2 x fish and chips please

Given that I'm getting married in just over two months, you may think that I'd want to steer clear of fatty, fried foods. But then you would be massively overestimating my ability to refuse free fish suppers.

Due to my lack of willpower, and love of food, I've enjoyed two such meals in the space of a month, and each one deserves a mention, even, I'd argue, a round of applause.

The first of these British delicacies was enjoyed in Cornwall, at Rick Stein's Fish & Chip Restaurant in Padstow no less.


As with most places in Cornwall, it takes a bit of getting to - a car journey and a ferry-ride over the Camel Estuary from where we stay in Port Isaac - and is so popular that you have to queue for the privilege. But oh is it worth it. Get there at around 11.30am and you're more or less guaranteed a seat for the 12-midday sitting. Get there any later and you risk being forced to standing outside, drooling, as you watch and wait for the first lucky diners to finish the last of their mushy peas.

Now, while I do love fish and chips - I'm from Yorkshire, home of Whitby and more locally Compo's chippy - the dish has decided that it doesn't much like me over the years.

"And would you like anything to finish madam?"

"Do you have any heartburn on the menu today? Oh you do, of course you do, it's your speciality."

So I now allow myself only the gluttony of the chunky chip, choosing the grilled fish options offered by the top notch frying establishments I frequent, and chose as my main Rick Stein's lemon sole - the perfect delicate and fluffy accompaniment to fried carbs. Special note must also go to the homemade tartar sauce - bearing no resemblance to the greasy, vinegary gloop you're usually served.

Also on the menu are battered oysters, scallops and local squid, all served up in cardboard boxes - let's hope they recycle.


I had allowed myself the Stein fish and chips as a 'last fling before I (try to) tighten my belt for the wedding'. But when PR company R&R Teamwork emailed inviting me to a fish supper at Brighton's famous Bardsley's Fish & Chip Restaurant , that plan was flung far out the window.

Arranged to build awareness around new website www.beergenie.co.uk, celebrating the social aspect of beer and providing a resource for journalists, the evening focused around beer tasting/drinking, with one of the brewers himself there from the local Harveys Brewery. My favourite was Samuel Smith's Organic Lager, which was light, refreshing and not too gassy - just as you need an accompaniment to fried food to be.

I also tried something else new - swordfish. The steak was meaty, tender and delicious and the chips even better than Stein's (although I did have the vegetarian version in Padstow this year - the chips fried in beer dripping are yum). I did, as ever, have a side order of mushy peas, and I could have eaten another bowlful, because I'm a bit weird.

So, that really is it until the wedding now, unless anyone else has a fried-food offer I just can't refuse...

Behind the lens - Tony Stubbings 2

Brighton-based photographer Tony Stubbings on one of his favourite shots, 'Chloe Can Jump'.

This shot was taken during a test shoot for Curve Couture. Owner Chrissie Nicholson-Wild had arranged the models and a car load of her fantastic clothing for some promotional pics.

Chloe, the model here, was fantastic, taking direction very well. She knew exactly how to work with both the camera and garments.

Chloe had her eye on this coat (I think everyone did) and made a beeline for it. I wanted her to look fierce, she told her to jump at the same time as crossing that leg while bearing her teeth at the camera. She jumped, I clicked, and this is it!

Both of us knew the image was good, so tried half a dozen more times to take it again, just to make sure. Each time something wasn't quite right, either the timing or the flow of the cloth, just something. But that initial snap was almost perfect.

The image isn't complete, it's a touch underexposed, but I`ve been reluctant to edit it. Perhaps one day I`ll feel upto the task of bringing out all that it has to offer. Until then though, I love it as it is.

London Road Co-op - Before I Sleep and fashion installation

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from hat designer Joanna Zara, telling me to get myself down to the old London Road Co-op building. There, apparently, I would find the fashion showcased in the windows to be part of the set for a site-responsive theatre production. Odd.

As it's somewhat out of the way, and the concept confused my little brain, I didn't give it much more thought, until I was invited to a free fish supper at Bardsleys (post now up) and found myself peering in the windows at the aesthetic delights on display.


