Cosy Club Basingstoke Opening - Press Event (AD Gifted)

*I was invited to The Cosy Club Basingstoke VIP Opening Night along with three guests and we were kindly gifted our food and drink for the evening. However, all views, as always, are entirely my own

Last October, I was very kindly invited along to the VIP Opening Night of The Cosy Club in Festival Place, Basingstoke. I had hoped to get this post up a lot earlier than this, but with going into hospital for major surgery soon after, my health ended up having to take priority. I did share some stories over on my Instagram, but I thought I’d do a little post on here as well, so I can talk to you about the evening in a bit more detail. 

When the invitation came through to my emails, I was also offered the opportunity to bring a few friends along too. So, on a fairly rainy Monday evening, my Mum and I went over to Basingstoke and met up with a couple of my blogging friends – Dawn from Dear Mummy Blog and Laura from Loopy Lou Laura. We’ve known each other for quite a few years now, after meeting at a local blogging event, so it’s always nice to see each other and have a catch-up when we can. 

We arrived a little bit early, so waited around outside and watched the hustle and bustle inside the restaurant. Other people started to arrive as well, and soon enough the doors were opened and we were greeted by a couple of lovely ladies in beautiful 1950’s style dresses. They showed us to our table, where we settled down and started having a look through the drinks menu. Being the opening night, it got very busy very quickly, but the staff seemed to have the organisation down to a tee and managed to get everyone in their seats in a matter of minutes. 

After ordering our drinks and being told we would be brought a selection of different foods to taste, we could get up and have a little look around the restaurant. The name ‘Cosy Club’ is certainly very apt, as despite it being quite a large area, every part of it feels warm and cosy. There are different types of seating arrangement depending on what you might fancy – from standard tables to cosy sofas, as well as higher tables with bar stools. 

The décor is quite eclectic with colourful soft furnishings, old paintings on the walls, bold patterned wallpapers and mixture of beautifully warm lights. There’s a long bar where all the drinks are prepared in front of you and 50’s music plays in the background. All of the staff were dressed for the occasion too, with the women in pretty dresses and the men in waistcoats and flat caps. We all said it felt like we were in some sort of 1950’s speakeasy – it was like being transported back in time. 

Our drinks were soon brought over – there had been plenty to choose from on the menu, whether you wanted something alcoholic or not. I went for a cherry-based mocktail, which was delicious (so good in fact, that I had to have another!) and the others had a St Clements, Virgin Mojito and a Cider. I don’t tend to drink much, so it was really nice to see a good range of soft drinks and mocktails to choose from, rather than just a Coke or Lemonade! 

As we started to sip our drinks, the food began to come out. With it being the opening night, the normal menu wasn’t running. Instead, each table were given a selection of different items to try between us from the Tapas menu, which was a really nice way for us to try a number of different dishes. I was really surprised by the amount of food that kept coming out – our table was soon overflowing with plates and bowls of different dishes! I’m not sure if I can remember all of the different foods we had but they included Garlic Mushrooms on Toasted Ciabatta, Roast Turmeric Cauliflower, Goat’s Cheese and Spinach Croquettes and a Cosy Scotch Egg. My personal favourites were the croquettes and the garlic mushrooms, although everything was delicious!

Looking at the full menu, there seems to be a really good range of options for both adults and children, so there should be something to suit every taste. They offer Brunch until 5pm (I’m eyeing up the pancakes!), a variety of sandwiches, burgers, sharers, larger main meals and, of course, some very tasty looking puddings (Hello Mini Cinnamon Doughnuts!) They also have a kids menu and fairly extensive vegan and gluten-free menus too. 

As well as the day-to-day service, Cosy Club’s also run a number of events. You can have a look at their ‘What’s On’ page to find out about all of the different events, but, for example, this month they are running special events for Galentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Pancake Day. They also offer live music some evenings as well, so it’s worth keeping an eye on your local Cosy Club to see what’s coming up.

Something I particularly liked about The Cosy Club was their ‘Free Teas for Those in Need’ scheme. It is run in partnership with Independent Age in a battle to end loneliness in every generation. They encourage those that need it to pop along to The Cosy Club for a free cup of tea every Wednesday between 10am-11am. They hope to inspire local people to come together and chat to new people. Their teams will also be on hand to have a chat, as well as offering cake, board games and somewhere comfortable to relax. As someone who raises awareness of mental health problems, as well as experiencing them (and loneliness) myself, I think it’s a great initiative to help anyone that’s feeling a bit lonely.

