Beer then?

We celebrated B’s birthday in the Chamberlayne pub in Kensal Rise on Sunday afternoon.  It was a lovely bunch of people and two of the cutest dogs, Oscar and Freddie. 

Sarah and Oscar, Naz and Freddie

A few people were intrigued about my new regime and were surprised that I’m not drinking for a whole year.  I seriously think I’d have had less of a response from everyone if I told them I’d developed a smack habit. 

The conversation with B and D the night before went something like this…

“So you’re not drinking for a WHOLE YEAR?!”

“Yep, that’s right”

“What about vodka?”

“Nope.”

“Whiskey?”

“Ew, I don’t like whiskey anyway.”

“Gin?”

“Gin makes me mental and I’m actually ok with not drinking.”

Cue a look of disbelief…  “BUT you’ll have to find a drink for S and B’s wedding or you just won’t enjoy it.”

OH MY GOD!

So back at lunch now and I was recounting this story to Benny who was sitting opposite me.  My food arrived, a lovely roast sirloin, (with no gravy or yorkshire pudding).  I had a few bites and then we did a happy birthday cheers to B, the birthday girl.  Then calamity struck and glasses just started toppling over on our side of the table.  Benny’s beer spilled into my plate and on to my food.  “Oh no, I can’t drink beer either” I exclaimed.  Benny kicked into action and rustled me up some more food and all was well in the world again.  I’m still a happy teetotaller.

Thanks for a lovely afternoon B, many happy returns sweets xx

I think she likes it

Birthday Balloons

Friendships

Friendships are pretty amazing, how they can stand the test of time and you can just pick up exactly where you left off.  It’s hard having friends all over the world and having so many good ones back in NZ.  But whenever I see them, it’s like no time has passed at all.  I said goodbye to Darren on Saturday night who is heading back to New Zealand, adding to the huge number of friends that have already left. 

It made me wish that I’d seen more of him when he was here, but you always think that you’ll catch up soon and then time passes and you realise you haven’t seen someone for months.  So good luck back in NZ Daz, I’ll miss catching up with you, but I’ll see you next time I’m down in sunny NZ 🙂

On Sunday I caught up with friends that I hadn’t seen for three years.  SO much has happened in that time and we had a fabulous catch up.  It always surprises me when kids grow up when I’m not around.  Matt is now 9, but it doesn’t seem so long ago that we went to the movies together and he sat on my knee in the scary bits. 

My Sunday was made up of brilliant company, a delicious lunch, a brisk walk in the park – with a herd of deer even making an appearance.  It’s SO good getting out of London. A dose of nature in Bushy Park and easy conversation was like a tonic from the stress of city living.   Getting the chill out of our bones after our bracing walk was heavenly, with a cosy warm house, more conversation, a delicious flat white (as only a true coffee lover could make) and home made gingerbread.   

Lovely to have you back Jo, James and Matt, thanks for a fabulous Sunday afternoon xxx

Bellisimo

I’ve just come back from Maratea, a cute little hillside town on the coast of Italy.  Just down from the Amalfi coast.  A gorgeous little spot that was chosen by Mr and Mrs J to celebrate their nuptials.  The four day event was a fabulous way to hang out with a group of lovely people.  I haven’t had that much fun since band camp, when this one time… Or school camp even when the boys…  never mind.  It was a LOT of fun.

I was chief bridesmaid, which I thought meant I’d have some sort of special tiara, or maybe even a sash for the occasion.  That is Miss Universe apparently, and I have to say there were a few sideways glances when I paraded out after the ceremony in my very high cut one piece – apparently you don’t do that at weddings, that’s Miss Universe as well. 

As chief of the bridesmaids, what you do have to do however, is risk public humiliation by speaking in front of a room full of people.  To say I was nervous is the understatement of the year.  I was having anxiety dreams about it three months ago!  Two days before speech day, I was out by the pool, overlooking the ocean, trying to write out my speech long hand on some scrappy notepaper.  Then I practised in front of my huge crowd of six people.  I nearly threw up, developed an awful stutter and kept laughing slightly hysterically.  NO, the preparation wasn’t going well.  So I changed tack and told everyone at the wedding on a one on one level that I was beside myself with nerves and asked them to laugh loudly, even if bits weren’t funny.

