| A Family Sunday in Shrewsbury June 2025 started with me making my own Sunday breakfast in Shrewsbury using Marco Pierre White's technique for soft scrambled eggs & sausages from Shrewsbury Market Hall. After this I took mum to St Chad's church and then for Sunday lunch at The Golden Cross with my brother. Their melt in the mouth roast beef never disappoints. Obsessed With Peninsula, London's Noodles I visited the Little Blue Noodle Bar two further times in June. On the first visit Anthony, F&B Director, served me perfectly chilled champagne and Chef Saravanan Chamy sent me delicate & delicious dim sum from Canton Blue. I tried the off menu noodle dish and so am now ahead of Financial Times food critic Jay Rayner. The Peninsula, London attracts fascinating customers and I had fun chatting to a couple who were both poets. My second visit was after a Shrewsbury School informal networking event for people working in financial services. It was held in Belgravia and so, after, I got takeout dandan spicy noodles from the Little Blue Noodle Bar. They tasted even better after sitting in the takeout container for a few hours. Never Get Tired of The Dorchester I also went for breakfast in The Promenade at The Dorchester again. They always exceeded by expectations and writing a personalised message on my cappuccino was a brilliant touch. A Pan Pacific, London Cake for The King's Official Birthday On the Saturday of the King's Official Birthday I had breakfast at Pan Pacific, London. They surprised me, again, with a cake. The staff there are brilliant. I watched the flypast from the 30th floor of The Barbican. Sublime Meals at Raffles, London at The OWO My Saturday breakfast at Raffles, London at The OWO was so good I returned for their 'Sunday Feast' the next day. Both meals were superb. Chef Paul Ainsworth at The Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at The Hurlingham Club Four Seasons Yachts took me to The Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at The Hurlingham Club. I had breakfast at Four Seasons at Park Lane before it, which could not have been better. The Hurlingham Club is a beautiful oasis and, if that afternoon/ evening are any indication of what the Four Seasons Yacht will be like, it will be a huge success. Amanda, Nils and Camille embody the spirit of Four Seasons. I was surprised Chef Paul Ainsworth was able to produce such an impeccable main course for so many people. Fiddler of the Roof & Cartier Exhibition at The V&A Cannot say enough good things about Fiddler on the Roof at The Barbican Centre, the acrobatic dancing, the songs you know so well etc; or the Cartier Exhibition with HSH Princess Grace of Monaco's tiara, the Cartier collaboration with Faberge, Al Thani family tiaras etc. Have no hesitation about recommending both. Four Seasons Tower Bridge Help Another of My Dreams to Come True Tower Bridge was opening for The Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Boat Parade and they let me watch this, for the first time, from the balcony of Residence No 1, where part of 50th birthday celebrations were held. I drank an 'SF Martini' after to celebrate. Another unbelievable Saturday. 6 cover photos evidence June 2025 was another '8 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) month. I must also mention another special lunch at Wiltons; that Fish Central was a great find for dinner; another Sunday lunch at Story Cellar that was perfect, I even drank an 'SF Martini' there; & a friend's party at The Groucho Club. The speech at the latter made me emotional, her references to me in it were too kind. |       |
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 My face says it all. Adam from Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest preparing cocktails at Four Seasons at Park Lane & eating Hungarian/ Asian fusion food in the hotel's elegant new private dining area. November 2023 was another unforgettable month in my life. My relationship with Four Seasons at Park Lane resumed and my welcome back was beyond belief. I now have green velvet Four Seasons slippers, to wear with my Mandarin Oriental, Msheireb Downtown Doha yukata (robe).
It was a month of more sensational food. The quality of the ingredients in the Claridge’s breakfast could not be better. As an LVMH Ambassador, It was also a thrill to see their Louis Vuitton trunk Christmas tree. Chef Elliott Grover, at 45 Park Lane, astonished me with Beluga caviar & UK Wagyu beef smoked with wood chips from a Jack Daniel's cask. The same day as that lunch, I had a white truffle dinner at Four Seasons at Park Lane. There were some mouthwatering pasta dishes from Chef Yannick Alleno but I now know I am not keen on white truffles in my ice cream. It was an month when Issy's tropical waistcoat from Mandarin Oriental, Miami was shipped to me & The Dorchester gave him a Dorchester Collection staff pin. I also met Sir Cliff Richard, while easting Wolfgang Puck canapes, at 45 Park Lane's Christmas tree lighting party. On the work front, I attended Grant Thornton's 'Banking & Capital Markets Conference 2023' and it was a pleasure to reconnect with Jordan International Bank Plc's new CEO. We worked together in Qatar. Hope the photos below evidence another ''7 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) month. I move to Shrewsbury for Christmas on Tuesday 12 December 2023. Look forward to explaining these photos to people I meet. Still hopeful that my niece Maria, who lives in Moscow, will be in Shrewsbury for Christmas.
