Travel is back and Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show is the place to be for much-needed travel inspiration! Now in its 28th year, the UK’s longest running travel show will be returning to Olympia London from Thursday 2nd February until Sunday 5th February 2023. Over 600 travel brands and leading travel companies will descend to London, including the top travel operators, specialist, and independent travel brands. Plus, over 70 tourist boards from around the world will be represented!
The show is the place to be for all travel inspiration, expert advice as well exclusive show-only offers, discounts and upgrades.
Additional Masterclasses (priced at £20 each) include:
If piecing together a successful social media strategy feels you with dread – where do you even start? Then you’re in luck! We’ve called upon the expertise of marketeer Sumaia Free to share a user-friendly top 10 guide to a successful social media strategy that helps your business grow.
January might be dry, but it doesn’t have to mean boring! Whether you’re on a Veganuary challenge, or it’s part of your lifestyle – we’re sure you’ll love our round-up of plant-based treats; hearty and indulgent, to health-conscious and delicious… all tried and tested by our team!
Ava Lawrence reviews Rajiv’s Kitchen, bringing the still-to-be-discovered flavours of Nepal to the heart of London. Here’s proof that you can taste the world in Soho. Let’s take a journey to the Himalayas via the Swiss Alps….
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate self-care into your daily routine, boost self-esteem or simply reconnect with yourself, practising Yoga regularly is a great starting point! Posture coach Ana Stefan shares her top 3 tips on how Yoga helps with self-care for the mind, body and soul…
1. You leave your shoes and your worries at the door.
When you walk into a Yoga class, the teacher will ask you to go barefoot and leave your phone outside. Although many people ignore the phone part… it’s a good idea to completely disconnect from the world for an hour.
Depending on the style of the Yoga class you signed up for, you may have to focus entirely on your balance, coordination and breathing. This doesn’t leave much headspace for anything else (like thinking about your to do list). So at least for an hour a week, it’s all about you. Take that time to move, breathe and let go.
2. Yoga gets you out of your comfort zone, which is a good thing.
Yoga can challenge your body with intricate poses. It can test your strength, flexibility and balance. But most importantly, it can totally change your perception of what your body can and cannot do.
When we encounter something that looks difficult, our default thinking is ” I cannot do that”, “I am not able to”, and sometimes we can’t, but we should at least try. Yoga forces you to look at your body in a very different way and to honour its abilities and limitations. Yoga teaches you patience and resilience, skills that we need in our everyday life.
3. Yoga teaches you the ultimate self-care tool: how to listen to your own body.
Many people have no idea what “listening to your body” means. It means becoming aware of the signals that your body sends. It means knowing exactly when to rest and when to move, when to hold on to something and when to let go.
We usually go through life ignoring the signals that our bodies send us until they have to send a louder, more insistent message: illness or injury. Yoga teaches you to walk through life with a deeper knowledge of yourself and your value. It teaches you that it’s ok to rest, to do less, to say no to a meeting or a night out. It’s self-care to say I’m not feeling my best today, I will slow down.
Ana Stefan is a Posture Coach, Yoga Teacher, Pilates Instructor and Flexibility Coach based in Dublin Ireland. She helps people improve their posture, strength and mobility to live better and without pain. www.anastefan.ie
This article was originally published in the Autumn issue of My Soho Times.
This winter we’ve partnered with Co-op to set the ultimate food challenge for ourfoodiecontent creators: winter comfort recipes on a budget! You’re in for a treat with this series of Creators x Co-op Winter Comforts… Here’s Kinal’s Creamy Winer Walnut Pasta and sides on a budget, enjoy!
Avocado lovers rejoice – the ‘superfruit’ is in demand more than ever!
London’s West End is home to a rich dining culture, with new restaurants opening up on a frequent basis – some excellent, some good and some that don’t quite make the cut. Just a stone’s throw from Soho is a recent addition to the concept culinary scene; The Avocado Show, which opened its doors a few steps away from Oxford Circus on Princes Street, back in late 2021. We all know how popular avocados are – especially with millennials of course – but how lucrative could a solely avocado-based restaurant actually be? It turns out, very.
The Avocado Show operates at 11 sites and six cities across Europe, including Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, and now London. The concept boasts a massive 173k followers on Instagram, and has gained a loyal fanbase since the opening of its first restaurant in Amsterdam back in 2018. ‘In the beginning’, say owners Ron Simpson and Julien Zaal. ‘The Avocado Show was just a simple idea between two friends. We saw it as a cosy, “gezellig” spot to enjoy beautifully crafted dishes made from our favourite superfruit.’
‘Of course we wanted to create a popular concept, but we couldn’t have predicted how far we’ve come so fast. We expected The Avocado Show to be a place where we could serve our friends and family in the neighbourhood. It turns out a lot of other people also thought we had a great idea.’
The interior of The Avocado Show is everything you would expect it to be – filled with tropical-esque foliage, neon lights and baby pink seating. Where the concept differs from other Instagrammable restaurants in the area however, is the food.
