London: Tea Time in Wonderland

Marmite always divides a group. You love it or hate it – there is no compromise possible, it’s a passionate issue.

The British will spread it on their toasts for breaksfast. Or cook with it adding it to gratins, casseroles, cheese on toast… In my office, the guys dilute it in boiling water and drink it like a soup.

I can’t stand the stuff – there’s nothig worse worse for me than having it around in a Monday morning, when I’m only half awake.

However, I love the brand design. I can only clap alour at the audacity of using the lost customers to bounce back, giving themselves a fun image, playing with the love it/hate it ads, but also using Paddington last year and Horrid Henry this year. They did well with the merchandising too: a Warhol look for objects in the e-shop, limited editions whether it is just a change of look or of taste 9remember the champagne one?)

For Xmas, Marmite has opened a pop-up shop on Regent Street. The whole range of biscuits, rice cakes, crisps is of course on the shelves. But also Tshirts in parody of the “J’adore Dior”, pop style dishes, sandwich boxes, magnets, books celebrating the product… Xmas cards (fancy a little Marmite in your Xmas pudding?)! Depending on your taste, the shopping bac will be stamped Love or Hate Marmite. On the whole, a place to stop for the smile, and plenty of stocking fillers. A friendly welcome too – the staff is ahppy to help and share anecdotes about the product and will even hand the bowl of chips for you to try.

You’ll find a mini-cafe on the small floor, serving tea and… Marmite toast, of course. Why not sign the table with your addiction or hatred too? Oh, and ask the waitress about the Marmite cocktails served at the launch party…

Marmite pop-up shop
82 Regent St
London

Till the end of December 2009
You’ll also find the products in their e-shop.

Hibernate under a cosy duvet? Or fight the weather?

If you belong to the brave category:

- Not to be missed: the Lord’s Mayor show on Saturday. Not Boris, the other one, managing the City. 800 years of tradition! There will be a procession from the City to Westminster (where the Mayor will pledge allegiance to the crown): 6000 people, 202 horses, 24 marching bands… The RAF will fly past, visits will be offered through the capital and the day will finish with fireworks over the Thames at 17.00… For the occasion, shops @ Gabriel’s wharf are offering a few discounts.

- Sunday, Selfridge’s will be playing the Jumble Garage sale card, a giant one, profits going to a charity. Come and find a bargain! Entry is at £5, freee for under 12s. Cash only at the stalls.

- Marmite – Love it ? Hate it? In any case, have a look @ their pop-up shop near Piccadilly. You can even have a crumpet there. I stopped by earlier today, most of their online shop and a few limited edition. Hate the stuff but hell, love the design!

- You’ll find happiness at the Country Living Xmas show – so many stalls with original and unique ideas. I go almost every year and have never tired of it.

- Fancy an afternoon tea? Want it very British but also fashionable? Try the Howard’s – elegance, of course, but how to resist the shortbreads shaped and decorates as the milestones of London? Have a look at the pics!

Sunday, for once, I will not be rushing around the town. I prefer a quiet family afternoon, on the Puppet Barge, to enjoy a festive puppet show in Little Venice…

Now, what about you?

My friends, it is time to switch to the winter mode:

- Have a look at the first Xmas lights on regent and Oxford St, lit since Tuesday…

- Friday evening, enjoy a late night @ the Transport Museum: electro music and cocktails!

- Travel to Hungary via Covent Garden…

- Put on gloves and scarves and skate @ the Natural History Museum…

- Start your Xmas shopping @ the Spirit of Xmas fair -  always treasures to be found… I loved it 2 years ago. This time, I’ll go to the Country Living Xmas fair which starts next week.

- Stay in a festive mood – take the kids to Harrod’s Xmas parade. 11 designers have also decorated their Xmas tree…

- Stressed out? Have a musical yoga session in Shoreditch…

- Make it a real partyy with fireworks in Richmond!

I’ll be skipping London this week-end -  getting my cheeks all pink in Cheshire, whether from a revigorating weather, a chimney fire or a glass of wine… How about you: inside cocooning or outside mad party?

A slightly select address. More romantic, more of a celebration than having a pint @ the local pub.

You’re at the limit with the City, the bankers’ quarters, big names have their headquarters around here. You’ll see people in workins suits and ties.

Booking is mandatory, where you want to dine or just have a glass. Don’t be intimidated by the voice claiming they are fuuly booked. Insist on being put on the waiting list: they called me back whithin 12 hours to take my credit card number and guarantee my reservation (quite common in upmarket places: it forces you to be there on time or at least to have the courtesy to cancel which you might not do @ Pizza Express).

Stepping in the building is already an experience. The web site indicated smart dress- no worry, there’s no need to get your tux or cocktail dress  out. Elegant is more the word – lovely dress, great shirt and trousers, even nice jeans on a Friday night. We could get in without a tie. Avoid trainers though. We get a visitor badge at reception. Then there’s security, bags x-raying, metallic door. No risk taken here. VIP effect – especially if you wanted to impress a friend!

