazz orchestra of predominately LGBT musicians and vocalists. Chickenshed’s Tales is collaborating with Brit School’s Community Arts Practice and will have performances at 10:30 am, 11:45 pm and 12:45 pm. All shows last about an hour. At night, watch our personal favourites – Grease (PG) at 5:30 pm and The Greatest Showman (PG) at 8:30 pm.

Wednesday:

Can’t make it to Chickenshed’s performance on Tuesday? That’s OK! There will be three more performances at 10:30 am, 11:45 pm and 12:45 pm. Wednesday’s musical line-up invites back The London Gay Men’s Chorus, for the fourth year, and a new band to British Summer Time Hyde Park, Temple Funk Collective. Evening movie showings are Lion (PG) at 5:30 pm and The Grand Budapest Hotel (15) at 8:30 pm.

Thursday:

To wrap up the event, OPEN HOUSE is bringing back the 80s. If you’re a fan of classics, then Thursday night’s outdoor cinema is for you. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (PG) will show at 5:30 pm and Flash Gordon (PG) at 8:30. Dance the night away with House Gospel Choir and Old Dirty Brasstards.

We hope to see you there! Comment below what part of the event you’re looking forward to most.  

Balance Festival

Here at The Amazing Blog we understand how difficult it can be to maintain the motivation needed to lead a healthy lifestyle. That is why we thought we'd let you know about the Balance Festival: The perfect place to find like-minded individuals who are joining together to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

Balance Festival is the largest fitness and wellness-focused event in the UK. It brings together the best foods, classes, and the most knowledgeable nutritionists, trainers, yogis and chefs; all of whom will share their expertise to help you kick-start your journey to a better self. There is never a dull moment with over 150 food, fitness, wellness, and travel brands to explore. Workshops will include talks and cooking demos, plus there is the option to attend over 200 fitness classes from £6 per session, perfect to sweat out some of those toxins. 

You can try out numerous cutting-edge workouts on the main stage and then relax in The Sanctuary to recharge or practice mindfulness. It is impossible to leave the festival without feeling inspired and ready to take on a new healthy lifestyle. The buzzing atmosphere will keep you coming back year after year to discover new brands, workouts and recipes; ensuring that your health regime is never dull.

The Balance Festival takes place 11th-13th May 2018 at The Old Truman Brewery. Super Early Bird Tickets are available here starting at £24.50 for a standard pass, £45 for VIP, and £75 for a weekend VIP. See you there!

Embassy Gardens Market opens

This Saturday, the Embassy Gardens Market will be opening at Embassy Gardens’ New Union Square in Nine Elms Lane London SW8 5DA. The market is brought to us thanks to Shepherds Markets and EcoWorld Ballymore, two companies looking to bring a colourful, vibrant market to Embassy Gardens. Here at The Amazing Blog, we discovered the first Embassy Garden Market last November which was a huge fun, and we can’t wait to attend again this spring. This springtime market will include a selection of local food and drink products from some of London’s finest (and tastiest) vendors.

The first Embassy Gardens Market of 2018 will take place on Saturday April 28th from 10:00am to 5:00pm. If you cannot make it to opening day, do not stress; the market will be open again on Saturday May 26th and Saturday June 30th from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The closest tube and overland stops to the market are the Vauxhall or the Battersea Park.

The vendors in attendance at the market will include; La Ferme, L’Amuse Bouche, Finest Fayre, Cookies n Cream, Goko, Rao Deli, Pequod Fish Burgers, Pippin Doughnuts and Chelsea Flower Gin and Tonics/Prosecco. These stalls offer a wide selection of cultural cuisines to choose from and we are sure that you will be able to satisfy whatever taste you are craving. In particular, we are especially eager to try out Goko’s Chinese Dumplings and La Ferme’s crepes.

In addition to all of the wonderful food options provided at the market, there will be live musical performances. Guests can look forward to seeing Swedish singer songwriter Axel Janson and beatboxer/singer Dana McKeon perform live at the market. We can’t wait to watch and listen to the live music while snacking on some tasty market finds. We think that this market is the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon with friends or family. After all, nothing brings people together like sharing food.

Mozambican Street Food from African Volcano

We love to explore all of the wonderful food markets that London has to offer. And at The Amazing Blog, are excited to share with you London’s first ever seven-course street food tasting menu featuring a variety of different Mozambican food options. Starting this April, every Saturday 9am to 4pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm at the Maltby Street food market in Bermondsey, London you too can try out the Mozambican menu for yourself.

This extensive seven-course menu is brought to us by Chef Grant Hawthorne, the owner of African Volcano. African Volcano offers a variety of hot Mozambique-style marinades and peri peri sauces. These products are based on an original Mozambique recipe and have been developed by Chef Grant Hawthorne since the mid-1990’s. Hawthorne even travelled to Mozambique last year to perfect his menu for this market.

The menu includes homemade Portuguese bread (one of our personal favourites), crab and prawn rissois, chicken livers, trinxado prawns, baby chicken and the delicious Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese custard tarte). These unique food options allow for you to see just what is possible when it comes to peri peri sauce. Often times when people think of peri peri sauces they only think of using them on chicken dishes. However, these spicy sauces can be used in a variety of different dishes, as seen in this menu. Mozambican food is definitely an unusual cultural cuisine here in London. However, after this market that may quickly change, as these dishes are sure to satisfy all of your spicy cravings. Our mouths are watering at the very thought of tasting these peri peri dishes!

While you’re at the market, we also recommend pairing the delicious Mozambican dishes with beer and wine provided by other traders in the market for the full Maltby market experience. Don't miss it!

The Chicken Shed Chocolate

We all deserve to indulge from time to time and let's be honest, the only way to really treat ourselves is with some delectable choccies; however, we don’t mean ANY old chocolate!  At  The Amazing Blog, we're always on the lookout for something a little bit more luxurious and lucky us The Chicken Shed were kind enough to send us some of their unique handcrafted raw chocolates just in time to satisfy our sweet tooth (NB: Made with organic honey, not refined sugar!) This family company launched in October 2013 and has continuously developed new flavours that we couldn't wait to sink our teeth into. We also mentioned them in our Christmas Wish List a few years back and have been craving to try their latest offerings ever since.

This time they sent us their No. 6 Orange Chocolate and their No. 9 Ginger Chocolate bars. The No. 9 gave a warmth of the ginger blended perfectly with the creaminess of the Criollo chocolate which simply melted in our mouths. The ginger subtly tingles your taste buds in a way that is quite addictive.

Of course, we all know chocolate and orange make the perfect pair, but No. 6 takes on this dynamic duo leaving you craving more. It has double the dose of orange to pack a punch, but the scattering of orange peel across the top made it look like we were biting into a piece of art and a delicious one at that. 

Each chocolate comes sweetly wrapped up in a rustic white, minimalist package. It gives it that lovingly artisan feel that perfectly matches what's on the inside. We would like to quickly mention that just because we like to indulge, doesn’t mean we don’t care what goes into our treats. Sweetened with organic wild forest honey from Zambia, each handcrafted bar only uses the purest organic ingredients without refined sugars, dairy or gluten, so these raw bars will satisfy your cravings without any of the guilt. So go ahead, get yourself have a bar or (like us) two!
The Chicken Shed Chocolate bars are available in 9 mouth-watering flavours, our favourite being ginger of course. You can find them here for £4.50 each. There is a special 10% off until the 30th of April 2018 if you shop on their website using the discount code: AMAZINGPR.