Surrey Summer Carnivals

As I was wistfully scrolling through my photos, reminiscing about my birthday, I stumbled across these and realised I’d totally broken my promise to update you on my shenanigans during my Summer hiatus. So, better late than never, here’s my version of the Notting Hill Carnival.

As you will notice it was actually the Frimley Green Carnival. Who needs London! Throughout the summer, the various towns and villages that make up Surrey were filled with floats, second hand books, tombolas & candy floss at some point. I was lucky to attend one on a rare swelteringly hot day in Britain.

How did these guys know that tartan would be in this season?!!? 

The theme for the procession was Adventurers and Explorers.

Suffering for my art this Borg soaked me with his water pistol as I tried to capture him on camera.

Everyone looks good in a Princess Leia costume

 I have an early Christmas cracker joke for you… What do you do when you see a spaceman?  Park in it, man!

Ok so this was not of the same scale as the Notting Hill Carnival and lacks the vast amount of sequins and bare flesh but it remains, a country carnival still has all the fun of the fair and I was glad to go home with my prize from the coconut shie.

Bathrobe Day at Coworth Park

In a bid to get in holiday shape before my birthday I entered the Aerobathon at my local  gym. It entailed 12 hours of consecutive classes dressed up as a superhero and included vital complimentary snacks all in the name of charity. I went as brooding billionaire Bruce Wayne’s alter ego.

It also doubled up as an outfit for a movie themed fancy dress birthday party. Yes that is me carrying several pieces of birthday cake in coca cola napkins. That’s the best kind of cake! I’m definitely going to steal the minion idea for the next time. Isn’t that outfit genious?!

Anyway the day after the gym I ached from head to toe and just sitting up in bed was a struggle let alone getting out of it. I found rolling out was a useful tactic. This could very easily have turned into a duvet day but struggle I did as I wasn’t going to miss my appointment. I managed to run myself an ice cold bath which numbed the pain long enough for me to get dressed and drive down to Coworth Park in Ascot, a hotel part of the Dorchester collection known for its polo days.

Set in acres of beautiful gardens I was already feeling calm, serene and looking forward to my well deserved spa day. I was greeted by the ladies at the front desk who showed me around before ushering me to the changing rooms. I was determined to make the most of the facilities so I quickly changed into one of the sumptuous robes and headed for the pool.

The pool was just what I needed. The water was warm enough to soften my aching body and the underwater music relaxed my mind. The sauna helped a lot too but made me thirsty. Thankfully they provide plenty of lemon water around the pool for you to help yourself but I needed something a little stronger so that I didn’t fall asleep and miss my massage appointment. I headed up to the Spatisserie for my morning cuppa.

The windows were wide open so it had all the fresh air of eating outdoors whilst also providing the privacy to feel comfortable sat in a bathrobe. I sank into a sofa with a magazine still in my robe (isn’t that brilliant!!) and slurped up my pot of tea with mini cranberry muffins. Fruit = health, right?

After tea I managed to get in a few more laps in the pool before heading to my Moor Mud experience. The treatment is perfectly prescribed after any strenuous sport to soothe tired aching muscles. I had plenty of those. It uses the thick black mud from the lowlands of Eastern Europe legendary for its therapeutic properties. Well, if it’s good enough for Gwyneth Paltrow….

My masseuse was great. Very calming and friendly which made the experience all the better. After my treatment she led me back to the waiting room where I could help myself to the cucumber water and I popped a few Florentine things even though I knew I was headed for lunch shortly.

 Still in my robe I sat down in the Spatisserie again for lunch starting with a very tasty juice cocktail before my salmon bagel arrived.

As always, dessert was the best course. The blackcurrant and chocolate mousse looked so incredibly rich I wondered if it fitted in with the spa but was so pleasantly surprised how light and yet how chocolate-y it was. You need this in your life! If I had the recipe I’d be telling you how to make it instead you’re going to have to head to Coworth Park to try it out.

BTW – muscles ached for days!

The Lord of the Vyne

Another weekend and another little drive. This time to The Vyne country estate in Basingstoke. The reason for my visit; their Roman ring exhibit said to have inspired Tolkein’s tomes. I don’t know what Frodo and Sam were doing for three books, it only took me 30 mins and one blog post to find my way to Mount Doom, the possible source of the power of the one ring.