We had such a lovely evening catching up and trying out the new Cosy Club in Basingstoke that before we knew it, it was time for us to leave. On our way out, we were each given a Cosy Club mug with some Cosy Club purple socks to take home, which was a nice end to a brilliant evening. We enjoyed ourselves so much, that we were already excitedly chatting about when we could next go back to sample the full menu at The Cosy Club and what a great place it would be to host a South East Bloggers Circle meet-up! I’m really grateful to The Cosy Club for inviting me along to their VIP opening night at Festival Place and am looking forward to going back again as my leg gets better! If you’ve got a Cosy Club near where you live and haven’t already checked it out, I would definitely recommend getting a group together for an evening out – you’ll have to let me know what you think! 

Have you been to The Cosy Club before? Or do you think you’ll be going to your local one after reading this? 

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The Body Shop 'Return Recycle Repeat' Event - AD Gifted

*I was invited to The Body Shop for a Blogger Event and was gifted a product afterwards. All views are my own though

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you will probably be aware that I’m a big fan of The Body Shop. I’ve used their products since my pre-teens (does anyone else remember the bath pearls?! I used to absolutely love popping those!) and continue to enjoy their beauty items today. So when I saw that The Body Shop in Festival Place Basingstoke were having a blogger event a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t resist going along to check out their new products. 

It was one of the hottest days of the year so far when my Mum and I made our way over to Basingstoke to see the team, and unfortunately it turned out that the air conditioning in the store had broken, so we were all rather sweaty! But it didn’t stop us from having a lovely evening hearing all about what The Body Shop are doing at the moment. My evening started with a relaxing hand and arm massage to test the moisture levels of my skin after using either Body Butter or Body Yogurt (spoiler – both did an amazing job and there really wasn’t much between them when it came to improving my skin’s moisture levels). Although I like both products, I feel like I sway more towards ‘Team Yogurt’ in the summer, simply because it is so cooling and absorbs really quickly. I could quite happily have sat there enjoying a massage all evening, but there were other products to check out and projects to hear about.

The staff were really excited, as they had just received a delivery of a brand new product, which even they hadn’t had a chance to try out yet! So I got to have a sneak peek at what it was and how it works, and let me tell you – it looks like it’s going to be good fun to use! I don’t want to give too much away, as I know there are some spoilers going up on Instagram over the next couple of weeks. So I thought I would just share a few pictures with you, and let you guess what you think it might be!

Moving on to the main reason for the event – we were there to hear all about The Body Shop’s brand new ‘Return Recycle Repeat’ scheme. They have realised that plastic pollution is a global crisis and have come up with a project to protect our planet and empower people to do the same. So, in a large selection of Body Shop stores, you will now find a box like the one in the picture, in which you can put ANY plastic beauty packaging from ANY brand to be recycled (there are a few things that cannot be recycled, such as products that may contain flammable liquids e.g. perfume bottles). It doesn’t have to be products you’ve bought in The Body Shop, which is amazing because so many beauty products cannot be recycled in our kerbside recycling bins. However, if you are a member of the Love Your Body Club (it’s easy to join here) and you bring back five empty Body Shop products to recycle, you will receive a £5 voucher! 

The Body Shop have teamed up with a company called Terracycle®, who will be helping them to make this scheme a success. They are global market leaders within the recycling industry and are present in 21 markets, looking to enhance brands through finding sustainable solutions to 21^st century issues with waste and packaging. They focus on the triple bottom line:

·     Planet – The Terracycle® primary objective is to recycle waste that is typically considered “non-recyclable”, diverting billions of pieces of waste from landfill and incineration since 2006

·     People –To date, Terracycle® has paid more than $10 million to schools and non-profit organisations in return for the waste collected through the programme

·     Profit –Terracycle® is structured as a for-profit social business, however maintains a small profit margin so that the rest can be reinvested to enhance the scheme and pursue further sustainability projects

If there is any packaging that cannot be recycled by Terracycle®, it is then made into post consumer goods such as benches and watering cans. One of my local schools even won a competition with Terracycle® recently, which will see the installation of a new playground made from recycled products! The Body Shop aims to collect 25% more packaging than they sell, and by 2030 they aim to have no single use products or packaging. 