The big day arrived.  Mrs J will remember it as her wedding day, I will always remember it as the day of the speech.  We had 5 hours to get ready, which you think would be ample time for us to put a bit of slap on and paint our toenails.  You’d be surprised at how quickly our prep time disappeared.  40 minutes late we sashayed down the aisle, to the relief of all of those who were assembled, as menacing black clouds rolled in over the hills.  I was given a bottle of Kalms, with the instruction to have 2.  Over the course of the evening I chugged back the entire bottle, they were natural and must work psychologically.  I was past the placebo effect, what I really needed was a valium.  In the absence of ‘mothers little helper’s’ champagne would have to do the trick.

Many glasses of champagne later, a little before dinner dancing and then it was time to be seated for dinner.  Speech time was drawing closer and my nerves were increasing by the second.  Normally an alcohol lightweight, I was chugging back full glasses of red wine, with it seemingly having no effect whatsoever – well in my mind anyway.  The bride did lean over at one point, shift my glass slightly away from me and suggested I eat more food and drink less wine.  Apparently slurring isn’t looked upon favourably in speech making circles.  The other speeches happened around me and I noted that the best man had props – he’d only brought in a toy trumpet that had to be blown at certain parts of the speech.  I didn’t have any props!  I was done for.  The best man’s speech went on for 40 minutes, prolonging my agony.

The result is a little bit of an anti climax really.  I got up, I spoke, people laughed and then I sat down.  No public humiliation, lots of positive feedback  and then on with a magical night of dancing under the stars.  In light of my success I might take up public speaking for a living, conquering your fears and all that.  I suspect I’d turn into a raging alcoholic however, so will stay on my chosen career path and give the bright lights and lecturn a miss for now.

Here’s a toast to the lovely bride and groom, thanks for a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful (there’s that stutter again) day, I had a fabulous time.  mwah x

Notting Hill Carnival Magic

I’d heard the drum beats all day on Sunday and had resisted the temptation to go down and check out the carnival. Monday came and all resistance melted away as I found myself hypnotically drawn towards carnival magic. 

Miss B and I went to check out the floats, I’ve been to carnival twice before and didn’t see any floats either time.  This needed to be rectified immediately! 

We also got our faces painted and were transformed into carnival princesses.

Carnival Princess Transformation Complete!

Ok, enough floats, enough drums, enough jerk chicken, let’s get to the Good Times Bus with Norman Jay and have a street party.  This man is a genius, managing the crowd like a puppeteer, working us up into a frenzy and then giving us some down time to recover.  It’s truly a magical experience rocking it with people from all walks of life.

See you next year carnival!

Bridal Bash Extravaganza Day 2 – Part 2

Time to get our glam on and step into the glamorous and decadent world of burlesque.  Primping, preening, donning wigs, applying beauty spots and quaffing copious amounts of Pol Roger is a fabulous way to spend time with a bunch of lovely ladies.

Then we departed the hotel and made our way to Volupte Lounge, the final secret was at long last revealed. 

After cocktails and umpteen burlesque lady poses we finally took our seats downstairs in the boudoir style lounge.  The food was amazing, the show even more so.  We got swept away with the story from The Candy Shop and Missy G was pulled up to take part in the show.  I risked life and limb to get photos and footage of this as cameras were strictly banned.  I got told off twice but just resumed my camera sniper position once the staff member had left.  Missy G was the star of the show, as if I’m not going to take photos!

The show was fabulous, the food was too.  The music was great, until it wasn’t and then we went back to the hotel to carry on our partying until the sun came up.

After the last of the party girls had left we made beds out of chairs, couches and of course, the bed.  Later that morning we woke up feeling the full after effects of the night before, plus some.  We called up for room service and got cooked breakfasts sent up.  I tucked in as soon as the tray arrived, enjoying the fried breakfast, eating like I’d never eaten before.  The waiter had forgotten our smoothies, but he brought them back up to the room quite quickly.  I was busily scoffing my breakfast and didn’t pay much attention as he placed them down on the table… until they splatted everywhere.  I looked up at him to see smoothie dripping down his hair, his face and shirt.  It was all over the rug and drips even made it up the wall.  He was shocked and didn’t know what to do.  It was like everyone in the room was frozen, including him.  If he had a wish at that precise moment it would have been to have the earth open up and swallow him whole.  He was beyond mortified.  He finally came to life again, said he’d be back and then sprinted from the room, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.  It was the funniest end to a fabulous weekend.

