The Cavendish Hotel Cocktail Competition & The Art Of Being British

Welcome back to Access London and thank you once again for your continued support in promoting disability access and awareness in the Capital.



Today's post announces a special competition from Access London's recommended hotel for 2011 - The Cavendish, St James's. Access London has posted many posts over the last year on The Cavendish including room tours, dinner, pre-theatre menus, Access information and much more - to read more about the hotel, please see our previous posts on it.



This September sees the return of The Art of Being British Festival to Jermyn Street, St James's on Saturday 10th September 12 noon to 5pm. After a very successful festival in 2010, the businesses along Jermyn Street and around St James's are returning for 2011.

The event boasts "some of the finest British fashion and lifestyle brands participating in a traffic free event that is packed with eccentric Britishness, unique presentations and engaging activities". The event takes place along the full length of Jermyn Street, just a 2 minute walk from Piccadilly Circus. It is hosted by The Crown Estate and the Jermyn Street Association.

The event will feature presentations from leading tailors, shirt and shoe makers, chefs, fine goods and food and wine retailers. There will also be a catwalk that will showcase several shows throughout the day, readings inside Waterstones bookshop, sports cars on display, interviews, world record attempts, cheese and wine demonstrations, all-day brunch and The Ritz will be hosting dance classes and demonstrations throughout the day and evening. St James's Church will be holding a mini fete and The Cavendish Hotel will be serving a charity hog roast (back by popular demand from last year) with all donations going to St James's Church.

This is an event suitable for the whole family and for those with disabilities and/or using a wheelchair or mobility scooter as Jermyn Street is closed to road traffic for the day. There is step free Access to both St James's Church and Waterstones from the Piccadilly entrances.

As well as serving a delicious hog roast from outside its Jermyn Street entrance, The Cavendish have also created a competition in the lead up to this event and one that you won't want to miss out on!

The Cavendish has created a new cocktail, the Red Rosa, to mark the Art of Being British and is challenging aspiring mixologists to create a cocktail of their own to complement it. To be in with a chance of winning, simply send your cocktail idea, recipe and name to competition@thecavendishlondon.com by Wednesday 24 August 2011.



The winning cocktail will be available, along with the Red Rosa, at The Cavendish throughout September.

The lucky winner will enjoy a weekend's stay in a Junior Suite, with afternoon tea and of course get to taste their own cocktail creation which will feature on the bar menu during September 2011.

The Red Rosa cocktail was inspired by Rosa Lewis, the celebrity chef of her time and the hotel's most famous owner. The cocktail is made with freshly muddled strawberries, grenadine syrup, Cointreau and elderflower cordial.




So what will your Essentially British cocktail be? - don't forget to post your entries to competition@thecavendishlondon.com by Wednesday 24 August 2011 to be in with the chance to win this fabulous prize.

For more information about the competition and about The Cavendish PLEASE CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE or THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE

COMING NEXT: Access London Celebrates Phantom of the Opera's 25th Anniversary with the first in a series of posts containing current and former cast interviews - first up, the fabulous Michael Xavier.
COMING SOON: The Natural History Museum - Dinosaur Exhibition

The British Museum - Afghanistan Exhibition

Today's post looks at the spectacular new exhibition being held at The British Museum - Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World.

The exhibition showcases some beautiful pieces from a beautiful country, that has unfortunately been ravaged by war over its recent history. Located on the ancient silk roads between India, China, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, Afghanistan has been influenced by many cultures over the years.



The exhibition follows a timeline of Afghanistan's history, dating back to several thousand years BC, right up to the present day.

"Nearly lost during the years of civil war and Taliban rule, these surviving treasures reveal Afghanistan's ancient culture, its immense fragility and its remarkable place in world history" (British Museum)

The treasures featured include: pottery, glassware, sculptures, coins, statues, jewellery and possessions of travellers from along the ancient silk trading routes. There are brightly coloured pieces of glassware that were influenced by ancient Egyptians in their design and a magnificent golden crown that is pictured at the start of this post.

The exhibition begins with a video that portrays the beauty of the country as well as some of the more poignant images from recent times. It does however provide a fantastic overview of the country, its history and the lengths that its people will go to, to protect their ancient treasures.

Although not large in the physical sense, the exhibition does showcase a large number of items. I visited the day after it opened and in my opinion, the time slots given for admittance should have been spaced a little further apart. There is an obvious route to follow round the exhibition, but don't expect to pop in for a quick look as it can get quite busy.

To access the exhibtion entrance if you use a wheelchair, mobility scooter or cannot manage stairs, use the lift at the back of the round Millennium building that stands in the centre of the museum's grand foyer. Once inside, the exhibition is all on the same level and there is a different lift at the end of the exhibition, past the gift shop, that can take you back down to ground level.

The cost to visit the exhibition is: Adults - £10 Children - FREE Disabled Visitors - £8 Carer - FREE.

