Wednesday 01 July 2009:
Welcome to this week’s Access, where you’ll find tips on art exhibitions, free festivals and beer gardens. This Saturday is American Independence Day, so we’re helping our US members who can’t make it home celebrate in the UK. See below for our ideas on how to make the Fourth of July go with a bang, and call us if you need to make bookings (or you just want a recipe for an authentic American apple pie).
The sad news about Michael Jackson’s death last week shocked many of us. If you have tickets to the O2 concerts that were scheduled for this year, please call us to discuss options. Meanwhile, we also have tickets for a special opportunity to celebrate his life and work at Thriller Live, the musical in the West End’s Lyric Theatre. Priced at £85 per person, the package includes: pre-theatre dinner, top-priced tickets for the show, and a complimentary glass of champagne upon arrival.
Call us on 020 7479 3444 or email access@tenuk.com for assistance with apple pie, theatre tickets or anything else.
‘What is art?’ is a question that has enthralled and infuriated the world’s great thinkers through the ages, and the diverse selection of exhibitions taking place across the UK this summer isn’t likely to help philosophers arrive at a stable definition. Jeff Koons brings his provocative sculptures of giant inflatable lobsters to the Serpentine Gallery, sound sculptor Yukio Fujimoto uses 1,111 clocks to turn Birmingham’s Perrot’s Folly tower into a meditation on mortality, and guerrilla artist Banksy comes in from the streets to take over Bristol Museum. But there’s also impressionism in Cardiff, mannerism in Oxford and futurism in London. Call or email for our art roundups - for the UK or London, make bookings or find out more about what’s on near you.
Edinburgh Festival|Friday 14 August to Sunday 6 September
The first insider tip? There isn’t, in fact, such a thing as ‘The
Edinburgh Festival’ – rather, it’s a collective way
of referring to several culture festivals that take over the Scottish
capital in August and early September: the Edinburgh International Festival,
the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Edinburgh International Book Festival,
the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival.
Sound a little overwhelming? It can be: with thousands of culture vultures
descending on the city for the month of August, the atmosphere in this
elegant city can become rather frantic. But there’s no need to
worry: get in touch for our guide to the festivals, and we can make all
of the arrangements, from tickets to accommodation. You’ll
be fully prepared to pack a year’s worth of cultural experiences
into a week – or even a weekend.
The Goodwood Estate has in the last decade developed from a beautiful, if understated, West Sussex country house and grounds into Britain’s foremost organiser of summer events. With a wide range of parties, festivals and exhibitions covering everything from horse racing to motorsport, aviation and more, if you don’t attend at least one Goodwood event each year, your summer has not been complete.
Coming up this summer we have the Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival and Glorious Goodwood as well as a continuation of the Goodwood Breakfast Club. Call a lifestyle manager to discuss in detail the events below. Tickets are extremely limited and in high demand, but we can still arrange hospitality packages and regular tickets for most, if you call soon.
Discerning British drinkers are rediscovering the delights of the hundreds of real ales and traditional apple and pear ciders produced around the country. Championed by organisations like the Campaign for Real Ale, the summer is packed with beer festivals singing the praises of our traditional brews. With venues ranging from huge exhibition centres to farm barns, leafy parks and local pubs, there’s something for all lovers of quality ale, local food, good banter and live music. Request our guide for a rundown of some of the summer’s best, and call us for further suggestions at venues near you.
Independence Day | Saturday 4 July
Whether you're an American ex-pat living in London, have American guests to entertain, or just want to join in the annual celebration of the birth of the USA, Saturday 4 July will see a temporary takeover of London by the Yanks, with dozens of celebrations of American Independence Day happening throughout the city. There are picnic games with politically-minded Americans, ten pin bowling in Brick Lane, and some good old American pecan pie at Planet Hollywood, so get in touch with us to discuss your options and book your spot for the celebrations. Click here for a few more ideas to get you started.
Free festivals in London |Summer
Summer is festival season, and each year London stages dozens of free events throughout the city. Battersea Park will celebrate all things Gallic when it hosts its annual Bastille Day party in July, the Notting Hill Carnival’s Caribbean sound systems will parade through west London in August and the Shoreditch Festival will feature the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Meanwhile, there’s the idiosyncratic Lambeth Country Show, which effortlessly blends dub music with falconry, the nautical spectacle of the Kingston Regatta and the 25th anniversary of People’s Day in Catford. Read our guide on how to celebrate in the capital throughout the summer, without spending a penny.
