travelog

Light at the End of the Tunnel or Another Train Coming? - COVID-19 (Coronavirus) - Shropshire & London, UK - July 2020

3/8/2020

My first day wearing with Turnbull & Asser face mask, with a virus killing filter.

July 2020 was the month I restarted swimming, buying new Cayman Islands style Vilebrequin swim shorts to celebrate, and exercising with personal trainer Bart again. We did this outside with breathtaking views of Tower Bridge. I was even part of a photo shoot at Virgin Active in Mayfair, as I will feature on the new Virgin Active website.

It was also the month where I was part of the reopening of 45 Park Lane & Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park; obtained my Turnbull & Asser face mask, with VIROFORMULA virus killing filters; had my first pint for 121 days with dad in The Admiral Benbow in Shrewsbury, the landlady Claire there was ahead of London with her anti-COVID-19 bar screen; drank Shrewsbury wine with mum & dad at Hencote in Shropshire; had a haircut at Truefitt & Hill, following in the footsteps of Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill & Frank Sinatra; Philip Hammond at The Dorchester created a spectacular new headdress for my Christian Lacroix wearing teddy bear from Bangkok; I attended a sublime lunch at Scott's in Mayfair with my Qatar friends; & ate caviar and drank gin from Kyoto, Japan, for breakfast, outside at 45 Jermyn Street, behind Fortnum & Mason. The Head of UK Retail at Fortnum & Mason now wants to meet www.sifrew.com.

It has been another unbelievable month in my life & I just hope the move to the 'new normal' in the UK continues. Feel free to ask me about the photos below, when we next meet.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis & the 'New Normal' - March & April 2020

29/4/2020

The 'NHS Rainbow' in Tanners window in Shrewsbury brought a smile to my face but seeing the Bank of England's front door closed during the day was a sobering sight.

After a day working from home ("WFH") in my Barbican place in London on Middle Eastern banking issues, taking a 'break' for a webcast from Toronto, I am wondering what life will be like when the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis is 'over'.

I spent the last month in Shropshire helping my parents with their self-isolation & I thought some photos of all that might cheer us up. 'Teddy Scores' do not seem appropriate at present but I have been so impressed by Shrewsbury & The Barbican's response to everything. I try to ring mum every day at present and will return to Shropshire, when that is needed.

Celebrating a Birthday in the Midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK - March 2020

28/3/2020

When I received this personalised Veuve Clicquot signature arrow tin with its iridescent lid, I felt confident about my 2020 birthday. The original plan was to stay at the new Four Seasons in Madrid to celebrate, I know their General Manager from New York & Hong Kong and so it would have been an exceptional trip.

Since then the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has halted travel, closed hotels, restaurants, gyms etc and changed our lives.

I am now in Shrewsbury in Shropshire helping my parents with their self-isolation. My birthday will, therefore, be a small family affair. Today is my 'Birthday Eve' and so I have decided to post some photos to cheer us all up.

Stay safe, healthy & positive all at this difficult time & hope the photos below make you smile too. My awesome mum will ensure I have a '7 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) birthday tomorrow.

My Best Christmas for Years - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK - December 2019

2/1/2020

My niece was just as happy on Boxing Day and her UK grandma & grandpa love spending time with her.

The sheer joy on my sweet niece's face, when she opened my LO.L. Surprise gift from Hamleys, summed up Christmas in Shropshire for me. A relaxed, happy & perfect family gathering.

We were so luck my niece travelled from Moscow to spend Christmas with us, before heading to Finland for the Russian Orthodox Christmas with her Russian family.

Mum loved my Chanel and Fortnum & Mason gifts and cooked her usual legendary fish pie on Christmas Eve and sublime roast goose Christmas lunch. My brother prepared a feast for lunch on Boxing Day, I treasured my thoughtful gifts and things could not have gone any better.

Hope the photos below evidence why Christmas was such an outstanding '7 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) family event.

My 50th Birthday: 'The Fat Lady has Sung' - Shrewsbury & London - March 2019

5/4/2019

In fact it was a thin jazz singer at Four Seasons Hotel Ten Trinity Square who sang happy birthday to me!

From the overwhelming party my parents hosted, with Tanners champagne & divine canapés; to the private dining room at The Golden Cross in Shrewsbury; to Four Seasons Hotel Ten Trinity Square giving me three bedroom Residence Number One with a terrace with breathtaking views of Tower Bridge & the Tower of London; to walking back from a birthday dinner at Le Pont de La Tour over Tower Bridge with unimaginable friends from Berlin; to Four Seasons Hotel Ten Trinity Square sending a member of staff to my Barbican flat to help with my embarrassment of sensational birthday presents, it was a 50th birthday like no other.

I now have an exquisite bracelet from KaDeWe in Berlin, 19th Century prints of the City of London to remind me of my years working for the Bank of England, magnums of Veuve Clicquot champagne, a Smythson of Bond Street travel case, more Tiffany & Co gifts to add to the mountain I received at my 40th birthday party in The Penthouse at The Dorchester, a gift from my indomitable godmother and the Wade NatWest piggy banks I had wanted since I was a child, my mum finally made another dream come true.

I want to thank everyone who made this birthday so special from the bottom of my heart. I have lots more photos & stories to share with people when they meet me and should add that I loved the balloons Four Seasons put in my suite.

At an 80th birthday party yesterday a lady chastised me for bringing balloon, saying they were just for children. I could not disagree more over this sad opinion!

A '7 teddies' (🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻) 50th birthday is finally over & it could not have been better.

