Lighting Up Puerto Rico with Tara Summers

Two months ago my good friend, actress Tara Summers, went to Puerto Rico to work on a film. Knowing she was about to witness much of the destruction left in Hurricane Irma and Maria's wake, Tara started a GoFundMe Page to raise money to take some $25 solar powered lamps with her, which the International Medical Corps had advised her would be really useful.

FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS (and counting!) later, the lamps, which are charged in the sunshine and last 8hrs, have made a real difference to so many, especially the elderly and the young, at this more than challenging time.  

I met up with Tara for a cuppa whilst in New York and asked her to tell us more…

It will likely be another four months before power is fully restored across Puerto Rico, and you can help by donating HERE.

WELL DONE TARA! xx

NYFW: Oscar de la Renta SS'14

The Oscar de la Renta SS’14 show at New York Fashion Week was, as we've come to always expect from the patriarch of American fashion, utterly breathtaking.  Filled with show stopping princess gowns and striking statement shades (supermodel Joan Small in that yellow dress – totally knockout!) had the audience of this ultra feminine collection apparently gasping with delight. 

Nick Brandt Photography

Above:  Lions Head to Head, Masai Mara, 2008

It was this beautiful and extraordinarily intimate photograph of a pair of loving lions which first introduced me to the work of wildlife photographer Nick Brandt last year.

In 1995 British photographer Nick Brandt (then, a music video director) directed Michael Jackson’s 'Earth Song' in Tanzania and he immediately, rather understandably, fell in love with East Africa and its majestic animals.  In 2000, Brandt embarked upon an ambitious photographic project; a trilogy of books immortalizing these animals and the vanishing natural grandeur of East Africa – up close, and very personally.

With a combination of dramatic panoramas of animals featured within epic landscapes alongside more soulful, graphic portraits, Nick Brandt manages to find an intimate connection with his wild subjects that reveal personalities and relationships far more so than any other wildlife photography I have ever seen.  The titles of the trilogy of books will eventually be revealed to form one consecutive sentence: 'On This Earth, A Shadow Falls.....' (the final installment is due for publication in 2013.)

“What I am interested in is showing the animals simply in the state of Being. In the state of Being before they are no longer are. Before, in the wild at least, they cease to exist. This world is under terrible threat, all of it caused by us. To me, every creature, human or nonhuman, has an equal right to live, and this feeling, this belief that every animal and I are equal, affects me every time I frame an animal in my camera. The photos are my elegy to these beautiful creatures, to this wrenchingly beautiful world that is steadily, tragically vanishing before our eyes.”  

Above Right: Elephant With Exploading Dust, Amboseli, 2004

In 2010, in urgent response to the escalation of poaching in Africa due to increased demand from the Far East (raw ivory fetches up to $800 per kg and rhino horn is worth more per ounce than gold dust) Nick Brandt founded the non-profit organization called Big Life Foundation.  With donations, the organisation has placed multiple fully equipped teams of 120 anti-poaching rangers in both Kenya and Tanzania, who collaborate with communities to reduce poaching and conflicts between farmers and wildlife.

Above: Windswept Lion, Serengeti, 2002

Above: Elephants Walking Through Grass, Amboseli 2008
(Leading Matriarch Killed By Poachers, 2009)

Above: Hippos On The Mara River, Masai Mara, 2002

Above: Rhino on Lake, Nakuru, 2007

Above: Giraffes In Evening Light, Masai Mara, 2006

Above: Leopard In Crook Of Tree, Nakuru, 2007

Below: Nick Brandt's next exhibition, in New York from March 29th:

Above: Elephant Drinking, Amboseli, 2007

(Killed by Poachers, 2009)

www.nickbrandt.com

www.biglifeafrica.org

A Big Apple Bite

With one day in Manhattan to spend after the festival before my return to London, after a flutter in the shops, I made sure to visit my three favourite Big Apple destinations with my sister and Jack;

1. Cafe Angelique on Bleeker Street

Founded in 2002, this little café brings a touch of Europe to New York and is one of the most relaxing and calm places to stop for coffee or lunch in the city. The menu is delicious (I had the chicken, mango and goats cheese salad) and the pastries, croissants and stuffed cupcakes (I know, who knew? Wow!) are just too tempting to ignore. The welcoming and friendly staff swirl adorable hearts on the tops of their frothy coffees (try saying that 5 times in a row…) and when my refreshing slushy iced mint lemonade arrived, served in a small carafe, my sister immediately grabbed it before I could – who could blame her?

2. The High Line - New York's 'Park In The Sky'

1.5 miles long, built 30 feet in the air in the 1930’s this structure supported the freight trains which transported meat and baking supplies from the (now very trendy) Meatpacking District in West Chelsea into the city. As no trains had run on the High Line since 1980 the structure was due to be demolished until the Friends of the Highline (including Diane Von Furstenberg and Edward Norton) formed a coalition with the City of New York in 1999 to preserve it and create an elevated public park in its place.

The High Line opened in June 2009 and every time I visit New York I love to take a stroll over the old sleepers above the city and its crazy hustle and bustle, and take a breather amongst all the lush flowers, grasses and trees that grew wild during its dormancy - this time I went at sunset - magical.

3. La Esquina - Between Kenmare & Lafayette

Hidden below the neon lit, corner taco deli, beyond the toothless, dismissive doorman, through the small door stating ‘Employees Only,’ through the kitchens, you will eventually arrive at a dungeon like, speak easyish, Mexican restaurant.

This place is great and I try to visit each time I go to NYC. Wrought iron gates, waxy candelabras, colourful Mexican tiling, great music, great food… And a selection of over 100 types of tequila… Another Margarita anyone?? Yesh Pleash…

I can sleep on the plane tomorrow…

Pizza East Meets West

The ever-expanding Soho House Group has once again added to its empire, this time with Pizza East Portobello, the sibling to Pizza East Shoreditch. Towards the end of Portobello Road, the restored Georgian pub is now a light, airy, hip New York style restaurant, takeaway and deli.

With wooden floors and antique café style furniture, the atmosphere is laid back and perfect for dinner with friends; its been an instant hit with the Yummy Mummies and Beautiful Young Things of Notting Hill.

I visited last night with my girlfriend Beatrice - we met early for a school-like tumbler of prosecco, some green olives and a good gossip before her husband and Jack joined us. 3 tumblers later (they were late!) we were ready to attack the menu. Despite their wood-fired Pizza being the obvious lure (toppings include crispy pork belly, tomato and mushroom) it was the antipasto menu I found truly delicious and would recommend.