Cast your mind back just a few years and the Millennium Dome, situated in Greenwich, South East London was derided as a white elephant, a waste of £850 million of UK taxpayers money and a major embarrassment to Tony Blair’s new Labour government. Built on the banks of the River Thames in London the Dome was to celebrate the previous 1,000 years of history and culture and future aspirations in the UK. It never really lived up to it’s billing and certainly didn’t deliver on the number of visitors that the governmnent forecast would go the the Dome (and it received mixed reviews from those that did visit).

Sounds like a disaster? Well, not really. Out of the Millennium Dome came the O2 Arena London and the most popular live music venue in the UK, and possibly the world. The transformation in the way this venue in London was perceived has been quite incredible, and you only have to look at what’s on at The O2 during November and December to see that no London city break would be complete without taking in a concert or other event on the banks of London’s famous venue.

So what events are on between now and the end of 2010 and which ones will you decide to go and see during your family stay in London – whether you happen to be staying in a hotel in London or a London serviced apartment? Here are just some of the highlights:

*Guns N Roses (October 13th)
*UFC 120 (October 16th)
*WWE Raw World Tour (November 9th)
*Andrea Bocelli (November 12th)
*Arcade Fire (December 1st and 2nd)
*Lady Gaga (December 16 and 17)
*Christmas Spectacular (December 23rd)

……and there are many more events that you can choose from during your London holiday.

And it’s not just live music and entertainment, between 21 – 28 November the Barclays ATP World Tour tennis tour finals take place at the O2 Arena and you could be there to cheer on your favourite tennis player, whether that is Nadal, Murray or Federer. It should be quite an event as it was when it first came to London in 2009.

Depending on how central the O2 Arena is to your plans for your stay in London, then Serviced City Pads, the accommodation booking service would suggest booking a hotel in the city of London or a serviced apartment in Central London. Either option would mean that you are in striking distance of the venue and means you will also be able to use your London accommodation as a base to explore everything else that London has to offer it’s tourist, and there are many varied things that you can do and see during your London city breat. Go to www.servicedcitypads.com and book your London serviced apartment.

Grand Designs Live Birmingham 2010, is back and set to bring three days of amazing features and inspiration for your home this October.

Returning for the 5th consecutive year to the Birmingham NEC, the award-winning Grand Designs Live Birmingham is back, showcasing inspirational design, self build, interiors and cutting-edge homewares from the 8th – 10th October 2010. Stay in a Birmingham Serviced Apartment through Serviced City Pads.
Based on the popular Channel 4 TV series presented by Kevin McCloud, Grand Designs Live brings to life real home improvement projects, cutting edge design, eco-friendly innovation, and interior design, through a series of live interactive features, across a three day event. Serviced City Pads.

This year’s Birmingham show will be spread over six different sections to include: The Grand Village, Grand Build, Grand Interiors, Grand Kitchens sponsored by Miele, Grand Bathrooms and Grand Gardens. With over 500 of the UK’s biggest and best brands exhibiting their latest product ranges across the event, as well as expert advice on everything from planning, designing and building your own home to adding those finishing touches from our Grand Designs Expert Advice centre sponsored by Velux, visitors will be able to buy, build and finish the house, all under one roof.

Grand Village – Visit’s this years spectacular Grand Village hosting a range of full scale sustainable homes and some of the most dynanmic and cutting-edge architectural design and buildings of the future.Serviced City Pads.

Grand Build – The dedicatd Grand Build sections offers products, advice and services, with everything you need to know about the build and home improvement process from planningright through to constructions and fittings, as well as advice on green building technologies.

Grand Interiors – This years Grand Interiors section has the widest range of interior design and style advice than ever, as well as the unique opportunity to shop at the Design Arcade where visitors will see a wide range of leading product designers showcasing some fabulous home wares to add a touch of personality to your home.

