| Digital Detox? Finding Quiet & Calm At the Claridge's Christmas tree party before Christmas Olivia Colman, before her reading, asked the Burberry fashion crowd etc to put their 'phones away and in his Christmas message HM the King said "our world seems to spin even faster" quoted poet TS Eliot's words about finding the "still point of the turning world". A Snowy Shrewsbury Christmas Full of Love & Happiness It was the first Christmas where I woke on Christmas Day alone in our family's Georgian house. After all the frenetic excitement before Christmas, I found my peace for a few days. At a breakfast before Christmas mum's former hairdresser offered to cut & style mum' hair again. She did an unbelievable job and made mum look elegant over Christmas. Christmas Day could not have gone any better. It started with Veuve Clicquot champagne. I had lunch with mum at a table for two and she was so happy & relaxed. Wearing her new Chanel lipstick and spraying herself with her new Dior J'adore perfume, saying how much she loved it and me. The prize I got in my Dorchester hotel cracker (Aromatherapy Associates bath oil) was the best I have ever got in a cracker. On Christmas Eve I drank a perfect 'SF Martini' in The Libertine cocktail bar. Prestfelde Prep School, Shrewsbury School & Old Ford Road - A New Year Before Christmas there were drinks in The Benbow pub with friends from my school days and their talented children. On New Year's Eve one of my friends, who I shared houses with in London in the late 1980s & early 1990s, threw a dinner party. He, and his wife, are perfect hosts. His wife made one of the best pavlovas of my life. However, must also mention his legendary chilli, made from his mum's Barbados recipe. Brought back happy memories of Old Ford Road in London E2 for me. 'Real' Turkish Delight & Vodka Chocolates from Moscow My brother returned from Christmas in Istanbul with his daughter with gifts from him of authentic Turkish Delight from 'Hafiz Mustafa 1864' and vodka chocolates from Moscow from my niece and Russian family. I tried both once back in London and adore them. A Fascinating & Scrumptious Sunday Lunch with a Family Friend Sunday lunch at 'Rhubarb' at Drapers Hall (which dates back to 1483) with one of our best family friends was a perfect end to my Christmas & New Year in Shrewsbury. Our thick watercress & Shropshire Blue cheese soup, on a cold & snowy day, was divine and the roast beef melted in the mouth, with the vegetables cooked perfectly. There was even a story about a meeting with David & Victoria Beckham that illustrated what a genuinely nice guy Sir David is. Orthodox Christmas & Perfect Gifts from House of Maybourne I collected the gifts I was sent from House of Maybourne from the porter in my Barbican building the day before Orthodox Christmas. It was a canvas Claridge's bag full of Claridge's goodies. There were crackers to replace the ones I pulled with mum over Christmas & a large Signature Candle with the scent of honey, tonka bean & patchouli, which smells heavenly but is was a glass bauble painted with a teddy bear in a Claridge's Bell Boy outfit that brought me near tears. It was all pure class. Starting 2026 with Chef Elliott Grover's Melt in the Mouth Roast Beef at 45 Park Lane 45 Park Lane invited me for a complimentary 'Sunday Roast' to start 2026. It was such a special afternoon that I would recommend it to anyone needing a break from the stresses in this busy world. From the awesome singer; to shaved truffles on the sublime beef; Wagyu beef dripping; unbelievable cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes that cannot be beaten. I started with scallops with garlic & chilli butter. Sensational plump scallops cooked to perfection. Had to drink the butter from the half shells. It was too good. I finished with the banana cream pie. Delicious but I struggled to eat much of it. Sevice at 45 Park Lane is always flawless and friendly. Also Starting 2026 with a Revamped Legendary Coffee Table in My Barbican Place 45 Park Lane and Four Seasons at Park Lane were kind enough to provide elegant crackers to help me update/ slim down my legendary coffee table. Hope you all like the new look. It was a '8 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) period. Rocky family starts (involving our family lawyers), and ends, to Christmas (eg mum asking how my parents are, when I was leaving) were compensated for by my incredible friends. Hope you like the photos below, including two breakfast I made myself, one where I carved the smoked salmon myself. My 'House of Maybourne dream life' continues this weekend with Burns Night at The Emory hotel where I plan to toast my late Scottish father with The Macallan M 2023. I may even take a few puffs of a cigar, for the first time since Havana, Cuba in August 2018. |        |
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