As well as the Return Recycle Repeat scheme, The Body Shop are also committed to tackling the plastic crisis in a slightly different way. As well as plastic affecting marine and ocean life, it also affects people. In India, almost a third of waste is uncollected, which has given rise to 1.5 million people known as ‘waste pickers’ who collect this waste in the informal sector. The Body Shop have partnered up with an organisation in Bengaluru, India, who call themselves ‘Green Force.’ They work with ‘waste pickers’ who work tirelessly to clean up their city’s streets. 

These ‘waste pickers’ are mostly made up of what are known as ‘dalits,’ (formally known as ‘untouchables’) – the lowest social group in India’s caste system. This makes them extremely vulnerable to discrimination and poor working conditions. By working with Green Force, The Body Shop can help to provide access to more sanitary working conditions, a fair price and the respect and recognition they deserve. 

Not using plastic isn’t the only answer to dealing with the plastic crisis. If used responsibly, plastic can be sustainable, so The Body Shop are encouraging people to show love for the plastic we do use. This is why they have started using Community Trade recycled plastic from Bengaluru, India. It not only helps to tackle the existing problem, but it will also help to empower the ‘waste pickers’ that they support. Their Community Trade Partner, Plastics For Change, are a for-profit organisation that partners with local NGOs Hasiru Dala and Hasiru Dala Innovation (HDI) to provide Bengaluru’s waste pickers with a stable income and better opportunities, including boosting their skills and providing training for other areas such as urban gardening. 

So far, The Body Shop have started using their Community Trade recycled plastic in their 250ml Shampoo and Conditioner bottles. In the future, they want to buy even more Community Trade recycled plastics from their partners, so they can use it in more of their product packaging and strive to be even more sustainable, which definitely sounds like a step in the right direction.

After we’d heard all about what The Body Shop are doing to address the plastic crisis, we had a look at a few other new products that are currently out. They have a couple of new scents out for the summer, including Banana and Ginger. Both ranges are made from ‘Wonky Fruit and Veg,’ which is basically bananas and ginger that supermarkets won’t sell because they don’t look ‘perfect.’ So it’s great that these items aren’t going to waste and are instead making yummy smelling beauty products! The new products in the Banana range are also all now suitable for Vegans (and smell delicious – kind of like those foam banana sweets you can get!) I thought the Ginger range might smell a bit Christmassy, but it’s got citrus elements in it, which really gives it a summery vibe. 

They also have a few new biodegradable sheet masks for us to try out including Seaweed (for oily/combination skin), Vitamin C (for brightening sensitive skin), Aloe (for calming sensitive skin) and Vitamin E (for all skin types). At only £3.50 each and packed full of moisturising ingredients, these are perfect for some serious pampering. 

Also in the ‘Wonky Veg’ range are the Carrot Wash Energizing Face Cleanser and Carrot Cream Nature Rich Daily Moisturiser. Both are Vegan and made from 100% recyclable packaging, as well as being enriched with organic carrots and Community Trade organic Aloe Vera from Mexico. I’d never really thought of having carrot scented beauty products, but these are definitely worth a try!

The last thing I had a look at was some of the new make-up, as I always seem to forget about The Body Shop selling make-up! What really caught my eye were a couple of beautiful eyeshadow palettes – Paint in Colour and Own Your Naturals. The colours are perfect for the summer months, with a mixture of matte and shimmery shades. I particularly liked the range of colours in the Paint in Colour Palette, especially the glittery pink and gold! The other new make-up item that jumped out at me was the Happy Go Lash Mascara. It thickens and defines your lashes, and lasts all day without flaking, which is always a good thing! I particularly liked the pink packaging with green palm leaves on it – very summery!

Overall, we had a lovely time chatting to the staff from The Body Shop in Basingstoke, and I’m so pleased to hear the brand are making steps to start tackling the problems we have with plastic. I know I have watched and read a lot about the harm plastic is doing to our world and I do want to start making changes. But sometimes it feels so overwhelming when options to recycle, reuse and find more sustainable options are so hard to come by. So having a high street store offering this option to recycle plastic products and also supporting those who try to make plastic more sustainable is a brilliant thing to have. 

Are you a fan of The Body Shop? What do you think about their new schemes to help with the plastic crisis?

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