'Flaming' June it was not. We arrived Wednesday after the Jubilee and it was still raining! Not that we changed our plans, family sightseeing in Margate, checking in on a family friend's son who has his own gallery, mooching round London, Lunches, Dinners and 'days out' all went ahead.
Margate is where Graeme's mum Mo's family come from and he hadn't been in years so we went and had lunch in an old family favourite and looked at old family homes. On the way we called in at Alexander's Gallery . Matt is the son of an old family friend. Many of his Father's pieces are owned by various family members and so now the next generation of both families are re-connected. Matt's work is stunning and if you are in the area or able to see one of his shows in London it's not to be missed.
The reason for the visit to UK was Graeme's cousin Mel's 50th birthday. We stayed with them for a few days and it was nice to get the chance to catch up with the family properly for the first time in a few years. We relocated to central London in time for the big celebration dinner at Rules , apparently established in 1798 it billed as London's oldest restaurant. It certainly looks the part. Very classic, VERY classy and beautifully traditional. Food and wine were superb and the service was flawless. If you are in London and fancy pushing the boat out book in advance as it is, understandably, very popular.
While in London we got to visit Nathan & Aimery, had a few drinks and dinner with them, Michael & Andrew and Ed which was great fun. Lunch with Barb on Saturday saw the Sun shine and so we had a great 'tourist' walk round Westminster / South Bank. We were fortified beforehand by a fabulous lunch at Imperial China in Chinatown. The Dim Sum was yummy. Yes, by the way, all we did was eat and drink on this trip!
Sunday was Sam, Imo & Oz and James & Yvonne. Mooching round Marylebone High Street saw much gossip and giggles and more dim sum this time at Ping Pong , which was nice but not quite as good as Imperial China. Also another birthday, this time Yvonne's 6th!
Sunday evening we were off to Fulham and Rachel & Simon's. Lovely relaxing evening, more yummy food and Graeme even attempted to make up for the lack of 12+ years of Godfatherly advice by helping Matthew with his Spanish homework!
Monday and Mo came to London and so Graeme got to feed his inner transport geek investigating the new Kings Cross and St Pancras, and the latter's new Hotel. Very nice. Then we took the HS link to Stratford and soaked up some retail therapy and were treated to lunch.
I had to go pick up my new passport, very swish, while Graeme and Mo took the scenic route back on DLR. Dinner with Ed, Nathan & Aimery this time was an Indian, very good too.
Our last day in London, Tuesday, was allocated as a day to ourselves and we took the opportunity to head to Shad Thames / Hays Wharf via London Bridge. Seeing as how, 10 years ago, give or take a week, that's where we met!
Tusday night, off to Southend & Leigh on Sea to catch up with Maggie, James & Laura from Beirut. As usual Maggie produced a delicious feast and a few drinks later we were able to roll into a taxi back to the hotel so we could raise ourselves for the early flight the next morning.
Click here for the gallery
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