Little Black Book: Part 2

First thing's first, happy Halloween! I hope you're having a spook-tacular day...!

So, today's post is I'm afraid not in the least bit spooky. Instead, I'm going to tell you about two places which I really feel you should visit once you have recovered from your candy-coma.

The first is a brunch spot up in Crouch End called The Haberdashery. It's a tiny rustic restaurant, eclectically filled with bunting, tea cups and local artists' work. And, most importantly, it serves the best brunch!

It is this place that my boyfriend and I would often go and order enough food for a medium sized family. I'd order the avocado toast with two poached eggs (served with a shot of carrot juice) and my boyfriend would order the hedonist breakfast which was a combination of both the full English AND the vegetarian version. Then, we'd likely share a side of French toast or pancakes. Sometimes, I'd even order the poached pears in porridge as well! I can definitely say we indulged, but the food was so good it was hard not to!

However, my favourite bit of any brunch here was the small bowl of white hot chocolate which I couldn't not order, festooned with mini marshmallows. Pure heaven and not to be missed!

The second place I wish to share with you is perhaps the best pizza restaurant in London. Now, I'm not a massive pizza fiend - I didn't even eat much of it as a student, despite this seemingly being the staple university diet, but this pizza is honestly delicious. It's from a place in Notting Hill called Pizza Metro where the pizza comes in meter long strips and is cooked in a wood fired oven.

I was first introduced to Pizza Metro as a takeaway whenever we had a lazy dinner over at Frankie's and Demi's, but eventually we got around to visiting the restaurant too. In the restaurant, you can have multiple flavours all down the length of the same bit of dough!

My absolute favourite flavour is the Percorina, a white pizza covered in goats cheese, red onions and mozzarella. Honestly, I could eat this and only this for the rest of my life it is just that good!

The nice thing about the restaurant is that it's inexpensive and they're good at accommodating last minute large groups - the photo below was taken late at night when the need for food had struck our party after an evening in a cocktail bar! We caused minor havoc with our ordering, but the staff took it all with a smile. What more could you possibly ask for?!

So that's it for round two of my Little Black Book. Let me know what's in yours!

Little Black Book: Part 1

The absolute joy of living in a place like London is there is an absolute plethora of things to do. Every day, you can stumble across a new café, bar or cool place to visit. Not only that, but there are some old favourites that you'll forever find yourself going back to. Therefore, I've decided to do a series of posts sharing with you some of my new finds and personal faves. Welcome to my little black book. 

First up, the rooftop of Selfridges. Now, if you're looking for views over London, this perhaps isn't the best place to go, but what I really like about this space is the fact it's always evolving. New concepts and pop-ups seem to be brought in seasonally, along with a new look and a new menu. The first time I visited, it was decked up as a fairy-tale winter forest and since then, the roof has had a number of different looks. Currently, it's 'Il Tetto' a rustic, Italian inspired restaurant. 

Now, at this point, I have to say I have never eaten up on the roof. But I have most definitely drunk up there and I have to say I have been very happy with the cocktails each time. Fairly 'normally' priced for London cocktails (around the nine quid mark, which I appreciate whilst not cheap, is also not extortionate when compared to other 'up-market' venues) and definitely well presented and tasty. Personally, I really enjoy huddling out on the terrace, under a thoughtfully provided blanket, warming my hands on one of their wintry concoctions! 

Next, a lunch or dinner spot which I love - Pinto Thai. Located on the Upper Richmond Road in Putney, this small restaurant is the answer to all of your Thai foody needs. The restaurant itself has a quite cool modern vibe, whilst still managing to let you know what kind of food is served. It's also not a stranger to solo diners, with a bar-style table lining one wall. 

The colourful menu easily helps you decide what to order and the food is served in round tin dishes which verge on hipstery-cool. Most importantly, the food is delicious! As in, scraping-around-the-tin-to-get-every-last-grain-of-rice delicious. I would especially recommend the lemongrass chicken and a glass of milky Thai iced tea.  

My final spot for this first 'Little Black Book' post is a place I love to visit when I fancy a little breath of fresh air - Fulham Palace gardens and Bishops Park. This is a beautiful area which runs along the river and is perfect for a stroll or even a summer picnic. You can wander through the beautifully manicured palace grounds, admiring the formal flowerbeds within the walled gardens or walk further down through the park until you hit the beautiful pond area where ducklings paddle in the spring. 

The park is also a bit of a staple venue in the Fulham calendar - the Oxford Cambridge boat race starts nearby and so big screens are set up to watch the race on whilst funfair rides whirl on the grass. On bonfire night, fireworks in the park fly up and light up the river, and throughout the summer, an open air cinema pays a visit, projecting classic films among the trees. 

