Piano & Paperbacks

‘My parents were fanatic in their passion; we were a family with no talent for playing but great pride in our listening.’ – City of Thieves, David Benioff.

Brighton & Breakfast

London is my number one, always will be, but I like to take myself away for a weekend every so often. I miss countryside, I miss the sea and I like to explore unknown towns… Last year I fell in love with Edinburgh and Dublin is next on the list. Despite growing up in the South East I’ve not spent nearly enough time in Brighton so this weekend I went to visit a friend who lives in a cozy bay windowed flat in the lanes. Brighton provided a lovely weekend full of friends, food, films, wine, shopping and chats to brighten up what had been an extra-bleak January week.

Friday night was rushing from work, fizzy wine on the train, chilly student pubs, live music and the Green-door club. Saturday was the most amazing brunch in a delicious little French café called ‘Mange Tout’, followed by exploring the lines of small shops – full of floral things, smelling of soap and sweets, art galleries and the farmers market – escaping from the cold with cupcakes and chai lattes in a hidden café with a jumble sale interior. A hurried walk to the seafront to smell the sea then back to the flat to nap and watch ‘Hallam Foe’ from under duvets before heading out for a gossipy dinner… with just a little more wine.

Tea Leaves & Chatter.

I’m a lover of wondering chat with friends in cosy cafes and a world without tea is not one I would like to exist in… my new favourite place to have a cup is Yumchaa – a gorgeous tea room on the corner of Berwick Street in Soho (plus another two equally lovely branches in Camden). The cafe is snug – as any true tea shop should be – the atmosphere is relaxed and fresh, brightened with large windows, bare brick walls, bare floor boards and mismatched wooden furniture.

Little labelled jugs filled with fragrant tea leaves are laid out across the counter to be sniffed and selected… Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Assam, Lapsang, Jasmine, Chelsea Chai… cute candy flavours; Caramel Sweetheart, Lemon Sherbert, Raspberry Vanilla and the more mysterious romantically named leaves; Enchanted Forest, Midnight Grey, Walk in the Woods and Wanderlust.

The process of drinking intriguing and refreshing tea made from real tea leaves with your own little tea pot and strainer is wonderfully soothing and the perfect accompaniment to lazy lunch break gossip, I’m trying every single one…

Honey & Thistles.

Winnie the Pooh gives me a warm golden childhood glow – apart from the Heffalumps and Woozels, they are genuinely terrifying – I can’t wait for the new film. I’m brimful with gratitude for Disney for not turning it into one of their usual angular, eye-poppingly colourful, morality laden, fashionable 3D ordeals about talking kettles or what not. It looks funny, cute, classy and true to the original illustrations. Hundred Acre Wood, here I come.

Fireworks & Rum.

I went to my first big London fireworks display at Battersea Park last night; wrapping up in fur coat and leather gloves, walking across a muddy field, the smell of bonfire, music, numb toes, fireworks like dripping gold tinsel and pink sequins and Sailor Jerry’s in the pub afterwards…

Dale Cooper & Dancing Midgets.

I have recently embarked on a journey to discover who killed the unfortunate Laura Palmer, in other words I’ve started watching the a-mazing early 90’s TV series, Twin Peaks.

Surreal, funny, scary and moving, Twin Peaks is the kind of series that takes over your life, you can’t just dip into it, you have to forsake your friends, shut the door and resign yourself to back-to-back episode viewing.

The plot is gripping and increasingly bizarre, the dialogue funny, poetic and poignant and the score works perfectly – still, the real joy of the show lies with the characters. The bad-guys are genuinely creepy, the schoolgirls with their wavy dark bobs and snappy lines would be at home in the cult John Hughes film ‘Heathers’ and the CIA Agent Cooper, sent to the town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of the troubled prom queen, is one of my absolute favourite characters ever, immaculately acted by Kyle MacLachlan.

Cats & Kittens.

As an unashamed cat lover (regardless of the crazy spinster connotations) this advert turns me in an ‘awwwing’ wreck….

I’m off to Ikea and I’m coming back with TEN KITTENS.