The most wonderful time of the year

I don't know if it's age or life, but it's taken me a long time to feel Christmassy this year. Nevertheless, I'm there now, and loving it.

Yesterday took me on my annual Christmas Tree Crawl, and this year I was joined by friends, so hopefully looked a little less odd.

Armed with a list almost literally as long as my arm, we began the day at the Southbank, admiring (again) the Tatty Devine trees lining the terrace outside the Southbank Centre. Gorgeously garish, my favourite has to be the one adorned with their Gin bottle design. Cable ties preventing the dawn of a new tradition (no of course I wouldn't dream of stealing), we moved on to the next item on our list.

The Fortnum's tree at Somerset House is always a firm favourite, so we took a detour through the courtyard, and into the Fortnum's Arcade, before heading on to the Savoy. This year's tree was more traditional than the last, but I did like the addition of stylish reindeer outside as we approached.

Having made my list so long ago, I couldn't quite remember the draw of several new locations, so the tree at One Aldwych was a very pleasant surprise. A theatre theme, the tree itself was a deep pink tutu-esque netting, and it was hung with musical notes, treble clefs, instruments, and lots of clockwork. Set in the middle of the hotel bar, we were fortunate that those enjoying a drink didn't mind our stopping to ogle.

A lunch stop called, and we opted for festive pizza at Pizza Express, our second of the season.

Just before lunch, we had attempted a visit to the London Coliseum to see their pointe shoe tree, but, like last year, we were met with hoards of matinée-goers, and didn't feel that 'we'd like to see your tree' would go down very well as a means of getting in. Upon leaving Pizza Express, however, the hoards were inside enjoying their afternoon performance of The Nutcracker, so we tried again, and although met with some suspicion, were eventually allowed in if we promised not to be too long.

In search of Claridges, we walked along many a light-lined street, and were glad to be further from the growing crowds. This year, we were treated to an upside down tree, and lots of little ones of the same design hung about, too.

The final two trees were conveniently on our route back to Underground stations. I'm not really sure I understood the tree outside of the Connaught this year, but it was pretty all the same. I especially liked the angel on the top (although, I decided, less so if it said 'Mum' like I suddenly noticed it might). Annabel's as always had a brightly coloured display, and the lights at Stella McCartney were fun, too.

Now on my way home to one of the best Christmas trees of all (I might be slightly biased, it's true)..

Soft drinking in London

In 23 days, my dry spell ends and the heavens will open (actually they probably won't because I've realised that I absolutely do not miss hangovers, and have also happened upon some pretty tasty mocktails so I imagine my drinking may continue in a less dramatic way than I've just made it sound...)

Anyway, the reason I write is two-fold. As I say, I have discovered some great alcohol alternatives since this January, but I have also noticed a distinct lack of my type of bars in London.

When I say 'my type of bars', I refer to favourite Norwich haunts such as The Workshop, House Café, Franks Bar and The Bicycle Shop, where hot drinks machines are not turned off after a certain time and only alcohol is on offer. These café-bars not only have a huge variety of tea on offer all through the day and night but they also provide games to play and the music in the background keeps the mood alive no matter whether one is intoxicated or not!

The most amazing breakfast at House Café over Valentines weekend

Now I'm not saying nowhere like this exists in London, but sadly it's certainly not the norm, and reaching these 'unique' places involves travelling far and wide! So, I write to sing the praises of those establishments that have kept me very happy over the course of the past two months, but also expect that I may continue searching in this final stretch, so continue writing too!

I take you back to January now, when it all began for the second time. I've honestly hardly noticed I've not been drinking this time. I do remember struggling last year, so in comparison this year (so far) has been a breeze! One downside however has been the fact that not drinking definitely has not saved me money. I seem to have replaced going out for drinks with going out for food; good job I noticed so this month I should finally be able to save some money!

Anyway, in early January I found myself at the BFI bar on the Southbank. I've actually frequented the bar on several occasions, but most often for alcoholic beverages. However on this occasion I discovered that they have a very interesting tea selection. Feeling a little under the weather (as seems to be a running theme), I went for an Elderflower & ginger or something similar (quite honestly it was a while ago now, but I know it was tasty and good for a cold)! The BFI boasts a good selection of drinks, great cake (I had lemon & lavender to be precise) and incredibly comfy sofas!