The exhibit features lots of information about the history of the ring and you are invited to give your opinion whether you think it did inspire Tolkein or not by placing a gold ring in one of the two towers.

The Vyne also holds events outdoors similar to the concerts at Kenwood House and the ampitheatre in Regents Park. One for the Dr Johnson page.

Although today was a little chilly and I was more interested in the inside of the house. I have always imagined a staircase like this in my dream home.

The most relaxed dead man I have ever seen. 

I think the holly is meant to be a do not sit sign. Ingenious!

This made me crave a tea from the tea shop where they use produce from the walled garden in their menu. 

Found this in the gift shop and may have inspired a visit for another weekend.

Handmade Burger Company

I’ve been quiet for far too long but I do have a few things to tell you. Where do I start (if the title hasn’t given it away)…. well the reason I’ve been so quiet is because my sister visited. I had planned a fun-packed weekend for her which focused on eating. I know how to please my big sis!

I took her on a drive to Reading for a lunch of burgers by the river. Burgers can be a contentious issue between us as I’m a steadfast GBK fan whereas my sister is a Byron fan. And here I was throwing a third into the mix. What really excited me about this place is they have stuffed burgers and I was desperate to try them.

What sets the handmade burger company apart is that they make their burgers to order so you can tailor it to exactly how you like it. They use sour dough buns from a long line of bakers and their beef is fully traceable which is why I think the place was very busy with the recent horsemeat chaos and also why we had to wait ages for our order to arrive. Thankfully they had refillable soft drinks to pass the time.

I went for the cheddar and chilli stuffed burger and although it didn’t look as stuffed as I was expecting it was still very juicy and went down a treat.

My sister can never wait long enough for me to take the shot

The burger was slightly mishapen which I took as sign that the burger was indeed handmade. The chips were delicious too, especially with the blue cheese dip. My sister went for the Jimmy burger and was impressed with the flavour and the dribbly juicy-ness of it but not the size.

We didn’t struggle at all in finishing our meals and both wondered whether we should order a third burger to share. If we were in any other burger establishment we’d usually be completely stuffed by now. I’m still putting this in as a London challenger as I haven’t come across stuffed burgers on menus in the capital.

Oh well at least the loo doors distracted us long enough not to turn us into greedy little pigs.

Bill’s Restaurant

You may have seen that I recently went to Bill’s in Guildford last weekend for a Surrey blogger meetup. I felt that this place deserved its own post especially as I’d like to pit it against London.

I met 9 lovely ladies over Saturday brunch. It was very much like Sex and the City x2. So what does Carrie Bradshaw say about brunch….

“There are very few things this New Yorker loves as much as Sunday brunch. You can sleep till noon and still get eggs anywhere in the city. Alcohol is often included in the meal.”

Breakfast is served at Bill’s from 8am to 1pm at weekends so technically you could sleep until noon and still get your eggs (depending on your vicinity to a Bill’s). Plus they do serve cocktails and I think the bloody mary would go well with your eggs. Although whilst I was there I had the bengali spice tea. I had to, being Bengali.

It was difficult to pick just one thing to eat off the menu as everything sounded so tasty. I plumped for the french toast and oh boy was I glad I did! It was the perfect mix of eggy bread with crunchy walnuts, sweet maple syrup and sour yoghurt with a sprinkle of fruit to make you feel healthy. I just wish the portion was a little bigger!!

I almost went for the award winning vegetarian breakfast option. They have a similar recipe for it on their website so I’ve planned to make it this weekend. I’m on my way to buy avocadoes now so that they’re perfectly ripe by the weekend. If you’d like to make your own too check out the recipe on their website.

All in all this chain has many locations, several of which are in London, and more on the way and I can see why. I’m all over this joint. It even competes on a New York scale! So it’s going up on my London doppelganger page.

Four Seasons Hampshire

I have to admit that I haven’t really been successful in finding the London lifestyle outside of the great city. So one of my tasks for the next few weeks is to work harder at it.

