Finding a good hat for the impending Royal Ascot week is always a challenge and while in the good retail hat departments you can gain inspiration and some variety there is always the option of visiting a good milliner. We set off to North London to visit Rosie Olivia a wonderful hat designer. Rosie supplies hats…
Royal Ascot
A truly British and fantastic day at the races. A week of watching the fillies and enjoying formal picnics in car parks with your friends what could be more English. We took our daughters as soon as they were permitted to attend and from an early age this has been a great family event. My…
Saatchi Gallery & Duke of York Square
The transformation of The Duke of York Square now makes it a central feature of the Kings Road at Sloane Square. The restaurants have all embraced this little enclave as have the retail units and it has now really come together with a great atmosphere and buzz especially at the weekends when there is a…
Chelsea in Bloom
One of my favourite events of the year is the Chelsea Flower Show which sadly I missed this year as we were travelling. However Chelsea really embraced the floral and horticultural buzz that was in the air and shops all around the area displayed the most spectacular arrangements of flowers and fauna in their windows,…
Glyndebourne
Its May and the great British season has begun. May June and we all pray for good weather and sunshine as we have to plan picnics in Black Tie sitting outside in beautiful gardens or near a race track! The first of these outings is Glyndebourne. Founded in 1934 by John Christie who was married to the…
Fenwick of Bond Street
A millinery exhibition and auction in celebration of 125 years of Fenwick of Bond Street. In 1882 a young shop assistant converted a doctors house in a residential area in Newcastle-upon-Tyne into a shop selling silks, dresses and trimmings. With this success the family expanded and purchased the current site in Bond Street in 1891….
Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully
The weekend at Litfest was a bombardment of good food, amazing produce and a collection of really interesting people from all aspects of the food and drink industry. We attended several ‘pop up’ restaurants where you find yourself next to a fellow foodie but each with a fascinating story and lots of interesting careers in…
Litfest 2016
The Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food. This was an entire weekend dedicated to food and its associations. There were cookery demonstrations, talks and lots of opportunities to taste wonderful cuisine. This is run with a series of events which are divided across the Ballymaloe estate including the cookery school. The Grainstore becomes an auditorium…
Senso-Ji
This is a major tourist attraction but the origins are very intertwined with the local people.The legend is that in AD628 the goddess of compassion Kannon was fished out of the nearby Sumida-gawa by local fishermen. A golden statue was erected on this site in memory of this and in time the temple was built…
Tokyo
When Alasdair announced he had a business trip in Tokyo I was determined to tag along for the ride. Having spent my childhood in this great city I wanted to return and revisit many places which hold really special memories. From the airport we enjoyed a taxi ride through the city where everything is immaculate…
theenglishcontessa.com 