Bridal Bash Extravaganza – Day 2, Part 1

So Missy G had her instructions of what to bring along on Saturday for her hen’s do and the list included red herrings like; bikini, walking shoes and yoga gear. Well we had to enjoy our little games while we still had some secrets to guard!

 We all met at Soho Hotel at 2pm, and Bec arrived not long after. Due to Miss C’s BRILLIANT contacts we managed to secure the Penthouse Suite at the Soho Hotel. What a lucky group of girls we were. The suite was the perfect size for us and it even had a balcony. The weather had even co-operated and sunlight streamed in the huge expanse of windows. 

A quick champagne toast and then the girls were dispatched into teams and sent on the Bridal Bash Treasure Hunt. They needed to scour the streets of Soho to take photos of the clues they’d been given.

These were their tasks

1) Take a photograph of an object that will spice up Bec and Dan’s honeymoon – the winner was the photo that posed in a mexican chilli joint, other contenders had visited Ann Summers for various sexual aids

2) Get someone to take a photo of everyone in your group as you re-enact Dan’s marriage proposal – Bec’s team won this as they posed a grow your own husband and grow your own wife in front of a fish tank, with the husband wearing Bec’s wedding ring.

3) There is a prize for the group who dresses up in the most outrageously hideous wedding dress you can find – go forth and seek out trashy, nasty matrimonial garb girlfriends! You need to have the dress on a member of your group and take a picture. La’s team won this, with a pic of La looking like a fabulous trashy prostitute bride, wearing a stunning outfit courtesy of Ann Summers. They almost got kicked out of the shop, so deserved to win. I haven’t got that picture but think this one of B is just as funny!

4) You need to get four things photographed for this picture – either in one photo or in four photos. If they are four separate photos then please label them 4/a, 4/b etc

a) Something old

b) Something new

c) Something borrowed

d) Something blue

Bec’s team won this one as well, with an assortment of greeting cards showing an old lady flashing her boobs, a little baby was the new, the borrowed was a bald man looking at wigs and the blue was a blue man flipping the bird.

5) Your last stop is Boots, where you need to take a snap of the three things that Bec would never be without in her handbag. She is kind of famous for ALWAYS having these things close to hand.

Well Bec did have an unfair advantage in the competition and she would have won this one as well, if not for a last minute urgent consultation with co-judge Nikki. Unfortunately I can’t remember who we ended up awarding the prize to, I just remember Bec’s, which was her lip balm, water and handcream. They had taken the instructions literally and displayed them by some Boots, not the chemist. Very funny!

Just like school, everyone got a prize! It’s not the winning that counts, it’s if you get a prize (who cares about taking part, give me a prize!)

 

Next up was the Mr and Mrs Game where we’d test the soon to be wed couple on how well they know each other.  B did a fabulous job of organising it and N was a brilliant MC.  Missy G astounded everyone by knowing nearly all of the answers, she only forfeited on five.

Questions were asked like, What one thing would Dan take on a desert island? If you had to choose, would you think that Dan would rather you fainted on the wedding day or him? Dan thought Bec would prefer to faint because it was more ladylike.  If you had to choose, would you rather have rain on your wedding day or your dress ripping down the aisle? Bec is hoping, praying and wishing for a sunny day so she’d rather expose a bit more thigh and have glorious sunshine. What was Dan’s opening line when you first met? – it was actually ‘tell the scrounging bitch to f*ck off’ to his friend when Bec was trying to cadge a cigarette from Tom. Luckily he then started talking to her!

 We were most impressed by how well Bec and Dan know each other, it bodes well for the marriage!

We then presented Bec with her book of memories, good times and marriage pearls of wisdom. Everyone had made a sterling effort with their contributions and she loved it. It also made her family and friends in NZ seem closer too. We missed you guys on the day!

It was now about 6pm so we had around three hours to hang out in our fabulous room, eating, drinking and starting to get ready for the evening event. Missy G still didn’t know what this was and it was our last secret so we were hanging on to it for as long as we could! The next instalment will be posted tomorrow and will reveal the evening part of Missy G’s bridal bash extravaganza!