 It was another dream come true to meet the legend that is Chef Alain Ducasse and Chef Wolfgang Puck & now knows each other. What a month. From a moving Shropshire funeral, funerals of younger people are always particularly difficult; to one of the most elegant weddings I have ever attended, you could feel the love at both events; to Chefs Alain Ducasse & Wolfgang Puck preparing a 'Four Hands Dinner' for me at 45 Park Lane.
45 Park Lane also produced a cocktail for me from The Beverly Hills Hotel, that was not on their Sunday lunch menu. As that meal, the black truffles on Chef Elliot Grover's sublime roast beef tasted better than ever. I also got to eat in Chef Yannick Alleno's Pavyllon at Four Seasons at Park Lane, before it opened to the public and was back on Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square's roof sipping a cocktail. Must also mention Chef Tom Booton's revolutionary breakfasts at The Grill by Tom Booton at The Dorchester again. Finally I have to talk about mum & the excellent food scene in Shrewsbury. As part of the two weeks I spent in Shropshire during the month, I tried to spoil mum with meals out. My hake at La Piazzetta in The Square was sensational, our steak frites at Cote were delicious and the spicy cooked breakfast at C Sons, Shrewsbury is still morishly good. A family friend also took mum and me around his stunningly beautiful garden. Mum was almost back to her old self, talking about garden design, that afternoon. Hope you enjoy the photos below and they demonstrate what a memorable month June 2023 was in my life.  So proud to be a Four Seasons Brand Ambassador. Readership of #luxury #travelblog is up 68% on the day of this post. What a birthday! Meeting Chef Wolfgang Puck again & him introducing me to his son; meeting my neighbour from Tucker's Town, Bermuda; balloons & champagne at Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park; having Claridge's 'new' pool to myself; and a welcome at Four Seasons at Park Lane like no other.
I was given too many fantastic one-off gifts. A Mandarin Oriental leather notebook with my initials embossed on it; a Four Seasons at Park Lane leather wash bag; a cocktail shaker engraved with 45 Park Lane; and a teddy bear chocolate birthday cake & flowers from Four Seasons at Park Lane. It was kind of 45 Park Lane to cover my Spago, Beverly Hills dinner bill & love the Gym Face products that were a gift from Claridge's. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special (eg the magnum of Veuve Clicquot champagne) and hope you enjoy the photos below.  Mum looking Paul Smith fabulous on the day of her 80th birthday. Mum's 80th birthday meant two trips to Shrewsbury in the month of February 2023.
The love mum's friends showed to her made me feel better over all we are dealing with at present. She was inundated with gorgeous flowers, countless cards and generous gifts. Welsh relatives ringing on the morning of mum's birthday , a cake from Shrewsbury Market Hall & an afternoon tea hosted by great friends of mum & dad made it a remarkable day for mum. I did my best to spoil mum with a birthday cake; birthday dinner at Riverbank Bar & Kitchen (problems with their on-line reservation system) and Sunday lunch at The Armoury. The latter must be one of the best Sunday lunches in Shrewsbury. This short month was, therefore, packed for me. Oliver from Shrewsbury School Foundation took me to lunch at St James's Hotel & Club; Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square served me caviar at breakfast; had a manicure with my haircut at Truefitt & Hill; ate Chef Elliot Grover's Wolfgang Puck Oscar menu at 45 Park Lane; enjoyed fish & chips at Four Seasons at Park Lane; and my work as a bank board member at Jordan International Bank Plc continued. Hope the photos below do justice to mum's 80th birthday. My birthday again on 29 March. Chef Elliott Grover's Wolfgang Puck Spago Beverly Hills experience at 45 Park Lane is booked on 30 March and I will be staying at The Manor House Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh in The Cotswolds at the start of April for another special lady's 80th birthday.
 My seat on the Boeing 777-200 to Dubai. It looked new & went fully flat. Perfect for the just under 7 hour flight to Dubai I was so excited about my first flights with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Leaving from London City Airport is so convenient for my Barbican place; I had heard great things about their Business Class lounge in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol; the exemplary service and quirky details such a clog salt & pepper shakers & the BOLS Blue Delf Amsterdam houses given away.