Lately I seem to have found myself wandering along The Kings Road quite often since being delighted to discover that it is actually not ever so far away from home! One particular day began at the Chelsea Physic Garden where we admired snowdrops (I particularly adored those hanging in moss balls)! Left with freezing cold toes, we of course had to take shelter in a pub, so we found ourselves in the The Trafalgar which I loved because it was so quirky and we happened to be there for an evening of jazz too! On this occasion I can't actually remember what I drank but Sunday roast was very tasty and I loved the decor so we'll definitely be going back!

A cosy greenhouse at Chelsea Physic Garden

One of my favourite places to eat and drink lies just outside Liverpool St Station. First discovered between night buses on a very cold night, the Polo Bar is open 24 hours! Serving the most yummy breakfast items and tasty pastries it's the perfect stop-off at any time of day, whether you are in search of tea to begin winding down or something a little stronger to keep you going. All really reasonably priced as well which is a big plus in Central London!

Throwing caution to the wind, I have recently discovered my passion for milkshakes. Love Shack on Kingsland Road is one of my favourite places to go, but when told upon my arrival there one evening that they had run out of milk (!?), they directed us further along to The Diner, where we were more than satisfied by their incredible selection of both hard and soft shakes! We are definitely returning for a day of food; breakfast, lunch and tea!

During the Half Term, I was lucky enough to meet up with friends from my PGCE. We spent the afternoon around London Bridge and ventured down Bermondsey Street, a street that I have only ended up along if lost, in which case I have usually turned around and gone back the way I came. However, we happened upon a very intriguing pub (Tanner & Co) serving pancakes (as it was Shrove Tuesday, a pancake menu was priority for me) so we decided to stop for lunch. Service was incredibly slow and we waited almost an hour for food (I think judging by the tables scattered with empties and crumbs, we had just missed a very busy lunch hour and the waiting staff had decided to go on an exhaustion strike), but once it arrived we had no complaints, and as a result of the poor service we received our post-food hot drinks free. The tea selection was great and the old PE equipment reminscent of our childhood that provided the decor was, as I say, intriguing. I'll definitely go back again, but perhaps not on an empty stomach!

(Photo credit: Crazy Cow events)

I wrote recently about a gig I went to where Iyes performed in a really intimate venue. The venue was Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, and the pre-gig food and drink was a great way to start the evening! I arrived a good half an hour before my friend was due, so ordered an Earl Grey at the bar while I waited. When she arrived we ordered chicken burgers which were ideal to tide us over as we waited a couple of hours for the headliners to perform. Despite having visited less than a week earlier, we actually ended up at The Diner for milkshakes on this occasion too as we had not realised just how late the gig was starting! When it did eventually begin, we watched with the most satisfied tummies!

I have frequented House of Vans quite a bit since it opened last year, and in doing so always stop to admire the graffiti below the arches on Leake Street. Nevertheless, I did not know it was Leake Street I was admiring until a friend invited me to go there for a look around. Of course I agreed (I'm always keen to venture to unfamiliar pastures), so we spent an afternoon around Waterloo; first wandering along Leake Street, then having a nosy in The Vaults before zig-zagging along Lower Marsh as we went in and out of shops luring us in with their vintage, food and general eccentricity. Having enjoyed myself so much, I then invited another friend to come with me the following weekend. This time we stopped for a while inside The Vaults which played host to the best selection of tea I have seen in a long time. Sitting in low deckchairs listening to the most eclectic playlist whilst sipping honey & herb tea; pure bliss.

So the search continues for tea (and/or alcohol for those that way inclined) and games. I'm pretty happy to have found so many places to suit my needs in the meantime though, and worst comes to worst, I'll just stay at home and half tea-for-one from my oversized teapot!

Smoky Russian Caravan from Wilkinsons of Norwich

Can't beat a good mug of Lavender Earl Grey. Wins every time!

London Aquarium on a 'relaxing' weekend

What better way to spend a Friday night than with fish (and champagne)?

Last Friday saw my first 24 hour stint in a long time with farewell drinks for my TA, carol singing at Leadenhall Market for the Christmas light switch on, dancing my heart out to Anile, Etherwood and Keeno at MedSchool in Elephant & Castle and then finally rolling into bed at half 5/6am, having woken up at a similar time a full 'day' before. Feeling a little too 'old' (at least on a Friday) for all that these days, I was rather looking forward to a quieter time this weekend, and very excited for fish!