The menu boasts an impressive variety of dishes, all centred around the main ingredient: avocados. Punters can choose from a range of starters and sides including nachos topped with a mountain of fresh guacamole, or avo fries. For breakfast, there’s egg based dishes and pancakes, and for lunch or dinner, tacos, hot bowls, burgers and more. Everything is cooked fresh and though all menu items are centred around the superfood, the dishes are surprisingly flavourful, too.
The idea for a London location originated in 2019 when The Avocado Show collaborated on a pop up with a popular West London restaurant. ‘We worked with Bluebird Chelsea in 2019 on a brief pop-up that was a huge success for us. We were blown away by the enthusiasm from our English fans. From that moment on, we knew a permanent London restaurant had to be in our future’, say the founders.
‘We’ve definitely had London on our radar for some time. We see it as a city where our concept can really thrive. If you look at avocado consumption in the UK, or even how often you see it on menus, you see the potential. As for Soho, there was never any doubt that the restaurant had to be located in the West End.
‘Accessibility was a key motivator, which meant this area was always at the top of our list. We felt that being situated in [in the West End] would allow us to reach the largest crowd of avo lovers, from locals to commuters and tourists. We were then lucky enough to find a great location on Princes Street, just off Regents Street. And even luckier to be working with The Crown Estate!’
Having already earned themselves a loyal following throughout Europe, the founders have no plans to slow down anytime soon. ‘We like to say The Future is Green, and we mean it. We will do our part to grow sustainably, but at the same time reach out to more avo lovers in more cities all over the world. We plan to strengthen our presence in Europe and the Nordics in the coming years as we look to new markets like the Middle East, USA and Canada. Our goal is to be within reach of fans all over the world.’
Love or hate avocados, The Avocado Show restaurant is definitely worthy of your attention. With sustainability at its core, the restaurant ensures that every single avocado used within each of their restaurants is grown at socially responsible farms. When you pair that with picture perfect interiors and a menu to rival its neighbours, it’s clear to see why the restaurant has a global fanbase, and is a very welcome addition to the West End area.
This article was originally published in the Autumn issue of My Soho Times magazine. CLICK HERE to read it online, or CLICK HERE to buy your print copy!
If piecing together a successful social media strategy feels you with dread – where do you even start? Then you’re in luck! We’ve called upon the expertise of marketeer Sumaia Free to share a user-friendly top 10 guide to a successful social media strategy to help grow your business.
Beauty & Health PR executive, Poppy-Mae Tomkinson, shares her selection of must-try beauty products to add to your ‘new year, new glow’ self-care routine. “Beauty has always been a passion of mine and I’ve been lucky enough to work with many incredible brands – indie and established – for a number of years. These are my holy grail products I would recommend to all beauty lovers!“
We begin the New Year with a throwback to author and performer Celine Hispiche’s journal account of life in Soho as a new season begins…
With the sudden change in weather, I love when Soho goes into its cosy Autumn phase. I feel very lucky to live in the heart of it all and to have Berwick Street on my doorstep. Coffee shops are buzzing with the sweet smell and sound of milk steamers and the yummy aromas from the market’s street food stalls – quite frankly I’m in heaven!
It’s just suddenly dawned on me I’ve been a resident in the West End for over twenty years. Soho is my magnet, my go to, a place that is home. Filled to the brim with history, every step I take whether looking up or down, has a story to tell. As a writer this is the magic juice that inspires me. Both visually and mentally.
As a recent present to myself I bought a membership to the London Library in St James Square. This is my bolt hole where nobody can find or get hold of me. As I shut my front door to make my journey to my creative sanctuary, the adventure begins…
I walk past a green plaque that reads ‘John William Polidori 1795-1821 Poet & Novelist lived and died here’. I always give a smiling nod as I start to imagine Lord Byron knocking on his door (they were friends and rivals) and John ushering him in. Through the window there is a candle illuminating their faces as they drink wine and share their new works.
Winding my way down to Piccadilly Circus I turn right onto Jermyn Street, left into Duke of York Street, which then leads me into St James Square. I walk through the entrance doors, swipe my membership card and YES, I have arrived! Phone off and basics for writing, I shut my locker and make my way to the stacks. Through this metal honeycomb warren, where the ghosts of Virginia Woolf and Dickens are flicking through books, I find a desk and dive into my own creative world.
Reading and writing have always been a great passion of mine and all though friends have remarked “£46.00 a month, that’s expensive for a membership!” I can tell you straight up, you can spend that on a round of drinks in some local establishments.
I have to say it’s money well spent. More importantly, I’ve realised you must do something for yourself that makes YOU feel good.
The next Celine’s Salon takes place on Monday 30th January at Cuts 41 Frith St 7pm £10 on the door. More info CLICK HERE!
Celine’s newly released book Celine’s Salon – The Anthology Vol 2 can be purchased at: www.wordville.net | @celinessalon
Are you a Soho resident with a story to tell? Get in touch to submit an article hello@mysohotimes.co.uk
This article was published in the Autumn issue of My Soho Times. CLICK HERE to view it online!
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