Grand Kitchens – A showcase of the latest sleekest in kitchen design for all sizes large and small, Grand Kitchens offers the largest variety of bespoke and designers kitchens available. Alongside sits the widest range of luxurious room sets in Grand Bathrooms, offering more variety and styles than any other home show. Come and discuss your plans with one of our experts and they’ll show some inspiring ideas.

Grand Gardens – Surronded by a range of outdoor manufacturers, the latest showcase in garden design, innovation, planting, furniture and accessories for outdoor living. With everything for an urban rooftop to a tranquil green garden, this year’s Gardens has it all.Serviced City Pads supply serviced apartments.

Kevin’s Green Heroes – In addition, Birmingham will host the brand new Green Initiative, Kevin’s Green Heroes’, a selection of some of the greatest eco products on the market to help aid in your green home improvements, which launched in London earlier thisn year. Short stay apartments in Birmingham through Serviced City Pads.

Deathtrap

Simon Russell Beale and Jonathan Groff star in the fast-paced thriller Deathtrap at London’s Noel Coward Theatre.

Deathtrap follows the life of Clifford Anderson, a young writer who meets Sidney Bruhl, a best selling author. Bruhl is impressed when his new protege shows him the manuscript of a new thriller called Deathtrap. In a moment of desperation, the established writer confesses to his wife that he’s going to claim the work as his own. The plot thickens when Bruhl kills his young friend – but there are more twists in store in this tantalising thriller. Short stay apartments through Serviced City Pads.

Ira Levin’s Deathtrap comes to London’s West End for the first time since its original production at the Garrick Theatre in 1978. After a sucessful run in the West End, the play was turned into a film starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. Stay in London and book through Serviced City Pads.The Cast of Deathtrap

Simon Russell Beale plays Sidney Bruhl, Beale won the Lawrence Olivier Awared for Best Actor for his role in Uncle Vanya and also for Best Actor for his 2000 performance in Candide. He was appointed a CBE in 2003.

Estelle Parsons plays local Pyshic Helga ten Dorp. Parsons won Best Actress for her performance in August: Osage County on Broadway.

On screen, Parsons won an Oscar for her role as Blanche in Bonnie and Clyde and she is also known for her role as the mother in American sit-com Rosanne.

Design for Living

Noel Coward’s wickedly witty dark romantic, Design for Living, comes to the Old Vic this autumn.

Design for Living plays out in both Bohemian Paris ans the dizzy heights of 1930s Manhattan. Atricky love triangle between vivacious interior designer Gilda, playwright Leo, and artist Otto – three egotistical characters unashamedly and apssionately in love with each other – is unravelling. Noel Cowards 1932 play desing for living was initially banned in the UK until 1939 because its risque subject matter was thought unacceptable to the official censor. This provocative play now returns to London for the first time in 15 years.

Old Vic associate Anthony Page directs this new production of Design for Living. Tom Burke, Lisa Dillon and Andrew Scott star as the self-absorbed threesome at rh centre of the play. A London stage regular, Lisa Dillon’s credits include When the Rain Stops Falling, Under the Blue Sky. The Hour we Knew Nothing of each other and Noel Cowards Present Laughter. London stays through Serviced City Pads.
Anthony Page on Design for Living says. ‘I love this play for the miraculous lightness of the dialogue which contains a huge range of passions. The central relationship – the involvement of two bisexuals and a girl – is no longer shocking as it was in the 30’s, when it had tio be presented in a somewhat coded fashion for the play to be perfomed. Serviced City Pads supply serviced apartment accommodation in London

The Manchester Weekender takes place over 48 hours at the start of October 2010 and is a series of events in Manchester that wraps up the best of what the city has to offer in terms of culture. Of course, local neighbour Liverpool made such a success as the European Capital of Culture in 2008, but Manchester is approaching events such as this in a slightly different manner. Visit Manchester in the autumn and you are sure to have a great time. OK, the weather is never great in Manchester, but at least you won’t be expecting the sun to be cracking the flags in October, and if it is, then what a bonus!