I've probably been to the London Aquarium before, but when Hunstanton Sealife Centre (please imagine I said that in my overly enthusiastic with a hint of sarcasm voice) is on my doorstep at home, we've probably never felt the need to journey to such a place; I certainly didn't have any recollection of a visit anyway. After my incredibly fun experiences of Zoo Lates at London Zoo, and Science Museum Lates at (you've guessed it) the Science Museum, I decided that London Aquarium must be done as soon as it caught my attention!

Gone are the days when you could stroke these guys...

A complimentary glass of champagne upon arrival, I was more than happy! There is something truly wonderful about not feeling obligated to move aside for small children struggling to peer into tanks! Instead it was initially a little more like the battle upon entering an already sardine-like tube train, elbows out and everything! However as some people raced ahead to find the next bar, we decided to take our time.

So stingrays evolved from sharks. Who knew?

Determined to get our money's worth, we oggled at the weird and wonderful in every tank, waiting patiently to read signs that would inform us what said 'weird and wonderful' were actually called (the Fox-faced-rabbitfish had to be my favourite name, although I wasn't entirely sure where the name came from...)! It transpired that shark tanks are pretty hypnotic, and before we knew it, it was twenty to ten (we had arrived at twenty past seven)! So we tore ourselves away and went to find the penguins!

Drunken seahorses.

Pretty piranhas!

Unanimous oohs and ahhs echoed around the crowd as we eagerly anticipated their descent into the pool for a swim. Sadly it never came, but they still looked sweet waddling around their enclosure (if a little trapped; the murals on the walls of the world beyond where they now live seemed a little cruel)!

Penguins waved goodbye to, the rest felt like a come-down (although a fish swimming through a tiny tube adjoining two tanks was a pretty entertaining highlight (perhaps the alcohol was kicking in by this point)). Before we knew it, we found ourselves exiting and we came out by the arcade and McDonalds; quite the opposite to the inviting entrance!

More sharks...

... just because they're sharks.

Once we were back along the Southbank, we decided to venture into the festive enclosure where this year's Winter Festival awaited us. We discovered a Christmas tree maze (magical), a 'lodge' serving all the Rekorderlig, and an incredible array of inviting Scandinavian food stalls. After a wander around to make sure we were about to make the best drink (and maybe food) choice, we settled on a table and chair straight out of Ikea in the lodge for a tipple. As we sat there, our minds turned to the intriguing food stall situated right outside the lodge, and before we knew it we were tucking into a mighty burger and a meat ball sandwich with lingonberry jam and some sort of gravy; yum!

The rest of the weekend was pretty restful; on Saturday evening we returned to Southbank to try out another food stall and to catch up with friends not seen in far too long (I even managed to get a little something for Christmas while we waited)! On Sunday I finally saw The Shawkshank Redemption (in bed, of course), and loved it, before my 'relaxing' weekend was topped off with Linkin Park at the O2 Arena; so much nostalgia!

I'm definitely starting to feel fully festive!

Playing tour guide

So much packed into this weekend that I had to list it all before I began writing to ensure that no unintentional gaps were left. Have had yet another ‘relaxing’ weekend, where an awful lot of energy was used in between the occasional moment of calm and quiet sitting in sunshine.

GLORIOUS weather this weekend made for very pleasant venturing conditions indeed. I spent my days playing tour guide to a Mancunian visitor, for whom I was extremely grateful as otherwise I fear I may have spent more of my weekend cooped up inside over a laptop and piles of paper, pretending the sunshine wasn’t really there. As it was, I embraced it instead, and have come out at the other end feeling so glad that I did (although I’m not entirely sure that my feet and legs would agree with me, could they speak).

On Saturday, we covered what felt like 50 miles walking between Notting Hill and Southbank, taking rather a roundabout route to say the least. Dreams of sunshine on the pretty coloured houses and strolling along quiet, idyllic streets (some maybe even cobbled) put me in the mood for Notting Hill, and it did not disappoint. Of course, somehow I do always forget the existence of Portobello Road Market (not so quiet at all), and although the initial throng of people causes me great horror, I soon fall into the slow pace of a browsing customer once antiques reach my gaze. Lunch found at the end of the market where the food stands are very cleverly placed, I was then also enticed by a stall selling mushrooms. Just mushrooms, nothing else. I never knew I was so excited by mushrooms until this moment, but of course I had to buy a selection, so I did (and cooked some up for tea in the evening, delicious if I do say so myself)!

