Zoolander 2

I cannot wait!

A million passwords

Argh - I hate booking train tickets. With all the different train companies, I have several accounts and of course can never remember my bloody respective passwords... Which generally means that I end up putting in all my payment details a number of times as it resets when the system realized I already have an account (which I of course couldn't remember).

But all booked now for my mini trip to Aberdeen :-)

Don't look at me

Jess takes the photos at our events. Her style is to catch people unaware. The other day she came in to take staff and officers photos for our new website to be launched in the summer. I'll be leaving about 2 weeks after the go live date, so technically didn't really need my photo taken, but I thought it might be good to get an update for my LinkedIn profile which shows me with a heavy fringe. It's not even that old, but with my hairstyle changing on such a regular basis, photos go out of date pretty quickly...

Anyway, her strategy was to get us talking to somebody who was standing next to her. So, we are not looking at the camera. I'm not sure that worked very well (having said that, the results show that some of our officers are incredibly photogenic!). In my case, I feel, Jess should have emphasized that my colleague H should have done most of the talking. So instead, I was chatting away. As it happens, I hadn't yet told H about my likely move, so that made for an animated discussion... 

What am I doing with my teeth???
And yes, I am aware I am finally showing my face

Always more to discover

Even though I go (and primarily eat) out quite a lot, there are still so many places in London I haven't been to. Like The Cut, near Southwark/Waterloo. A number of restaurants and despite the cold weather, very busy on Thursday night (before the long weekend - clearly everyone was celebrating the long weekend ahead). With so many mezze on offer at TAS, always easiest to go with one of their menu selections:

And who would have thought that (candied) baby aubergine actually work as a dessert?! I did prefer the pumpkin though which was slightly less sweet. And bottom right is the chestnut puree. I probably would have opted to present it differently...

It also reminded me one of my first work dinners I had to attend by myself - at TAS London Bridge. Must have been nearly 7 years ago! I had been quite nervous about it, as I felt responsible as a host. And it turned out to be a lovely evening. That's how long I've known AF for, too! His twins were born just before I started my job there. How time flies...

Let's hug it out

One of the many reasons I love London!
And yes, whoever I told that I was going to this event looked at me as if I was a little mad... It was a brilliant experience. Even if slightly unsettling at times. Just listening to the music and singing while blindfolded was pretty special. Due to the accoustics, the room seemed much bigger than it was. I would have liked to see my singer who hugged me, but we didn't get to meet them afterwards. Pity.

The London bucket list

The other day, G asked me what was on my London bucket list - things that I hadn't yet gotten round to doing or seeing. And I am pleased to say that there isn't much on there. There are a number of restaurants that I've been meaning to try but having said that: new ones open up all the time, so that is kind of an on-going list that will never be all ticked off. Kew Gardens is probably on that list. And the other day I read about Eltham Palace which looks pretty cool.

Brasserie Zedel is one of the places that has been on my list literally for years! I think I must have read about it on Time Out and one of my colleagues had highly recommended it. But somehow it took me until last Monday to finally go.

It's just off Piccadilly Circus. The decor is fabulous, the service friendly and the prices very reasonable. It feels very 'European'. After dinner, we went over to the Bar Americain for cocktails - different but equally atmospheric.

Duck and Ile Flottante

Mr and Mrs B

Salisbury, 1 April 2015