You’ll find a lift dedicated to Vertigo -no stop, it will take you there in 50 seconds. The staff is welcoming, the waiter will propose options, check on you regularly but will not force anything on you. Neither will he raise a brow if you only go for the one drink. Champagne is on the menu but also 5 cocktails, including a delicious litchee belini, a refreshing Kir Royal and a champagne, angustura and cognac that will make your eyes twinkle with happiness.

Wow exclamation also garanteed, even for blase people like me whoo have seen so many cities from towers already, dined in revolving restaurants, walked on glass roofs, even climbed on a 5* hotel roof in Paris to get a better view of the Louvre. Transparent tables follow the wal structure to give you a plunginh view down the city – litterally a carpet at your feet. the view’s great everywhere but do stop after coming in: you’ll see Tower Bridge and the London Eye. You’ll feel like a bird looking at stars below you.

Conversation? Superfluous. You’re hypnotised by the view. A cocktail is £12.50, but gosh, the magic is worth it…

A bit too smart for you to feel comfortable? head for those instead:
- Detroit, ideally placed close to Covent Garden. Galleries with splendid arches. Try the Twinkle: vodka, champagne, elderflower- £6.95
- Calloo Callay, in Shoreditch. Small prices for lunch and dinner, fun deco mixing 70ies with a sense of humour. If you’re coming with friends, order the ‘Mad Hatters Tiki Punchbowl’, served as tradition request in a punch bowl… but on a gramophone! (rum, creme de peche, rhubarb, ginger, lemon, angostura and grapefruit). Count £7-£8.50 for a cocktail.
- Le coq d’argent – terrasse with grass and a view on the City. Excellents cocktails, the best I have had so far. The barman delighted in creating a cocktail based on my mood – a green apple martini. You could have sworn he pressed the fruit in it to get each of the flavours out! I only payed £8.
- Want a very British side… A mar-tea-ni anyone? Served in a teapot, enough for 2. £7.50 at the Cavendish Hotel.

Vertigo 42
Tower 42
25 Old Broad St
London, EC2N 1HQ
Tube: Liverpool st

This address should make my Friend Elisa’s day – she recently visited from Argentina to cross Abbey Road…

A Beatles store. Dedicated to the merchandising. No trace of a Paddington bear or other souvenir on the shelves.

Whether you’re a fan or not does not really matter. We’re talking history here, somehow. No need resisting either. you will end up buying something. If you’re not seduced by the songs it will be the graphism of the 70ies… If not, you’ll have Xmas presents easily found here. Help! It’s all too much! Your bank account will suffer.

it seems you can find anything here: from just a postcard to fabric patches. From t-shirts to bibs. From mugs to the  cookie cutter. From vintage glasses to signed editions. Fans stepping in are ready to chain themselves to the shelves. Non fans just get this happy feeling and leave with a huge smile on their face and humming away…

You’ll find the Elvis equivalent next door with Elvishly Yours… And don’t forget Paul’s playing @ the O2 in December for his Good evening Europe tour!

The Beatles shop
231 Baker Street
London
NW1 6XE
Tube: Baker street

Since temperatures and leaves alike are falling dramatically, I’ll give up cocktail on the terasse (though it’s the last chance to enjoy the Dusk Bar).
And it sounds like the perfect week-end for it!

- First, put some colours back into our life and ead for Ruscha’s show @ the Hayward. Pop, surrealist, firework like.

- Not to be missed: Damien Hirst @ the Wallace Collection. He finally gave up chain produced circles and got back to his brushes and paintubes. Vibrant works.

- Feel nostalgic with the new 6oies show (Beatles to Bowie) @ the National Portrait Gallery.

- Learn how transport sculpted the suburbs identity at theTransport Museum. The exhibitions should be funny and family-friendly…

- Start Xmas shopping with the Craft fair @ the Somerset House.

- Or forget this commercial world @ the Free Art Fair @ Barbican (you may even win a work of art on Sunday!)

- Enjoy to a poetry marathon @ the Serpentine Gallery (especially as the summer pavillion will be demolished Sunday)

- If the weather really is bad, head for the BFI London film festival!

In my daily rushed routine, where thoughts are always turned to saving time, I tend to settle for highstreet bookshops on my way. A quick look at the “must read” of the moments, flashy covers, take a few notes, order on Amazon to get a better price. So very practical but the process lacks little gems, tastes too much like the Entertainment section of the Times to be fully satisfying.

An improbable walk suddenly takes me through Holland Park, a few more streets and I am standing in front of Daunt, wooden frame, Edwardian look, one of those independant libraries that make you feel like sitting on the floor, build a castle of books around you and hide there for hours. They give you a taste back for adventure, exploration and losing complete track of time…

The London section is just amazing and I write down pages of references… My heart urges for the City, for its secret life.