From Notting Hill we decided (or, maybe it was the royal ‘we’) that food would be best consumed in a green space. Of course, we could all follow in the footsteps of Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts and have a whoops-a-daisy moment into a private garden, but we thought we’d be a little more common and head for a public park. So off we went to Kensington Gardens, where we were greeted by a distinct lack of deckchairs (I’m hoping they will appear in April?) and an abundance of dog walkers whose dogs were far more engaged by squirrels than the pleading calls of their owners’. Shoes off, sunshine in full force, it was a more than pleasant pit stop.  

Many times before I have been deceived by the London Tube map in terms of how close things are to each other when they appear to be so far apart (I hark back, in particular, to those days when a good friend and I used to make the tube journey (where we had to change, by the way) from Liverpool Street to Shoreditch for Spitalfields Market. I cringe.), so I tend to make more of an effort to walk between places now instead. I do wonder though, whether now I am deceived in the opposite way, where places that according to the map should be within a stone’s throw are in fact more like a marathon apart. So we walked, aimlessly, along the river from the Albert Bridge (which I never even knew existed before, but which is really rather beautiful so I’m extremely glad to have crossed it), through Battersea Park (another location I’ve wanted to pay homage to), past Battersea Power Station, alongside Westminster, all the way to the Southbank where we finally rested for a well-earned cup of tea while dusk set in.

After such a beautiful Saturday, Sunday did not get off to the best start. This morning I:

1.       Melted a hole in my favourite top (we have been here since October, this was literally the first time the iron and ironing board had been used. They will not be seeing the light of day again in a hot hurry!)

2.       Couldn’t decide what to wear for such warm weather

3.       Had unhappy hair

4.       Feared that wearing makeup when my body hasn’t seen the sunshine in such a long time made me look rather orange in contrast to my pale arms

5.       Remembered that the Jubilee Line was part-closed where we needed to be

6.       Got to the line that was open so we could use, only to discover that it was suspended until further notice

7.       Narrowly missed the bus we needed instead, resulting in a 30 minute wait for the next one

8.       Received a text to alert me of beach trips being made by my nearest and dearest at home (icing on the cake?)

Please don’t judge me for what is about to follow, I was miserable. As one might imagine, I was not in the best mood at the start of the day following on from all of these little disasters (little they may have been, but when there were so many of them, it was hard not to let them take effect)! Anyone who knows me knows that the best way to alleviate my slumps is to feed me. So feed me I did. In McDonalds. At half 11 in the morning. Sitting by the river with a pretty stunning view of The Shard made it all feel much more acceptable though (we won’t worry about the disapproving glances from passersby).

As we sat munching on happy food (not a Happy Meal, just food to make me happy... don’t even ask what I had!), I suddenly noticed that The Monument was nearby. Now, after Saturday’s mammoth walking spree, my legs were definitely screaming at me at this moment, but I chose to ignore them, and we took to the steps. The last time I was up The Monument was when I was a child, and I still have the certificate to prove it (I’m now the proud owner of two, check me out)! My memory was a little hazy of what it’s like at the top, so I was somewhat dubious about making the trek with older, less agile legs, but it was definitely worth it; I do love a view!

After our visit to The Monument, we carried on ambling along the river. I’ve seen lots of great photos of City Hall recently with Tower Bridge in the back, and I wanted to see it for myself, so that was where we headed (a much shorter distance indeed!), again taking detours here and there for me to assume my role as tour guide and point out all the tourist attractions. The day certainly turned right around from such a disastrous morning, and remarkably we even stumbled across a small section of the river where you could get down onto the sand; with closed eyes, the sound of the waves lapping the shore and the cackle of seagulls was plenty to transport us straight to the coast! Boats with gardens (like, actual fully grown trees!) at Butler’s Wharf, amusement caused by tourists assuming the position for photos by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, a quick visit to the Design Museum shop, and food and entertainment by the London Eye. Thank you London!