ms-havachat discovers Burlington House and More

Fabulous exhibition, and doors, and building

Henri Matisse is one of my favourite artists and I've been fortunate to see a few exhibitions showcasing his work. Matisse in the Studio is currently showing at the Royal Academy of Arts in Burlington House is really special and there's so many pieces I've not seen before.

The audio guide was very interesting too, tho of course, several days later, I can't recall a thing LOL.

What my companion and I always find fascinating about Matisse is he can still be considered relatively modern (1869-1954) though for some reason, most of us think he's from a different generation of artists altogether.

After an hour or so enjoying the exhibition, we started our exploration of Piccadilly by walking across the road to the iconic Fortum & Mason. The store started way back in 1707 and soon became the most fashionable place to shop in London, even being good enough for the Royal Family.

Simple, stylish unassuming entrance to the store

Today, the food hall is one of the most popular places in London to visit, and like a Harrods shopping bag, a tin of Fortum & Mason tea or shortbread biscuits is a London-must-do thing. Recommend buying an extra one for you to have on your way home. They are delicious. The cake and chocolate counters on the ground floor are works of edible art!

Cakes and chocolate like no where else

The Fortum & Mason tea tin.
Too pretty to be thrown away.

Famous Fortnum and Mason Christmas Hampers.
Sales people were busy preparing and wrapping
bespoke orders for destinations
near and far.

It's too early for Christmas decorations and hampers but
here they are

We were VERY surprised to find that not one Christmas decoration had a Fortum and Mason logo on it - not even a stamp underneath the £40 tree decorations. We might have bought one or two as gifts had they had the famous logo somewhere on them (note to Fortnum and Mason's Christmas marketing department for next year maybe)

Harrods has it's Bear, and the Bag, and some Christmas decorations have Harrods on them; my cloth Winchester Cathedral is obvious, as are other decorations. Just think they've missed something here.

Anyhow, we enjoyed our look-see, and by now were a little thirsty and peckish so we indulged ourselves with morning tea at Fortnum and Mason.

Tea, Apple and Cucumber sorbet, avocado on toast.

Did you watch the TV Series, Selfridges? I think that's why I have an fascination with these old established retailers in the UK. To think they've been selling pretty much the same thing for hundreds of years is impressive. That ladies were employed in some of the first salaried jobs, that cosmetics made their debut on the ground floor, is a bit nostalgic.

Feeling refreshed, we walked across the road to the Burlington Arcade for a stroll. Reminded me very much of the Strand Arcade in Sydney (tho not as pretty) and many arcades in Melbourne. The Burlington Arcade was built in 1818/19 at the request of Lord George Cavendish, later the Earl of Burlington for his wife, so she and her friends could shop in peace and quiet (London was rowdy and a tad dirty back then).

The Burlington Arcade is 'destination jewellery' of all types. From diamonds to pearls, all types of watches (upper end of the brand scale only) and a few silver shops. The lalique shop borough back a flood of memories!  There was even a Manolo Blanik shop! It was an interesting stroll, and fun to have a photo with the Beadle. However, the retailers on the OTHER side of the Arcade were something else. It reminded me of walking along Ginza or 5th Avenue, just different architecture.

Every exclusive brand is represented with a stand alone store

There were security guards on all shop doors, and some doors were unlocked to welcome customers, but remained locked otherwise. The window displays were elegant, there were no price tags on show (hehehehehe), and in most cases, we observed there were more staff than customers (several shops were empty except for staff)

We throughly enjoyed our day in and around Piccadilly and Mayfair . I wouldn't necessarily put it on the bucket list of things to do when in London, but it's easy walking and helps fill a couple of hours.

I'm sure there's much more to these iconic areas of London, and I wish you well exploring them.

Wish friendship
x

ms-havachat discovers Pizza East in Shoreditch, London and street art

Another opportunity to stroll an area of London and learn about it's history and place in modern London. There's seriously so much to see and do and learn in this city.

We started with a fascinating history about the area, saw famous street art (even a Banksy  behind glass), the original Stik People and then had a yummy lunch. So what started out as a quick review about Pizza East (which I love), the chat morphed into a bit of a review about the whole day.

