The London Library

A wonderful evening at the truly lovely London Library - a gem of a building tucked away in the corner of St James Square just a short walk from bustling Picadilly.
Thank you Jane Austen House Museum for organising this event.

A Day Out On The South Bank

Sculpture in the Hayes

Art everywhere you look

On the viewing deck of The Shard

A misty day but views are still incredible

 A spot of lunch

Entertainment by Tate Modern

Serpentine and V&A

 A walk through Kensington Gardens

To see the elephant at the gallery

The amazing man-made lines of Zaha Hadid's design

The beauty of the natural world 

Lovely view at Lido cafe

Competition at the tables!

Quick visit to the V&A

The perfect writing retreat?

So easy to catch the Heathrow Connect train to take our flight to Copenhagen. Then by train over the amazing Oresund bridge to Lund in Sweden. Just a short (but very expensive) taxi ride and we arrived at the vineyard Flaadie; the venue for the wedding and our hotel for the next couple of days.

A delightful hotel, small but perfectly formed. Methinks it would be the perfect venue for a writing or reading retreat as there are lots of lovely break out spaces. 

My favourite was the book lined snug, tucked away near a courtyard.

Happy Sunday

 An unseasonably warm and sunny Sunday, so BH, dog and I walked down towards the canal, buying a paper on the way. Happily found a pub.

Despite being on a main road they had tried to make the 'garden' a pleasant place to sit. With the sun on my face I felt wonderful.

 Fullers ale for BH and a Guinness for me; we couldn't resist some snacks while waiting for the food.

 Chicken pie and all the trimmings for me...

...mushroom risotto for BH.

Just what Sundays are all about.

Happy days.

Book Review: The List of my Desires by Gregoire Delacourt

The List of my Desires by Gregoire Delacourt, translated by Anthea Bell, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

In the vein of The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, The List of my Desires gives the reader an insight into the mind and emotions of a seemingly ordinary middle-aged woman in France.

Facing the empty-nest syndrome and questioning if this really is all there is to her life, Jocelyne starts to list her desires.


Then one day she wins the lottery and begins to question what it is she really wants from life...

Delightful and charming.

Richard Rodgers at the Royal Academy

The Royal Academy was host to an exhibition on Richard Rodgers called Inside Out.

So on a Friday after work BH and I were able to travel there, enjoy the exhibition and still be home in time for Strictly Come Dancing! The joy of being in London.

Book Review: Heading Out To Wonderful by Robert Goolrick

Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick, pub Hutchinson here in UK. Inspired by a tale told to Goolrick this is a classic story of 'a stranger came to town'. 

Not my usual fare, but one of those tales that takes you lightly by the hand and before you know it you're running through the pages out of breath…

Images of the vast plains of central America and Hollywood glamour are set against small town friendliness and Christian morality.

Open House London 2013

Looks traditional from the front...

Architects' flyer.

...but round the back...

..amazing!

West Ealing Soundbite Festival

Walking down to the main road to use the cashpoint on Saturday evening, delighted to stumble upon this mini festival going on in Dean Gardens.

Delicious picnic box from Cheddar Deli from Northfield Avenue: strong cheddar, date & walnut bread, cranberry chutney and the dark cheese is imbued with stout!

Talking of stout...

So food and drink sorted, settled down to listen to the music: these are the Bollywood Brass Band.

Art Pass

 Hooray! They've arrived. Discovered these wonderful Art Passes; they give free or discounted entrance to all sorts of arts venues.
While the money paid goes towards buying art for everyone.

Never without art.

The free bag that came with the passes - love the motto.

My favourite shop...

 A damp drisley day but the shop front of Gudren Sjoden at Seven Dials looks colourful and welcoming.

Welcome in...

Love the colourful collection of lampshades; maybe I could something like this in the top landing...

















...treated myself to a wonderful raincoat, perfect for walking the dog, and it has a hood.