The Manchester weekender features street dance, boat parties, interactive art displays, film screenings at Midnight and performace art to name just a few of the things that will be taking place across the city. One of the key highlights being Jonathan Franzen reading from his latest novel at the Whitworth Gallery.

If you are an art lover and are considering a UK city break booked with Serviced City Pads, have you thought of a stay in Manchester? This is a city that has undergone a renaissance over the last 20 years and is a terrific city to take a short holiday in the UK. Perhaps a less obvious place to visit than Edinburgh, London or Liverpool, but a city that is rich in industrial heritage and a thriving cultural landscape. A short stay in Manchester would be a great thing to do with your family. If you do decide that you are going to visit Manchester, then you should also put some thought into which type of accommodation you are going to stay in. There are a large number of hotels in Manchester, with all of the big brands such as Hilton, Novotel and Crowne Plaza having hotels in Manchester. There is also the Lowry hotel which is probably the most luxurious hotel in Manchester. Serviced Apartments are becoming seen as a great alternative to staying in a hotel across the UK, and this is no different in Manchester, which has a thriving serviced apartment industry – great news for a family visiting the city – with a number of different providers including Blue Rainbow serviced apartments, STAY Manchester serviced apartments, Bachers of Manchester and City Stop Apart-hotel. There is a great choice, and perhaps a spacious apartment could be just the thing for your family to relax after a day taking in all of the culture on offer at the Manchester weekender.

Serviced City Pads is an accommodation booking company based in the North West of England with a strong local knowledge of Manchester. You can book hotels in Manchester with Serviced City Pads as well as Manchester serviced apartments. We have a wide range of accommodation options to suit families and individuals who wish to stay in Manchester, whether that trip is for business or pleasure.

Another Someone – Bedlam Theatre until Saturday August 28, 2010

If your after something young and refreshing, unpretentious and uplifting, go and see this show. Even though it probably defies most catergorisations – being qualifiable as either a contemporary dance with words or a musical with storytelling – this little show about happiness could probably pass for a piece of easy audience therapy too. Serviced City Pads.

The fact that it doesn’t try too hard to be older or clever than it is probably lets this show get away with ocaasional narrative flaws. And they make these work by flaunting them. Becky Wilkie’s thorughly enchanting music make the whole thing bind seamlessly together and she appears in the triple role fo a composer, musician and narrator. RashDash founders Helen Goalen and Abbi Greenland, as well as their new member Marc Graham, are all talented singers and dancers too, making it feel as though this quartet redefines the notion of a triple-threat. Not only that, but they genuinely threaten to break new ground and bring a whole new brand of music theatre – if not an album or two as well. So do go and see them while they are such amazing value for money. Happiness guaranteed.

Speechless – Traverse Theatre until Sunday August 29, 2010

Based on facts, this is the story of twin sisters who refused to speak, preferring to communicate with each other as growing olders forces then ever deeper into comfort of their secret world.Serviced City Pads short stay serviced apartment accommodation.
Increasingly difficult, they are transferred from secondary to special school as family and experts remain baffled. Otherwise intelligent, articulate and witty, the twin belong to a normal family with mother, father and three siblings. Except not so normal, since they are immigrants from the Carribean living on an RAF base in the UK where thay are the only black family. And, we should remember, this is the early eighties when society in Britain was only just begginning to confront the word ‘racism’. Serviced City Pads supply serviced apartments in Edinburgh.
TV plays a large role in punctuating the sisters lives, on a daily basis watching Dallas or Top of the Pops with their supper, or markingthe passing of the years with Charles and Diana’s wedding and the Brixton Riots. Meanwhile the people around them attempt to save th twins from silence. Their mother Gloria (Anita Reynolds, admiringly convincing despite being too young for the role) alternately pleads and cajoles, as does special scholl teacher Cathy (Emma Handy), while schoolmate Kennedy (Alex Waldmann) offers a potential lifeline through his own troubled adolescence.