Bridal Bash Extravaganza – Day 1

I’ve been living on tenterhooks for the last few months, pulling together plans for Missy G’s Bridal Bash Extravaganza.  To give you a bit of background, Missy G is a driven, focussed, A type, Completer Finisher, Personality.  I am not.  I’m disorganised, a little bit helter skelter, an ideas person – not a person responsible for the deliverables, not interested in the finest details.  She was a little apprehensive about my project management skills, I was even more so.

Not to worry, with help from B and Nikki we pulled everything together for a smashing event that she’ll remember forever.  It was killing Missy G that she didn’t have any idea about our plans and I was enjoying this immensely.  In fact I started enjoying it a bit too much, in a slightly sadistic way.  On Friday I told her that she was to meet me at Liverpool Street station at 4pm.  Then two hours later I changed the meeting place to Waterloo and said that I already had her bag packed and I had her passport (momentarily forgetting that the eurostar now goes from St Pancras).  She rang me in a panic, had I packed her bag or had Mr J?  Then she got all excited that we were going overseas… I felt terrible.  You’re meant to downplay things and then surprise people, not build them up and then dash their hopes!  So I quickly said that plans had changed again and now we were meeting at Leicester Square.  She refused to believe anything I said after that.

Friday night was a warm up to the main event on Saturday, with only 5 of us in attendance, well 5 and a bit as Jake who is less than a month old slept through everything.  We had a fashionista high tea, a Pret a Portea, at the Berkeley Hotel.

Everything was served on lovely Paul Smith designed crockery, cake stands came out filled with super cute handbag cakes, dress and shoe inspired cakes, cucumber sandwiches and lots of little yummy picky savoury things. All this was washed down with cold, crisp champagne.  Sometimes life is very very good.

We sat there afterwards, on a massive sugar rush high and looked around the restaurant… Lacy noticed first and then nudges and whispers made their way around the table.  Well it was only Victoria Beckham one table away from us!  I suggested that Missy G get her photo taken with her, but you couldn’t have done that here – it would be a total invasion of privacy (I still thought it was a good idea but no one else would let me do it).  She looked immaculate, very polished and put together.  No, she didn’t have any cakes.

The night was still young and there were cocktails to be drunk so we waddled out, full of cake and champers and made our way to Townhouse.  This bar has the feel of a private members club without the pretentious snooty attitude.  The doorman and bar staff were really friendly and the table service was top notch.  The drinks were fabulous too.

The tone for the rest of the evening was slightly less civilised than it had been, those Pornstar cocktails have a lot to answer for! 

Yes, the tone has dropped

Someone call these ladies a taxi

Actually, this sucks, I wanna go home!

We still got to bed at a reasonable hour, we needed to be fresh for the main event on Saturday.  Before leaving, Missy G was given a document with items that she needed to pack in her overnight bag and bring along tomorrow.  The suspense was killing her!  Another instalment tomorrow, where all is revealed.

Birthday Bliss

I turned another year older yesterday and celebrated in the most fabulous way, all DAY!  Taking a day out to pamper and indulge oneself is such a decadent treat and I enjoyed every second.

The fun started when I got up and walked out my door to find some gorgeous White Company products and a heartfelt card left by my wonderful flatties.  Calls, texts, emails and facebook posts all contributed to my warm happy glow for the day and left me feeling very loved and cared for. 

Fact: You cannot gain weight on your birthday, no matter how much you eat.  Which is just as well really, as I ate delicious food and drank copious amounts of champagne and wine all day.  I started off my culinary indulgence at Raouls where I had lovely eggs benedict.  Then it was time to buy myself a present – bath and body products from Philosophy. I’ve fallen in love with their Amazing Grace range, it’s divine and I truly smelt heavenly after applying nearly every product I could find in the store. 

You MUST eat chocolate on your birthday and only the finest chocolate will do.  The Artisan du Chocolat counter at Selfridges was close by, so I popped over to pick out a little selection of high quality, hand made chocolates.  Then on my way out of Selfridges, I fell right into the cupcake stand and left with a DELICIOUS red velvet cupcake.  Life is good when you’re stuffed full of cake and chocolate! 

Not feeling guilty about catching a cab a very short distance, I made my way to The Sanctuary Day Spa in Covent Garden.  I lounged on comfy day beds with my magazines, sipped champagne cocktails, went for a few swims (they even had a noodle, brilliant!), had a spa, massage and sleep treatment.  What a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday, I highly recommend it. 

