An April Morning in Kew Gardens

April 8, 2026.Reading time 7 minutes.

After some rather grey, cold and windy weather over Easter, the last couple of days the sun has put in a welcome appearance and I’ve had to change into summer clothes and even locate the sun cream! Typical British weather than can change dramatically literally overnight. When I woke to a clear blue sky this […]

A Week in North Wales

April 4, 2026.Reading time 16 minutes.

Wrexham My son’s wife comes from Wrexham in North Wales and when they booked a farmhouse for a week so they could go up and visit her family, they invited me to join them. I was delighted to have a relaxing week with the family, enjoyed seeing the Welsh family, and the countryside around Wrexham […]

Restaurant Review: Shiuli, Twickenham

March 21, 2026.Reading time 8 minutes.

I’ve been hearing good reports of Shiuli for ages. It opened in December 2021 and is just a 5-minute walk from my house; I pass it whenever I go to the bus stop. However, it wasn’t until last night that I finally ate there. To be fair to myself, for a long time I didn’t […]

BENS of Richmond – Greengrocer

March 14, 2026.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’ve been mourning the closure of Whole Foods in Richmond for the past two years. It was my favourite place to shop for food. Much of the food was organic and, as someone who lives alone, it was great to be able to pick out one courgette, a handful of potatoes, etc., and not have […]

Where to Eat with Kids: Wahaca

December 31, 2025.Reading time 9 minutes.

It’s becoming a family tradition to go to The Nutcracker at Christmastime – again! Again because I was taken to see it as a child for many years and it’s wonderful that now my grandsons are old enough to enjoy it too. It was Freddie’s (10) third time; Ben’s (8) second and this time my […]

Where to Eat with Kids: Santa Maria Pizzeria, Kew

December 29, 2025.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’ve written about Santa Maria before: my first visit to the Ealing branch in 2019 and to the Kew branch earlier this year. But when I took the grandsons to Kew in July, there was no kids’ menu … then last Monday, my son suggested we all went to Kew Gardens for a walk in […]

A Christmas Carol and a Turkish Meal

November 24, 2025.Reading time 5 minutes.

Christmas is a time for traditions and for me growing up, it meant being taken to a show, most often The Nutcracker ballet, which I went to every year for many years. I’ve started that tradition with the grandsons and have tickets again for just after Christmas. However, a new tradition has also come in […]

Comptoir Libanais, Kingston upon Thames

October 30, 2025.Reading time 7 minutes.

I wrote about a rather disastrous visit to the Comptoir Libanais on London’s South Bank only a couple of weeks ago … so why did I go again so quickly? Well, the food had been brilliant, it was only the service that had been poor, indeed terrible. But it’s half term and I like to […]

Restaurant Review: The Resto, Islington

October 29, 2025.Reading time 6 minutes.

I met my lovely friend Lucia last night for a meal. She suggested going to The Resto near Highbury & Islington tube as this is a sort of halfway point from my home in SW London and hers in Hertfordshire. The Resto is a pizzeria serving Neopolitan pizzas and food of the Aegean. Well, I […]

Restaurant Review: Comptoir Libanais, Southbank

October 10, 2025.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’ve been in two minds about whether to write a review of the restaurant I went to last night with my friend Annette as I mainly avoid negative write-ups. However, the food was delicious and the service friendly – but unfortunately (the negative bit) also very poor. There was some confusion about there being a […]