More news this week of the Colmans in London and in the country as well. On Thursday last week we first went to a chiropractor for Bob to have his back adjusted. It was a beautiful day and the view from the 9th floor of the chiropractors reception area was beautiful. The treatment was very successful thank goodness…..
London looked glorious and the taxis to and from the place were terrific. Past Buckingham Palace and lots of beautiful London landmarks, we couldn’t have asked for more. We have had some terrific drivers and some really interesting conversations….
Later that day we picked up a rental car and we drove up to a gorgeous country house hotel in Northamptonshire – close to where my sisters live. The hotel is called Fawsley Hall and 12 years ago we had a family party there to celebrate my 60th and Bob’s 70th birthdays. It has changed hands since then and the new owners are Hand Picked Hotels. Let me tell you we had a wonderful huge historic room , a beautiful bed to sleep in and fabulous service. The picture at the top is the view from our bedroom window – spellbinding ….
The first night we were there we went out with my sister Jane and her son Sam for a scrumptious meal in the archetypal British country pub. It is called the Fox and Hounds and we have eaten there in the past. The setting is lovely and the food and service extremely good. On a coldish winter’s evening there is no finer place to be !
The next day my other sister Anne and her husband – also Bob ! – came and met us for lunch at Fawsley Hall. It was pouring with rain so we were delighted to have a long leisurely lunch chatting and catching up with them both. In fact we didn’t go out that day – in the evening we ate in the main hotel restaurant and finished off with cheese in the great hall…..
It was a lovely stay and we would definitely go back there…..
On Saturday we drove down to Hertfordshire to stay with our great friends Ashley and Jilly. Staying with them is always a joy and as the years go by we all seem to value the visits more and more. The visits can get quite emotional as we catch up and talk about how much we love and value each other.
Ashley and Jilly are real foodies as well and on Saturday night they took us a to a French Restaurant called L’Aventure just off Abbey Road in St John’s Wood London. It was a sensational experience. It is a small charming place that serves authentic French cuisine to the highest standard. The person who runs it – with a rod of iron ! – is a formidable French lady called Catherine – and fortunately for us has a very soft spot for Ashley – so he can always get a table ….. Of course I ate way too much – I would have been happy with the appetizer and the main but Ashley insisted that we try the special desert of the house – and individual tarte tatin – it was really good but was the only thing I didn’t finish !
We left after lunch on Sunday and drove to the Airbnb apartment that we had rented near Chiswick where our daughter Sami lives. It was good to finally unpack everything and see what was what ! The apartment is well equipped – especially useful to have a washer and dryer – lovely to be able to keep on top of the dirty clothes ! Of course that means that I didn’t have to pack huge amounts. The weather was pretty mild for November when we arrived but temperatures are falling rapidly so I am very pleased that we have plenty of warm clothing.
We met up with our oldest granddaughter and our gorgeous great grandson for a lunch this week. It was a delight to have exclusive cuddling rights – shared with Bob of course – and to be able to talk one to one with her. Cece – our great granddaughter was at nursery – so meeting up with her is still to come.
We had a very stimulating trip to the V & A Museum to see the exhibition about Marie Antoinette. It was extremely well done – there were dresses and personal items and obviously a lot of the history about Marie Antoinette herself – but also very interestingly there was a section of the exhibition about how she was portrayed in film. There were costumes and shoes – by Manolo Blahnik – from the 2006 film made by Sophia Coppola. Very clever to show her original clothes – she was TINY ! – along with the movie costumes.
We went with Cassius and our three grandchildren and finished up having lunch up in the members dining room – a beautiful space up on the fifth floor of the museum. They are so interesting to spend time with and fun as well !
Our latest jaunt was to see a live show in the West End at the London Palladium. We went with Sami and Billy – it was to see An Evening With The Fast Show. It is a tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this UK comedy sketch show. It will mean nothing to non UK readers but believe me it was a very funny show. The original cast – minus Caroline Aherne who died in 2016 – were very funny – both talking about how it came about as well as actually recreating their characters and catch phrases which were incredibly popular….
We haven’t had a night out at the theatre for way too long and it was a real unexpected treat – a big thank you to Sami and Billy …. Sadly no pictures allowed – even of the beautiful theatre – sorry !
Okay dear readers – that’s it this week from a very chilly London – under 40 degrees and still dropping. Having a lovely time and making time for some rest and recuperation as well as gallivanting with family and friends……