So that's it for part 1 - I'll be back soon with more places which are worth becoming a staple part of your stomping ground! 

Let me know if you have any great places you'd like to share! 

Their Mortal Remains and the Importance of Being a Londoner

Last weekend, I had a rather eventful day. I was planning on catching one of the final viewings of the Pink Floyd exhibition, Their Mortal Remains, at the V&A, but on my journey there, I got caught up in the terrorist-attack-which-wasn't-an-attack.

As I stepped off the tube at South Kensington, I heard an announcement over the tannoid. We were being asked by an automated voice to make our way, calmly and quickly, to the nearest exit. The press of people filtering out of the station were visibly anxious - recent events in London have left most of us on edge, but it was impressive to see that no one was in a full blown panic. As we exited the station, we were confronted by walls of blue and white tape and armed police blockading the roads. A helicopter chattered overhead and people were milling around, not quite sure where to go now that their destination had been cut off. Something had apparently gone down on Exhibition road, but nobody quite knew what.

Of course, it eventually transpired that an Uber driver had bowled over a bunch of pedestrians outside the front of the Natural History museum. He wasn't a terrorist, just a dangerous driver and luckily no one had been seriously hurt. But it was amazing to see the response to a potentially awful situation in action. Our London police force had responded at lightning speed and everyone you bumped into in the crowded street was helpful, looking out for the people around them. Whether it was offering a moment of reassurance, or letting you know which street hadn't been blocked off yet. Personally, I feel this is incredibly important - it shows that in the face of potential disaster, Londoners pull together to support those around them.

After winding through a convoluted route of backstreets, I finally made it to the V&A. Moments later, I was being handed a headset and was entering down the psychedelic rabbit hole and into Their Mortal Remains.

The exhibition was fabulous! I am by no means a huge Pink Floyd fan - they're a band of my Dad's era, so I grew up with their music in the background, but it was never something I paid a huge amount of attention. However, following the exhibition, I'm going to make an effort to listen to more!

The exhibition followed the band's journey from student-y band to world-famous (yet mysteriously anonymous) rock royalty, showing how their performance had changed over the years and demonstrating just how ground breaking they were for their time.

A Pink Floyd gig was a riot of colour, lights and puppets. Huge inflatables would hang over the venue, a terrifying 'teacher' puppet loomed from the stage, eyes blazing while their signature circular screen would flash movies and animations behind the band. For their 'Wall' tour, they even built a giant structure out of individual white bricks. A performance was a full on production!

The exhibition was huge and incredibly well put together. Your headsets would automatically play different audio as you got closer to certain exhibits or videos. Props, posters and instruments were on the display whilst lights flashed around you. You could even play with a mixing deck and create your own version of a Pink Floyd track.

The exhibition ended in a concert - everyone sat around on the floor as a wrap around screen played Comfortably Numb from their 2005 reunion at Live 8, as lasers danced overhead. It was strangely emotional, a reminder of musical genius which is rarely seen in music today.

Edinburgh (Not Quite) Adventures

So, the nature of my ('proper', full-time, non-blogging) job means that I am required to be wherever my clients are. For the majority of my career, I've been lucky enough to be based in London, beavering away happily in the city and not in some god-forsaken wasteland in the middle of nowhere (or on an oil rig in the north sea, as one unfortunate colleague ended up at). However, recently I was asked to leave the cozy south and travel up to Edinburgh for part of my working week.

Now, initially I was pretty grumpy about this. In terms of traveling, Edinburgh was just about as far as you can be reasonably be expected to travel on a weekly basis. AND, it's COLD. To add insult to injury, in order to get there at a reasonable time to do any form of work on a Monday, I am rudely forced out of bed at 5am. I'm telling you now, 5am is a time of night I will never be happy to see.

However, as you may have notice from my Instagram, Edinburgh is undeniably a beautiful city. Full of wide, sweeping streets, beautiful old building and more spires than you can shake a stick at, it cuts quite the impression. The city is watched over by the imposing castle, located on a hill in the city center. Walking through the streets in the evening, I love looking at the lit up monuments (which seem to be everywhere) and listening to the haunting notes of a busker's bagpipes playing the Skye Boat Song* (a tune which has taken on a whole new life in my head ever since having become obsessed with Outlander...). Yes, I'm a cliché in a bucket, but I don't care. 

The problem with working up in Edinburgh is that I don't have the luxury of daytime hours to explore the city, so now I'm going to turn to you dear readers. Please, let me know your recommendations of things to do in Edinburgh outside of 'usual' hours. Where should I visit and what should I see to get a real feel of the city? What things shouldn't be missed? And, perhaps most importantly, where should I eat? 

So, help a travelling Londoner in need  and send your recommendations this way! 

*Controversially, I also love the tram....