The rough patch of my day was going to a new salon (Saco) and being kept waiting for my hairdresser for 45 minutes, looking very attractive with my towel turban head.  Not the best introduction for a new client really.  EXCUSE me, it’s my birthday and I have a dinner to get to!  Stress crept in around the edges of my beautifully relaxing day, but a quick dash home, shower and speedy make up application had me at the restaurant only 20 minutes late.

Dinner was at Maroush 1 on Edgware Road.  I’ve been to loads of Maroush restaurants, but hadn’t been to this one yet.  The drawcard was the belly dancing and live music.  I was so incredibly spoilt and I felt very blessed as I opened all my presents and cards. 

The stunning belly dancer came out and put on an amazing show, getting us all involved. 

 

The live music had everyone jigging about in their seats, until you couldn’t help getting up and busting a few moves on the dance floor.  The waiters were brilliant and I even got one to show me some Lebanese dance moves. 

There was another table celebrating a birthday, so Happy Birthday was sung to both of us.  They even shared their birthday cake, bringing a few pieces over with candles so I had something to blow out too.  What’s a birthday without a champagne toast?  The waiter brought over a complimentary bottle of champagne for yet another toast.  There was such a lovely warm community feel in the restaurant,  fuelled by fabulous music, fabulous people and thoughtful touches.     

Pampering, Indulgence, Shopping, Dinner, Dancing, Champagne, Presents, Cards, Cake and Fabulous Friends.  What a lucky girl I am!

Fireworks Festival

When walking around in Lipari last Sunday we heard cannons going off. It was a bit weird, but we weren’t going to war with the neighboring island, it was the sign to say ‘let’s let off a load of firecrackers tonight’. Not that we knew that at the time, as we continued about our business, slightly concerned we could be called to arms at any moment.

We went to play Scopa at a bar around the corner. It’s a Sicilian card game, which even has its own special deck of cards. I suspect the boys were making up the rules as they went along, but without Lisa’s guidance how was I to know?  It didn’t take long for us to befriend Katie, a Canadian nanny who was on her last night in Lipari. We had a few drinks and were joined by her friend Cassina, another Canadian nanny who had lived in Lipari for a year. What a fabulous way to spend a year! Local knowledge is everything and they let us in on the local’s secret, taking us down past the port where we watched the most sensational 15 minutes of fireworks. I don’t know what they were celebrating, I don’t even think the locals know… Something about a saint. Well that’s good enough for me, any excuse for a pyrotechnic extravaganza!

Lipari Fireworks

Sensational Stromboli

A couple of days ago we went on a boat cruise and took in the island of Stromboli.  To be quite honest I was a grumpy beeeeeatch all day on the boat.  I am not a seafaring sort of girl and have to guard my lily white skin from the sun as well, so I was under the cover of the boat canopy all day, along with the other sweating, speedo wearing old hairy men. GROSS!  Being brushed past by a wrinkly old hairy body (and thats the women as well) is not my favourite idea of how to spend ones day.  Imagine the whole day on a hot tube, while feeling slightly sick and being brushed up against by nearly nude old people.  Yep, it was that good. 

My grace and good humour was in short supply and I relished the time we had off the boat.  We had a quick look around Panarea but were going back there so didnt worry about an exhaustive trek.  Stromboli was another story, it was a funny little port town, with very few inhabitants and a live volcano!!! How is that for a draw card!  Before our trip the rest of my group had been enthusiastically trying to talk me into climbing up to the top.  Adventure is not my middle name and I didnt want a bar of it.  I dont have many rules in life but staying away from hot lava would have to be on the list.  When they realised it was a five hour there and back trek (in the heat!) they decided against it too. 

Taxi, Island Style

Then we went and had dinner.  I really felt like a lovely big prawn pasta to brighten my mood, but when the prawns came out, tiny with shells still on, it was nearly my undoing.  There were prawn legs all through my pasta!  WHY? Why would you do that?  Youre meant to eat the shells as well.  I wanted to throw myself on the ground and cry, stamp my foot, and kick off into an ear splitting, screaming tantrum.  Of course, I’m an adult so I did no such thing, I just whinged constantly through dinner and viciously poked the offending prawns to one side.

Lisa had squid ink pasta, which is delicious apparently.  I didnt want any, I only like calamari rings, thats as far as me and squid go.

