Grove Magazine - April 2008

Feeling bookish

Notting Hill author Jules Stewart celebrated the publication of his latest book with a launch party at The Travel Bookshop. The event was attended by more than 100 guests, including Lord Ashdown and General Sir David Richards, the Army’s second-in-command, who wrote the foreword to Stewart’s new book, The Crimson Snow: Britain’s First Disaster in Afghanistan. The book tells the story of the massacre of 16,000 British troops, their families and camp-followers on the 1842 winter retreat from Kabul during the First Afghan War.
Photographs by Nick Smith

James Hughes-Onslow with the author Jules Stewart

Jules Stewart with General Sir David Richards

Denise Prior of the Royal Geographical Society

Joy Wheeler and Jan Turner of the Royal Geographical Society

Launch pad

King’s Road jeweller Thomas Sabo chose the appropriately named Space Gallery at the Science Museum for the launch of his Spring/Summer 08 sterling silver collection, Take Me Higher. The evening’s space theme featured extraterrestrial canapés and cosmic cocktails alongside rockets and robots – and we don’t mean the style journos and celebrity attendees, whose number included Mutya Buena and Grove local Sophie Ellis Bextor. Music was provided by the Trashpussies, aka Peaches Geldof and Fifi Brown.

Henry Conway

Matthew Horne

Mutya Buena

Peaches Geldof and Thomas Sabo

Rebecca Loos

Sammy Glenn

Sophie Ellis Bextor

Trashpussies aka Peaches Geldof and Fifi Brown

Vanessa Miedler, Nazer Bullen and Rebecca Loos

Coco-nuts

Coco Ribbon on Kensington Park Road hosted a girly ‘champagne and cupcakes’ tea party this month, to show off their Spring/Summer offerings. The petite, all-white store was bedecked with their signature butterflies, and rail upon rail of floaty kaftans, floor-skimming print dresses and delicate silks. Celeb guests (Kate Sumner, Amy Osbourne and Philippa Holland) and other super beautiful guests supped mini bottles of Moët and Sabai wine and pomegranate spritzers, whilst the nearby Hummingbird Bakery provided mini-cupcakes in CR’s trademark turquoise and chocolate brown.

Photographs by Victoria Dawe

Amanda Crossley, Victoria Stambury and Kalita Swaidi

Ben and Christiane Mccallum

Elli Shepherd, Hatty Rickards and Sophia Rogge

Florence Brudenell-Bruce and Chessie Grievson

James Knight and Katya Elizakova

Louise Roe, Clare Alsin and Gemma Mcguigan

Sophie Oliver and Alison Chow

Paul Barton and Alison Chow

Rebecca Harrison and Cora Drew

Resham Melwani

Rowena Morgan and Julian Sinclaire

Sarah Thornley, Hannah Wick and Suzanne Pendlebury

Sophie Oliver, Nicola Robinson and Tiffany Forbat

Ooh la la!

Vintage inspired lingerie boutique, What Katie Did launched their Spring/Summer 08 collection at their flagship store in Portobello Green arcade this month. The store was filled with saucy burlesque artistes, Slinky Sparkles and Millicent Binks who performed several routines inspired by the new collection, including the aptly named Striptease range. Guests nibbled homemade cupcakes and vintage flutes of champagne.

Photography by Tony Rusecki