As June, Demi Oyediran brings a spark of hope to the more outgoing sister who might just escape, while Natasha Gordon sustains a growing unease as the more manipulative Jennifer. Theirs is a truly remarkable, disturbing joint performance that expertly makes the twins personalities distinct yet leaves no doubt that they are inseparably intertwined.Serviced City Pads supply serviced apartment accommodation through Edinburgh, please contact the reservations team on 0844 335 8866

Check out the following acts in Edinburgh over the next 4 weeks at the Fringe Festival. The Edinburgh Festival brings acts from all over the world to showcase their talents. The hosting venues are located throughout the city and can be accessed either with a short walk ot bus ride to the venue. There are over 2,000 acts performing throughout the month of August and the first week in September, here are some reviews of current acts at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.Serviced City Pads.

Stuart Goldsmith – The Reasonable Man

Despite being from Leamington Spa, Stuart has spent his whole life desperately trying to be interesting. It sort of worked. This is a story of what happened when he tried to be himself instead…A white knuckle, high-octane meander through the worlds of sex, circus and subculture. A glorious stand-up debut from a very nice young man with no tattos. ‘Marries pitch perfect audience repartee with cleverley woven tales of the evryday’ (Independent); ‘Inspired’ (Sunday Times); Every nuance carefully calculated for maximum impact’ (Chortle.co.uk); ‘Hilarious’ (Guardian).

The Blue Lady Sings

The unexpected face of the blues is Unveiled in a Unique Musical Cabaret at the Edinburgh Fringe Free Fringe this August.
In the Blue Lady Sings, celebrated artiste Tricity Vogue sings her way off the wall anf into your heart as she brings kitsch portrait to life with her own band of witty and unusual Blues.Serviced City Pads short stay apartments.

Prepare to be serenaded, danced with, shot at, or all three, as the darling of London’s Cabaret demi-mode makes her dazzling and enchanting Edinburgh debut in the free fringe’s new dedicated cabaret venue Maggie’s Chamber at Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters throughout August.

The Blue Lady Sings is written and performed by Tricity Vogue, with music produced by Nick Trepka, and costumes by Stephane St Jaymes and Salvatore Forino. Serviced City Pads.

Tricity Vogue – she of the twinkle eye, swoonsome voice and cheeky ukulele – brings Tretchikoff’s ‘Chinese Girl’ to life in this funny and pleasingly sentimental show. She’s living the blues, all right, with a variety of tourch songs, pop and rock standards on a blue theme, plus a bit of comedy and storytelling’ (Time Out London).

New Art Club – Big Bag of Boom

Back with their genre-defining stand-up dance, Roden and Shenton, one of the most original acts in comedy, bring together the most explosive moments from a decade of award-winning shows. The clever tricks, hilarious set pieces and brilliant dances that make up their unique world get teased out of their original holes and smashed together into this combustible new show. ‘A slick, warmly delivered, bloody funny slice of modern dance-meets-comedy fun’ (List); Roden and Shenton caper gleefully along dividing line between lunacy and genius’ (Herald); ‘Downright funny’ (New York Times). Serviced City Pads.

Birmingham is England’s second city and is a city that has blossomed over the last 5-10 years following millions of pounds of investment. It’s not a city that you instantly think of as being a pretty place to look around, but it has a vast wealth of history and much of it can be seen from aboard the Big Brum Open Top Buz Sightseeing tour. This is something you should go on if you area planning to visit Birmingham for a short break, or you happen to be working and staying in Birmingham, maybe staying in a city centre hotel or one of the new selection of serviced apartments that are becoming so popular to corporate clients in Birmingham.

