Art & Food: Tapas at Brindisa and V&A talk

June 24, 2022.Reading time 15 minutes.

Before covid, I used to go to art history talks often and have been to some wonderful talks at the National Gallery, Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts and the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) over the years, and heard some great speakers, like Simon Schama and Alastair Sooke; artists like Antony Gormley, […]

4 Nights in Aldeburgh, Suffolk: Eat, Drink, Do

June 16, 2022.Reading time 16 minutes.

Why go? Well my own reason for going to Aldeburgh was more about finding somewhere for a Spring break on the Suffolk coast and very little about the town itself. I wanted to explore Suffolk, a county I don’t know, and also wanted to be by the sea. So I searched for places to stay […]

Aldeburgh, Suffolk: The Last Day

June 12, 2022.Reading time 12 minutes.

I decided to take it easier on my last day and just enjoy my immediate surroundings before heading back to London tomorrow and ‘Life’. I’ve enjoyed exploring what Aldeburgh has to offer in the town and nearby over the last couple of days but I wasn’t planning to go far today. However, as usual I […]

Aldeburgh, Suffolk: Dinner at Regatta Restaurant

June 12, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

When I’m away for short breaks I always end up booking places to eat to make sure I can get into what looks to be the best restaurants. Part of me feels ‘going with the flow’ and just turning up at dinner time to a place that looks good and what I’m in the mood […]

Aldeburgh, Suffolk: A Morning Walk to Thorpeness & Lunch at Aldeburgh Market

June 11, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

I’d heard of Thorpeness due to a number of TV programmes over the last year or so featuring well-known personalities like Kate Humble and Michael Portillo walking the Suffolk coast. It’s only a couple of miles north of Aldeburgh – about half an hour’s walk – and so many people had recommended I walk there […]

Aldeburgh, Suffolk: Supper at The Lighthouse

June 10, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Well finding good places to eat is essential to Travel Gourmet when it comes to holidays! I must confess, however, that I didn’t have any idea what was on offer in Aldeburgh until after I’d booked my stay at The Cross Keys and started looking at restaurants here. When I saw The Lighthouse listed as […]

Aldeburgh, Suffolk: In the Footsteps of Benjamin Britten

June 10, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

I had no idea of the strong connection between Aldeburgh and Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) when I decided to come here. I soon discovered it though, for it would be almost impossible to read about Aldeburgh or indeed come here and not see and hear references to the great composer everywhere. Britten was born in Lowestoft […]

Aldeburgh, Suffolk: Arrival at The Cross Keys

June 9, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

Booking a short holiday in Aldeburgh was based on wanting to explore Suffolk, which I don’t know, and staying right by the sea. I love being by the sea. By the time I’d looked at what was on offer via Booking.com from Southwold southwards, I found The Cross Keys and decided that looked like a […]

Where to Eat with Kids: Hache Riverside Social, Kingston upon Thames

May 31, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

It’s half term week, so a promise to take the boys to Kingston upon Thames – more specifically Bentalls – in the next holiday time was fulfilled. Bentalls has a brilliant toy department, which is its chief attraction to the boys, including the best collection of Schleich animal figurines that I know of (short of […]

Madeleines: A First Attempt

May 28, 2022.Reading time 12 minutes.

I’ve never made madeleines before. They seem to have been in my life for as long as my memory goes back, like scones and clotted cream, the bread pudding and Christmas puddings I used to make as a child with my grandmother. I guess I perhaps ate madeleines for the first time in France. I […]