Hello dear readers from London this week. We are of course suffering some jet lag but trying to take it easy – resting and eating and not doing too much too quickly. We are staying for a couple of nights in a lovely hotel called the Knightsbridge – right here in the area of Knightsbridge in central London.
It is a Firmdale Hotel – owned and designed by my favorite designer Kit Kemp. We stayed here a couple of years ago and love it.
The flight arrived on 11th of November and we were going through Heathrow Airport at 11am. It was a very emotional experience to see the airport stop during a busy morning to observe the two minute silence. I am not sure whether that is done in the US and Canada – please let me know. Living in Eleuthera we have not experienced this for many years and it was a great reminder of how powerful this ritual is for remembering those who have died serving their country across the world. Although many of us don’t know them personally it is a strong reminder that they truly are not forgotten and we honor their memory in this way.
It was a salutary start to our trip and I am so happy we experienced it.
I wrote a blog back in 2014 about being obsessed with all things colored orange and included a picture of a a new orange leather bag which I have loved and used a lot over the years. Well dear readers let me tell you it is looking pretty worn and well used and we finished up in Harrods – which is very near to the hotel , and in the Longchamp department. I was looking for a new bag – a fabric one that they do as you can scrub them when they get dirty. Well long story short my 11 year old bag which I was using is off for a makeover !
The girls in the department told me that Longchamp do a renovation service at a very reasonable cost and my bag will come back looking as good as new. I am thrilled that it will have a new lease of life and absolutely delighted with the service from the lovely young staff . It will take 6-8 weeks but is a treat for the New Year to look forward to. In these days of disposable stuff what a treat to have this service for a much loved item ….
Our first meeting up with family was with our daughter Sami and her husband Billy at the Mayfair Chippy. Mayfair is a very swanky area in London and the term chippy is a word used for a fish and chip shop. So an ironic and humourous name for a lovely restaurant. The fish and chips were delicious – I treated myself to 3 oysters as a starter – and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Of course I ate way too much – but it was our first meal here and we have looked forward to it for so long ……
I have long wanted for Bob to get a nice stylish walking cane – it means a lot more stability for him – and I had researched a good place to find a selection in London. There is a store called James Smith and Sons in central London that has sold walking canes and umbrellas for the last 195 years – so pretty good then ! and we took a taxi there to buy one.
We had an amazing young man called Dean who served us. What a delight to be served by someone who very clearly knew what they were talking about. He advised Bob on the type of stick that was suitable for him , made sure it was the right height and generally made the whole process a delightful experience. Such excellence both in the product and in the choosing of it is rare these days and to be in a store with so much history was a joy. All in all it was a very uplifting experience and so see such pride in one’s job was a rare treat. Thank you Dean for such great service.
Later we met up with our son Cassius and three of our grandchildren and went for a great Thai meal. The food was very good but the real joy was in being with and talking to Cass, Indi, Vivi and Alba. They are 19, 17 and 15 and talking to them about their lives and hopes and wishes for the future was a real gift. Sami was there as well and it was a very happy few hours. We are meeting up for round 2 next week which we are really looking forward to.
Before we left Eleuthera we had a delicious meal at Potlatch with dear friends Marcie and Martin. We usually go for lunch there so it was a treat to go for dinner in the evening. It was such a lovely thing to spend time with them and catch up on all our news after not seeing them since January. They are such great company and we had a really happy evening….
As this blog is a lot about meeting some lovely people, and I also want to mention a very nice young man we met at Tippy’s on Sunday. He is a musician and composer from Nassau and somehow in the travel I have mislaid his card. He was over playing at a wedding at the Potlatch Club and we got chatting to him. He is a young man following his dream in music and it was lovely to talk to him about how in these troubled times , music is a wonderful force to bring people together, bring joy and transcend differences.
Okay – so that’s all for this week. more news of our travels next week……