The tour will take you through Birmingham’s jewellery quarter, you wil see the famous Edgbaston cricket ground which still hosts cricket matches for Englandand Warwickshire. From atop the bus you will have a terrific view of St. Martin’s parish church, as well as the state of the art Bullring retail complex with the iconic Selfridges store which now seems to adorn every new photograph of Birmingham. It really is the building that seems to epitomise the resurgence of Birmingham city centre.

When it comes to booking accommodation in Birmingham you don’t need to look any further than Serviced City Pads. We are a booking company for serviced apartments and hotels in Birmingham, which are suitable for families staying in Birmingham or corporate clients who happen to be working in the city. Stays can be booked from 1 night upwards, and we can also organise discounted rates if you are staying regularly or for more than a couple of weeks.

If you do decide to go on the tour tickets cost £10 and can be bought from the Birmingham tourism board.

Of course, there is plenty to see and do during a stay in Birmingham, but make sure you book that bus ticket and let Serviced City Pads organise your serviced apartment in Birmingham.

The Edinburgh Festival has started and here are some of the best shows to see. Serviced City Pads supply serviced apartment accommodation throughout Edinburgh please contact the reservations team on 0844 335 8866.

Our Share of Tomorrow

A girl arrives on a quay looking for the man that loved her mother 15 years ago and never stopped waiting. Her mother is dead and she is there to tell him that he is her father. Intriguingly, she is accompanied by a recently befriended and much older soldier, who aggressively protects her welfare.

What unfolds is a resonant, melancholic exploration of love and grief, that shines not so much in the twists of the plot itself – this is not about ‘what happens next’ – but rather in the details of the characters’ interaction. Artful, intuitive performances convey the nuances of angst and affection with geniune depth and manage to pick out the sentiment behind dialogue that, at times, might otherwise seem rather obscure.

Finely tuned without becoming stilted, this production by Real Circumstance is a touching and sincere portrait of emotional landscapes and the shifting, complex identities of girl and woman, father and daughter, friend and lover.Fully realised characters provide insight into a narrative that could have floundered in less skilled hands and deliver to the stage a polished, streamlined piece of theatre.

Jarred Christmas – Personal set from personable stand-up

With a name like Christmas, it’s a no-brainer that this Kiwi had grown up defending himself. And defend himself he does, about his pechant for dance, Michael Jackson fandom and less than svelte physique. The jokes came quickly and easily, and Christmas mix of the off  hand comment and the tightly crafted joke is a hilarious combination. He struts his sweaty stuff with suprising dexterity when lampooning his dance lessons, but late comers beware:he will unshamedly bare his chest at you.Serviced City Pads supply short and long stay serviced apartments.Christmas is a likeable guy with a quick mind and talent for easy but never obvious jokes, and the audience laughed along as he shared his temptation at the birth certificate registrars office and roared at his recollection of a brief brush with infamy from an appearance on Big Brothers Big Mouth. His comedy isn’t observational, but personal, and the laughs come from familiarity with the situations he describes, though not everyone is a comedian struggling to fill out government forms. Christmas is robustly funny, his delivery confident and his show not to be missed.

Bridget Christine – Dabbling around the unhinged fringes of stand-up.

Bridget Christine openly admits that her act may not be the most commercially viable around. But you can’t help but feel the Fringe would be a bit more interesting of other performers were willing to forsake financial security and the welfare of the toddler to open a stand-up show dressed as an ant with goggles. For a piece of performance theatre, it not only provides an interesting, angered take on public and critical perceptions of the role of women in comedy, bit also allows us to laugh at ant-based puns.Serviced City Pads.

As a comedy tactic, it’s triumphant. Her less etymological material isn’t quite so certain in it’s brilliance, but the stories are as dark, farcical and referential as you’s expect from anyone who spends enough time Stewart Lee. Especially satisfying are the references to the couples cat, Boo Boo, which blur the lines of daydream and reality, as an audience begins to question this womans sanity. It’s how a proper fringe show should be. Serviced City Pads supply short and long stay serviced apartments.