Of the fashions on offer, I was particularly impressed with Brighton-based designer Lucy Faulke's cosy knits, with bright and intricate tribal-detailing, from her BA collection - for which she received a First in Fashion Textiles with Business Studies from Brighton Uni. Faulke, who has already worked for John Rocha, is currently studying at the Royal College of Art for an MA in Knitted Textiles and is no doubt destined for great things.


While I was snapping a way, a man approached me and began enthusing about 'Before I Sleep', the Brighton Festival production based in the building that has enjoyed such success that it has been extended until 4 July.


The production, so the Brighton Festival website says, sees "the characters in Chekhov's greatest plays inhabit a world on the verge of collapse. They look out to the future and wonder what life will be like in years to come, unaware that, for them, it is about to change dramatically and irreversibly".

"The starting point is Firs. Left alone at the end of The Cherry Orchard, the elderly manservant unwittingly traverses an entire century on an odyssey to retrieve his past. As we journey alongside him, we experience a richly inventive and ever-changing landscape of performance, film and installation created and inhabited by performers, architects, model makers and art designers."


Indeed, while I was there, a man, who I assume was Firs, could be seen washing his face and wandering around the mannequins as if they were trees in a wood. It was all very intriguing and while I was talking to the unofficial promoter man, a woman walking past also chimed in that "it's great" and that I "really ought to see it".

Unfortunately, my week is ram-packed so I will be unable to, but if you can, do check it out. See Editor Bella Todd's review in the Latest 7 if you need further persuasion/explanation. And if you're down that way, take a minute to admire the fashion in the windows, the below maxi dress by Dina Malkova, is particualrly stunning.

My guilty EastEnders’ secrets

The fact that I watch Eastenders is not the secret - I’ll happily admit that I’m a big soap fan, with a preference for the northern light relief that is Coronation Street. No, my secrets are a little more idiosyncratic. So here we go:

I have a crush on Stacey Branning/Lacey Turner.

My friends say that she is ‘my type’, this apparently being a slightly chavvy brunette - Cheryl Cole, Billie Piper (who I often have to point out, actually speaks very well now and has blonde hair for much of the time). I’m also pretty sure that Charlotte Riley – Cathy in the most recent Wuthering Heights’ adaptation - isn't a chav. There's a difference between being northern and being a chav...


Anyway, I’m not sure if Stacey/Lacey is ‘my type’ or not, or even if I have one, but she is certainly stunning to watch. Her storylines have seen her have an affair with her boyfriend’s dad, be diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, kill Archie Mitchell and watch her husband fall to his death in the live episode and she’s played them all with such passion and conviction that I’m very sad to see her leave 'The Square' (which is actually a circle).

She’s also very attractive, in an understated and unknowing kind of way. And I love her new mid-length wavy hair so much that I’m considering having mine chopped off after the wedding.


I want Dot Branning’s wardrobe.

Dot Branning is still living fifties/sixties style the first-time round, without irony or any sense of self-conscious postmodern cool.

I love her print dresses, prim cardigans, pearls, trenches and full-length fur-collared coats and she also has a great collection of proper handbags, in which to keep her ciggies and lippy of course, and practical shoppers – see this week’s plastic-handled net bag. The wardrobe department no doubt have a grand old time rooting around in the vintage shops, where all Dot’s attire is uber-cool and pricey, to dress her.


Mrs Branning’s hair has also now taken on iconic status itself – I much prefer it to actress’s June Brown’s bowl cut – just check out this glorious embroidered portrait by Angharad Jefferson. And after Coronation Street’s late Blanche Hunt, she is by far my favourite old-girl busybody.

“Weeell, you know me, [insert Eastenders’ character name], I’m not one to gawssip”.

Next's fur clogs/is fashion melting my brain?

I'm no slave to fashion. I follow the trends - it's part of my job - but my style pretty much remains the same, with the odd experiment. Neither I am a killer heels kind of girl - I'm just not willing to suffer for style and therefore spend most of my life in boots or pumps. So, it is with these facts in mind that I find myself utterly confused by my fervent attraction to Next's A/W season fur-trimmed clog boots.

