Bond Noël - Bond St Christmas Light Switch On

The countdown to Christmas really begins when lovers of the seasonal time will assemble at the corner of Old Bond Street and Burlington Gardens tonight for Bond Noël - the annual Bond Street Christmas light switch on.

There will be reindeer, christmas trees, carol singers and snow all the way down Bond Street and an as yet unnames special guest to do the honours of turning on the lights. It should be quite an event so pop along and get into the Christmas spirit. There's also going to be a luxury tombola in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Bond Noël lasts from 5pm until 8pm, with the switch on scheduled for 6pm.

UPDATE: The unnamed celebrity turned out to be quite a good - Miss Kelly Brook! There's some great pictures of the event on Flickr...

Spirit of Christmas at Grosvenor Chapel

"The Spirit of Christmas" annual event, featuring candlelit music and readings will take place at Grosvenor Chapel on the 9th December at 7pm. It will be held in the presence of HRH Princess Michael of Kent and will include readings from Charles Dance, Michelle Dockery, Patrick Godfrey, Pamela Miles, Tim Pigott-Smith and Amanda Walker.

This will be a followed by a champagne reception at Thomas Goode. Tickets cost £35 for the concert, or £75 for the concert and reception. The concert takes place in aid of Grosvenor Chapel and HFT.

For ticket information, contact the Grosvenor Chapel Office on 020 7499 1684.

Upcoming Book Signings At Heywood Hill

Mayfair bookshop, Heywood Hill in Curzon Street, has a couple of book signings you might be interested in during the month of November.

Tuesday 18th November 12.30-2.30pm - Lucy Moore
Lucy Moore will be signing copies of her new book Anything Goes, a biography of the Roaring Twenties.

Tuesday 25 November 12.30-2.30pm - John Julius Norwich
John Julius Norwich will be signing copies of the 2008 Christmas Cracker

For more information, call in to G. Heywood Hill Ltd at 10 Curzon Street or give them a call on 020 7629 0647.

Also worth noting that Heywood Hill is now open until 4.30pm on Saturdays (formerly 12.30), and will be extending their weekday opening hours towards Christmas to allow for some late night shopping.

Quantum Of Solace at Mayfair Curzon

To mark the release of the latest James Bond movie, the Curzon cinema in Mayfair is getting into the 007 spirit. A special Bond themed cocktail selection has been prepared for the bar including "the elegant Cointreau of Solace, the seductive Mini Vesper and the unmissable Licence Tequila".

Royal boxes are available to hire to watch the film in style and you'll be served with a free round of cocktails. They've also teamed up with the Washington Mayfair hotel to offer you a great price on a meal before or after the screening.

Quantum Of Solace is released October 31st - find out out more at Mayfair Curzon's website.

Byzantium Exhibition Opens This Week

We blogged before about the exhibition of Byzantium treasures coming to the Royal Academy of Arts. This is just a headsup to remind readers that the exhibition starts this week, on October 25th.

According to a report in the Telegraph, advanced sales indicate there's likely to be "massive interest" in what is likely to be a blockbuster exhibition.