To mark the Blu-ray™ and DVD release of Jason Blum’s Get Out on 24^th July starring Daniel Kaluuya, we take a look at the UK landscape of the young, diverse British actors who are similarly starting to make real waves in film and television.

Daniel Kaluuya

On a path that has seen him professionally acting since the age of 17, Daniel Kaluuya’s career is definitely on the rise.

In Get Out we see Daniel playing the part of Chris Washington, a young African-American man who’s been invited by his white girlfriend Rose to meet her family at their upstate home out of the city.  At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behaviour as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.

Daniel’s past roles include Black Mirror, Sicario and Kick-Ass 2, his performance in Get Out has caught the eye of many, with the Guardian calling it “Understated and layered”. With upcoming performances in Marvel’s Black Panther and Steve McQueen’s Widows to look forward to – the only way is up for Daniel.

Riz Ahmed

A couple of years ago you’d have been forgiven for not recognising the name Riz Ahmed – now that’s not the case! His performance as Nasir “Naz” Khan in HBO mini-series The Night Of quickly propelled him to become one of Britain’s most sought after actors. Since then, he’s featured in film and television’s biggest productions including Rogue One and Netflix’s The OA and HBO’s Girls.

John Boyega

Sticking with Star Wars, another actor whose breakthrough came from the George Lucas intergalactic franchise is John Boyega. London born Boyega first burst onto the scene with his performance in Joe Cornish’s Attack The Block as Moses. Since then, after a reported 7 month audition process Boyega is now a leading man in the Star Wars Universe playing the role of Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and forthcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Babou Ceesay

Babou Ceesay is most notably known for his recent role as Marcus in the new series Guerilla, a brutal depiction of 1970’s Britain. Recently in Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire, Babou revealed how theatre productions shape the way he acts, saying “theatre has a profound impact on the work I do now. Repeating a performance, night after night, starts to give you some grounding.” Babou has also starred in some of Britain’s biggest shows on television including Law & Order: UK, Luther and Casualty.

Jordan Stephens 

London-born Jordan Stephens is not only a successful musician, but is also a very much up-and-coming star. The Rizzle Kicks front man has recently starred alongside Ella Purnell in road trip movie Access All Areas – previous work includes a cameo role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to which he described as “one of the most intimidating experiences of his life”. Other work includes E4’s Glue and drama series The Last Panthers.

Take home GET OUT, available on available on Blu-Ray™ and DVD on the 24^th July

Inconic tv show “Prison Break” returned recently as a special one off  event series and Monday the whole thing is out on DVD and Blu-ray ,to get you in the mood the guys behind the series have given us this exclusive clip from the sets bonus content entitled  ‘A Hero’s Journey’ featuring series star and chief  Wentworth Miller

Prison Break Series 5 and a special collectors  boxset (featuring all 5 seasons)  is out next Monday on DVD and Blu-Ray

Last week we were invited to the launch of the London Marriott County Hall’s new Silver Lining Service, enlisting a Meteorologist the hotel now offers a weather reactive service at their 5* hotel by Westminster bridge.

So what does all this mean?

Marriott have enlisted the help of Senior Meteorologist Kirsty McCabe, who currently presents on Sky News. Kirsty will be presiding over local weather matters, helping hotel guests get the most out of their stay— come rain or shine.

With Kirsty’s help the hotel has launched its Silver Lining Package – a weather reactive service for guests staying in their 12 premier suites, meaning that the rooms will respond, in real time, to the conditions outside.  A little cloudy? A light therapy lamp will be on the bedside table. Things turn a bit windy? A hair stylist will be on hand to make sure you look your best for the evening ahead. A downpour? Wellies and raincoats will be at the suite door. Sun’s blazing? Find a selection of luxury skincare already in the bathroom.  So you get the idea, you don’t have to worry about the weather the hotel anticipates your needs to help you enjoy your stay in London no matter what the weather. And as a Londoner myself I know full well that our weather is far from predictable so good to have the professionals on board to help out!

So while we were there Marriott kindly let us stay in one of their rooms for the night so we can experience a bit of what the hotel has to offer and the Silver Lining Package. Last Monday was a scorcher so the room should reflect that right?  Well when we entered the room we were greeted with a weather care package including some sun cream and moisturiser for the sunny day ahead oh and an umbrella because its London and you never know right? To top it off ice, gin and tonic was left on the desk  – a perfect sunny day drink and a lovely greeting as we entered the room.

The whole hotel was recently refurbished late last year and they have really gone to town on instilling the London theme throughout the room and the hotel itself.

From the artwork on the walls subtly themed on areas of London to the wallpaper in the room featuring a lovely map of the whole city. Even the TV cabinet had the shape of the River Thames running through it.  A lot of effort has been made to make your stay special and I’m sure tourists would love these little touches.  Even as a Londoner I couldn’t help but smile – even the hallway had bowler hat wallpaper!

The Hotel itself is located just by Westminster Bridge so as you can imagine the views from the window were pretty spectacular. I’m not sure my photo does it justice but waking up to Big Ben outside your window is pretty special indeed.

View from our room, amazing!