The reality was far more mixed. A delay on the London City Airport to Schiphol route was blamed on staff shortages at Amsterdam airport and I assume that is why the KLM Crown Lounge at Schiphol was in such a mess. The upstairs terrace where you can sit outside was awesome but the bar was closed at 1:30pm & I was surrounded by dirty cocktail glasses. Hardly the additional thorough cleaning promised relating to Covid-19. Food on both flights was mouthwateringly good but service on the second plane erratic to the point of being poor. Being asked if you minded switching to the vegetarian option, after just experiencing the dirtiest Business Class lounge of my life, left me speechless and, when I refused, led to a strained relationship with the crew for most of the rest of the flight. Luckily watching 'Belfast' and the 'Trust' TV Series, with Donald Sutherland playing Getty, took my mind off all this. Some time ago I agreed with Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong that criticising is far too easy and to be avoided. If I do not like something, just do not feature it in my blog. However, the BOLS Blue Delf Amsterdam house will take a proud place on my Barbican coffee table and so I hope the photos below help to explain why.  Cannot thank my mother, Kathy, Alejandro, Four Seasons, John & Bilal, Jolee etc enough for all they did to help to make it such a memorable birthday again.
Hope the photos below help to demonstrate that it was another '7 teddy' birthday  With so many complex gifts, Maria needed her full concentration during our Christmas Day lunch. November & December 2021 were a whirlwind. The fact I signed the contract for my new banking job at The Rosewood Hotel, London, and started my new role in Canary Wharf in December, means 2022 should start well for me.
November 2021 included a meeting at The Guildhall to represent Barbican residents; a visit to The English National Opera to see HMS Pinafore; a Chinese breakfast at Four Seasons Hotel Ten Trinity Square before The Lord Mayor's Show etc December included seeing The Dior Christmas Tree at Claridge's; being given the 2021 Harrods Christmas teddy bear by the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park; trying the new scones at Four Seasons on Park Lane before their public launch; Christmas shopping for Maria at Hamleys etc Christmas itself was our first without dad at home. However, mum & I were able to visit him on Christmas Eve & again before I returned to work in London. His granddaughter Maria flew in from Moscow again and we had a very special family Christmas with her. Hope the photos below convince you it has been a '7 teddy' few months, despite COVID-19. I am double vaccinated and have had my booster shot & flu jab. Happy New Year to all the readers of this blog. I really value all your support.  Another dream came true being in the Buckingham Palace gardens with mum. Dad's rapid decline from Parkinson's disease is something my whole family is struggling to cope with. It has forced me to give up my new role at the Bank of England after only 4 month, to enable me to deal with this myself and support my family more. The Bank have been so kind and said I should be able to rejoin them for a third time, once my family life stabilises again.
I first started working for the Bank of England when the Rt Hon Robin Leigh-Pemberton was Governor; worked with the present Governor, Andrew Bailey, when we were both in Chief Cashier's Office; and Andy Haldane, former Chief Economist, was my manager in Monetary Analysis, during the period of 'the Ken & Eddie Show', before The Bank was given independence over the setting of interest rates. All this history with The Bank, combined with my experience working in Bermuda, Qatar, Cyprus & Cayman Islands should have made me ideal to help The Bank with its work and it was painful to have to resign. However, it did free me up to take mum to see the gardens at Buckingham Palace. The Farmers' Club made the sublime rare roast beef sandwiches, and Rosewood, London the Yayoi Kusama cakes, for this picnic. I have also been to a Beverly Hills Hotel pop-up on the roof of The Dorchester, where I was presented with more Philip Hammond flowers. Dorchester Collection know when I need cheering up. In a similar vein, I was given 'free' Ruinart champagne at Four Seasons at Park Lane and friends from my Bermuda days sent me Concorde tags from our New York trip on that supersonic jet. I also got to try the new NoMad hotel in Covent Garden. I need to make it clear that I cannot recommend Oystermen in Covent Garden enough, after an unforgettable dinner there with mum. Last week I was taken to a Test Match at Trent Bridge by friends from my Shrewsbury School days. I am so lucky with the friends I have. I am going through an extreme difficult period in my life at present but hope the photos below illustrated there are still some very happy moments within it and my friends are being too kind. |
The AuthorsSi Frew has lived in the UK, Bermuda, Qatar, Cyprus & the Cayman Islands. During this time he met Whoopi Goldberg (in Claridge's), Mike Tyson (in the Concorde Lounge at JFK) , Gordon Ramsay (in the Doha Four Seasons), Chris Eubanks (in The Dorchester), Cherie Blair (in Bermuda & again in the Doha Four Seasons) etc. There are funny stories attached to all these interactions, feel free to ask Si about them when you meet him. Archives
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