To access the museum itself if you use a wheelchair, mobility scooter or cannot manage stairs, there are 2 lifts, 1 either side of the entrance steps that will lift you up to the entrance level. For more information on access, please call the museum's Access and Equality Manager on 020 7323 8506.

This is a fantastic exhibition and one not to be missed. It runs until 3rd July 2011.



Please feeel free to leave a comment and to follow this blog. Thank you once again for supporting disability access in London.

COMING NEXT - Spring in the Royal Parks
COMING SOON - Love Never Dies, The National Gallery

The British Museum and Access - part 2

If you have been following this blog, you will already know that I am a fan of The British Museum's Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead exhibition that is currently showing. If you missed my review of the exhibition you can find it below this latest post, just scroll down. If you did read it, then here are the Q & A session with The British Museum's Access and Equality Manager and my sneak peek video from the exhibition that I promised.

Access London's Q & A

Who are you and what is your role at The British Museum?

My name is Jane Samuels and I am the Access and Equality Manager at The British Museum.

Can you briefly explain how the museum is accessible to those with mobility problems and other disabilities?

We offer many services for our disabled visitors, including: BSL talks, audio descriptions, handling sessions, Egyptian touch tour, handling desks, inclusive exhibition design, tactile/Braille books, large print information and free wheelchair loan to our visitors. All of these services are free to our disabled visitors. For more information on the services we provide, please see the museum's Access page (link can be found at the bottom of this post).

Do you have a special offer/exhibition on that is accessible to disabled visitors?

Yes, our Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead exhibition is accessible to disabled visitors.

Do you have any concessions for disabled visitors and/or their carers?

Yes, there are concessions for all paid exhibitions and 1 carer per disabled visitor can enter for free. (Please note that many of the museum's permanent collections can be entered for free for everyone)

Can you sum up in 5-10 words the 'British Museum Experience'?

'A museum of the world, for the world'


Access London would like to say a special thank you to Jane Samuels for taking the time to answer our questions and also, thank you to all the staff at The British Museum for being so helpful and friendly.

Below is a short, sneak peek video of what you can expect at the exhibition, which runs until 6th March 2011.


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COMING SOON: Reviews of The Royal Academy and The Cavendish Hotel.

Thank you to all our followers. If you aren't already following, then please sign up now for more reviews, interviews and videos to come.

You can find more information about The British Museum's access at: http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/access.aspx

The British Museum and Access - part 1

I am going to begin Access London's journey with information and a review of a current exhibition on at The British Museum: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead (Journey Through the Afterlife).

The museum itself is located on Great Russell Street in London and is open daily from 10am to 5.30pm. The museum is fully accessible to wheelchair users. It can be accessed by its main entrance on Great Russell Street where there are 2 self operable lifts on either side of the stepped entrance (with the option to call for assistance) or else there is a level access entrance located on Montague Place. Once inside, the majority of the exhibitions and galleries are fully wheelchair accessible - there is also the option to borrow one of the wheelchairs that is owned by the museum. Assistance dogs are welcome inside the museum and there are fully accessible disabled toliets and the gallery's cafes can also be accessed easily. There is a limited amount of disbaled parking spaces (blue badge holders) availbled on the museum forecourt - these need to be booked in advance by phoning +44 (0)20 7323 8299.

For further details of the museum's facilties for disabled visitors, see the link at the bottom of this post.

I visited the museum and Book of the Dead exhibition two weeks ago and had a fabulous time. The museum describes the exhibition as: "Follow the ancient Egyptian's journey from death to the afterlife in this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition focussing on the Book of the Dead." It really does feel like a journey. The exhbition is housed in the old reading room in the centre of the museum and can be accessed using wheelchair lifts, operated by really helpful and friendly staff.

Once inside you follow the journey the ancient Egyptian's believed they would take to the afterlife - their preparations, death, their journey and their ultimate goal. Along the way there are numerous examples of the Book of the Dead, coffins, masks, offerings and plenty of oppulence and gold that you would expect to find surrounding the wealthier of the ancient Egyptians.

In order to preserve some of the artifacts, some rooms are quite dark when reading the explaining text on the walls, but all of the artifacts themselves can be clearly seen. I would definitely recommend this exhibition (which runs until March 2011) and a general visit to the museum itself which houses large permanent collections (including Eqygptian).

Although entrance to the museum itself (and its permanent collections) is free, there is a charge for its limited exhibitions. I would recommend booking ahead via the museum's online booking system that offers concessions to disbaled visitors and also offers a free carer's admission. When booking, you choose your desired time slot - this is a really popular exhibition and I would recommend going as early in the day as possible as it can get quite busy. As long as you take your time, it should be no problem navigating round in a wheelchair (or if like me, in a mobility scooter).

If you love history and want to see something different, this is definitely an exhibition for you!

The museums access page can be found at http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/access.aspx

Later this week Access London will feature a Q&A session with the museum's Disability and Equality Manager and also some video footage. Make sure you subscribe and follow to keep up to date with what's going on.