Crustacean Pasta (with the crusts still on!)

Squid Ink Pasta

Getting back on the boat wasn’t so bad, at least people had clothes on this time and because the sun had gone down I could join the rest of my group on the roof.  It made the world of difference to my grumpy persona, having some personal space and the fresh sea air. 

Then we settled in off the island of Stromboli in the very calm sea (things were looking up) to watch the volcano erupting.  How bizarre!  The photos I took on my little snappy snap camera were rubbish so Ive nicked this image from a postcard.  What a magical experience.  Every time the earth would eject a stream of magma, it would briefly light up the horizon and everyone on the boat would cheer.  It was a very surreal experience. We then lay back on the deck, and fell asleep under the starry sky for the hour long trip back to Lipari.  I must remember that if I’m ever in a grump again, watching a volcano erupt will balance my mood.  Very cathartic.

Sensational Stromboli

Pantsville Panarea

We left the sleepy shores of Lipari to party our pants off in Panarea yesterday.  The island is gorgeous, apparently like the Greek Islands, not that Ive been there yet.  White washed buildings, blue paint (the town must have got a special deal for the amount theyve used) and stunning ocean views.  There are no cars on the island and everyone gets around in golf carts.  We took one to the beach, a 20 minute walk in the heat of the day was not even considered and we handed over a kings ransom of nine euros to be driven 5 minutes.

Whitewashed Paradise

Stunning Clifftop Sea View

The day was searing hot, a little bit TOO hot for my delicate constitution and even under an umbrella (AND parasol, just in case the sun got me) I lay there breathing shallowly, panting like a dog.  I had to retreat to the restaurant at one stage to get out of the brutal sun (any excuse for food is a good one!).  We finally got some relief from the sun as it dipped in the sky and our thoughts turned to our party plans for the night.

Knowing how expensive Panarea is we had our own mini party before decamping to the “clubs”. We bought food, grappa, wine and other necessary supplies.  So far so good.  We scoffed ourselves silly on the best Italian food – parma ham, buffalo mozzarella, stuffed artichokes, risotto balls. HEAVEN! 

Chad with the Grappa Grimace

Corruption of an Innocent

Panarea was listed in all the guide books as THE place to paaaaartay, well I dont think the travel writers have been here recently!  The islands have been affected by the credit crunch for sure, as the emptier restaurants are obvious and slow trade in the shops is testified to by the locals.  We thought it might have been a bit quiet, but we didnt count on it being DEAD!  We couldnt believe there was no one in our demographic out and about.  It was like there was a war on and all the 20 and 30 somethings had been drafted.  We were left with the old and the very young.  Most disturbing to be drinking next to a bunch of 14 year olds, it was like a tragic school disco.

Toto in Palermo

I loved this little old man Toto, who we met in a deli in Palermo.  He had worked in the shop his whole life and was now retired, but still hung out there with the other old men.  He proudly told us that the shop was 150 years old and entertained us while we tasted the cheeses, ham and bought our lunch supplies. 

He also graciously shared his coffee with us and gave us his newspaper, even though there is only one person in our group that could read it.

Toto sharing his coffee

Friday night at Shunt

I had one of the best nights I’ve had in ages last night, with Kylie at Shunt.  Shunt is a lounge and theatre performance club in London Bridge.  It’s actually under the bridge so it’s all dark, damp and eerie.  I loved it!  

It’s a bit like Alice in Wonderland, so you’re not quite sure if things are real or not.  When we first walked in the door we were offered ‘LSD’ from a spaced out hippie.  There was a hippie caravan, lots of hippie hugs and dancing too.  There were psychadelic murals, paintings, cars packed with dried ice and lighting.  There were random bits of art hanging off the wall, all ripped and torn with glass all over the ground.  There was also a rooster which was displayed like a fine piece of art, I wanted to get a picture and knocked the bloody thing off.  Kylie and I have never moved so fast!  The acoustics were amazing (so the rooster made a MASSIVE crashing sound) and you could talk into a microphone and it would bounce around the tunnel – the screams would give you goosebumps.  My descriptions really aren’t doing it justice and I don’t think my photos do either.  Go along yourself and check it out, it’s BRILLIANT!  www.shunt.co.uk

Spooky Clowns

Hippy Hug

Jimi LSD

Rather Sad Military Man

Peace is Sexy

Pickled Dolls

Graffiti

Silent Disco

There aren’t many things as lovely as long weekends and we celebrated the Sunday of May bank holiday weekend with a Silent Disco at the Metropolitan in Westbourne Park.  A roof terrace, tunes, headsets and lots of vodka made for a lovely afternoon and evening.

