Freshly Social

Typically, the month of February is associated with valentines and sweethearts, but it’s also a great month for fashion lovers in the UK; London Fashion Week is one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the style calendar, and the first LFW event for 2012 looks set to make fashionistas from all over London fall madly in love with the latest trends!

Whether you’re a design student looking to learn more about your industry, an exhibitor hoping to attract new clientele or a fashion fanatic in search of the perfect pair of heels to hang on your boot shapers this winter, London Fashion Week is well worth a visit.

London Fashion Week 2012 will be taking place from Friday February 17th – Wednesday February 22nd at Somerset House. The event will showcase the latest fashion trends for autumn and winter 2012. London Fashion Week always boasts a wealth of designers and exhibitors to satisfy the style cravings of even the most discerning fashionistas. The London Fashion Week womenswear exhibitions will feature from the 17th to the 21st, and the menswear fashion exhibitions will take place on the 22nd.

For the first time in theatrical history, thirty seven international production companies from around the world will perform all of Shakespeare’s thirty seven plays in thirty seven languages. Aptly titled, Globe to Globe, the festival will run for six weeks during London’s spring at the Globe theatre. The massive project not only celebrates one of the greatest masters of the English language, but also the myriad of cultures and languages around the globe and in London. It’s one of the most ambitious projects of its kind, and can be referred to as a ‘cultural Olympiad’ ahead of London’s 2012 Olympic Games. Any interpreter London offers will be the first in queue for tickets to experience this incredible collaboration.
The task of selecting countries and companies took much consideration as the Globe to Globe 2012 project received immense enthusiasm from countries around the world. Selection was partly made on what languages are spoken in London, like Urdu, Yoruba and Polish. Even Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost will be performed solely in British Sign Language (BSL), which is used by the deaf community, who must usually rely on a translation service London has to enjoy Shakespeare’s plays. However Globe to Globe also had the enormous task of sourcing the most varied and talented international companies, as in the Chicago Q Brothers who will perform Othello in Hip Hop. Countries like Georgia and Armenia, who have a long history of performing Shakespeare’s plays, also made the cut.

The 12^th and the 13^th of March 2012 mark the date for next year’s annual European Smart Grid Cyber Security Forum which takes place at Marriot Regents Park.

What’s the point?

According to David Cameron as quoted on the event website, the UK government loses up to 27 billion pounds a year because of a lack of being able to successfully secure cyber communications and operations around the UK. That’s a whole of money and the Smart grid conference aims to bring like-minded professionals together in one place to discuss and resolve as many of the outstanding security issues that the UK cyber community is currently experiencing.

What can we expect?

With a new year just around the corner, chances are you’ve started making plans for a home improvement project to give your property a bright and beautiful new look. There are a number of excellent home improvement shows lined up for 2012, giving Londoners the chance to benefit from exhibitors’ professional advice or buy industry-leading home improvement products and gadgets.

Whether you’re a seasoned DIY fanatic, or a home improvement hopeful getting ready to try out your first set of HoldOn screwdrivers, you’ll find just what you’re looking for at these London home improvement and renovation shows:

The Ideal Home Show
This highly popular home improvement exhibition is scheduled for 16th March to 1st April and will take place in Earls Court, London. The event features a Show Home Village, which includes beautifully crafted full-scale show houses. The iconic London home improvement expo will also showcase a rich variety of ideas to help you renovate or redesign the interior or exterior of your home. If you’re looking for a fresh new look for your living spaces this spring, there’s no better place to start than the Ideal Home Show in Earls Court.

Early in 2012, the best minds in regards online business from across Europe will gather in Earls Court Central London for the largest internet conference in Europe: Internet World 2012. The longest running Internet based business conference in Europe, the next gathering of great minds will be eyeing key aspects of all internet businesses from looking at the impact of hosted exchange services that provide consistently mobile office solutions for business through to the impact of eCommerce and the new rise of mCommerce on the way that retailers do business in online space. The keynote line up looks to host lectures, talks and panel discussions with some of the industry greats in regards to where the future of online business lies. The internet conference runs for 3 days, from the 24^th -26^th of April at Earls Court 2.

Whether you’re an aspiring architect, a seasoned professional or simply a fan of architectural design, you’ll find yourself spoiled for choice with the diverse selection of architecture exhibitions taking place in and around London this festive season.

Here’s a look at three architecture exhibitions currently running in London, organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects. If you’re looking to restore or revamp a luxury property for rent in London, you’re sure to find no end of inspiration at these architectural exhibitions:

Emerging Architecture
Visit this popular architecture exhibition and you’ll get the chance to explore the work at the cutting edge of the architectural world. The London exhibition features the work of young architects (below the age of 45) submitted to the annual ar+d Awards for Emerging Architecture. At this exciting exhibition, visitors will find a rich variety of projects from up-and-coming architects, from buildings and interiors to product design and landscape architecture.

For anyone who doesn’t know what Snowbombing is, here’s a little help. It’s a festival designed around winter sports such as snowboarding and skiing, music performances by world-renowned DJ’s combined with themed parties in unusual locations the likes of farmsteads, igloo villages, street-parties and slope parties. Clearly the snowbombing festival is ‘da bomb.’

Before anyone runs off to buy snowbombing tickets, it’s best to educate yourself on the safety aspect of snowboarding and skiing. As much fun as these sports can be there is a dangerous side that definitely cannot be overlooked. The clothing and gear you hire, or own, needs to be in top shape. Footwear is a particularly important addition when being on a snow-covered mountain. Scruffs footwear, or alike, is excellent for these kinds of expeditions. Secondly, if you’re planning on taking part in the sport part of snowbombing, it’s best to know snow safety and what the signs are for unstable snow, avalanche terrain and snowpack layering. Contact your nearest mountain guide for information on how to go about your snow education.