• Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Start Here
  • Our Story
  • Meet Uju
  • Connect
  • Press and Media
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Babes About Town

Love. Play. Eat. London.

  • London
  • Kids
  • Life
  • Book
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Weekends
  • Search
  • Start Here
  • Our Story
  • Meet Uju
  • Connect
  • Press and Media
  • London
  • Kids
  • Life
  • Book
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Weekends

Mobile Menu

Buy Now

Liz Hurley, Tom Cruise, Meerkats and a Top Secret Mission!

September 5, 2013 //  by Uju//  2 Comments

Liz Hurley for Compare The Market Photograph by John Wright

My accomplice Rachel (the lovely lady in red) and I were sent on a top secret assignment in August.

Meerkat Intelligence Agency Files

Our mission (should we choose to accept it) was to attend the Meerkat Intelligence Agency Ball, co-presented by Future Cinema, where a new meerkat identity would be unveiled.

On arrival at The Troxy, we were ushered around to the side entrance, quizzed briefly by two ‘agents’ about our ‘cover stories’, tagged with wristbands and led inside.

Meerkat Ball Rachel

Meerkat Intelligence Agency Ball at the Troxy

The hall was decked out splendidly recreating the ambience of an embassy ball, with a torch singer and jazz band on stage, and a buffet serving pork loin, chicken schnitzel and sauerkraut. We were greeted by ‘the Ambassador’ who played host for the evening.

We’d been promised a celebrity agent would show up and sure enough, former Austin Powers sidekick Liz Hurley strutted on stage in a skin-tight dress. She introduced the newest member of the Compare the Meerkat team, badass Agent Maiya.

Liz Hurley introducing Agent Maiya

Now a schoolteacher, Maiya is a former special agent for the MIA, who’s fluent in 6 languages and trained in martial arts including sumo!

We watched the Compare the Meerkat mini movie featuring Maiya in secret agent mode. This was followed by a screening of the original Mission Impossible starring Tom Cruise and stunning Emmanuelle Beart (who has a little bit of the meerkat look about her).

Emmanuelle Beart and meerkat

Future Cinema, the team behind Secret Cinema, are renowned for creating immersive cinema experiences around flicks like Grease, Bugsy Malone and Dirty Dancing.

MIA Ball with Future Cinema

From drummers beating past our seats, actors playing out fight scenes and unexpected explosions, we felt like we were part of the action.

The highlight was when, right on cue, a man in black came whizzing down from the ceiling and enacted the famous Tom Cruise rope stunt scene to perfection. Ultra cool.

Future Cinema Tom Cruise Mission Impossible stunt at Meerkat Ball

Afterwards, we got goodie bags with our own Maiya toy (and Maiya spectacles) to take home.

Agent Uju at Meerkat Intelligence Agency Ball

Agent Maiya

A truly fun and memorable evening out. Thanks to Kelly (and Agent X) for inviting us.

To watch Maiya in action, or to claim your very own Maiya meerkat toy, complete with ‘certificate of authenticness’, just go to comparethemeerkat.com. Simples.

Share
Pin
Tweet
Share

Category: Best Of, What's OnTag: events, parties

About Uju

Uju Asika is a writer, blogger and creative consultant. She is the author of Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World (Yellow Kite/Hachette UK) and the delightful new picture book A World for Me and You, illustrated by Jennie Poh (Wren & Rook/Hachette Children's Group). Uju's books are available at Amazon, Bookshop.org, Waterstones and other good bookshops. Follow Uju @babesabouttown on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram.

Previous Post: « Just So Festival 2013: A Dreamy Family Festival
Next Post: London Weekend Scoop for Kids and Families (September 6-8, 2013) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. HonestMum

    September 5, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    Looks like a glam night (you look GORGE)-love your specs appeal and how amazing Liz was there (no safety pins though)-disappointed. Love those little meerkats x

  2. Uju

    September 12, 2013 at 12:05 pm

    LOL yeah no safety pins but she did look very foxy. Meerkats are fab, I’m very keen on Agent Maiya — I only let the boys play with her from time to time. She’s mine! Really fun event x

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

I’m Uju, author, blogger, screenwriter. I curate cool finds and experiences for city families. Read more…

Get the Book

Buy Now

VuelioTop10Badge2021 VuelioTop10Badge2022

Footer

  • FAQS
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • Competitions

Copyright © 2022 · Blog Design by Shauna Callaghan