There is a question that I have long asked myself; Will anyone care if I go to dinner with a spider on my head? Not a real spider of course (ew, shudder) no, a glam sparkly spidey fascinator sitting jauntily atop my crown. I was determined to find out eventually, and so I found myself…
Tag: londonlife
A pilgrimage to Pophams Bakery
Sometimes you hear about people going on pilgrimages, and the way that it’s described it’s always a transcendent experience. They often find things, whatever it is they are searching for. Peace, forgiveness, enlightenment, acceptance, understanding. A way of being, a way of seeing, a path. Now, I’m not a religious person, but I do believe…
Five gauges of success – El Ganso
I’ve been learning lately about the relative perceptions of success. Six year old me thought that ‘making it’ was being prima ballerina Margot Fontaine. When I was in high school it was getting grades as good as my sister. After finishing university with a fashion degree I saw it as becoming head designer at Dior….
Truffle’s beef shin nuggets at Broadway Market
It’s saturday and the sun is shining, unusual for London. I have become used to the grey and my unmistakeably ghostly pallour. Now the sky is bright and I feel a warmth across my back. I am wearing slippers but I soon discard them and walk barefoot around my small patio. At intervals I bend down to pull up weeds from…
Andy Waugh – Mac & Wild
I first met Andy Waugh, founder of Scottish restaurant Mac & Wild, a few weeks ago at a work event. I was happily downing the prosecco and he was presenting a haggis masterclass. It was the evening before Burns night, the perfect time to be learning about haggis. While I know intellectually what haggis is,…
Temple of Seitan – Hackney
Towards the end of 2017 I agreed to a two-week vegan challenge with my friend. She had just watched ‘Cowspiracy’ on Netflix and was experiencing the after effects of having a perspective of reality slap her across the face. It was decided, she was going vegan and I was joining her in the quest. Months…
Fried Green Tomatoes and Po’Boys at Plaquemine Lock
For some time I worked down the road from an abandoned pub called the Prince of Wales. I’d always felt a bit sad for it. There it sat, on the corner in Angel, Islington, across from the Regents canal. It looked dilapidated, deserted and unloved. I had hoped some Good Samaritan would come and give…
Tortilla at Laxeiro Tapas Bar and another life lesson.
Here’s this thing, life isn’t always perfect. Sometimes it’s great, other times it can be stressful, disappointing, underwhelming. I’m going through a bit of a process at the moment. The more I live, get out of my own head and relax into the moment, the more I have a tenable understanding of how lucky I am…
Txotx – Finding my inner om with a green smoothie and mushroom toast.
I realized something at yoga yesterday. I really don’t like to om. I don’t even like listening to other people do it. I think I might associate it in my mind with the time my dad went through his weird Tibetan throat singing phase. Not quite as bizarre as the aliens that lived on the…
‘The Typing Project’ wine tasting at Laithwaite’s.
Have you ever considered how the visuals of a wine label influences the way in which you drink and enjoy the wine? I suppose I have, but only in the sense that I will often buy a wine based on whether or not I like the label. I’m no expert, but generally I know what…
Mildred’s Vegetarian Soho – A flavourful taste sensation
I once spent six months as a vegetarian. It was a reaction to working in the kibbutz kitchen when I lived in Israel. My job, especially on a Friday before the Sabbath, was to lop the limp, dangly necks off a few hundred chickens, and stuff a mixture of potatoes, herbs and spices up their…
Moro – A North African and Spanish style riot of flavours AKA. Post work-out treat
On Wednesday I went to a HIIT class. For the uninitiated, that’s High Intensity Interval Training, involving squats, push ups, dumbbells and so on. Basically, some guy with more steel than Robocop yells “You can do better!” while you run around like a demented hamster, sweat every last bit of salt out of your body,…