Shoreditch has to be one of the most interesting, eclectic areas of London I've explored so far. Sadly the weather was awful - it was cold and wet, which meant looking UP at artwork on buildings wasn't easy with umbrellas, so another visit on a dry day will be organised.

It's probably easier if you simply click here for a brief history as you know me, I love it when I hear it, would love to remember IT ALL to share it with you but ......... apparently I'm not the only one (thank goodness) as several friends on the tour said the same thing. They go back to do their photos on Facebook and think what was that? where were we? what did our guide say?


Walking from the station, we passed Boxpark but didnt' go in. In fact, with this guide, we tend not to go in anywhere! When there's 15+ ladies, it would be a nightmare getting everyone out and keeping on schedule. So we see the exterior of places and make mental notes to return.

The architecture was very mixed, with really interesting history of different nationalities moving in and out of the area of the decades, and with them the food, music and art of their homeland. Some areas were very poor indeed, and as Shoreditch was 'just' outside the walls of London in days gone by, artists and musicians, and the poorer groups of society lived happily here, doing their own thing, away from the rules of within London City. While it's now very much as suburb of London you can feel there's still a bit of that mischief in the air.

With close proximity to London CBD, the area is transforming again into quite a trendy area, expensive housing, fashion, restaurants, galleries and more. If we were empty nesters, and hubby was based in London I think it would be somewhere we'd consider living (if we could afford it)

ROA's work is amazing! This is from Google images, and
when we saw it last week, another artist had
added nomadic native hunters in and around the legs of the animal,
creating a hide'n'seek scenario about hunting and gathering. 

Romeo and Juliet ..... the pub has been left standing in the middle of
an excavation site, ready for redevelopment. The history of the pub,
and the symbolism of this street art ensured it's preservation.
The first performance of Rome and Juliet took place at a theatre close by
(there's two theatres, and each claim this event as their own)

Add caption

One of the areas' most famous artists, and works STIK.
It was wonderful to see this work up close.



THEN WE ATE!

This This entire area is amazing! You really should make the time to visit - a whole day infact. 

You must remember to LOOK all around you, in every direction as sometimes what you need to see isn't always apparent (there's several brightly coloured mushrooms on top of buildings for example, and some street signs have been reworked into art)

You can always do a guided street art tour. 

It's yet another place I'd enjoy going back to as we only scratched the surface and the weather wasn't great.

For Pizza East go to www.pizzaeast.com

The walking tour we did was with a private guide, however, if you simply Google Search for "Shoreditch Street Art Tours' you'll find several to choose from.

With friendship

x

ms-havachat explores Ripley, Surrey

The buildings on the High Street are charming

Ripley, Surrey.

Half way between MrsG and I to meet for lunch. For those of you in London, it's about a 40 minute drive - so not difficult at all! Make time to get out of the city for a day.


The village goes back as far as Norman times (10th and 11th century England). There's a date stamp on the church, St Mary Magdalen of circa 1160 (don't you LOVE history! Considering Australia wasn't even discovered til 1770, these dates always blow my mind) The Churches a Grade II listed building (the second highest of the three categories) and is amongst more than 20 listed buildings and cottages in village.

It's really delightful!

We met at Pinnocks' Cafe (one of the listed buildings) and had tea, and enjoyed the atmosphere so much we stayed for lunch (plus it was really cold outside)

Sweet, authentic Pinnocks Cafe

The service was friendly and you could tell it was frequented by regulars as well as out oft owners (like us). It was so warm and cosy inside, that when we walked in our glasses fogged up! There are several communal tables and a few tables for smaller groups. We were very happy tucked in by the window on a communal table.

Loved the tea cups a saucers, the menu was absolutely home-made foods, and the cakes were delicious. RUSSELL'S MUMS FRUIT CAKE made me smile.

The streets are a photographers delight! 

The streetscape is picturesque, ready for a local artist to come along and interpret. As well as Pinnocks Cafe, the Ship Inn and Ye Old Sweet Shoppe, Clock House are among other Listed Buildings. Each one has been meticulously cared for.

Ceders House Gallery, bottom left, is another listed building. 

www.weyriver.co.uk/theriver

While eating lunch, several groups of professional looking country-walkers came inside for a bit to eat and a hot drink. Ripley Green is apparently the largest in England is 65 acres! Fortunately for the area, it's protected as 'open space' which is fantastic!

