Bucky Strike

On my hungover way to Manchester last weekend for the Chibuku Warehouse Project, I decided to pick up a copy of Buck. It’s been mentioned by a few of my fellow bloggers, but until now, I’d been put off by the overly preppy, fussy cover. Foolish, I know, but first impressions count. Once I actually opened it however, it was a delight. Bite-sized articles complimented pages of street style photographs, review of some of my favourite watering holes sitting next to practical tips (who actually already knew how best to put up a shelf? Not me) and informed, relaxed articles. All this wrapped in a well-designed, unshowy and simple layout. I particularly liked the Sartorialist-esque North-East-South-West split of London fashion. Very on-the-button. It certainly made for an easy train-read anyway; shorter articles perfectly compliment the mix of fashion snippets and made the whole magazine more of a wide-ranging printed blog than a serious fashion tome. A neat and modern twist on print publishing. The trip back North also reminded me how much more friendly and inviting the people can be there; from the Travelodge to a 5am taxi home, everyone was chatty and helpful, even to a man dressed in a sequinned cape...Anyway, the weeks' Staples:
Buck Magazine
Meeting Justice and chatting to them in French
Folk knitwear you can curl up inside of
G2 crossword
The Warehouse Project in Manchester
Wetherspoons’ selection of Kopparberg ciders
Cafe Bin Tang in Kentish Town

Weekend bliss

My weekend is never complete without a copy of the Guardian. It has become an integral part of my Saturday morning, waking up, throwing on my woolly hat, jeans and a comfy jumper and heading down to the Hades of Tesco to grab a copy of it, together with a box of croissants and maybe some fruit juice or a bottle of San Pellegrino. Then a hasty retreat back to the safety of the duvet, casting off the street clothes and tearing open the polythene wrapping which contains the newspaper. I go for the Weekend section first, and check on how my favourite columnists have managed with their variously calamitous weeks. Then it's the Travel section for some inspiration and morning reverie; the Guide for more columns and a look at what my ideal week might involve, entertainment-wise; the Work section out of habit; then I gradually work my way through the rest of it, cherry-picking the best pieces, the bits that appeal. An article on Jacques Demy, Diana Rigg's diary, a Sebastião Salgado photo-essay. All whilst dropping croissant crumbs on myself and slurping a cup of tea. In my very humble opinion, there's no more civilised way to start a weekend. And there's no more civilised ending that blogging about it either. Sometimes I do think I have a civilised life. It's terribly nice. And so to this week's Staples:
The Guardian on a Saturday
Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas'
Aveda for Men hair products
Having a good clear-out
Steven Poliakoff dramas
Black M&S cotton socks
The Crown on New Oxford St.