Author Archives:

Across the Pond: It’s Eurovision Time, and Blue Is Flying the Flag for the UK

How many boybands were on your radar when growing up? There has always been a plethora of pop groups since I can remember. From the sexy Spice Girls to the brilliant Backstreet Boys (I Want It That Way still sends a shiver down my spine), I can name at least 20 fabulous poptastic groups off the top of my head. But have you ever wondered where they are now? Grown up and therefore unable to qualify for the category of a boy / girl group (why oh why, do we grow up so fast?), these once famous pop princes and princesses disbanded and faded into oblivion. Whilst some focused on solo careers and tried to forge a career in the media arena, some merely saw the hiatus as a mini-break and plotted their return with a vengeance. Case in point: Blue. More »

Across the Pond: Royal British Etiquette in a Nutshell

With a certain royal wedding less than four days away (congratulations William and Kate!), a huge interest in British etiquette has been ignited. We all know that good manners equate to common sense, and it really isn’t a big a deal when going about your everyday business. But what do you do when you have an audience with the Queen, are expecting to be scrutinized by hundreds of discerning royals, and have to do it all in full view of a voracious 2 billion strong public, who are expected to tune in to the wedding broadcast? Spare a thought for Kate Middleton, who will have all this to contend with and therefore may be forgiven for suffering a touch of pre-wedding nerves this Friday. More »

Across the Pond: All About the Royal Wedding Guest List

With the wedding of the decade a mere three weeks away, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s nuptials is the wedding party to be invited to. The gold-leafed invite (pictured – mine was obviously lost in the post) dropped on the doorstep of the rich and famous a few weeks ago, ensuring a glittering guest-list fit for a King-in-waiting. More »

Across the Pond: Comic Relief Features Celebrity Silliness for Charity

It’s been a busy weekend of fabulous fundraising here in merry old England. Comic Relief is one of the biggest events on the charity calendar, where every year, one evening is dedicated solely to fundraising. The money goes toward helping the poor, without a cent going toward operating costs or salaries. With a live telethon and money being pledged with the celebration of comedy, every celebrity (worth their Louboutins and Savile Row suits) clamours to get involved. More »

Across The Pond: King Colin Rules

This is undoubtedly Colin Firth’s year. And we’re only in February. He has been the talk of the town ever since the release of The King’s Speech. And here in England, the film has been something of a rebirth for Colin. Up and down the country, the film received rapturous applause in theaters and his mushrooming popularity shows no sign of abating (apparently, even The Queen has seen the film).

In the UK, expectations are high as his burgeoning fan-base and critics alike expect him to walk away with the Best Actor Oscar. The nation will heave a collective sigh should another contender usurp this award, whom many believe is rightly destined for the Firth household. More »

Across The Pond: BAFTA Bash

If you’ve hadn’t noticed, we’re in the midst of the exciting film awards season. I love the beginning few months of the year for this very reason, when hotly anticipated nomination lists fly around (faster than Harry Potter on his Nimbus 2000) as celebs hold their collective breath to see if they made the cut. More »

Across The Pond: Ricky Gervais, Piers Morgan, And Other Ex-Pats

(Ria Tesia is a writer living in London, giving us her take on pop culture from across the pond.)

It has been a busy time here in the UK, as an increasing number of British and US talent cross the pond to gingerly dip their toes into foreign waters. It is always interesting to see how home-grown talent performs abroad and last week was no exception as Stateside Brits hogged the headlines with varying degrees of success. More »

Across The Pond: Alastair Cook, King Of Cricket

I am not a huge cricket fan, yet the hype of the past few weeks of The Ashes has led to a renewed interest in this typically British sport. It’s very addictive once you get into it. Of course it’s … More »

Across The Pond: Thomas Law of Attraction

Christmas in soap-land has just passed. With a battle for top ratings between the main two contenders (Coronation Street and Eastenders), each camp pulled out all the stops to be most watched soap on Christmas Day. This year, one of the story lines in Eastenders involved the exit of Thomas Law, the handsome offspring of the otherwise odious Ian Beale. More »

What We're Reading:

Across The Pond: Super Sexy Sleuth, Benedict Cumberbatch

It has been a great year for Benedict Cumberbatch, the charming and quintessentially English 34 year old thespian. This suave, sophisticated gentleman with piercing blue eyes and crisp accent to boot is destined for big things, having notched up a series of award-winning projects over the past few years. His illustrious CV only seems to be expanding, with work spanning the world of film, theatre and television. More »

The X Factor’s New King

After months of grueling auditions, tempers, tantrums and trial by celebrity jury, The X Factor culminated yesterday to crown 27-year-old Matt Cardle winner of the much coveted prize. More »

Across The Pond: The Wonderfully Welsh Appeal Of Ioan Gruffudd

What do Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and Ioan Gruffudd have in common? They are all brilliant Welsh actors. The youngest, Ioan is quickly garnering a solid fan-base after a consistent run of hits over the past few years. His dashing good looks make Ioan great eye candy. Soulful eyes and a strong jaw-line are oh so macho and his multifaceted acting skills make him one guy to watch (and that so very easily). More »

Across The Pond: The Magic of Merlin’s Colin Morgan

Vampires, werewolves, wizards and everything else in between have enjoyed a renaissance of late. With the recent release of the penultimate Harry Potter (which by the way is oh so fabulous, sorting hats off to David Heyman and the HP crew), I have all things magical on my mind. I thought it only too topical to plug into the nations fascination of magic and Colin Morgan sprang to mind. More »

Across the Pond: Wanting ‘The Wanted’

The Wanted, a London-based Brit-Irish pop group are currently creating great waves in the pop industry. Formed in 2009 before bursting onto the musical landscape earlier this year, this gorgeously talented band have acquired thousands of followers in the short space of a few months. Max George, Jay McGuiness, Siva Kaneswaran, Tom Parker and Nathan Sykes make up this stylish five-piece and have already wowed audiences across the country. More »

Click for more posts