While we didn't get there this time, Dunsbourough Park is famous, dating back to 1539 looks amazing. 

There's also the River Wey to be enjoyed on a summers day (too cold for me at the moment). Check out information about the Way Navigation here. 

There's even a LAKE to SAIL on! Papercourt, is a lake of about 44 acres, on 50 acres of land and is where you'll find Papercourt Sailing Club (!)

This gorgeous village is also famous for cycling - with the Olympic Road Race going thru in July 2012.

For more information about this truly beautiful part of Surrey, please go to the website.

I am so glad MrsG suggested we met here for lunch!

You must let me know if you have been to Ripley or if you go ......... 

With friendship

x

ms-havachat dinning at Coworth Park, Surrey

Coworth Park from my car, taken on my phone.

Living a little bit of a high flying expat social life a few weeks ago, I was fortunate to share an early Christmas Luncheon with friends at the stunning Coworth Park in Ascot, part of the Dorchester Hotel Group.

Driving into the estate in the middle of winter is dramatic - naked trees spreading their huge, thick branches inviting you to imagine them covered in foliage. The 240 acres of parkland offers walkers and runners beautiful natural surroundings to immerse themselves in, there's horse riding and/or polo amongst other outdoor activities. All I could think of was how perfect a picnic under the huge trees, or afternoon tea served on the patio would be.

You're only 45 minutes from London, but feel a million miles from anywhere! That's a priceless feeling in this hustle and bustle world, don't you think.

The Spa is on your left as you drive up the private road

The front of the property in understated but
the welcome from the Staff is far from it.

The Reception area blends into the
surrounding lounge area

The fireplace and lounge area behind reception allows
guests to quietly wait while their car or taxi is arriving.

The interior designers should be commended for their
artistic talents with the Christmas decorations though out
Coworth Park.

The restaurant where we had lunch was perfect for a private function.
I loved the ceiling feature, and it's reflection in the mirror
at the end of the room was spectacular.

The Ceiling feature - unique and stunning.

Table setting; Soup for starters which was delicious.
Main course and desert.

Our Luncheon started with a champagne reception, followed by a three course lunch. The lounge area where we sipped on champagne and chatted was decorated for Christmas, and several of us appreciated the artwork on the walls.

The service was 5 star all the way. Each table had 5 waiters serve to the 10 people. It was orchestrated beautifully and was a pleasure to watch. The wait staff would position themselves between guests, and with a nod from the head waiter, in unison plates were served. The staff would return to the kitchen in single file ready to serve the next table.

The soup starter was delicious. The presentation with the softly toasted bread was so pretty. However, the presentation of the main course was disappointing. (Is that rude to say?)  Appreciating they were catering for 74 people at once, the plate was less than appealing to the eye. It's the photo on the left, above - what do you think? 

The layers upon layers of food, the pool of watery gravy (I noticed I was not the only one to hold my fork over the plate allowing the drops of gravy to drip before eating,  the huge carrots looked out of place atop 3 thick slices of turkey. It was delicious to taste, but could have been presented with more finese. Individual or group gravy servers would have been a good start, even a vegetable bowl per two people to self serve rather than having it all piled the plate. Have I been watching too many cooking shows on TV? 

When you compare the presentation of the soup and the desert, one wonders what happened to the kitchen pass for main course. 

Three hours later, we were sipping on coffee and noshing on Christmas cookies ... a great lunch! I thoroughly enjoyed not having to rush off to pick up the tween from school early as she had a late finish that day. As the room cleared of guests, the few remaining moved seats, sipped on coffee and chatted until it was time to go. 

Friends have recommended afternoon tea at Coworth Park (will keep it in mind for a birthday celebration or when we have guests visiting from overseas); and The Barn for family friendly meals. 

The Spa sounds devine too!

Stock photo from Dorchester Collection of The Barn at Coworth Park

All in all, my first experience at Coworth Park was really lovely and I am looking forward to going back with my family in the New Year and dining at The Barn, and sharing an Afternoon Tea with friends at some point in 2017. 

Have you been?
What did you think?

With friendship

x

ms-havachat explores the Borough Markets

A few weeks ago, I spent the best part of the day with friends exploring the incredibly interesting and famous foodie haunt of the Borough Market. It was my third or 4th time there, but the first with an experience guide, so was rather excited to see what we would learn.

