Afternoon Tea at The Royal Hotel

On October 14th, I was invited to a Bloggers afternoon tea at the Royal Hotel in Southend (very handy since I live 10 minutes away!). I'm not sure you're meant to admit this but it was my very first blogger's event - and what a way to start!

In my twenties (read: drinking days) I avoided the Royal Hotel, it was an unsavoury drinking hole that had a lousy reputation. I always thought it was such a shame as it's an iconic 200+-year-old Southend landmark.

The Beautiful Royal Hotel *Although no 

longer a hotel*

Fast-forward to 2015, when brothers Matthew and David along with their father Terry renovated and saved the building from wreck and ruin, into a glorious restaurant and bar - something Southenders could be proud of.

Upon arrival, we were presented with a glass of non-alcoholic Prosecco called the Bee's Knees which was refreshing and tasty, perfect for baby showers and younger customers who want to feel grown up.

Director/Owner Matthew came to greet us and escorted me to the first-floor ballroom. Unfortunately, the venue isn't wheelchair accessible as it's a Grand II listed building, but all the staff were extremely helpful and supportive in getting myself and my chair around so that I didn't miss out.

The ballroom was exquisite, with the original 1791 floor, ornate coving and chandeliers. Standing in such a grand hall you can imagine how it was THE place to party and dine. Former guests of the Royal Hotel include Princess Caroline, wife of George IV and Lady Hamilton held a final ball for her lover Admiral Horatio Nelson in 1805, just a few months before the Battle of Trafalgar and now Lynsey Garrick lol!

The Royal Ballroom

Afternoon Tea was an absolute treat, we were lucky to sample the Royal Hotel Afternoon tea with delicate sandwiches, a selection of beautiful cakes, macaroons and scones with Tiptree jam. Plus we tried the Gentleman's Royal tea which featured chunky sandwiches, burgers, sausages, cheeses, olives and crackers.

 

The Royal Afternoon Tea and The Gentleman's Tea

Although both were delicious,  I personally preferred the Gentleman's selection which you can also add a Dalimore Whisky tray, sampling various aged products. With both booking's you can have tea, coffee or for a special event, prosecco.

After tea, The Royal Hotel staff hand more treats in store for us. We were escorted by Matthew, whose background is in event organising for venues such as the Tower of London and the Natural History Museum, to meet his brother David a trained flare barman who was head Bar Trainer at the London Cocktail Club.

 

Dr Legba's Emporium and Menu

Tucked away in the venue basement, is the wonderful Dr Legba's Emporium, an Emerald Green tavern, carefully lit, with a reclaimed wooden bar, covered in 2p's (over £170 worth!), quirky lamps and artwork, in addition to intimate tables and seating nooks perfect for a date night or a small celebratory event.

David expertly made us a selection of Royal Hotel cocktails. The menus are regularly rotated and the team are continually testing and trialling new and exclusive recipes.

Every drink was completely out of this world, I could easily spend a whole day trying them all. Each cocktail was distinctive playing on the origin recipes. For example, in David's Espresso Martini he adds salted caramel syrup adding a warming twist to this classic. 

Espresso Martini

I fell in love with the eccentric Absinth fountain, with its four funnels drip pouring the potent liquor into sugar cubes, for a heady aniseed cocktail. The piece de resistance of the afternoon was the "Pork and Apple" a blend of Sour apple liqueur, Absolut vodka, pressed apple juice, fresh lime all stirred with a slice of absinthe caramelised bacon, which is set alight - this cocktail was so scrumptious and the sweet, salty, smoky bacon was a distinctive little treat!

 

Absithe Fountain and The Pork and Apple cocktail

Matthew and David were wonderful hosts, the hotel staff were friendly and sweet, all the food and drinks were knowledgeably handpicked for an elite experience but without customers feeling out of place. The Royal Hotel is a special venue and I highly recommend it for lunches, nights out, afternoon teas or even a Sunday roast, it's a place where every meal feels like a luxurious treat.

View from The Royal Hotel

For more information and to see menu's click here!

L xxx

I'm a Disney feminist

I've seen the live-action Beauty and the Beast 3 times.....so far! It's wonderful, I was worried I'd be expecting Emma Watson to whip out her wand at any moment, but I think she played Belle superbly, the whole cast was brilliant, even casting Ewan McGregor, a Scot, to play the exquisitely French Lumière was a win!

Beauty and The Beast

There has been the inevitable backlash against the film. Firstly due to the gay characters - what poppycock! Do people really think Gay people didn't exist in 18th century France? Half the European royalty had both men and woman keeping their plush beds warm.

The second backlash came because Disney princesses are seen as anti-feminist. Yes, there is usually a handsome Prince involved but the Princesses, especially the newer additions, have been kick-arse diva's, fighting for their cause, their loved ones and their towns.

