I said a while ago that I’d spent a breakfast meeting with some high street folks talking about bloggers…and last night I saw some of the results of that meeting. It was the Arcadia Online Press Day, an event especially for bloggers and online writers showcasing the best new stuff from Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Topman and co.

Bloggers / online press do get invited to the regular Arcadia press days earlier in the year, but there are tight restrictions on photography (especially at Topshop) and we’re limited as to what we can and can’t say so early on, so having an event a bit later, when we have free reign to snap away and write everything up as soon as we get home (or, indeed, on one of the computers they had set up in the showroom for that purpose) is fantastic.

What was even more fantastic was the photography on offer. In our meeting we’d discussed the fact bloggers love to try things on, get creative and have something unique to put on their blogs rather than cut-outs or model shots. And Arcadia really pulled it out the bag with their solution to this!

Head through a mock photobooth in the first room, and you found yourself in a photography studio with rails of samples to try on and pose in. Photos went on a USB stick so they could be blogged about straight away. Sadly I had very little time at the event because I was off to Qype’s birthday quiz, so I didn’t have chance to do this myself (I was also limited by those pesky sample sizes – the only stuff that would have fit me was the Evans stuff, and I think Tor has showcased that much better than I ever could) but loads of others did and the results are awesome. See Mademoiselle Robot, Disney Rollergirl, Miggy Likes The Internet and Style Bubble for what’s gone live so far.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what Isabelle, Rachael and Laura got up to!

Thanks to Leon for spotting it.

I think this was my first time at a zoo ever, in fact. I’ve been to Sigfried and Roy’s Secret Garden, but that doesn’t really count being in the middle of a casino, and having grown up so close the West Midlands Safari Park, there was never any need to go anywhere that involved walking to look at animals.

But on a surprisingly sunny April Sunday, I’ve now established there really is nothing better to do but wander round Regent’s Park debating whether there’s anything cuter than a baby meerkat.*

I took loads of photos, but since I seem to have misplaced my card reader, you can’t see them. Instead, I will leave you with a video from the 1970s Mike Leigh TV play ‘Nuts In May’, with Alison Steadman singing the song I hummed all day while walking round. When you watch it, you’ll understand.

*it turns our there is, it’s called a Prairie Dog, and its bark sounds like a little girl sneezing.