A new 218 bedroom Holiday Inn hotel is to open towards the end of 2010 (October) on the Media City site at Salford Quays in Manchester, it has been announced by Peel Media. This new hotel in Manchester Salford Quays will have a wide range of facilities including a bar, gym and meeting rooms for it’s guests.

This additional hotel is great news for the growing Media City campus which already has a number of serviced apartments in Media City. The mixture of hotels and apartments in Media City, Manchester offers varying accommodation for the media executives who will be moving to the North West. The largest company that will be based in Media City will be the BBC who have committed to moving a number of their departments to Salford Quays, a fantastic story that one could never have imagined happening 30 years ago when Salford Quays was effectively a wasteground. The BBC is an integral reason why everybody at Serviced City Pads expects Media City to be such a huge success.

It is important for employees working in the area to be able to choose from staying in a serviced apartment or a hotel in Salford Quays as opposed to only having the one option. The more options available then the more companies that will consider relocating to Media City, and that has got to be good news for the local economy.

Serviced City Pads is a booking company for corporate accommodation in Media City and we are already working with a number of companies regarding their corporate relocation. We deal with shorts stays (anything from 1 night), intermediate stays in Salford Quays (1 month plus) and permanent re-housing of corporate clients.   

If your company is moving to or working in Salford Quays and would be interested in booking a hotel or a serviced apartment, then Serviced City Pads will be delighted to help with your accommodation requirements.

The premier league season is fast approaching with the kick off to the 2010/11 season starting on Saturday 14th August. As London is the biggest city in the UK you would expect there to a number of London clubs competing in the competition, and you would be right. Serviced City Pads, the booking comapny for serviced apartment and hotels in London brings you some thoughts on how the London clubs will fare this year and then you can choose who you would like to go and watch once you have booked your accommodation in London and where might be the best area in London to stay.

Arsenal: Managed by French genius Arsene Wenger, the Gunners play their home matched at the Emirates stadium in North London. They should be challenging for honours this season but much will depend on the fitness of Robin Van Persie and the motivation of club skipper Cesc Fabregas. We predict another Top 4 finish. If you would like to stay in North London then we would suggest booking a serviced apartment in Islington or an apartment in the City of London.

Chelsea: Last season’s champions and still the teamto beat. Many of their older players (Deco, Ballack) have moved on from West London and new faces are promised before the closing of the August transfer window. Chelsea is situated in West London and you may consider staying in accommodation in Earls Court, a hotel in Hammersmith or a West End hotel if you want to be nearby to Stamford Bridge.

Fulham: Close neighbours of Chelsea but only geographically. They play on the banks of the River Thames and have recently appointed mark Hughes as their manager. Another season of mid table mediocrity beckons, especially after losing previous manager Roy Hodgson to Liverpool FC. Again, consider a hotel in Kensignton or Mayfair or a serviced apartment near Hyde Park to be nearby.

Tottenham Hotspur: Close neighbours and fierce rivals of Arsenal. Last year Spurs broke into the top 4 of the premier league for the first time ensuring a chance of Champions Legue football. Serviced City Pads feels that a gruelling European campaign may take it’s toll on Harry Redknapp’s men seeing them slip to 6th in the table. Again, look to stay in Central London or the City for easy access in and out of Tottenham.

West Ham: Are the only club who play their matches in East London. New manager Avram Grant wil be hoping to do better than Gianfranco Zola who was sacked at the end of last season. Much will depend on keeping influential midfielder Scott Parker. Finish position 13th. There aren’t too many placed to stay in East London so again, we suggest booking a hotel in the City of London or staying somewhere like Holborn or Covent Garden so you have easy access east.

So, with 5 teams to choose from, Serviced City Pads recommends that you try and visit an Engligh Premier League game during your London city break. Make sure you contact the relevant clubs in advance for tickets and let book your accommodation in London with Serviced City Pads.