Week 69 in London

Week 69: 25 – 31 July 2016

An early birthday present for Roslyn arrived from her pop, Jack, on Tuesday. It had been a long time since we’d seen a scratchie, or “scratch-it” as it seems they are now branded, and Roslyn’s ticket had an odd defect so some of the scratchable coating couldn’t be removed. Unfortunately she didn’t manage to strike rich this time.

Wednesday 27th July marked our three year anniversary, and we headed out for dinner to Steak & Co at South Kensington, with a bunch of accompanying hydrangeas. For us, quality steak (and beef in general) is often sought but rarely found in London. At Steak & Co, you can choose your cut of steak as well as salt shake, sauce and butter to accompany. They are delivered to the table already seared and they you can leave them on the stone to cook to your specific desire.

Roslyn went for another site visit on Friday afternoon, Afternoon Tea at Warren House. Warren House is an historic Victorian home set within acres of landscaped gardens.

To celebrate the release of The BFG movie, London & Partners’ tourism promotional arm Visit London had sponsored a trail of Dream Jars throughout London, bringing to life the long-held dreams of celebrities and artists. We started at Marble Arch and progressed down Oxford Street, shopping intermittently, eventually making our way to The Mall and Buckingham Palace.

Along the way we discovered Dream Jars by Naomi Campbell, Dame Helen Mirren and Steven Spielberg. Supermodel Erin O’Connor’s jar depicted the world as a big ice cream cone.

We also called into what may be the largest toy store in the world, the huge seven-floor Hamleys on Regent Street.

In fitting with the magical wonderland we’d just come from, on leaving the store we saw a real life horse-drawn Cinderella Pumpkin Coach.

Once we reached The Mall, here another London & Partners sponsored event was taking place all weekend, Ride London. With the iconic street lined with fences and sponsorship banners, it was only possible to cross at one small break in the fence. As we approached we were allowed to cross at leisure, before suddenly being hurried off the road as the cyclists approached.

Roslyn went for dinner on Saturday evening with long-term Griffith friend, Emma, who was in London briefly before setting off on a summer vacation travelling across Europe.

We returned to The Mall on Sunday to watch more of the cycling, with corporate passes thanks to Roslyn’s work. The London-Surrey classic was on Sunday with the world’s professional cyclists taking on the 200 kilometre route. Both of us had people from work competing in the marginally shorter London-Surrey 100, (100 miles/160 kilometres) Georgina (Brendan’s manager) and Ted (a colleague of Roslyn’s) both completing the course in around nine hours.

Highlights for the week:

- Roslyn’s birthday present from Jack arrived

- Our three year anniversary

- Dinner at Steak & Co

- Afternoon tea at Warren House for Roslyn

- BFG Dream Jar trail

- Hamleys toy store

- Real life Cinderella Pumpkin Coach

- Ride London at The Mall

- Roslyn went for dinner with Emma