Raise your glass!

It’s that time of of the year when everyone just wants to party, thanks to Christmas and New Year's Eve! It’s the holiday season with festivity, good food, lots of shopping, big gifts, bigger parties and even more alcohol. It has come to my realization that in this month itself, I have been to more parties than the whole year combined! And now, the Transport for London (TfL) has provided the proverbial "icing on the cake" by allowing free transport on the morning of January 1st, to end the party season. During my past New Year Celebrations in London, I wondered, how much money would TfL stand to lose by allowing free transport for the period when most of London is out and about.

Today while rushing to get some last-minute shopping done, a poster caught my eyes. It was not just about the free transport provided on New Year's Eve, but that the sponsorship for the whole scheme by the British alcohol company 'Diageo'. Diageo is the largest producer of spirits in the UK with annual revenues of over £14.5 billion. I really liked the fact that TfL along with Diageo was asking people to drink responsibly. As advertising of alcohol and tobacco is highly regulated, they rely heavily on sponsorship advertising to promote their brand.

Campaigns to "drink responsibly" in most parts of the world are actually carried out or funded by the alcohol companies. The "Drink Aware" campaign in the UK and 'The Century Council' in the US are funded by the alcohol companies to promote responsible drinking. But when it comes to promotion for the brand, most of the alcohol and tobacco companies rely on sponsorships. Some popular alcohol brands sponsoring are 'Heineken' for the Heineken Cup for Rugby and 'Anheuser-Busch' and 'Budweiser' for NASCAR. Tobacco companies have been severely hit after many countries banned the endorsement of tobacco brands in different events, most prominently Formula 1.

We will not see any advertising of the Marlboro Man anymore, but it's better to be safe than sorry. It’s the holiday season, so let us all have fun and be responsible as well. Merry Christmas!

As Seen On Screen

One of the things I miss the most about London (besides the rain) is the fashion; especially during the time of Christmas, when Oxford Street is bustling with shoppers and stores offering attractive, mouth-watering discounts! One fine day back in London, I browsed through various online retailers in the UK, such as Topman, H&M, New Look, ASOS, among others. I had to pick one to shop with, which was always a difficult choice, seeing how good each retailer was. I finally decided to stick with ASOS!

I first came across ASOS while working for a PR project at uni. Initially, I was a bit skeptical about shopping online as I always preferred to see and feel the product before buying. After nearly 4 months of reading reviews and assuring myself, I gathered courage and decided to give it a try by buying a "Summer Coat" after finding it on offer at 70% discount. The delivery was on my office table within 2 days. Way to make a first impression!

Now that I am back in India, I discovered that ASOS is one of the very few international online retailers that ships to India. I love their products and their collection is always up-to-date and in sync with the latest style and trends in London. The advantage of shopping with ASOS is that there is no delivery charges, no matter to where in India. Although they claimed to deliver my order within “10 working days”, it took them nearly 20 working days. But the wait was worth it when you consider the style and value for the money!Now impatiently waiting for my first "Leather Jacket"!

Waiting for this!

It feels like Christmas

Christmas is round the corner and parties are set to start soon. Now, for my luck (not sure good or bad), I have parties at both of my workplaces on the 9^th of December. I love both the places I work in (one contradicts the other), and would love attend both parties. I decided to start with one and then move into another halfway and stay there till it ends. Now, unfortunately, I don’t have the right clothes for the evening (been almost a year since I’ve been to a Christmas party), and I need to do some shopping.

Shopping means a quick scan through Oxford Street (especially Topman, H&M, River Island and New Look etc) after a long day of work. Window shopping is good for health after hard day at work. After looking around, I set my eyes on a perfect combination for the party - A nice pair of black trousers, a black shirt, a white blazer, a white tie and white belt. I don’t have to worry about the trousers and the belt.

During my break, I was going through the H&M website (H & M Blazer) and I came across this nice little white skinny blazer with a contrasting black collar. In the evening I went into the H&M store in Regent Street to try it on and it was love at first sight. Then next day again during my break, I was going through River Island’s ‘Party Starter’ and came across a black long sleeve cuff link shirt (River Island Shirt), which was another love at first sight. Got my pay yesterday, so its time to spend £39.99 and £30.00 (Hope I can use my student discount) and then I am all set for Christmas soon, but the hunt for the white tie is still on.