Get your bookings in early for the SA Business Club Business Awards ceremony which is promising to be the event of the decade as numbers will have to be strictly limited! This will be held at the SA High Commission in Trafalgar Square on Thursday 24th November 2011.

Doors open at 6.15pm and members and guests will be greeted with bubbly, some fantastic South African wines and a selection of the most delicious culinary fare consisting of an expansive selection of hot and cold canapés and bowl food.  This will be the perfect opportunity to enjoy excellent food and wine and to network with fellow members and newcomers. Continue Reading

The TNT Golden Backpack Awards Dinner was held at Shaka Zulu in London last week – the first time this regular Australian event has been hosted in the UK.

With more than 50 000 TNT readers’ votes counted, the awards are a brilliant indication of how customers feel about different service providers in the travel industry today. Categories included airlines, tour operators, hostels and road trip providers, amongst many others.

1st Contact was invited to attend as one of 5 finalists in the “Best Support Service” category – and are pleased to announce that they were voted the winner in this category! Continue Reading

With around 300 days to go before the 2012 Olympic Games, we thought we’d find out a bit more about the impressive Olympic Park and stadium. Continue Reading

With the 2011 RWC finally here, we thought it would be a good time to put together a list of our suggestions for who to follow on Twitter during the World Cup.

The All Black players have been banned from tweeting in their personal capacity, but you can follow their group twitter account, which seems like it’s going to be pretty accurate.

Catch the Springbok updates with our two favourites SA rugby twitter accounts, one official, one unofficial. We’ve included the Official Wales, Irish and Wallabies accounts and the Russian team’s Twitter account  (since it’s their first World Cup), as well as the Real NZ Festival, official RWC and Auckland pages for good measure! Continue Reading

Get along to the 2011 Aussie Rules Grand Final in London for your chance to win FREE BEER in the VB Tent for you and 5 mates

Other great prizes on offer such as 2 Tickets to the AFL Grand Final in Australia

Enjoy some ice cold VB’s, BBQ and some high flying Aussie Rules action!

Motspur Park overland (2 stops form Wimbledon, 3 from Clapham Junction + 1 minute walk)

www.afllondon.com

Where:

Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Playing Fields
Marina Avenue, Motspur Park KT3 6NE

Directions:

• Motspur Park overland
• ONLY 3 stops from Clapham Junction
• 2 stops from Wimbledon
• 1 minute walk to ground from Motspur Park station

When:

6 August 2011, 11am – 5.30pm

In London for the first Thursday of the month? Topdeck has teamed up with Walkabout Shepherds Bush to give you a great evening out with music, plenty of free prizes, half price drinks and travel discounts on the night every first Thursday of the month! These evenings are gaining momentum (they are a lot of fun!) – don’t miss out… Continue Reading

Next Saturday the 11^th of June, more than 1000 people are expected to participate in the London Naked Bike Ride. Should this number be achieved, it will officially go down in history as the largest naked protest in London.

The worldwide event is staged for many reasons – it’s a demonstration against oil dependency, a call to protect the environment, a celebration of the human body, a call for safer cycling lanes and facilities and a campaign to encourage more people to use bikes to get around in cities.  
Continue Reading

From 1 July 2011 until October 2012, nationals from India, China and 12 other countries visiting the UK on a tourist visa will be able to visit neighbouring Ireland without the need for a visa.

This visa waiver programme was announced in Dublin by Ireland’s Justice and Defence Minister Alan Shatter and coincides with the 2012 Olympics to be held in London. The programme will also see the €60 visa application fee being dropped for the period. Continue Reading

Having earned the reputation in recent years as possessing one of the UK’s most unique and cutting-edge festival line-ups, Standon Calling’s 2011 bill is shaping up to reaffirm this accolade. Continue Reading

The 2011 ANZAC Challenge takes place on Saturday 7^th May at Wasps in Acton and is London’s biggest Australasian Sports event and is a day a day of Sport, Culture, Entertainment and Remembrance. Continue Reading

Those of us in other parts of the world are often extremely jealous of Londoners for all the cool music you’re exposed to all the time, and the opportunities you have for seeing top bands and DJs.

I decided to see if was still true that Londoners have their choice of awesome concerts every month by investigating what’s happening in and around the city in April this year. The conclusion: Yes, Londoners have it better than anyone when it comes to top notch live music from fantastic established bands and groundbreaking new acts!

These are the top 10 music events (in no particular order), that you can catch in London in April.

