Frieze Art Fair takes place each year in a huge marquee in Regent’s Park and attracts the top art people from all over the world – artists, collectors, buyers, galleries and the likes of you and me who like to just visit. When I say visit, there is the people watching, the lusting after out of reach pricey art, there is the lunching and then, sometimes, there is the champagne. So all in all a big day out!
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London has a rich and vibrant restaurant scene and making the right choice is often really challenging. To help with these dilemmas I’m writing a series for the great Cool Places website which offers reviews, recommendations and inspiring ideas for places all around the UK. They use local contributors with expert knowledge and have kindly asked me to do this restaurant series on London.
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Wandering around London last week I was struck by how many fabulous fountains we have, so I thought I would take you on a little tour around my top 10 favourites. I couldn’t choose between them as each one is lovely in its own way, so they are not in any particular order. Have a look, see if you agree and let me know!
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It was a gloriously sunny day in Royal Greenwich for the last day of the Tall Ships Festival. I chose this day to visit as all the ships were due to assemble and sail past Greenwich’s historic waterfront and head out to sea down the Thames.
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Was it the chilliest and wettest August bank holiday Monday ever recorded? It certainly felt like it as the rain poured down and soaked us to the skin but did it wash out the Notting Hill Carnival? Of course not! The crowds braved the weather and the dancers in parade carried on as if being completely drenched was perfectly normal for them.
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We never learn! The British summer is unreliable at best and yet we love to have outdoor events which test our stoical nature and inevitably involve a lot of plastic! Continue reading
Have you wondered where you can see a famous blue door, where James Bond blasted out of M15, where Bridget Jones lived and Diagon Alley? In London of course! London is much used as a film set and you can easily spot scenes from famous films as you wander around and I know this more than most as I live in Notting Hill where fans of the film are always hunting down the blue door (it’s at 280 Westbourne Park Road by the way). That much-loved movie links us to my film set for today, Kenwood House, as this beautiful house also appears in Notting Hill, but more recently featured in Belle.
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Fancy a nose around Buckingham Palace? Luckily HM The Queen kindly leaves London for several months each summer so can pop in! As well as enjoying the sumptuous state rooms of Buckingham Palace, you can visit their special exhibition which changes each year. For 2014 we have ‘Royal Childhood’ as the theme, no doubt inspired by Prince George’s first birthday. They have well-loved toys and pristine ones, childhood outfits and gifts to the royal families from the time of the future George lV in 1767 through to Prince George of Cambridge.
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The Imperial War Museum has been getting ready for the centenary of the First World War (1WW) and has been closed all year but this great museum reopened on Saturday with its new 1WW Galleries at the heart of its £40 million pounds revamp.
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Eating a great afternoon tea is a wonderful experience and one I would highly recommend to any readers who have not yet indulged themselves. There are savoury sections, cake sections, scones with clotted cream and jam sections, endless tea and you can even upgrade to some fizz to make it even more special. London’s top hotels will spoil you and Fortnum and Mason, the famous purveyors of fine tea, is also on my list of favourites. Continue reading