The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2020 - Issue 27

he world is in devastating chaos. Following the onslaught of Covid-19 that swept through the globe at an alarming rate and claimed thousands of people’s lives, we’ve experienced so many changes. Social distancing to help reduce the spread of the disease; heightening our hygiene regimes to maintain sanitisation; countless loss of jobs and struggling businesses; attitude to social classes and walks of life; and lately, an increase in unprovoked racist attacks on black people by the police in the United States. The shocking murder of George Floyd, a gentle giant at 6’6” by Minnesota police has provoked strong emotions and actions of unrest, anger, sadness, persecution, revenge, and the need to declare the slogan of #BlackLivesMatter even more. All lives are and should be treated as sacred, and depriving someone of their life violently is a violation of that person’s right to live. Previously, police violence against black men has gone unpunished but justice has been served with these involved police officers being charged. Despite the pain of these horrific events, we are living the best we can. In what has been a difficult time for everyone in the last few months, we have found some solace in the creativity that has arisen up during the global lockdown. The National Theatre and other artistic venues have entertained theatregoers in the comfort of their homes with online theatre productions such as One Man, Two Guvnors; Jane Eyre; Treasure Island; and Twelfth Night which are featured in our theatre section. Many bars and restaurants had to close their doors, while others had to delay their planned openings. You will notice we were unable to bring you our usual exciting restaurant reviews but we are privileged to feature Six by Nico, a restaurant that has an extraordinary concept of changing their menu every six weeks and taking discerning diners on adventurous culinary journeys. We also feature the delicious cakes and patisserie by Peggy Porschen London that we’re looking forward to indulging in when the lockdown is over and it is safe to venture around town. Some galleries moved their art exhibitions online with virtual tours including Ed Cross Fine Art who featured Paris- born artist Tiffanie Delune’s solo exhibition Seeds of Light. Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things finished at the National Portrait Gallery in June but will be showing at other venues, and Andy Warhol exhibition at the Tate Modern will end in September. To enhance our pages more, we have also featured the wonderful Wallace Collection and Galleria Campari portraying the history of the drinks brand. Not forgetting our beloved music celebrities; in this issue we feature Sean Paul and Selena Gomez. We can thank Sean for bringing dancehall music to the mainstream in the noughties and we see a stronger Selena, who after many years of heartbreak with Justin Bieber which finally came to a head in 2018, closed this chapter of hurt, created new music and moved on with her life. The revered and wonderful Tilda Swinton is the subject of our Actor Spotlight and Steve Markle who features in our Director’s Spotlight tries to ease his own heartbreak with a rom-com documentary called Shoot to Marry . There is so much more to read and marvel at in the Spring/ Summer 2020. Take care, keep safe, and enjoy. We’ll see you in the next issue. editor’s letter Front Cover Credits Photographer: Tony Wellington Fashion Stylist: Lisa Nicolaou Fashion Model: Sofia Patri Make-Up: Giovanna Zac Hair Stylist: Andreea Muresan All rights reserved. Reproduction of pictures, articles or artwork in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Copyright @ TRT Associates Ltd 2020 bite letter Natasha Yexley T Editor in-Chief