This is try-hard footwear - so on-trend that it hurts. Ever since Alexa Chung stepped out in Chanel's S/S 2010 prairie-girl clogs, they have been a constant in the fashion press's 'must-have' lists, being paired with everything from Seventies-style maxi dresses to denim hotpants. And with Karl Lagerfeld focusing on fur as the look for A/W 2010/11, it's no surprise that clogs are toughening up for the colder months.

So yes, bound to be a big hit with fashionistas, and already championed by fashion bloggers such as Emily O'Brien over at www.myfashionlife.com. But would I be able to walk in them? Most probably not for more than five minutes. And what would I wear them with? My black skinnies is the only item which doesn't conjure up ridiculous images in my fashion-addled-mind. More worryingly, does my lust for Heidi/yeti-hybrid footwear mean that I am turning into a stereotype? Is my flat soon to be filled with hilariously impractical shoes which appear to be feats of engineering genius?

I can't explain myself - I just think they're great, and at £55, affordable too. Am I going mad? Please, someone, reassure me.

Celebrate creativity this Recycle Week

As this week is Recycle Week (running from 21 to 27 June) I decided to take a look at the wonderful and weird upcycled crafts on offer at www.etsy.com. Here are some of my favourite finds:

The wonderful
Vintage book cover notebook - Coverstories, $20
Broken china necklace, dishfunctunldesigns, $65
Noddy books butterfly art - aboundingtreasures, $15
Flattened bottle serving plate - prizmatic, $18
Vinyl storage container - retrograndma, $9.99
Upcycled vintage suitcase - funkyfindzonline, $85
Your little sock pony - goodergoods, $25

The weird
'Vernon' found-object woman - springcreekstudios, $165
Octobaby - chaosdoll,$35

Behind the lens - Tony Stubbings

In the first of a series which tracks his career, the Brighton-based photographer remembers his first model shoot.

Perhaps it’s because it was taken on my first ever model shoot, perhaps it’s the tight crop (I love tight crops), for whatever reason, this picture has a special place in my heart.

The model is Vicky Decay (now sadly living in Bristol), who had done several shoots and was quite experienced, as opposed to me - a trembling newbie not really knowing what to expect. Although I’d been shooting for a couple of years, both the technology - off-camera flash - and the situation - working with a model - were quite new to me.

For the shoot we where in the basement of a night club. I only had a single flash to light her with and luckily I managed to get this off camera and remotely triggered.

I wanted her to look like she was emerging from the blackness, as if pouring out of the corner ready to pounce or leap on the viewer.

Vicky delivered, the flash worked and, to my amazement, what I wanted was there, staring back at me from the camera screen!

I often wonder, had that initial shoot had turned into a disaster, would I have pursued model photography at all? Of course the pic is not without its faults, but I was (and still am) thrilled at the result. I knew there and then that as great as landscapes, reportage and wedding photography can be, it was working with fantastic models such as Miss Decay that I really wanted to do!

Vicky - I thank you.

www.tonystubbings.co.uk

BFW Spindle Show

If Brighton Fashion Week’s Couture show celebrated all things weird and wonderful and the Ready-to-Wear collections trend-led, everyday style, then Spindle magazine’s picks fit snugly to plug fashion's middle ground.

Oops! Fashion’s Lycra monochrome jumpsuit, geometric-print puff shoulders, capes and hoods were out-there, yet deconstructed wouldn’t look out of place in any of the summer’s self-consciously cool nu-rave festival tents.



Dig For Victory’s colour block body con dresses weren’t dissimilar to the many Herve Leger bandage dress inspired pieces that have graced the catwalk and high-street over the past year. However, the one-off pieces, created from vintage fabrics, indulged in more fashion fun as the show went on – the satin and velvet 'Red Riding Hood meets French maid' dress would be a dream for any dress-up box.