Ed from Secret Food Tours London was our guide for the morning. With a background in cooking (including a stint in posh foodie heaven of Wolloomloo Bay in Sydney, an old haunt of mine) Ed shared the history of the markets, as well as interesting information about the stallholders businesses, and the food tastings he'd organised for us as well as highlighting the odd streetscape where movies like Bridget Jones was filmed.

Our lovely guide, Ed at the beginning of our tour.
Sadly no vodka or gin, but the bottles of water
he gave us were appreciated.

We met across the road from London Bridge tube station and walked across London Bridge (didn't realise we were crossing the famous bridge until Ed told us cos it' doesn't look like a bridge these days). We paused for a few minutes and listened to the history of the markets (and if you click here, you'll be able to read all about it as there were so much to remember!) before walking down a flight of stairs into the Borough Markets.

Our first food stop was Scotchtails for Scotch Eggs. Having absolutely nothing to do with Scotland, the first Scotch egg was created by Fortum and Mason in 1738 as a healthy snack to eat on the way home after work. They are just as popular today, tho the flavours of Scotcheggs has changed over the years and you can try some really posh ones at the Markets.

(Frustratingly I have lost several photos from the tour - we had incredible fish and chips, donuts, pork sausage rolls on the tour. Ed is happy to personalise the tour based on dietary requirements, allergies or personal likes/dislikes, so don't be shy when asking)

Look for the blue and white sign towards the back of the Markets.

See the huge round loaf in the front row?
Best rye bread!

Bread Ahead is famous for, you guessed it, bread
AND their baking courses!
We stopped and watched a group kneading their dough
while salivating at the international selection of bread in the window.
Check out the website for details on their baking courses. 

What a butcher!
The choice was amazing, and the counter
for take away cooked food was incredible.
Perfect for dinner parties.

You want to know anything about olives, ask these people.
From oils, to pate, to tea, to creams it's all here.
Check out their website here 

The seafood!!
Fresh! Delicious!
The hot fish'n'chips out of paper were scrumptious!

Mrs D's favourite cheese is found here, at the
Drunk Cheese stall. You simply tell him how much to cut and
he expertly slices it off the round. YUM!

Just look at the date!!!!!!!!!!

We finished our Tour here, at the MUG HOUSE, under the
last surviving original arch of London Bridge.
The place is charming and quirky.
We enjoyed a British cheese platter and some wine
before saying thank you to Ed and heading
back to school to pick up kids.

The other interesting aspect of the Markets is it's use in films. Stony Street (between Park and Southwark) was where parts of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was filmed; while Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was filmed on Stony Street too. Paddington, Salmon Fishing in the Yemon, The Golden Compass, and several BBC shows to name a few. The buildings and alley ways, the ol' fashioned style of markets just lends itself to this kind of thing. 

Recognise Bridget Jones' apartment block?
It's a pub on the edge of the Markets.

There's so much to experience at the Borough Markets (and surrounding area) that it really is a great day out in one part of historical London. If you have a flexible itinerary, maybe think about going mid-week to avoid the weekend crowds. It's when the 'locals' do their weekly shop and tourists visit too on their City Breaks. Of course, this lends to the atmosphere, but it's also crazy busy. 

It's a great place to remember to visit and shop at when having dinner parties. Take your shopping bags and a freezer bag, just in case. I'd also recommend a wheelie-style bag or trolley as the shopping can get heavy (wink, wink).

If you're interested, I usually come home with:

A round of rye bread.

A round of grain bread.

Olive paste and other yummy antipasto delights (Borough Olives)

Olive Tea and specialist oils (Oliveology)

Cupcakes (whichever takes my fancy on the day)

Various cheeses (sorry, don't have a favourite)

Sausage rolls (Ginger Pig)

MrsD loves Spice Mountain, Drunk Cheese, Oliveology and Borough Olives.

If I remember the freezer bag with ice bricks (for the train ride home) - fish and meat (again, it just depends on what I'm wanting, so no favourite stall)

For more information about the Borough Markets, click here to go to their website.

If you go to the Markets, please pop onto ms-havachat on Facebook and let me know what you thought. 

With friendship

x