As a child, my favourite Disney Princess was Airel, a beautiful gutsy redhead (why do you think I have the red hair I have today?). Yes, she fell in love with Eric but that girl had some balls; going to Ursella having her voice taken, risking her father's kingdom, then going to an unknown land alone. I get scared going to Sainsbury's on my own - but as a child, Ariel inspired me, she had courage, and spirit and I tried to convince myself that since my legs didn't work that well, I was obviously a mermaid and the leg-spell had gone wrong.

Ariel

There are various campaigns to ban pink, barbies and gender specific clothing, but why can't we have pink, blue, yellow, green, black and all the colours in between? I agree that Barbie's figure is an unattainable and unrealistic one that could be adapted to a more average woman, but as a girl, I never once looked at her waist, I spent all my time looking at her wardrobe and using my garden as an obstacle course. I didn't have a Ken doll, I borrowed my brothers Action Men and Barbie whooped ass in the Ferrari and Tank. I am all for gender fluidity and I'm a full supporter of LGBT rights/campaigns and yet I still love all things girlie and pink.

I am a feminist. I am a cheerleader for all the woman and men in my life, I teach my Nieces and Nephews about being strong, being who they are and doing what they want to do. My niece Abi is the perfect example of a girlie Feminist. She'll dress in "boy" clothing, teamed with a tutu and a crown, she's the first one diving into a muddy puddle, attempting the biggest climbing frame in the park, all whilst donning Frozen wellies. She is strong, but loves a cuddle, has her eye on a boy already, but doesn't put up with any crap from anyone.

If you haven't already, take your children to see Beauty and the Beast. Belle is feisty and gives as good as she get's, telling The Beast where to go when he's being an idiot, she's courageous taking her father's place as a prisoner and rocks some stunning gowns whilst riding horses - and not side saddle either!

Margo, Edith, and Agnes

Disney films are meant to be an escape from the real world, each of the Princesses reflects society at the time of their release. Cartoons now have characters like Elsa, Merida, Margo, Edith, and Agnes and there are rumours that Elsa will fall in love with a girl (Shock horror!) in the next Frozen film, because we are turning into a more tolerant world, which celebrates differences, and if you aren't going to watch a Disney film because of that, you are missing out and not just at the cinema.

Until next week.
L x

Gi, Tom and Me.

The last week has been a funny one, odd and unusual you might say. I left you with a rant about wedding planning. We've now narrowed it down to two local, very different, venues. I'm so far, not enjoying the wedding planning. There's so much to consider, luckily we have a lot of friends and family keeping me calm.

I had a great day at my Mums last Thursday, snuggles with my youngest nephew, time spent with three of the bigger ones. I cooked dinner for my Mum and Sister, whilst introducing Mum to Bridget Jones, we're doing two more nights to see the other two films, educating our Mumsy in the wonder on Miss Jones. This day made up for the fact that Mike and I were meant to go and see Davina McCall, film A Year From Now at Elstree Studio's - my not sleeping for two days put a stop to that treat *sulk!*

But, the next day I ticked an item off my bucket list. My friend Alison and I took a road trip to Brighton, we popped into my Sister in Law's cafe (The Coach House) and then into town to meet Author, Actor, Writer Giovanna Fletcher. She's written a book on her experiences as a mummy. A tad premature on my part, but I see the book as research - that's what I've told Mike anyway lol!

Gi was lovely, she spent a couple of minutes getting to know each of her fans and then was gracious to have a selfie with each and every one of us. I adore her, and her husband, Tom Fletcher (McFly) and have followed their careers/lives for years now and to meet Gi made me a little giddy.

Me and Gi

Gi, Me and Alison

After getting home from Brighton, driving Mike mad with every little detail of our road trip, I slept for a solid 12 hours. I needed it as we were seeing our first possible wedding venue - Southend's Pier (where Jamie and Jimmy's is filmed). It was a wonderful seaside setting but my caster wheels kept dropping through the planks - not a great start. I had, had my heart set on the place, so I was pretty sad afterwards, but luckily we were heading to Balham that evening for my friend Tom's Birthday, house party.

Obligatory pre-night out couples selfie

Tom is married to my gorgeous friend Kirsty, who I met at school and regular readers may remember we spent four days in Tuscany for their wedding in 2015. We had so much fun, we'd effectively been on holiday with all of the house party guests so it was a mini reunion too. We rocked in at 3am, having experienced my first Uber - how trendy of me!

Kirsty and Tom

I spent the next two day's recovering - not just because of my medical conditions, I'm officially old, the hangover was horrendous - I'll need to build up my tolerance before our wedding - more on that next week!