Charlotte Haggerty’s monochrome numbers used feathers and ruffles in much the same way as Flik Hall had demonstrated the night before, but also employed more pedestrian styling to create wearable yet captivating ensembles. This collection was all about taking a mix-and-match approach to fashion, keeping the colours simple but using contrasting panels and clashing prints and textures and adding details such bows and lace leggings to create a striking eclectic effect.



Finally, Brett Le Bratt’s menswear collection created hybrid fashions, merging Hawaiian surfer-dude prints with yachting-set deck style and adding an Edwardian and military edge to the boho artist look, in each case producing ensembles that were sharp, classic and fun.



Click on images to enlarge.

BFW Fashion Fair and Fifties fest

As part of the BFW Ready-to-Wear Shows, The Corn Exchange was once again transformed into a fashion fair, with stalls selling independent-designer clothes, accessories and shoes.



Among the highlights was Creme Nouveau's biscuit brooches and necklaces, Hatastic's domino brooches and leather bow hair-bands, MA Jewellery's vintage-inspired trinkets and Now, Voyager's ecclectic mix of brightly-coloured hair accessories and knitted goodies.


Highlighting the current obsession for all things vintage, there were more second-hand stalls than there were those selling original designer pieces, with some gorgeous Fifties-lace swing dresses, leather bags and retro-print cushions on offer.


Always up for a bit of bargain-hunting, I picked up a pair of Fiorelli speckled oversized sunglasses in a Pierre Cardin glasses case for just 50p, a navy leather belt for £2 and an Eighties' Betty Barclay dress for just £10. Score.



My finds added to the freebies I'd already received in the above-average goodie bag - given out to the first 100 people through the door - which included polka dot bow studs from Miss Funkystuff, a L'Oreal hair treatment sample, 20% off voucher for Warehouse, Irregular Choice bag (the only use for which would be to carry wine bottles to a party) and a copy of new magazine Spindle, which celebrates emerging creative talent and features the beautiful Laura Nixon on the cover.


After the fair, and the Spindle and first Ready-to-Wear shows, my friends and I chose The Dorset's 'Feel the '50s' event from the Fashion Through The Decades venues around the city, where we enjoyed a pint to the sounds of a live Rockabilly band, and a hairdresser creating quiffs, as well as the swing dresses, hair scarves, tattoos and denim turn-ups, proved plenty to admire.


Click on images to enlarge

BFW Ready-to-Wear shows

With nine collections to exhibit, the models’ changes at Brighton Fashion Week’s Ready-to-Wear (RTW) shows were fast-paced, and I imagine frantic behind-the-scenes, yet the runway performances didn’t show a hint of it.

While not as electrifying as the Couture Show, the event showcased some exciting emerging talent – even Biba’s Barbara Hulanicki seemed impressed, although it was hard to tell behind those huge dark glasses.

Each collection stood on its own merit, stamped with the designer’s signature style, yet there were numerous examples of the themes currently celebrated throughout the wider fashion community.

Exotic enjoyment


Suited to the season, many of the collections could be packed up, ready-to-wear on holiday. Playsuit Parlour’s light Asian-print kimonos and floral short-suits looked perfect for the beach or better a beach-front bar. And for exotic evening wear it’d be hard to choose between Orleans Designs’ tropical and tribal print silk dresses, Yamama’s cute Hawaiian print numbers and Ailsa’s bright sheer and bodycon designs.


Praise for the past


Taking inspiration from three fabulously fun decades in style – the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies – the RTW show reaffirmed fashion’s special relationship with the past. From Former Glory’s re-worked vintage swing dresses and beaded and sequined shifts and Be Urban Chic’s monochrome heart-print mini and Sixties two-piece dress suit, to Ceci’s bold floppy beach hats and kaftans and Ailsa’s maxi dresses, the styles the Biba generation remember proved far from forgotten by the fashion world. Hints of the Eighties also snuck in through Ailsa’s jumpsuits and harem pants and Former Glory’s OTT prom dresses.


