Cupcakes & Marathons

Cupcakes seem to be in vogue at the moment (though, apparently, those 'in the know' have now moved on to macarons) and there seems to be a new cupcake shop opening in London every other week. But with so much competition how do you stand out from your sugary-sweet contenders?! Well, if you're Cox Cookies & Cake and your shop is slap bang in the middle of Soho, you sex it right up!

A joint venture between shoe designer Patrick Cox and pâtissier Eric 'The Cakeboy' Lanlard, the 'edgy' decor has a strip club/ nightclub feel to it: glossy black floors, neon fittings and staff donning leather-studded aprons.

The cakes themselves are works of art - stylish, sweet but not overly-sickly. Think subtle flavour rather than Hummingbird Bakery style sugar rush. The 'classics' range from Madagascan vanilla, zesty lemon to Triple Valrhona chocolate, all priced at £2.50. But the speciality cakes are where Cox Cookies & Cake really come into their own: cola fizz cakes, black jelly skull cakes and, my favourite, the rather gorgeous pop art cake filled with blueberry jam and topped with a white chocolate image of Marylin. Why would you want a cookie when you're drooling over these cakes?

There is more then a sprinkling of camp in this joint - they recently commissioned some special 'Kylie' themed cupcakes... need I say more? The naked torsos, the 'beef cake' and the titty cakes aren't cheap at £4 but the evident icing craftsmanship and original cheekiness more then justify it. There aren't many seats inside (just five bar stools) as it's more of a take-out joint but, if you do manage to grab a seat, the coffee and hot chocolate are equally great choices. The hot chocs also come in shot form if you can't quite handle a whole one.

http://www.coxcookiesandcake.com/index.php

After all that cake on Sunday it was time to get out and about to cheer on the 36,500 runners who were running in the London Marathon. If you've never been along, give it a try next year as it's a cracking day out. The atmosphere is great and the runners apparently really appreciate the crowd's cheers, plus you really do see some sights (bleeding nipples anyone?!). From the man running with a washing machine on his back, the 80-year-old nun, the man running in just a mankini (chaffage much?), the ridiculous cartoon costumes, to the ordinary people running in memory of their loved one's you see it all! The variety of runners you see out there is definitely surprising - people of all shapes, sizes and ages. It really is an inspirational day out which does restore one's faith in humanity somewhat, and it's all in support of such fantastic causes!

Some runners really were the bollocks!