A little glimpse of a typical London summer: fancy negronis on outdoor terraces, sailboats on the Thames, pains au chocolat, and the Tate; slow mornings and all the neighbours’ hydrangeas...
FOR QUITE some time, we had intended to visit Primrose Hill, the charming neighbourhood in northwest London nestled between Camden Town and Regent’s Park. However, it was the opening of a new bagel shop on Regent’s Park Road that proved to be the incentive we needed to finally make the excursion.
IT WAS a beautiful sunny day in late December when we stopped by The Orange gastro pub, an historical gem nestled in the heart of Belgravia. Thought to be named after William of Orange, its origins trace back to the 1800s when it was originally established as a brewery on the grounds of a former coffee house.
YES, I KNOW, the holidays are over, and we (sadly) took down the tree yesterday and all the lights, but there are still so many beautiful photos we took in the past month that just didn’t think it would be right not to share them.
MAYFAIR was our last Life Lately, at the beginning of October, and it was all beautifully laid out in wide-screen format⏤best viewed on a desktop⏤but now more of you are here via your phones, so we’ll make this one (which is actually in two parts) a single layout to fit your screens while you’re out and about.
WE HAVE been meaning to get to Hampstead for a while now, mostly for The Holly Bush, but also to have a look around the neighbourhood, which we heard was lovely.
DON'T OFTEN GET a chance to answer many of your Instagram DMs, but have noticed that many questions seem to be around similar topics, so I thought it might be helpful to address some common things here. And while it's lovely of you to compliment my hair, I am unable to share my current stylist's information for privacy reasons, but do very much appreciate the kind words and will be sure to pass them along.
ONE OF our favourite things to do in London is stroll the down tree-lined streets of Mayfair, amongst the Georgian townhouses with their grand façades, all intricate architecture and delicate wrought iron detailing.
THERE ARE literally over four thousand photos on my phone at the moment, many of which I'd meant to sort through and file away into digital memory boxes but forgot about when new photos took their place. I may be feeling crushed by their spatial weight as an unfinished task in my mind, so I've decided to share a few a them here in a series of Life Lately photo diaries...
I believe in fully immersing myself in places when I live there. When we lived in Edinburgh, I embraced warm pubs on rainy days and long walks in the New Town.
OUR FIRST visit to Mc & Sons was actually by chance. We were walking out of Vauxhall station and passed the pub along the way, P thinking it was the one he’d been telling me about that serves Thai food...
WE STOPPED by The Kings Arms in down-to-earth Bethnal Green after P‘s hair appointment, which was nearby. It may have been one of the pubs that was on the list compiled by the Substack that he subscribes to, so I think that’s how we found it.
A LITTLE COUNTRY pub tucked away in a corner of Chelsea is how The Fox & The Pheasant describes itself. When we first arrived in mid-May, we hadn’t realised that it was match day...
THE LAST TIME I did a Life Lately was way back in February, and a lot has happened since then. Here is the latest photo diary⏤a few snippets from the past days and weeks, from the pink peonies and tulips in Fulham (just before we stopped in at the charming Fox & Pheasant pub) to sailboats on the Thames, the Tate, chestnut trees in Bushy Park, and more...
WE HAVE been eating mango and coconut mochi ice cream lately (the coconut is my favourite), something to celebrate these spring days, especially since we've given up our favourite sourdough bread which we used to pick up from the local larder every Friday or Saturday morning. P has been on a health kick since last August, with no alcohol, and well, no bread.
