christmas
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Dick Whittington – Festive Family Fun at the Birmingham Hippodrome
The UK’s biggest and best panto opened last night, as the Birmingham Hippodrome launched Dick Whittington, this year’s festive offering. A star studded cast, including John Barrowman, The Krankies, Steve McFadden and Jodie Prenger dazzled and delighted the packed auditorium with all the best of panto tradition, presenting a dazzlingly camp and frothy spectacle that was, quite simply, hilarious. As with the best of panto, the story held little resemblance to the legend of Dick Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London. Instead, it pitted a very dashing Dick (and not matter how I write that, it still sounds naughty) against the villainous King Rat, both trying to control the…
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Christmas Belle – Kim Wilde
This year’s entry in my annual Christmas Belle’s series is Kim Wilde. It seems this series, which looks at a female singer of a fab Christmas hit who also happens to be a bit of a style icon, is firmly entrenched in the 1980s, with previous entries including Kate Bush and Chrissie Hynde. Kim Wilde was one of the biggest, British female stars of the 1980s, with a career that stretched the whole decade. She was also a sex symbol and a bit of a style icon, with a style that stretched from sexy to tomboyish. Her entry in the Christmas hit parade came courtesy of a fun charity version…
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Dressing Gowns – Fashion for Relaxation
As much as I love getting dressed up at this time of the year, adding the Christmas sparkle and glitter and basically enjoying the run up to Christmas, it is also true to say that by December 25th, I usually feel tired enough to sleep for a hundred years. So once Christmas is well and truly over, I have a few days where I try to wind down and relax, and basically avoid getting dressed at all. There are new DVDs to be watched, cheesy Christmas movies to enjoy, and those selection boxes to devour, and non of them require anything more than a pair of PJs and my dressing…
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A velvet obsession
When it comes to Christmas 2016, the main fashion trend that we will remember is how luxurious velvet made quite a comeback. It is always a fabulous fabric for Christmas, with its roots in the stunning red velvet capes that we imagine Victorian children wearing. Princess Diana, Kate Middleton, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence and Kim Kardashian have all fell under a velvet spell, whilst just last week Kate Moss opted for classic black velvet at the British Fashion Awards. Velvet is having a beautiful, fashion moment. I’ve been having my own velvet moments this Christmas. It is a fabric that I always reach for as soon as the Christmas Tree…
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Aladdin at the Wolverhampton Grand – Fantastic Entertainment
You know when Santa is starting to pack up the sleigh when Panto season begins, and last night the Wolverhampton Grand got the season off to a flying start with a wonderfully funny version of Aladdin, starring a host of hilarious stars and absolutely delighting the audience with its sheer fun and exuberance. It is, quite frankly, the best Wolverhampton Grand panto in years and I enjoyed every single minute of it. All the key elements were in place with X Factor winner Joe McElderry showing off the amazing vocal talent that made him such a runaway winner. He is well matched with his beautiful princess, Britain’s got Talent’s Lucy…
