High Tea at the Lanesborough

I've just got back from a lovely afternoon in the Lanesborough Hotel. A few months ago I came up with a plan 'Ten Things to do Before Leaving London'. As usual the months have flown by and I am now left with mere weeks to cram everything in. Obviously this isn't going to happen and many things on my wish list will have to remain unfulfilled.

Luckily, I got pro-active in January and actually booked a table at the Lanesborough for afternoon tea. I've been meaning to go for Afternoon Tea in a lovely London hotel since moving down here and it's only taken 11 years to get it sorted.

But I'm mighty glad I did.

The Lanesborough is a beautiful, exquisite, tasteful and refined hotel. Their afternoon tea is meant to be amongst the best. So seven of us set off to find out if this accolade is deserved.

Aside from the gorgeous setting the tea and food were absolutely amazing. The tea is served piping hot in solid silver teapots. The teapots are kept on special stands at the side of the table and the waiters top you up on regular intervals. I'm used to people giving me scornful looks when I order my Hippy Rooibos but here it is deemed a delicate and tasteful tea. So there!

The food is presented beautifully and is delicious. There is a lovely array of sandwiches (all with crusts removed) and although it all looks very delicate it is actually really filling.

And then the cakes....Oh my word. The cakes are something to behold. Two tiers on the cake stand full of mouth watering, tasty and no doubt highly calorific goodies. And then they brought out scones, toasted teacakes, clotted cream, lemon curd and strawberry jam. Yum, yum and more yum!

It probably sounds quite extravagant to spend £35 on an Afternoon Tea which is essentially a few sandwiches, cakes and a pot of tea. But the whole experience is so much more than that. It really is luxurious and as a treat I think it's pretty good value.

So there's the first event from my Ten Things to do. Only 9 more to fit in....

Busy Bee

I'm used to a life that's bursting with activities, events, plans and arrangements. It can be a little tiring at times but I just can't bring myself to waste my life by sitting in front of my telly. Don't get me wrong, occasionally I have a real craving for exactly that. When I feel that way, I refuse to answer the phone, I hunker down on the sofa and watch DVD's or Friends re-runs until I can take no more.

But lets return to my normal state of affairs - busy, busy, busy!

As mentioned in previous blogs, I'm leaving London at the end of July. This has prompted even more frenetic plans than usual. A few months ago, I vowed to pack in 'Ten Things to do Before Leaving London'. Of course, as always happens, life has gone into fast forward leaving me with just 3 short months to try to pack this all into.

It's not looking good I've got to be honest. This morning alone is a prime example of the difficulties ahead. By 11am I had managed to book myself out for the whole of June! Not one weekend available which now leaves me with 2 months to fit everything in! At this rate, my ten things to do will have to be reduced...to one!

So, if I had to choose just one thing to do before leaving London, what would it be? That's a tough one...suggestions on a postcard please! And hopefully, if I get time, I may even fit it in!

It's A Beautiful City

For two years now I've been keen to leave the Big Smoke and head back 'ooop North'. The fresh air, sea and proper chips have been calling me homeward for some time. The vibrancy, turmoil and chaos that I once loved about being down here have become more and more tiring as time goes on. The sheer frustration of not being able to pop to the shops for a loaf and a pint of milk without negotiating a bewildering traffic system and then having to pay to park for a mere 10 minutes is beyond belief. Plus the knowledge that no matter how many man hours I put in at work, I will never be able to live in anything bigger than my current 1 bedroom flat is a lowering thought. Friends up north have houses with 4 bedrooms, a garden and a drive full of cars for the same money. Maths was never my strong point but even I can see this doesn't add up!

And yet, I will miss this mad and crazy place.

Today saw me heading to town to meet a friend for lunch. Having stopped off at Waterstones, I headed to central London clutching a great book. First stop Liverpool Street for a quick mooch around Spitalfields Market. The market houses an eclectic mix of stalls including vintage clothes, books, jewellery, bags, greetings cards and delis. There is always something interesting to look at, always some eccentric shoppers to people watch, always a great selection of cafes to lure you in for a herbal tea and a slice of organic cake. THIS IS SOMETHING I WILL MISS! I don't drink regular tea and coffee, preferring to indulge in what my brother calls Hippy Tea. I have learnt to take it for granted that all cafes will stock a selection of Hippy Teas for customers like me. But I have a suspicion that even Earl Grey will be considered outlandish in some cafes north of the Watford Gap, never mind Rooibos. If I'm wrong I am both sorry and delighted in equal measure!