1. Kylie – Aphrodite Les Folies Tour 2011

When: 7, 8, 9, 11 April 2011

Where: O2 Arena

2. Faithless

When: 7 & 8 April

Where: O2 Academy, Brixton

3. Armin van Buuren

When: 23 April

Where: O2 Academy, Brixton

4. Katy Perry

When: 9 April

Where: Wembley Arena

5. The Wanted

When: 6 & 7 April

Where: HMV Hammersmith Apollo

6. London International Ska Festival

When: 23 Apr

Where: Clapham Grand

7. Adele

When: 21 Apr

Where: O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

8. Scouting for Girls

When: 8 April

Where: Wembley Arena

9. Eliza Dolittle

When: 9 April

Where: O2 Empire

10. Chris de Burgh

When: 15 & 16 April (and 18 April)

Where: Royal Symphony Hall, Birmingham (and Royal Albert Hall)

An impressive line-up of music choices to be found in one month in one city; and for music lovers, almost a good enough reason to want to live and work in the UK!

For any UK visa information and advice, please visit www.1stcontactvisas.com.

If time was money, the next 5 minutes could potentially be worth £1500!

By filling in a simple questionnaire about the Springbok Supporters Club in the UK, you are automatically entered into a prize draw to win a luxury safari for two people at the world renowned Bush Lodge at the SABI SABI Game Reserve in South Africa, and the runner up will win 2 tickets to the exclusive Steve Hofmeyr show in London (for more details on the venue and time click here)!

We would like you to tell us what would make you join the SSC UK and give us the tools to make it the best South African club for those of us who are still braving the harsh European winters! With your feedback, we can better understand how to make the club work for YOU!

To take part in this survey, please click here

London is gearing up to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games from 27 July to 12 August 2012, with tickets going on sale from the 15^th of March 2011.  Ticket sales close on the 30^th of April 2011, which leaves only 4 months to guarantee your share of all the excitement and live Olympic action! Continue Reading

The date: 5^th March 2011

The place: The Punch Tavern 99 Fleet Street, EC4Y 1DE

‘When these disasters occur, they affect our friends, family, people we know, people we don’t know.  Here is a way of helping out when we can only watch on TV ’. – David Pocock (Punch Tavern Manager/Event Organiser) Continue Reading

What to do this Festive Season?  A tough one.  Because in London you are truly spoilt for choice, especially this time of the year. Here are my ten suggestions for what to do during the coming Festive Season. Continue Reading

For all you rugby-lovers staying behind in the UK for Christmas, we have a great festive-season offer to make up for the disappointment of missing out on the beach or the ski slopes this December.

Saracens are offering a 50% discount on tickets for the Boxing day rugby match at Wembley between Saracens and Wasps.

They will have snow canons blowing snow over the crowd and Eliza Doolittle will be performing before the game and at half time.

Only  £7.50 for a £15 ticket and £12.50 for a £25 ticket!

Just call 01727 792 800 and quote “Saffa”.

£5 for all children

Hopefully this is something of a consolation for all the Saffas that have to brave the UK weather over Christmas! There will be something for everyone, including the return of Gavin Henson and also the £250 000 cross-bar challenge.

This is sure to be a great day out at the magnificent Wembley stadium for young and old.

The Prime Minister David Cameron will this afternoon reveal further plans to turn London’s East End into the world centre for technological innovation.

Yesterday the Prime Minister along with London Mayor Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt shared the stage to announce that after the 2012 Games, Olympic Park will be turned into a state-of-the-art Technology Centre.  Presumably this will be the nucleus of the technology hub and that further developments in the area will turn East London into the UK equivalent of Silicon Valley.

High-Tech giants like Facebook, Google, Cisco and Intel have apparently already agreed to open innovation centers in the area and Cameron said hopes of toppling Silicon Valley were part of Britain’s strategy to develop new technology jobs. “We’re not just going to back the big businesses of today, we’re going to back the big businesses of tomorrow,” is according to sources, what we can expect to hear in his speech today.

Also on the cards is a special Entrepreneur’s Visa as well as a review of the stringent UK intellectual property laws. Both these steps are expected to help encourage innovative technology firms and internet entrepreneurs to relocate to East London.

For Visa advice or information, speak too a 1^st Contact visa consultant on 080 8141 5508 or visit www.1stcontactvisas.com.

The winner of our Johnny Clegg competition is Kathy Cakebread, congratulations Kathy. Continue Reading

Saracens v Harlequins , Sat 17 April 2010. Show starts 16:30 Wembley Continue Reading

Starfish has guaranteed places for participation in the British 10K on Sunday 11th July.  Plus in October, the Royal Parks Half Marathon and the Great South Run a 10 mile run along the south coast.  Continue Reading