Until next time, for vlog week!
L xxx

Transport Tantrum

Its Vlog week! This week I'm chatting about trains.... no I'm not a spotter but I'm increasingly frustrated and annoyed by public transport in the UK... so I made a video about it!

Please comment, like, share if you think this is something that needs addressing! Watch the video below or if you can't see the video click here!!

Until next Wednesday!
L xxx

Get a Hobby!

One of my new year's resolutions was to read a book a month, (I'm reading Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher this month) but a friend pointed out that reading is a hobby rather than a resolution so maybe I should have said "To maintain and learn new hobbies" instead.

The word hobby is largely associated with elderly people and a box to fill in on a dating site profile. After talking to a few friends, there is a distinct lack of people with hobbies. Granted many people have very little spare time or would rather be in front of the telly, but I can assure you a hobby can be a wonderful and fulfilling addition to your life.

My current hobbies are cooking/baking, although at the moment these are limited to Slimming World recipes, which is fun, but no giant chocolate cakes and all day cooked briskets for now!  But I'm enjoying experimenting with healthy foods. Last year I went to two cookery classes to make pork pies and macaroons and had so much fun despite being nervous I would struggle, to read my review of The Delightful Tea Bake School click here!

Proud of my Pork Pies

Blogging and vlogging are a hobby; save some of the really famous social media stars, it's not worth opening a blog or channel for money, although I have ads on both the payments are in pennies a month, but I do it for the love of writing. Being too ill (and therefore too unreliable for a full-time job) scuppered my plans to be a journalist, so this, to me, is the next best thing!

If you follow my Instagram you would have seen some unusual crafts appear on my feed. I love doing crafts with my Nieces and Nephews, so I sift through Pinterest for idea's that will entertain 2-12year olds, without destroying Nanny's kitchen! I feel I need to start making time to do crafts for myself, I made our door wreath for Christmas last year and loved it.

Crafts, not just for kids

Since I spend less and less time sleeping these days and more time at home due to the pain, I need a few more hobbies to keep my brain going, even if my body is falling apart. A few months ago I won a huge amount of wool and knitting books - I can't knit, but that's what youtube is for and I'll learn, also other people with CRPS have said it's great for those long nights alone when brain power is scarce!

So, do you have a hobby? Do you think it's a little sad to have hobbies? Or do you have some hobbies to suggest for me to try? Let me know!

Until Next Wednesday...

L xxx

P.S Here's last weeks vlog if you missed it! (If you can't see the video click here!)

novo (Salon) Review

I was lucky enough to win a competition with a Southend Hair salon called novo. I’d won a Kérastase Discipline Blow Dry Treatment for thick unruly hair and after two years without a haircut and a shameful lack of conditioning, my hair was is desperate need of some TLC.

I had a wonderful hairdressing team called Goodman and Brook but they’re in East Sussex and I used to see them when I visited my In-laws, but then they moved West Sussex and as much as I love the G and B team I’m not prepared to drive 2hrs for a hair cut!

Before G and B I hated going to the hairdressers, most of them did as they wished and not what they were asked to do and I once came out of a salon looking like one of my brothers with curtains for hair!

Having won the discipline treatment with novo I thought I’d treat myself to a cut and colour too.

I rode 4 and a half miles on my mobility scooter, only making my hair do worse and arrived at novo. I was greeted By Abbie who was my colourist, she made me a Cappuccino and we started my transformation!

Novo Southend Branch

I chose an even brighter version of the red I already was (although I think I’ll go even brighter next time!) and Abbie and I chatted the whole time. Not only was she glamorous, she was sweet and considerate.

Next, I was introduced to Paige my stylist. Another cappuccino down, we discussed what I wanted to some great length (pun intended!). Paige gave me her advice in regards to the cut in relation to my face and hair type, I felt like she knew exactly what I meant and I already trusted her judgement. We had a funny conversation about all the competitions I enter/win, she felt like and old friend.

After three hours of pampering and brilliant chat (and yet another coffee – I’d had 3hrs sleep!), I felt fabulous! I spent the rest of the day swishing my hair around like a Pantene TV commercial model; my hair was soft, bright and expertly cut.

Before and (thankfully!) after!

Now because I’d had my hair coloured I had to wait 3 days for my Kérastase treatment. So off I scooted back to novo for that. I was introduced to Jasmine, an absolute sweetheart who reminded me of my younger self; Pug mad, chatty, honest and a real people person. The treatment took three hours but my hair once more was gorgeous and I got caught more than once checking myself out!

I really recommend novo, I felt like a valued customer and had a laugh which made me forget my nerves and in fact, I’ve booked to go back in 6 weeks time – a true Lynsey seal of approval!

Until next Wednesday!
L x

To find out more about novo or to book an appointment go to http://novohair.co.uk/ join their facebook group here and check our their Instagram right here where you'll also spot my face!