Classic chic


Advocates of the less-is-more approach, Another 7th Day and Kerry Knowles’ chic and simple monochrome collections striped fashion back to highlight the designers' skill in tailoring architectural and artisan pieces. It was all in the strong detail with these two, Another 7th Day using fringing, hoods, waterfall jacket lines and distressed denim and knits to create a focus for the minimalism, while Kerry Knowles’ drapes and architectural detail ensured that the pieces in her unisex suit-inspired collection hung just so.


Click on images to enlarge.

The four b’s of the BFW Couture Show

Brighton Fashion Week’s Couture Show was bizarre. Andrew Bannister’s male models wore prosthetic sex-doll lips for his Studio 805 collection and a full-length latex mermaid dress drew gasps from the crowd during Joy Williams’ show, making Flik Hall’s hair-backed outfit seem almost wearable. And all this in front of an audience who had apparently come dressed as Carrie Bradshaw – their corsages and statement hair-pieces may have obscured Michael Aspel’s view, were he not sat in the front row...

The night was also bitchy, as you would expect from a high-end fashion event. From mutterings and fake smiles in the queue to an audible comment about a designer’s weight, some people were quite unaware of the caricatures they had become.

But this did nothing to detract from the beautiful designs on display, which in many cases challenged traditional ideas of beauty itself.



To Nick Cave and Kylie’s sinister ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’, models walked zombie-like in Joanne Fleming’s full-skirted pastel and mint occasion-dresses and petal-detail satin gowns. Leeanne Garrett’s black ruffle prom dresses and structured asymmetric winter coats epitomised modern glamour. And Sarina Poppy’s nymphs cavorted in white lace, bloomers and tutus with an evil black-gowned queen and Parisian Lady.


But there was also plenty of edge to the beauty on display. Kayleigh Valentine’s naughty but nice collection saw 1950’s-inspired floaty negligees toughened up with leather panels on pants, playsuits and bed jackets, while Joy Williams’ creations made latex girly with bow-detail and remarkable skirt-shaping.


Two major themes common in many of the collections were futurism and the natural world.



Ada di Vincenzo’s creatures came in shells of structured shoulders, layered capes and sheer tentacles, while Meganne Murrin created an ‘Alien Armour second skin’ with feathers, scale print and clinging bodycon numbers. Flik Hall also used feathers, as well as hair- and fur-affect on her nude and black printed-leather body con dresses and jumpsuits.


Rosalind Frances Holmes’ designs saw mesh and chains both liberate and incarcerate the female form, with a fleece dress, sheepskin coat and plastic bone necklaces helping the collection get in touch with nature.


And Nikolo Bertok’s stunning collection took inspiration from tribal and religious robes, transporting the designs into the future with sparkles, shimmer and lights.

So, what was the fourth ‘b’ of the BFW Couture Show? That would have to be boobs. Of course, in couture, mesh pieces don’t require any modesty-covering undergarments, but it was the unfortunate wardrobe malfunctions in Nikolo Bertok’s show that demonstrated just how un-wearable many of these pieces were.

Side views showed no support and at one point a model stood with one of her assets on display for several minutes before hastily re-adjusting her rope-pull tribal gown. A tube velvet dress also caused another of the models anxiety as she penguin-stepped down the runway, hitching up the skirt to avoid tripping over it in her towering heels.


And I couldn’t mention boobs without a word on Studio 805’s madcap transvestite-inspired pieces. As well as their harlequin PVC-panel harem pants and Lycra outfits, the models were given prosthetic lips, and one huge pink ball breasts to carry down the runway before Jack Frost appeared, complete with beaded icicles, and fellow models shuffled in fleece, fur and bandages.


Overall, the Couture Show was ambitious and highly impressive for an event which was only this year upgraded from Brighton Fashion Weekend to Brighton Fashion Week and began six years ago with a one-night show in the small and far-from-glamorous Concorde 2. The standards of professionalism from the models, many of whom had been scouted specifically for the shows, was also quite remarkable. I have no doubt that this is an annual fashion event which will get bigger and bigger.

Click on images to enlarge.