I wrote this for Grazia magazine online for their Bloggers feature: ‘What To Do in the UK This Week’ and included the Hampton Court ghost tour in my blog post.
Category Archives: Features
Brockham Bonfire
I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t mention Surrey’s most famous fireworks display: The Brockham Bonfire extravaganza.
Garsons Farm
Pumpkins have been scattered scatty like confetti at Garsons Farm in Esher, one of my favourite places to visit in Surrey.
Polesden Lacey
I last visited Polesden Lacey in Surrey a couple of years ago in the middle of Summer, when the gardens were heaving with the smell of pink and white roses and the sky was a potent Azure blue.
The Medicine Garden in Cobham
I went to visit The Medicine Garden in Cobham for a bit of a rest and relaxation.
Preppy Fashion
When I open my wardrobe I can feel a bit lost.
It’s organised into sections and subsections, but sometimes that’s not enough. Short of installing actual sartorial signposts (does & Other Stories have a homeware section?) I’m left gripped by indecision and amused by the narrative my fashion choices chronicle. Continue reading Preppy Fashion
The Adventure of English
My favourite word of the moment is ‘Mountweazel’. My curious fingertips stumbled across this short article in the New Yorker from 2005 which explains Mountweazels more succinctly than I ever could. Did you know that dictionaries often add in fictitious words as a copyright trap? The article states that the 2005 edition of the New Oxford American Dictionary contains a made-up word beginning with ‘E’ and a shortlist of six possible Mountweazels surfaced and the list was sent to various lexicography experts and they (correctly) agreed that the word ‘esquivalience’ was the imposter (I admit, of the list, that’s not the one I would have chosen!). I summoned my Dictionary programme that lies in the dock area of my Mac and typed in ‘esquivalience’ and there lies a definition consistent with the false entry from the NOAD:
RHS Wisley Flower Show
Picture Credit: RHS/Helen Yates
I went to the first day of the RHS Wisley Flower Show and Mary Berry was embracing her new role as the latest RHS Ambassador by opening the show.
Malevich at the Tate Modern
I went back to the Tate Modern to see a black square.
It’s in the Bag…
Inspired by the ‘Glamour On The Go’ exhibition I thought I would share the contents of my bag and makeup bag when I’m out for the day covering a story. No one should cart around such an exhaustive makeup kit worthy of a massive Zuca makeup bag (unless of course you’re an actual makeup artist, in which case go right ahead!) so I’ve pared down the contents to the absolute essentials. Some days I’ll be carting around what feels like half of Boots in my bag and then I’ll do a clear out, always keeping the same, carefully curated goods each time.