2008 Summer headliners at Regent's Park

Some pretty good guests will be performing at the Regent's Park bandstand this year: emerging Brit jazz band Empirical and the awesome Liane Carrol are both booked, incredibly for free. There are also other fun events planned, such as al fresco salsa and ceroc lessons/dances...check out the website here

News Release

New e-novella portrays a young black woman of privilege in eighteenth-century England

New writer, Vanessa Curney, is distributing copies of her unpublished 87 page e-novella through a new London/travel website http://www.morethanoxfordstreet.com/

London, UK (PRWEB) June 18, 2008 -- 'Dido' is the fictitious account of a black woman named Dido Elizabeth Belle, who actually lived at Kenwood House, (or Caen Wood as it was known back then), England, with her half-cousin, also named Elizabeth, under the guardianship of the respected Lord Chief Justice and Earl of Mansfield, William Murray, during the eighteenth-century and at the height of the slave trade.

The mini novel traces Dido's 'personal' life story against the background of a changing Europe and emerging independent America. The action begins at Kenwood, travels through New York and then back to England and London.

The author explains that: "just as the painter has created a portrait that's actually quite delightful taken at face value, I wanted to paint my own picture of the nuances suggested by that portrait, the internality of Dido's thoughts and life and her possible perceptions of her own surroundings, which must have been greatly marked by her unusual and ambiguous status at Kenwood and in England"

And then there's the love story between Dido Belle and John Davinier, of whom even less is known: according to English Heritage, he arrived in England in the 1780s but from where or why is unknown. "My globe-trotting, commerce minded Davinier is completely fictionalised: the real John Davinier may have been a gentleman's steward. By that time, middle-class men had begun embarking on European 'Grand Tours' just like the aristocrats" the author explains.

"I first began writing this account of Dido's 'life' back in 1995 whilst studying for my Masters degree (Journalism). Why? Because I think there's a really good story to be told. It's just the story for a new website that's giving potential visitors comprehensive and intriguing insights into London, both past and present"

About More Than Oxford Street

More Than Oxford Street was set up by Vanessa Curney in May this year as a chatty 'magazine' style website that offers potential visitors to London hints and tips about good things to do, and see, in the city.

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Vanessa Curney, author and e-publisher

More Than Oxford Street

Mobile: +44  7737306851

Email: vc@morethanoxfordstreet.com

Website: http://www.morethanoxfordstreet.com

New travel search engine site

Well, I say new, but actually are there any other comprehensive sites such as this? kayak.com allows visitors to check for the cheapest flights from over 140 travel other sites. It then links you directly to the airlines/agencies so that you can do your booking with them rather than with Kayak. In addition, there's a facility to check out flights for multi-city trips right there on the one page for an instant comparison. Cool, eh? And that's not all: there's a kayak.es; de.kayak.com; kayak.fr; kayak.it and kayak.co.uk

Late nights in London

Lates is a 'festival of after-hours art and culture' being held in London over summer. Events include: a Regency evening at the V&A Museum on 13 June; live jazz, Pimms bar and contemporary art from 6.30 pm at the Royal Academy of Arts, also on 13 June; and a Barbican late night extravaganza on 14 June, with an African-led tribute to James Brown