One thing we noticed was the friendliness of the staff and I mean all the staff. Everything happens with a smile and nothing is too much trouble.

Check out this video of the barmen – I ordered an Old Fashioned and the barman infused the drink with smoke. I have never seen this before and drunk many Old Fashioneds in many a bar and hotel, I was really impressed.

We went through the menu and also had the most amazing gin and tonic and my girlfriend loved one called the Mary Poppins. It tasted like chocolate and that was good enough for her.

After a few drinks we decided to head back to the room and order some room service – when you have an amazing room and view like that, why go out for dinner?

The room service comes from the hotels restaurant Gillray’s Steakhouse so the obvious move for me was to try the steak which was amazing, my girlfriend went for the fish and chips which was really good too but I could see a bit of steak envy in her eyes.

Staying in our Big Ben view room we also had access to the newly renovated M-Club Lounge – a bit like a airport lounge in the hotel with snacks, drinks and computer access along with another stunning view of Westminster and Big Ben, pretty cool to say the least.

We had a lovely stay at the Mariott County Hall and felt thoroughly looked after throughout. Consider us impressed.

Full details of the Sliver Lining service and the hotel in general can be found on their website  www.marriottcountyhall.com

Yes, we’ve done it again. Another bottomless brunch was visited last weekend and this one was a cracker!

Greenwood is located just over the road from Victoria Station. It’s an area I’ve been to many times wondering where’s good to eat so was really keen to try Greenwoods bottomless brunch and see how it stacked up.

A modern glass building, you walk in to an open plan dining area with the bar in the middle and a in-house men’s barbers to the left. Strange. But I can totally see myself getting a haircut then a spot of lunch!

First the details, all brunches are different and this one is a special Sunday brunch menu (two courses £20 and three courses £25) with the option to go bottomless on select drinks for an extra £15, the drinks being Prosecco, Mimosa, Bloody Marys or wine.

The brunch menu is quite varied and not all typical breakfast items, for starters I went for the eggs royale and my girlfriend opted for the Stuffed Jalapenos with sour cream.  Both were fantastic and pretty filling on their own, but we had to prepare ourselves as there were two more courses to go!

For our main course we both went for non breakfast type dishes, I had the Shorthorn double cheeseburger which was cooked perfectly with an interesting addition of a deep-fried pickle this burger was on top form for me.

My girlfriend went for the white wine and garlic Cornish mussels with french fries and although my burger was very good I was a tiny bith jealous. Its not everyday you see mussels on a brunch menu and these were deliscious!

Dessert time came and I’m not going to lie we were both pretty full from the first two courses, but that chocolate brownie and peanut butter sundae had our names written all over it, I just wish I had the will and space to have finished it as it was divine !

All the while we of course enjoyed the bottomless drinks. The Bloody Marys were lovely and spicy, which strangely worked quite well on the sunny day we had and were really refreshing.  My girlfriend opted for the prosecco and I don’t think either of our glasses were ever empty with constant top ups and refills throughout our relaxed two hour brunch.

My conclusion? Greenwood is another worthy addition to the ever growing bottomless brunch’s popping up in London and somewhere I will certainly return to again (maybe even for a trim!)

Greenwood

www.greenwoodlondon.com

Nearest Tube – Victoria

*We were offered a complimentary meal in exchange for an unbiased review and all the thoughts remain our own.

This week sees the release of ‘CHURCHILL’ starring Brain Cox as Britain’s iconic Prime Minister Winston Churchill, covering the days before the infamous D-Day landings in June 1944.  As allied forces stand on the south coast of Britain, poised to invade Nazi-occupied Europe, they await Churchill’s decision on whether the invasion will actually move ahead.

With the release of Churchill we thought we would compile our top ten Winston Churchill motivational quotes to inspire you through the week :

• “There are a terrible lot of lies going about the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are true.”
• “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”
• “One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half.”
• “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
• “Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”
• “There is only one duty, only one safe course, and that is to try to be right and not to fear to do or say what you believe to be right.”
• “This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
• “It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.”
• “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a tremendous whack.”
• “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”

Churchill is released in UK cinemas this Friday, 16^th June

Next weekend is Fathers Day I assume you have your gift organised and sorted right?  no?  well fear not here are a few things we picked out that we think would be perfect for any deserving dad this fathers day.

Gentlemen Jack

Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack whiskey is a double-mellowed whiskey from the Jack Daniel Distillery. Gentleman Jack has mellow aromas of sweet vanilla and brown sugar, with flavours of vanilla, maple syrup and citrus, and a silky, warm finish.  Gentleman Jack, receives an additional ‘blessing’ when it is charcoal mellowed again after reaching maturity, giving it ultimate smoothness. It is the world’s only double mellowed whiskey. A perfect Whiskey for the Father and Gentlemen in your life.

For more information, visit https://store.jackdaniels.co.uk

OLD FORESTER

Another favourite Whisky of mine is Old Forester and maybe something your dad hasnt heard of.

The only bourbon to be bottled before, during and after the Prohibition, Old Forester brings a heritage as rich as its tastes. Still produced by the same founding family, Old Forester is a gift for the  man who likes his whisky with a history.

RRP £30 currently available from Tesco as well aso all good online Whisky sites.