Spending Quality Time with my Exceptional Parents in Shrewsbury - Shropshire, UK - October 2018

19/10/2018

The 'Shropshire Frews' at a dinner I hosted while in Shrewsbury. You would smile like me if you were seated opposite my niece.

Completing my 18 months in Cayman Islands gave me a chance to spend some quality time with my incredible parents, before another big adventure in. the Far East.

During my time in Shropshire my brother hosted an impressive family birthday Sunday lunch; I got to have lunch with my awe-inspiring godmother; went on a Tanners Cellar Tour with dad; visited Chester with mum & day, including lunch at The Chester Grosvenor; had lunch with a special family friend who got me thinking about Bank of Bermuda (now part of HSBC) etc; squeezed in a day in London to see the Bank of England & Annabel Shaw (Four Seasons Director of Residences Twenty Grosvenor Square - the former US Navy building) and I had drinks with friends from my Prestfelde & Shrewsbury School days. Hope the photos below help you understand what an unforgettable time I had.

🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻(7 out of 5 ‘teddies’) - spending time with my unbelievable parents is always a '7 teddy experience' but so much else during my time in Shrewsbury & London could not have been better (eg lunch with my indomitable godmother). What UK memories to take to the Far East with me.

Love Spending Time With My Incredible Family & Friends - Shrewsbury, Shropshire - April 2018

27/4/2018

I eat in some of the best restaurants in the world but my mum's Shropshire roast beef Sunday lunch still takes some beating. I provided the wine & my niece the company. A sublime afternoon.

I am so proud to be a 'Shropshire lad'. Shrewsbury is such a beautiful historic town and I am so lucky to have been sent to Prestfelde Prep School & Shrewsbury School, with all the friends I still have from those places. It is amazing to think Charles Darwin also went to the latter.

During my time in Shrewsbury I got to spend more time with my incredible parents; ate in Darwin's Kitchen; Number Four; and The Golden Cross; helped my brother celebrate his birthday; went for drinks in The Three Fishes pub with friends; had lunch with a knowledgeable and sensible friend; had coffee with my marvelous artistic godmother and heard Charlie Adlard, Comics Laureate and artist for 'The Walking Dead', who I was at Shrewsbury School with, speak about this career.

A memorably perfect week and I hope the photos below do it some justice. Well worth the 12 hour flight from Cayman Islands.

Another 🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻(7 out of 5 ‘teddies’) stay in Shrewsbury.

Christmas 2017: The Word 'Sublime' Cannot Do It Justice - Shrewsbury, Shropshire

27/12/2017

My friends & family were so thoughtful and generous with their presents.

Once again, despite Russian visa issues, my whole family was together for Christmas. I met friends from my Prestfelde and Shrewsbury School days; my mum cooked divine roast goose; my brother a roast turkey feast on Boxing Day; and I adored my cards & present from friends and family around the world.

It was truly a '7 teddy Christmas' and I was so lucky to spend it was my brilliant mum & dad and friends. It just went by too quickly.

Hope the few photos below give some flavour of the fun we had.

Christmas 2016: Incredible Memories - Shrewsbury, Shropshire

28/12/2016

My niece at lunch on Christmas Day. She does not like Christmas pudding & so had her own igloo cake. I can never get enough of that winning smile.

For me being with family is the most important element of Christmas and my Russian sister-in-law getting a visa, which enabled her, and my 6 year old niece, to be in Shrewsbury helped to make it another unforgettable Christmas.

I have only missed one family Christmas, when I had to stay in Bermuda because of work. I was lucky then to have special friends there to spend the day with.

Lunch at C Sons: 'Locally Sourced & Globally Inspired' Food - Shrewsbury, Shropshire - November 2016

17/11/2016

The four Crouch brothers' eclectic restaurant. I still recall when this was Poppy's Tea Rooms and savaged by the late Michael Winner in a review.

I have eaten in C Sons on a number of occasions and have never been disappointed by their flavoursome food and being able to try unusual products.

On this occasions I had a very emotional funeral to attend the next day and one of my best friends in Shrewsbury agreed to have lunch with me to try to take my mind off this.

Lunch at Renaissance, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK - January 2016

15/1/2016

Having helped to serve the wine at one of mum's lunch parties, I went off for a quiet lunch alone. I decided to try Renaissance, as mum has raved about their chef's ability.

Haircut at Royston Blythe, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK - January 2016

15/1/2016

When a haircut is needed in Shrewsbury, it has to be Royston Blythe - The Dorchester's former hairdressers, who used to style HM the Queen's hair and have worked with Christian Lacroix, Katie Price and Katy Perry.

Breakfast in Number Four, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK - January 2016

13/1/2016

What do you do on a damp (post-Christmas) day in Shropshire but have a cooked breakfast with one of your best friends from your Shrewsbury School days.

Number Four was the obvious choice, as the best place in Shrewsbury for this.

Cocktails in The Libertine & Pre-Christmas Dinner in the Golden Cross, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK - December 2015

21/12/2015

Now back in Shrewsbury and I always have a pre-Christmas dinner with friends from my Prestfelde Prep School and Shrewsbury School days. This year the wife of a friend, bravely, ended up as the only female present.

It was an easy decision to pick the Golden Cross as the venue for the dinner. The food there is always excellent, the owners so welcoming and the prices reasonable.

Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok - October 2015

27/10/2015

I went to Shrewsbury School and decided it would be interesting to visit Shrewsbury International School while in Bangkok.