TODAY
Get 15% off at Liberty

There seem to be a staggering amount of sample sales and festive offers trying to make our shopping trips that little bit easier (or harder to resist, depending on how you view it). But when it comes to seasonal shopping nothing really beats a spin around Liberty’s chocolate-box perfect store, and from today until the 4th you can claim 15% off purchases (10% off beauty) when you use your Liberty card. It’s free to sign up and not one of those pesky shopping credit numbers, so you have nothing to lose. Except your mind – go easy on the eggnog eh?

TONIGHT
Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree

If getting a tree through the door just seems beyond your manoeuvring skills this Christmas, share in the communal joy of Trafalgar Square’s giant spruce, an annual gift sent over from the good people of Oslo. Decorated in typical Scandi-style with strings of white lights, it’s a whopper at over 20m in height – pop along tonight for the official lighting ceremony and make sure to check out the carol singing schedule for the rest of December.

6:30pm.

COMPETITION –
SPONSORED LISTING
Win a pair of ice-skating tickets and two complimentary drinks with Amarula

Whilst Jack Frost is busy nipping at your toes, why not slide them into a pair of skates and take them for a spin around the ice rink at The Tower Of London, where you can indulge in Amarula decadent delights at the bar. Baby it may be cold outside, but the secret to Amarula’s unique taste is the marula fruit – indigenous to the decidedly frost-free sub-equatorial Africa. Amarula is the perfect ice skating accompaniment; warm up with an Amarula Hot Chocolate before you set off or reward yourself with an Amarula on Ice once you've exhausted your Olympic hopes. Nothing like a little fire in your belly for that extra motivation. UJ has 5 pairs of tickets, each with two complimentary Amarula drinks at The Tower of London to give away. To be in with a chance of winning simply tell us: What fruit is Amarula made from?

The Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace are both open from now until Sunday 9th January 2011.

For more information and to purchase tickets please visit: www.londonicerinks.com/sponsors.aspx

SHOP
Giles Deacon x Happy Socks

Giles is always one of our favourite Fashion Week shows – we love the cartoony barbed wire, cutesy spiders, and those googley eyed creations. And now you don’t have to shell out a fortune to wear one of his pieces either, as this brand new collaboration with cult label Happy Socks provides just the right touch of Deacon design to keep fashion nuts happy. We kind of want it for the presentation box alone.

£60.

CHECK IT OUT
Sketch @ The RA

My my they're quick movers – just as our Culturist was musing Sketch’s winter whereabouts we received word they’d popped up at their annual Royal Academy residency just in time for the GSK Contemporary Exhibition. Focusing on food/art/fashion collaborations, the space will take on the guise of a 'Parisian’ pop-up, with a quirky stage interior inspired by the S/S 2011 catwalk collections and contributions by Dinos Chapman, Mawi, Linda Farrow and Harpers Bazaar and food by Pierre Gagnaire. How chic.

6 Burlington Arcade, W1S. Sat–Thurs: 10am–6pm, Fridays until 10pm.

EAT
Hampers Galore

The perfect gifty fixer-upper, now you can ditch luxury go-to Fortnum’s in favour of exclusive new selections from The Mount Street Deli, The Club at The Ivy, Wentworth Club and Annabel’s. Packed with festive produce like fois gras de canard, Sicilian pistachio biscuits, brandy butter, homemade truffles, Paxton & Whitfield stilton and Henriot Brut Champagne, prices start at £125 plus delivery until 21st December. Or if you fancy something a little more market-friendly, check out Rosie’s Deli hampers filled with line-caught sardines, cassoulet, creamed horseradish, lemon curd and whatever else you want with bespoke options available, at around £60.

PARTY PICS
Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project

The Smirnoff Exchange Project was an impressive beast of a concept: 14 of the best club nights from 14 different countries all swapping talent for one immense global party on the same night. London switched with Miami, Dublin with Argentina, Beirut with Thailand… And where were little ol’ UJ last Saturday? Why on hand in Southern India to witness what happened when Canada’s club talent turned up to hit Bangalore with the party stick. Mounties, tunes, poutine, Indo-Canadian Smirnoff cocktails and a couple thousand people. Click through to check out how it all went down, and hit up our Facebook page.

BOOK AHEAD
Soulwaxmas

The weekend after next sees Soulwaxmas return to the O2 Brixton Academy, and with the Friday and Saturday dates already sold out, we’d urge you to bag your places for Thursday’s Christmas cracker. Electro-rock outfit Soulwax will be headlining and appearing later with leftfield remixes as their alter-egos 2 Many DJs. Better than a paper hat any day.

16th December, 8pm, 02 Brixton Academy, 211 Stockwell Road, SW9 9SL. £20.

RESERVED
This week’s hottest foodie destination

Brasa
Rustic British fare hits Fulham in an NYC style loft.

474-476 Fulham Broadway, SW6 1BY - 020 7610 3137
www.brasalondon.com

Location
With the meaty eatery trend hitting full force (Hawksmoor, Barbecoa), we’re adding another morsel to our hit-list. Sure, a jaunt to Fulham Broadway with its all-in-one tube station cum cinema cum shopping centre might not be high on your weekend’s to-do list, but persevere a little down the road and you’ll find Brasa (literally translated as 'Live Coal’) sitting on top of The Broadway Bar & Grill. Jump in for a long, lazy Sunday lunch or a fire-branded dinner cooked on the Spanish Asador Grill.

Vibe
Brenhan McGee (former owner and operator of Soho’s Club Bar & Dining and various other London ventures) is behind this new dining room, and his passion is palpable. There’s a laid-back New York loft feel to the long lean room, punctuated by a beautiful marble bar manned by staff who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable but nowhere near pushy. We found three hours flew by without any awkward pauses between courses or rushed service.

Flavours
Head Chef Danny MacGechan has stints with Marco Pierre White and Paradise by Kensal Green under his belt; as such the menu is all classic grill fare and timeless Brit favourites executed with a little rustic flair. Tear into a bowl of bread (possibly the best we’ve tasted in a good long while) with olive oil and warm, juicy tomatoes to share, before moving on to potted rabbit and ham hock for starters, a main roster of roasts from lamb to chicken with a cracking gourmet cheeseburger alternate, and desserts like tarte tatin and a beautifully presented slab of a cheeseboard.

Décor
Italian cracked leather chairs, dark wood floorboards, exposed brick walls and great lighting really make the room feel warm and cosy without inducing a postprandial snooze – there are enough modern touches throughout to keep it contemporary, with a great stocky table surrounded by bar stools in the corner erfect for singles in the mood for nothing more than a Bloody Mary and the paper for company.

Upshot
As it’s literally only just launched we haven’t seen the best of this place packed and buzzing – but we think it’ll come, and soon. We loved the way time seemed to slowly float by in between beautifully cooked dishes and personable service, and the edited Sunday lunch menu seemed to hit all the right spots. Sure the view over Fulham Road isn’t exactly 9th Avenue, but with your gaze focused firmly on the food you’ll hardly notice.