travelog

April 2022 & The Promise of New Possibilities to Build a Brighter Future - London/ Shrewsbury

28/4/2022

Veuve Clicquot managed to trademark the 'yellow' colour Pantone 137c used since 1877 & I am proud to have a mug commemorating this and their 250th Anniversary.

I have completed my contract with Citi and am now on a break. I intend to use the next few months to help mum more and visit friends in Dubai, Doha & Panama.

So excited that I will get to stay on the 70th Floor of the Burj Khalifa.; in a suite at the refurbished Four Seasons, Doha & at the new Mandarin Oriental, Doha. Just as in Madrid, I will be able to compare the Four Seasons & Mandarin offerings.

April 2022 has been quite a month. I have eaten the best Easter Egg of my life at The Ivy, West Street. It was filled with creamy passion fruit & served on a Kataif nest. My Veuve Clicquot breakfast at 'The Sunny Side Up Cafe' pop-up was memorable too. Chef Andi (Andrea) Oliver's Waffles with spiced maple syrup were delicious and hearing Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin's reinterpretation of The Beatles song 'Good Day Sunshine', celebrating #SolaireCulture, was inspiring.

Hope you enjoy the photos below & I am looking forward to some more '7 teddy' experiences over the new few months.

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The Mandarin Oriental Ritz in Madrid. Luxury & Opulence on Another Level - Madrid, Spain - October 2021

31/10/2021

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Spot the second bottle of Veuve Clicquot for this bath experience.

My stay at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid was overshadowed by receiving the news that we had lost Bermuda legend, & close friend, Marcia Woolridge-Allwood. However, think Marcia would have loved to see the photos below and hear about my breathtaking suite with Veuve Clicquot on ice; my Dom Perignon experience with General Manager superstar Greg; a rose head bath prepared by Head Butler Claudia & her consummate professional butler team; Eugenie at the white marble & chanderliered pool; so many varieties of water, after my 'Perrier complaint' at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong; my photo on the water bottles; the bar staff who knew me from Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park; the butler team's help with my packing of fragile items from Four Seasons, Madrid etc

Last week I was honoured to be invited to a key Mandarin Oriental party in London. At that we talked about the issues over merging the iconic Ritz, Madrid with Mandarin Oriental. My stay illustrated this is still a work in progress but will be worth it. Hope the photos below evidence all that has already been achieved.

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A Far Better COVID-19 Christmas 2020 Than We Expected - Shrewsbury, England - December 2020

28/12/2020

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My beautiful niece meets Eric, the Steiff sloth; a Shropshire family Christmas calls for Tanners Wines' champagne; & my mother's expertly cooked roast goose Christmas lunch.

Despite London moving to Tier 4, we managed to have another very special family Shropshire Christmas.

With fine wines chosen by dad; mum's legendary cooking and my niece there, it could not have gone any better.

I gave a Chanel gift to mum; Tanners Wines & Fortnums gifts to my brother & father; a Steiff gift to my charming niece and my godson loves his Swiss Army Knife, with his name engraved on the blade. I gave some of my best gifts this year.

I received Veuve Clicquot champagne; The Glenlivet whisky; Silent Pool gin; Paul Smith socks; The White Company sleep products; Elton John's new book; a personalised mug from a friend in Qatar that I treasure; an umbrella that is a piece of art from Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park etc. So happy with all my beautiful/ thoughtful gifts too.

Hope the photos below illustrate how lucky I feel to have such outstanding friends & a one-off family.

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Featured in The Sunday Times Wine Club Blog & My Yayoi Kusama La Grande Dame 2012 Veuve Clicquot Arrived - Shrewsbury/ London - October 2020

5/11/2020

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I think my charming & beautiful niece has my eyes. This photo was taken after we went to see the leaping salmon on the River Severn in Shrewsbury.

October 2020 was the month when my friend Will Lyons, The Sunday Times wine critic, featured my photo in The Sunday Times Wine Club blog and my Yayoi Kusama designed La Grande Dame 2012 Veuve Clicquot arrived & it looked even more spectacular than I had hoped for.

However, it was also the month of my niece's 10th birthday & I am even more proud of the job we did making that so special and to ensure her half-term was full of fun, despite her mum having to be in Moscow & her dad in Dublin. A special mention has to go to Kerry Jones at Bloom for Budding Artists in Shrewsbury for her Yayoi Kusama inspired Halloween pumpkin prints workshop. I took it as a fortuitous omen that this was being run!

Despite two trips to Shropshire to support family, ladened down with Hamleys and Fortnum & Mason gifts, I did manage to try the London 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' experience in Harrods. The room is exquisitely decorated and the staff better than in New York but the food disappointing, compared with my scrambled eggs with truffles in Manhattan. It did not help that, as the first booking of the day (10am), I had to wait outside in the cold rain for the doors of The Tiffany Blue Box Cafe at Harrods to open at 10am.

I also bought Lebanese wine again in October and would encourage people do what they can support that beleaguered country. At the same, I did all I could to promote The Market Hall Shrewsbury, with its high quality fresh local produce.

Before 'Lockdown 2' was announced I also managed to squeeze in a delightful afternoon tea at The Wolseley, with one of my most legendary hotel contacts; a sublime Gordon Ramsay Sunday lunch at The Savoy Grill; & collect more superb Dorchester hotel flowers from designer florist Philip Hammond. While collecting the latter, I was able to have long chats with Robert (GM of The Dorchester) and John (GM of 45 Park Lane). All this means I am now 'ready' for the next 4 weeks without visiting a hotel.

With England now in COVID-19 'Lockdown 2', & the results of the US Election still uncertain, hope my photos from last month below help to raise everyone's spirits a little. Good luck to us all!

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

28/3/2020

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