Lumos Charity Gala at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Sometimes, something amazing will drop into my inbox. Over and above the 15% ASOS discount for my birthday (although let's not lie, I totally used that) and the general newsletter nonsense that I forget I've subscribed to, there is an email to stop me in my tracks, throw down my phone and do a happy dance in my chair. And that's how I began my journey with Lumos.

The Restorative Power of Tea

It's amazing what a good brew can do for your mood. Whether it's chatting over a pot of builder's best with my nan, clutching onto a mug of Assam for dear life on a hangover, or desperately searching for a decent mug of the stuff abroad - tea makes me feel grounded and at home. Even as I write this, I'm sat in a beautiful hotel lobby in Singapore, with an art deco style cup and saucer plonked next to me.

Dinner Down Memory Lane with Marie Curie

I wish I'd been alive in the 70s. Fleetwood Mac, The Two Ronnies, flares, Woodstock, The Clangers, fringing, ABBA - it's the decade that I inadvertently always end up channeling (mainly with my accidentally morning 'fros that basically turn me into a less attractive Marc Bolan).

Three Easy Ways to Be More Charitable

With TV marathons, adverts on the tube and people accosting me on the street, there's a constant pressure to give to charity. I'm totally amazed by the people who dedicate their lives to such causes; my own wonderful mum has worked for Age UK for over ten years and I have friends who work for Save the Children and Amnesty International. With such dedicated people, it doesn't matter how much we may give, it never really feels like enough and it's really easy to feel guilty.

Shopping: H&M Fashion Against AIDS

H&M have had a number of high profile collaborations, the most recent being Marni and David Beckham, but less frantically publicised are their 'good cause' ranges. If you been in to any of the stores recently you'll have been bombarded by the Conscious Collection, however hidden upstairs is the amazing Fashion Against AIDS range.

Pics from www.hm.com/gb/

Full of brash, bright clashing colours; the range embraces this season's trend of obnoxious prints with ombre and big ol' jewellery to have a riot on the high street. It's basically the must-have wardrobe for Coachella-goers.


Obviously the massive added bonus on top of all the shiny stuff is this range gives 15% of all profits to AIDS research and support charities.

I bought this amazing necklace which essentially looks like it's made from a load of ball bearings, which had its first outing the other night with my Lulu Guinness cameo tee.

The range has definitely made me even more excited about the upcoming accessories collaboration with Anna Dello Russo, as that is bound to be 10 times more eccentric than this!


All other photos property of Shopped and Dropped, do not re-use without permission.

Geek: Douglas Adams: The Party - Hammersmith Apollo, 10/03/12

One of my favourite books of all time is 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams. A book that's loved worldwide wasn't Adams' only accomplishment, a lot of people don't know that there were another 4 books in the series, that he was a passionate representative for a number of charities and that he was involved in both Dr Who and Monty Python's Flying Circus, and numerous other achievements. He sadly died in 2001 at the tragically young age of 49 and he would have turned 60 this year.

In memory of Douglas and to raise money for his favourite charity, Save the Rhino, the Douglas Adams Virtual 60th Birthday event was held at Hammersmith Apollo where fans clad in towels gathered to celebrate and remember the author.

The event was presented by Clive Anderson and he was joined throughout the evening by other famous comedians, scientists and musicians to perform sketches, songs and talk about the life, the universe and everything.

There were informative but hilarious presentations by scientists Simon Singh and Helen Keen as well as a section by comedian and presenter of Radio 4's Infinite Monkey Cage Robin Ince.

The producer of such programmes as QI and Blackadder, John Lloyd, read his favourite sections from the Meaning of Liff - a book he co-wrote with Douglas Adams. It is basically a dictionary of words that don't exist, such as:
'WOKING (participial vb.) Standing in the kitchen wondering what you came in here for.'

John Lloyd - co-author of The Meaning of Liff

Comedians and actors Rory McGrath, Angus Deayton, Michael Fenton Stevens, Philip Pope, Helen Atkinson Wood, Sue Sheridan performed sketches written by Douglas from when he was in Footlights and once he was actually famous too. It was stripped down, no fancy stuff, no complicated props or settings - just basic and really really funny. It's so good to hear a venue full of people all laughing so geniunely and still loving material that was written decades ago (and in my case, before I was born!).

The main reason I bought a ticket though was because of the 'in conversation' section which was a live conversation with Python Terry Jones. He was billed as being joined by Michael Palin who sadly wasn't there, but he was sat with Sanjeev Bhaskar which was great anyway.

Sadly there were other big name dropouts too in Professor Brian Cox and Stephen Mangan and I'll be honest, the line-up lost some of its excitement for me because of their no-shows.

To finish off the evening, musician friends of Douglas performed (I have to admit I didn't know who most of them were), but they were joined by some musical heavyweights too in the form of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and Procol Harum singer Gary Brooker, finishing with a rendition of Whiter Shade of Pale.

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum (photo from Evening Standard)

Overall verdict: An all round family friendly entertainment package which was good fun and raised money for a great cause while celebrating the life of an all-time great.

Life: Movember 2011

For the last few years the eleventh month of the year has not been November. Instead it's been Movember, the month where men across the world grow their facial hair all in the name of charity. Clearly, I can't take part in Movember but in honour of the charity, here are a few of my favourite moustache related products to get you in the mood to raise some dough for the noteworthy cause!

For the debonaire baby in your life!

Beardowear

A cute ring from Cutie Pie

Cutie Pie

Quirky corkscrew from Drinkstuff

Drinkstuff

Moustache cookies anyone?

Cubic UK

And of course, don't forget to support people who are taking part this year! If you don't know anyone, here's a few wonderful people I know who are doing their bit for Movember:

Russ Thorne
Tom Witcomb
Matt Duffy
Krystian Jones
Joe McClean