Sunshiney Sunday - Bec & Tommy

Dan the DJ Man

Me, James and Matt

Bahareh, party organiser extroadinaire

The pace was just too much for some

Eddie Party Animal

Natalie and Adam

Gav, Chris and Sarah

 

Me, James and Anna

Social Butterfly Burnout

This little butterfly is very very tired.  It feels like I’ve been go, go, go for about a week.  I need some time off to clean my room and do my filing!  Actually I could probably be doing that right now, but you’ve really got to be in the mood don’t you.  I’m in social overdrive until next Thursday, but I’m very happy to be seeing all my lovely friends so I no complain (quoting Con the Fruiterer there for all you Aussies and Kiwis)  

Here’s my social agenda recap from the last week;

Wednesday night I caught up with Little Mel who has a little cute preggy belly now.  We haven’t seen each other for ages, so it was lovely to see her.  We met at Le Cochonet, my favourite local pizza restaurant.  Actually I never have pizza there, my standing order is prawns and garlic pizza bread.  Sometimes it’s good to stick with what you know.

Thursday night I caught up with Koi-lee and we went to her favourite cheap and cheerful Persian restaurant just off Edgeware Road.  A very rustic restaurant, where you’re close enough to the neighbouring table to eavesdrop on their conversation.  The meals were simple, the servings were generous, the place felt friendly and warm, the waiter was a willing photographer and the bill was ultra cheap.  The paper cups and metal plates added to the rustic feel.  Downstairs there were little yellow fake chickens stuck in the walls and the men at the bread ovens were smiley and friendly.  Amazing how much that adds to the allure of a place.  Check out this hunk of bread.

Table sized bread

 Friday night was Freddie Belly’s birthday at the Waterways.  The food is always fabulous here and as always the company was too.  Nikki and I took far too many pictures of each other, then a few token ones of everyone else at the table so they didn’t feel left out.  I got the best dinner I think, even though Nikki ordered the same meal as me.  Her lamb was fatty and gristly, while mine was cooked to perfection.  I love having the best meal, lady luck was on my side.  I was in meat and three vege heaven with my lamb, aubergine caviar (sounds poncy, tasted lovely), roast potatoes and long parsnip chips.

Happy Birthday Freddie Belly, hope you enjoyed your dinner and your Dallas vs Dynasty party on Saturday.

Saturday arrived and the weather was four seasons in one day – on a quick phase rotation.  Missy G dragged me out of the house to go for a walk around Hyde Park.  As soon as we left the house it started to rain.  Quite heavy too.  But then the sun came out and we dried off.  I sneezed my way around the park, bloody hayfever!  I did feel great for getting some exercise though.  I’m back into my running again tomorrow too.  Life/work/play balance is a priority!

We had a bbq to attend that afternoon and I was a little worried as to how we were going to fare.  I had visions of standing under umbrellas, while trying to juggle a glass of wine and sausage in bread.  We didn’t have to worry though, the weather kind of behaved and Michelle and Ruhan had every contingency covered.  A sturdy pagoda, patio heaters and a large indoor space.  We arrived five hours late, so missed the bbq.  Bummer!  Note to self: arrive on time to get food.  I made myself a stinky camembert cheese roll – it tasted good but smelt kind of bad.  With a thick coating of cheese and bread lining my stomach I let loose on a night of mischief and mayhem. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What an absolutely lovely bunch of people.  I hadn’t known many people before going, but everyone was SO friendly that I had a new social circle by the end of the evening. 

Ruhan and Michelle were fabulous hosts and I’m looking forward to seeing them again at the Silent Disco next week.

I’m back now after a break from my blog, I just caught up with Matt for dinner at Thai Rice down the road.  My Pad See Eiw (spelling, no idea) was fabulous – like pad thai, but better.  We met to chat about our forthcoming trip to Sicily.  I was going to get him over and cook a full Italian meal, keeping in with the theme of the imminent Italian adventure… but I couldn’t be arsed.  I cleaned my room and did my filing instead!  A fresh clean start to an exciting busy week ahead.