Bed and Breakfast chez Cynthia

When we booked this gorge B&B in Montreal I was expecting a basic place with modest facilities and as long as it was clean with running hot water and easy to get to I was not bothered. What I was greated with was a huge four story Victorian house with gothic features. Our quarters was in the basement and in a studio which had a scandi modern meets shabby chic look. There was also obligatory oak wooden floors with the sweetest bathroom I had seen in a very long time; slate tiles and a brill power shower added to it's charm. The studio itself was furnished with a double bed, a large sofa, arm chair, dining table with plinths and there was also a fridge to store our food. However what made chez Cynthia stand out where the little things like food in the fridge, lovely cutlery in the cupboard, fresh towels in the bathroom and other knick knacks that you take for granted at home but simply do not expect to get in a B&B or hotel. Cynthia has been running Bed and Breakfast chez Cynthia since 1988 she grew up here and raised her family here. She is a wonderful host and could not do enough for us and also gave us some tips on where to go in Montreal. Her taste is immaculate; the interior of the house is exquisite with wonderful pieces of furniture displayed artfully. Great art work and collectibles that she has gathered from countries all over the world. You know the sort of house that has influences from all over the globe where the person has brought a slice of the place they have been to? Well this house is just like that. This place really is a hone away from home. My amateurish pictures do not really do the place justice so please check out her website here.

An Ondo Lady in Montreal

Well I am in Montreal and totally out of sync with the dates and blogging. Having spent a week in Hotlanta which failed to live up to its name on Thursday and greeted me with heavy duty rain and thunder; I took up my mate Ola from Diverse Traveller's offer to explore the land of Canada. First of all before I go any further I will rewind and give you a mini breakdown of Atlanta. I spent the time visiting Martin Luther King House and National Historic Site and World of Coca Cola, I also went to the Atlanta History Centre where I found out about the history of Atlanta and how it reinvented itself from just another Southern state to an international city and Underground Atlanta which turned out to be a complete and utter dive. I had a fantastic time particularly at MLK House where the civil rights leader was born and raised as well as the historic centre which paid homage to the legacy of Luther King. During the trip to World of Coca Cola I found out interesting facts about how the beverage is made, sold and packaged and then drank so much coke that I almost rolled out of the place.

Last Monday I took a flight to La Guardia airport in New York City where I met up with my travelling buddy and then we took the shuttle bus to Port Authority and boarded the 11pm to Montreal which got us in at 8am. What can I say about the second largest speaking French city in the world? Well first of all it is full of stunning architecture and everywhere we go we see the most gorgeous houses, the people are friendly and sweet natured and the place has a chilled vibe to it. Hell even the dogs are chilled out and trot down the road all mellow. We are staying in the most gorgeous B&B in central Montreal which is called Bed and Breakfast chez Cynthia; the house is huge and gothic-like Victorian and our hostess Cynthia is so friendly and warm. We really do not want to leave.

Check out the picture at the top with the stunning houses in Montreal, we were practically salivating over them. The one above is of a market in Old Montreal which is very popular with tourists.

What the Pbleepd!

Blogging is generally seen as a solitary activity where a writer sits down at his or her laptop and spills their thoughts on whatever subject their blog is about. However there are quite a few group blogs out there which are managed by people who share the same ideals and goals. Blogs such as Very Smart Brothas and The FreshXpress are all doing great things but there is one group blog that has caught my eye; Pbleepd covers entertainment, politics and sport from a quirky perspective. 10 people strong, Pbleepd is not short of opinions and has a lot of power behind its punch. Pbleepd also also has a website along with their blog which they has just been given a relaunch and is not bigger and better than ever. I had a word with one of the crew to find out what else is new in Pbleepd.



What does Pbleepd mean and what is the concept behind it?

You’d think it would have a profound meaning behind it but the name Pbleepd derived from the term “pissed” which is short for pissed off and a North London terminology for a situation where someone does something incredibly stupid. Once upon a time we had a concept for a website/blog where people uploaded funny videos and pictures of people in hilarious situations or making a fool of themselves similar to the emerging failblog, which funnily enough has been a massive internet success....great, sigh. The ‘bleepd’ represented the censorship of the term, as some may find it offensive. After struggling to get any original content and some issues with getting the website designed, we decided to go for the ‘User generated website/blog’ which allowed a collective group of bloggers and writers to post up their thoughts about anything that they felt would be of interest to anyone else, almost like a forum of expression. We decided to keep the name for it’s originality and the likes of Google and Yahoo have shown that crazy names have worked. Plus who really wants to fork out another £5.99 to buy a domain name? Haha.



What made you start blogging?

Boredom, Nah we’re playing. It’s funny because up until the beginning of last year, half of us had never even read blogs yet now blogging is possibly one of the most addictive online pastimes after Facebook. Whilst Facebook allows us to share our life and thoughts with friends and family, the blogging platform enabled us to at least share the latter with people across the world who hold similar interests to us. That is also the reason we got into blogging on an individual basis; having the ability to log our thoughts and passions online for someone else’s entertainment seemed so cool at the time and still is. As a collective with Pbleepd, it also gave us a platform to build a following before and after the launch of the main website.


How many people are behind the blog?

There’s five main contributors to the blog (Mas, Broadband, Muffin, $hort & $weet & Darkman) and another five “informants” who like to blabber about what content we should post up.



