Priceless Wonderground at The South Bank

The Tiger Lillies

The huge festival that is London this summer 2012 is starting to kick off in earnest, and yesterday I received a programme of events under the umbrella of Priceless London Wonderground.

Those clever impressario's behind the udderbelly present a brand new festival of 'marvels and curiosities' featuring the best in cabaret, circus, sideshow and music. Wonderground runs from May until September and I, for one, will be visiting at least one of the performances.

Here are some of the acts you can take in during the summer...

Meow Meow - this international singing sensation is the perfect post-modern showgirl and has had critically acclaimed shows in the West End.


The Royal Family of Strange People - a collection (if that is the right word to use here) of 'human oddities', more performance than freak-show with sword swallower The Space Cowboy, who holds eleven Guinness World Records and his most recent record saw him swallow eighteen swords in one go... plus others of course!

I didn't manage to get a ticket to Frisky & Mannish at the Edinburgh Fringe so I'm really tempted by them here where they are putting on Extra-Curricular Activities - their show is all about joy and laughter, oh and Pop Music. Should be fun!

Fascinating Aida are among the big name acts - five stars in The Times. There's drag acts, burlesque, circus performers, comics - really is a smorgasbord of entertainment.

Priceless London Wonderground 0844 545 8282

4711 cologne and a rooftop party at The Century Club

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4711 isn't a cologne I have ever worn - but talking to friends at the launch those who grew up in South America or mainland Europe have very fond memories of this fresh and dare I say it, genuinely timeless fragrance.

We were all invited to the fabulous rooftop bar last night at London's The Century Club and it was the perfect evening to remove the roof and sit outside - so we were very lucky. The cocktails kept coming along with delicious canapes - I must say the food here really is superb so I will have to try the restaurant some day. Here we heard a little of the story of 4711 which goes something like this.

4711 dates back to the 17th century where it was known as an aqua mirabilis or wonder water for its medicinal properties. Created by a Carthusian monk to a secret formula is was in 1794 during the French occupation that all buildings were given street names and numbers and the premises of a street merchant, Wilhelm Muelhens who had been given the aqua mirabilit earlier, was labelled 4711. In 1810 Napoleoan made it illegal to not disclose secret formulas for all medicines and so Muelhens rebranded the water into a fragrance avoiding revealing the secret ingredients.

And that is the early beginnings of an iconic brand which is arguably the oldest fragrance brand around. Perfect for hot summer days, it contains bergamot, lemon and orange plus lavender and rosemary alongside neroli which are all soothing and calming. What I particularly like are the little packets of cologne wipes which are perfect for festivals to keep you smelling fresh! Slip them in your rucksack or give them to your teenagers for their weekends of festival madness! Available from Boots.