In this Ali Baba cavern, I discover the Park Sories collection -  8 short stories taking place in London royal parks. Amazing isn’t it that this litterary genre tends to disappear when it probably is the most adapted to our way of life, always running, always commuting, never having much time for ourselves? This is the perfect format – can be read on the way to work, can fit easily in your handbag…

Of course, you can’t be a Londoner without have walked, strolled, jogged through our royal parks, circled the Serpentine, met at the Orangerie, sat in our of the deckchairs (and been made to pay for it), saluted St James’ pelicans, climbed up to Greenwich’s observatory, looked Richmond’s deers in the eyes…

I expected the parks to play a bigger role. I wanted historical details, caves, secrets, white pebbles I could follow next time. Quite the contrary – the park is just a background, a thread in the story. Disappointing? No -  a different feeling arises. This infuses the park, your park, the one you knew for a particular buzz and atmosphere with a different personnality somehow – a different angle to look at it. It brings and emotion, an identity to it. Anf you will want to run at te Diana Memorial, fly away at St James, make fun of tourists at Greenwich, believe in ghosts in Green Park.

At £2 the book, is there realy any hesitation to be had? Go ahead. Fall in love with the vison of kensington by a little girl from Koweit (Hanan al-Shaykh, a beauty Parlour for the swans) and the sad magical love story in St James (Clare Wigfall, Along birdcage walk).

Park stories

Available on the Royal Parks website or at Daunt Books (several branches)

Another success for my favourite entrepreneur Alan Yau.

Simple but chic, elegant but not pretentious. Communal table but still fine for a romantic dinner, rich dark wood, dimmed lights, bright touches of colours like this bowll of flowers. Pure lines, so design, so trendy, one of the places to be for sure…

Here, one eats thai with a twist, sometimes traditional, others fusion food.

Ideally? Have a seat at the counter overlooking the street to enjoy the Soho crowd.

Tested and loved:
- fish cakes with cucumber and peanut relish – fresh, light, ideal starter £4.70
- smoked chicken noodle with Chinese broccoli and egg – oooooh, heaven. You’ll want to steal your neighbour’s plate too. £6.90
- Thai roti, a kind of potato naan. Great with sauces! £2.70
- Mussama duck curry with potatoe, peanuts, onions. ery filling, tender meat, savoury but not too spicy, a dish that makes you feel the world is a wonderful place. Forget your diet, close your eyes and mmmh in delight. £8.90
- Coconut rice: I could dine on this alone, so fragrant, I will never forget the perfume! £2
- Forget the desert, by now you cannot eat another spoonful. Try a mango lassi instead – so refreshing and the cardamon, honey and rosewater will leave the sweet note you need. £3 (or jog to Yauatcha nearby – Alan Yau’s deserts there will take you to nirvana)

Reviews on the web often state a disappointing service. This is a favourite place in the neighbourhood, no booking taken, long queues in the evening. I guess the staff does loose patience an energy with such a high table turnover. However, try having lunch there, like us, when it just opens: the staff was adorable, quick and very friendly. And really, fab price for that quality!

Busaba Eathai
106 Wardour St
London, W1F0TS

Get your umbrellas out this week-end to go and see…

- The new street art by Mutate Britain near Portobello Rd

- Discover the favourites for the Turner prize @ the Tate (including Roger Hiorns who likes to see life in blue)

- Shop fort art @ the Somerset House craft fair…

- take the kids to Saddlers’ Wells family week-end – an excellent dance show with workshops where 5+ can experiment with dance and shapes… There’s even one for toddlers!

- Dream of exotic India with the Maharaja exhibition @ the V&A..

- Rethink your house with the eco home exhibition at the Geffrye Museum…

- Be very brave and try a nudist flashmob on a London rooftop…

- Or simply, join me in my winter blues fight. I’m having an oriental afternoon tea @ Yauatcha – how could I resist grean tea and coconut scones?

Portobello Market is famous for its travel through time, its cafes, its mix of stalls, its brightly coloured walls, the general happy feeling of the place.

Tourists and locals rush there for the atmosphere, joining the week-end crowd, looking here and there. One is always amazed at the huge stock of silbver teaports, the toy double decker buses or lead toy soldiers, the real and false antiques… (Have a look at Alice, you’ll be amazed!). Or even just have a stroll through the nearby streets, so much quieter, glossy doors, looking the same and different at the same time, draped with ivy sometimes…

If you love British icons, you’ll be delighted. Why not have a cup of tea with the Royal family? Having foreign friends coming for a visit? So chic to serve your Earl Grey in a jubilee cup…

Of, course, you’ll find plenty fo books and videos too… (Try the Oxfam book shop – nice collection there)

…but also stamps…

…and even thimbles…

Would would have thought Portobello was fir for a king/queen?

Portobello Market

Tube: Notting Hill