Quite a few of you have your own individual blogs, how does that gel with Pbleepd?
As much as we have a common vision, our interests our highly varied so it was important for us to have an individual outlet in order for readers to see what kind of people are connected to Pbleepd. From Broadband’s scriptwriting to Mas’ marketing or $hort ‘n’ $weet’s life and style musings to Muffin’s literary thoughts, the blogs are an example of individuality amongst solidity. As a result it has not only showcased our different interests it has also introduced an eclectic range of followers of both the blog and the main site. We will eventually begin to incorporate our individual interests into the blog even more.

How do you think bloggers have made an impact on the media?

Popularity of new media with the web 2.0 generation has resulted in millions of people on blogs and other social networking sites; new media has undoubtedly become a powerful marketing tool. I think that to an extent bloggers have slowly made other sources of media like magazines for example less necessary, as some of the entertainment or celebrity blogs can have a story on their site literally as it happens with pictures and video clips that even newspapers which are printed daily cannot match. You’re not going to wait a week to get your celebrity or entertainment news from a magazine when you can just read it on a blog online. Blogging has also highlighted a need that people appear to have for a more ‘personal media’. Sites like Facebook and MySpace emphasise an interest in ordinary people but blogging takes it a step further with people regularly reading about the lives and thoughts of people they don’t know and have absolutely no connection to. We’ve been drawn into some extremely personal blogs and it’s just intriguing to see what people in different parts of the world are thinking and doing. Finally I feel that bloggers allow for a sense of ‘media’ control where people can be totally in control of the media they receive, both what they write if they choose to and what they read.

What do you do when you are not working on your blogs?
Wow the question is what DONT we do.
1. The “Popular”: Working Part-Time, Full-Time or Studying
2. The Passion: Working on Business Projects, Writing (Songs, Scripts, Poetry & Articles), Dance Rehearsals
3. The Pastimes: Playing football, Socialising, Comedy/Music/Fashion shows, Salsa, Theatre, Girlie Night In (not the boys obviously...ahem) TV, Going out to eat. Clichéd as it may seem we just love to do what we love with the people we love.

Describe a typical day.

A typical day with Pbleepd is amazingly straightforward. We’ll check our gmail, Blackberry Messenger, texts, Twitter and our favourite sites for the latest in news, sports and entertainment etc and post up the reports on the blog. Whilst doing that the editors of the main site are likely to receive articles from the writers, which we use to update. The majority of us are at work in between time so whenever we have time to post information up on the blog we do so. It’s the same process throughout the day and week. So far so good. We’re boring aint we? Haha Pbleepd focuses on a lot of entertainment, where do you get your stories from? It’s amazing how many entertainment sites are on the net, initially we do try to showcase a full range of topics including sports, education, politics, life and style but entertainment reigns as the most popular. Story ideas stem from conversations with friends, reading popular entertainment sites/blogs, reading magazines/newspapers and listening to the radio. From those mediums we do further research if need be and voila a Pbleepd post.

Name five blogs that you read religiously.
Five?? Ondo Lady you’re killing us, we read way too many on a regular basis, can we say 15? A Tribe Called Next, Complex Blog, Butterz, The Musings of Ondo Lady, ILLSEED, Get WHIT It, Necole Bitchie, Clutch Magazine, Wired Blog, Fantasy Ride, PinBoard Blog, SoulCulture Blog, Harlem Loves, Caress The Fro AND Pbleepd (are we even allowed to say Pbleepd.

How do you see Pbleepd evolving over the next two years?

The aim is to have the blog incorporated into the main website. So along with the success of the articles we’d like to have quick updates and reports as shown in our blog posts, We’ll merge both and hopefully become a common brand amongst the influx of great online publications. 700+ blog posts and a year later we appreciate being acknowledged and hope to provide you with even more!



You can check out the Pbleepd blog here and the all new Pbleepd website here. You can also follow them on twitter here.

H&M Magazine

A few months ago I heard mutterings about a magazine for H&M but that was as far as it got; well to my ears anyway. However, while I was on a shopping mission for my holiday oh and for some goodies to serve my post holiday depression, I ran into copies of the H&M magazine. So being the mag addict that you all know and love I scooped it up along with my new items. I decided I would save reading the publication till I got on the flight to Atlanta. I wish I could say it was worth the wait but sadly it wasn't. I was expecting something along the lines of the ultra lush asos magazine but unfortunately that was not the case. H&M magazine is A4, glossy, 82 pages thick and has all the makings of a great magazine but somehow misses the mark. Content wise it focuses on fashion and the trends that we should expect to see in the autumn but it also looks at the hip places to shop in Moscow and how to shop smart. There is only one article that stood out to me which was called Teenage Takeover which was a look at cool teenagers such as Jenny Humphrys, Cory Kennedy, Pixie Geldof and Jourdan Dunn and how they now dictate fashion. Apart from that there is very little in H&M magazine that inspires me, it all feels very remote and cold (an editor's note without a picture of the editor is not a good start to a magazine.) From the bland cover of model Angela Lindvall, the unimpressive layout and unimaginative use of fonts and colours. It is difficult to see who the magazine is pitched at as the feel is too serious for teenagers yet just not chic enough for twenty something fashionistas. H&M magazine will be one publication that I will have no qualms in parting with when I do embark on some more decluttering.

H&M magazine is published quarterly and is available in the stores.