Sunday was my first proper attempt. There are three Four Season hotels in the UK, two of which are in London and I went to the third in Hampshire. So I think I’ve done pretty well here.

The hotel is exquisite! A Georgian manor house set on its own vast green rolling grounds. The staff are impeccably courteous, considerate and endeavour to satisfy your every need and I was only there for a spa treatment.

The therapist talked through my concerns and made me smell several products in order to personally tailor my facial. An extremely relaxing experience! It included a scalp, neck and shoulder massage so I made use of the facilities afterwards to wash out my hair.

Fluffy robes and towels

Never seen mouthwash available like this

I didn’t want to leave…. so I didn’t and sat down to afternoon tea. I was on my own so the hotel had laid out the Sunday paper to keep me company.

homemade preserves; strawberry jam, lemon curd, marmalade

Before deciding what tea I had, I was presented with a box of little bottles each containing a tea on the menu for me to sniff. I chose the jubilee tea.

The sandwiches; cheese and caramelised onion, chicken and herbs, salmon, chestnut and roasted pepper. I don’t eat pork but it was no trouble for them to accommodate me as the gammon was substituted for something else.

On the tasty plate; tiramisu square bite, walnut cheescake, mini apple doughnut and a chocolate orange tart. I did well and managed to finish each plate and even asked for more sandwiches. I felt fuller than I did at Christmas!! Greedy me!! So I took a little walk around the hotel afterwards…

I slept very well that night.

Ladies Who Lunch Online

I think I have finally done it. I have found a place that is ‘worthy’ of London out here in Farnborough. Although it is a fancy hotel and that may be considered cheating as hotels always cater for smart business types. However I did notice a group of ladies-who-lunch stopping in for a bite so I’m counting it.

I arranged to have lunch at the Deli at the Aviator. It’s very cool as you can pre-order your food using the online order form and have it on your lap as soon as you sit down. Perfect when you need to fit lunch into a busy work schedule.

The menu ranges from hot lunches to big sandwiches and most things are also available for take-away should you wish to eat at your desk instead. I was sticking to the Dukan diet as much as possible after my chocolate mug cake so I chose the steamed mussels without the cream. I love it when an order arrives exactly how you’ve asked for it!!

A big ol’ pile of tiger bread and a very clever lemon

It was the ideal spot to get away for an hour and catch up on the day’s TV news in between mouthfuls of delicious hot garlic-ky seafood. Luckily the news wasn’t heavy and focused more on the female singers at Obama’s second inauguration.

Aviator is a beautifully luxurious hotel in Farnborough. As it’s based in the UK capital of aeronautical-ness, convenient for the airport and as the name suggests, there is a theme….  things that fly. Even the building is shaped like a giant propellor. I usually judge a hotel by the ladies’ room. Not quite the four seasons but still fancy as they have thick paper towels in addition to hand dryers.

All the food is sourced locally so I shall be back to try out the Brasserie and the Skybar looks amazing!

Girls Just Wanna…

I still ache from the night this picture was taken and I still have the bruises but don’t let that put you off pole dancing. I went to a taster session with a couple of friends recently. I didn’t know what to expect but the instructor was very welcoming and made us all laugh which put us at ease. It’s a great way to tone and define but the classes also teach you to put sultry, sexy movements into mini routines. A great little party trick to have up your sleeve.

If you would like to have a go, details are on their website. I know pole dancing is all the rage but I don’t think you can really find a pole studio in many places other than Londinium.

Pride and Joy

As you may already know, I am learning to play this song on the guitar. So when I passed this shop of the same name on my travels I had to stop in. Turns out it’s a vintage shop near Basingstoke. Vintage is everywhere now but little boutique wouldn’t be out of place in the East End of London

       

Lavender Christmas gifts

During my recent exploration of Hampshire, I stumbled on a little place perfect for last minute Christmas gifts. It’s perfect because there aren’t many people that know about it so you can avoid the usual hustle and bustle of the high street. Also the items are not what you would normally find and would have to travel far and wide to source them unless you call London your home.

Also on site is a textile shop perfect for unusual oriental rugs, scarfs, throws etc. 

Located off the Selbourne Road (B3006).