Kenneth Cole Black Bold

Featuring top notes of zesty citrus and herbal tones with a blend of ground nutmeg and lotus flower, this scent is masculine yet still fresh.Finished with notes of wood and

Finished with notes of wood and leathery musks, it is the ultimate scent for the modern man.

RRP: 100ml for £55

Available exclusively from House of Fraser stores and online.

Thomas Dakin Gin 

Saturday is World Gin Day and this week we have been trying a lot of gin! , we have lots of faves but loved this Negroni cocktail from Thomas Dakin Gin, why not make Dad feel special with this little number?

Combine 30ml Thomas Dakin Gin with 30ml Sweet Vermouth and 30ml Campari in a mixing glass, alternatively you could use a measuring jug or cocktail shaker. Add ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish and with an orange peel.

Thomas Dakin is available from: Waitrose and Harvey Nichols stores nationwide. It is also available in Amazon, Booths, Tescos, thedrinkshop.com, Ocado.com, 31Dover.com and GinFoundry.com. RRP: £29.00 for 70cl. ABV: 42%

Sony 1000X Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

The MDR-1000X wireless headphones are the ultimate gift for Dad’s who love to travel. With excellent noise-cancelling performance, this pair of premium headphones eliminates disturbing noises when travelling. Additionally the ‘Quick Attention’ mode lets you place the palm of your hand to the outside of the headphone ear cup to have a conversation with someone, without taking the headset off. RRP £360

Ochre & Wood Shaving Bowl & Brush

Scottish wood design company, Ochre & Wood, has launched a range of traditional wooden shaving sets. Exclusively handmade in Scotland from rich-grained wood and high quality silver tip badger hair, the luxury shaving brush and soap bowl, complete with Arran Aromatics shaving soap, is available to buy online from www.ochreandwood.com.

with Arran Aromatics shaving soap is available to buy online from www.ochreandwood.com priced from £145 plus delivery.

Estrella Galicia Beer

The weathers been a bit hit and miss recently but lets hope for a hit on fathers day and if the suns out theres no better beer in my opinion to drink in the sun than Estrella Galicia a smotth pale lager from Spain and its gluten free too !

Estrella Galicia can be purchased at Marks and Spencer nationwide for £5.25 for a 4 pack or Waitrose for £4.99 for a 4 pack and in selected Whole Foods.

So last night we headed down to Giant Robot in Canary Wharf to check things out. Giant Robot is a Street Feast’s brand new, seven-day-a-week eating and drinking mecca in the heart of Canary Wharf at Crossrail Place.

First of all it wasn’t entirely what I had expected,  I thought Id be walking into essentially an indoor street food market place type deal and it really isn’t that, what I found is a series of permanent food kiosks (three of them as far as I could tell ) and then lots of seating and two bars.

Now I confess I didn’t try the food on this visit but I saw on the next table some city workers tucking into their bucket of fried chicken and I have to say it looked decent and yes the prices were not cheap as Ive noted a few reviews state but they also were not out of this world and we have to remember that we are in London, this is Canary Wharf it’s not going to be KFC prices.

Food on offer is currently Little Jose Spanish tapas , Thunderbird fried chicken and  Bobs Lobster.

What I did try is the bar, in fact the reason of my visit was to check out the much touted 38 tap bar and the beers they had on offer.  The thing is they may well have 38 taps (I counted 20 odd) but at the time of my visit only 12 beers were on, I’m not complaining though they were really nice beers I particular loved the Blue Point Toasted Lager and the Goose Island IPA was as great as it always is, also service was friendly and quick.

The space is a cool one and on a nicer day I could see many an hour spent in the outside area of Giant Robot drinking a cool beer in the sun, maybe next time I go I will try that fried chicken!

Giant Robot , Crossrail Place

Nearest Tube – Canary Wharf

Japans a bit far away isn’t it?  Yeah it is, trust me. Well fear not Proud East have teamed up with some of the most talented people involved in Japanese food, drink and general fun to transform their venue into a mini Japan for the next 12 weeks.

With things like Origami tutorials hosted by Alice Sushi Art and sushi making classes from the Sazai cooking school as well as excellent food from masters of noodles Tonkotsu, as well as some excellent Japanese whisky and the really refreshing beer on offer, we really enjoyed ourselves last night. I’d highly recommend you head down over the next few weeks and see for yourself, Proud East’s canal side venue is well worth a visit anyway!

P.s We loved this Japanese beer from Hitachino Nest

Proud East, 2-10 Hertford Road, N1

Nearest Tube – Haggerston OverGround

Pop Up Japan

Known by most for their help yourself salad station family restaurant chain Harvester has enlisted the help of mock the week comedian  Rhys James to coach staff on injecting a bit of humour into their Harvester experience.

Rhys said “I once worked in a restaurant and my banter never received the appreciation it deserved, so it was great to live vicariously through the Harvester team. It’s the ideal situation – if they get a laugh, I’m a genius. If they don’t, then it’s all down to their poor delivery! Some of them did really well with their own improvisation, but I’m secretly going to put this down to my excellent training too.”

Comedy with your steak  and chips?  yeah go on then …