So from Spitalfields I made my way to the steps of St. Paul's to meet M. M is from my home town and like me migrated down south for job opportunities and for a taste of excitement. As we sat having our pasta lunch in one of the many chain restaurants he turned to me and said "I mean look, we are having lunch right next to St. Paul's Cathedral! It's kind of mad isn't it?" As I turned to look at the impressive and majestic building it dawned on me that yes, it is mad! I've got to the point where all these amazing landmarks no longer make me catch my breath. They have become as ordinary and mundane as the town hall or pier back at home. And now that M has got me thinking I realise that this city is full of beautiful, majestic and impressive buildings and places. It's made me want to explore them all over again before I leave.

And so instead of going straight home I decide to make the most of the sun and incredibly bracing wind and cross the Millennium Bridge. I crossed this bridge on the day it opened for all of one hour before they were forced to shut it because of the swaying! It's nice to think I've been part of history. Every time I cross this bridge I think back to that day and remember what a drag it was getting to The Globe before it opened. The wind is icy and the bridge is full of people with that typically British walk (even the tourists develop it very quickly), head down against the elements and plough on regardless.

At the other side of the bridge I turn and look back at St. Paul's. It is truly beautiful. Designed and built in the 1600's, nothing that has been built in the last two centuries can really touch it in terms of design or craftmanship. It seems that even fate admires it - during WW2, every building around it was bombed and destroyed leaving St. Paul's like a beacon in a circle of destruction. It certainly makes you think.

The cold has got too much for me now and I walk back towards the Cathedral this time sparing a look for what is on either side of the bridge. And there it is! The view down the river to Westminster and then,the other way to Tower Bridge. A view that will be forever imprinted on my mind.

When the sun is out, there is no denying this is a mighty beautiful city!

The Road to Hell

It's fair to say that getting to work everyday is a little like the assault course on the Krypton Factor! Let me explain...

I'm 'lucky' enough to drive to work on one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the UK. Now for those of you not in the know, the A406 which skirts around the top of London is pretty full on at the best of times. And the little stretch that sees the M11, A406 and the slip road from Charlie Brown's roundabout converge is nothing short of a mobile lunatic asylum. Five lanes of fast and furious traffic hurtle along the pot hole ridden surface trying to switch from lane 1 to 5 or 4 to 2 without crashing. There is a fine art to it that basically consists of everyone for themselves and foot to the floor. You can tell the people new to the area or lacking in confidence or those who just really shouldn't have a license by the shriek of brakes, beeping horns, flashing lights and the unique sign language that follows them!

Now, I'm lucky enough to have visited some wonderful and fascinating countries around the world. And it has to be said that some of these said countries' approach to driving could have competed with my daily commute. Arriving in Hanoi (the capital of North Vietnam) was an eye opener. And that's after London! I stood on the pavement with my then partner outside the hotel for 10 minutes. Neither of us could move; the traffic (mostly mopeds holding 2,3 sometimes 4 people plus the weekly shop and the family goat) would zoom around any obstacle that happened to be in the way. We stood there perplexed. We only had 3 weeks in Vietnam and really didn't fancy spending all of it trying to cross one road. Shamefaced, we crept back to the Hotel reception.

"Er... how exactly do we cross the road?".

Fortunately we're obviously not the first Western tourists to ask. The gorgeous (they are all gorgeous in Vietnam) young thing smiled and said - I kid you not
"Just step off the pavement and walk. Don't worry, they'll go round you!"

So that solves that then. Just step off the pavement into the flow of upto 10 lanes of mopeds heading in a million different directions, with only one thing in common - great speed! We're back on the edge of the pavement clutching each others hands. We look into each others eyes and whisper the three little words... "Let us live!" and with that we plunge off the pavement and cross the road. And would you believe it? The girl was right! We walk, the mopeds drive and amazingly we arrive unscathed on the other side of the road.

The next stop was Cambodia and boy did we think we'd have it sussed. Step off pavement without so much as a glance, walk at consistent speed and arrive at other side of road in one piece. Yeah well, Cambodia had other ideas! Having survived a truly horrific flight that saw all the local people applaud when we landed we clambered into our first Cambodian taxi. After a few minutes it dawned on us that there were cars quite literally going in all directions and on any side of the road. Leaning forward I asked the question

"So what side of the road do you drive on in Cambodia?"

The taxi driver slewed his neck round and without even half an eye on the road ahead said

"Officially? Er I think it's the left but we don't really mind. Whichever side is quieter" (for the benefit of understanding I have translated this far more fluently than he told it. There was far more gesticulation which, inevitably, involved hands AND eyes being away from the road ahead).

We will NEVER, EVER complain about the driving in London again I thought!

Ok, so I lied!