April 2020 Archives

Another day, another week of lockdown. When I moved into the area, I was keen to try Honey Bee Cakes in Ruislip Manor. I had attempted to visit, but the staff were really rude when I attempted to make a booking. I later had an apology; they were on holiday and the staff looking after the shop were less than professional. I never attempted again, but I did see that they recently have started afternoon tea delivery on one of the delivery apps. 

The afternoon tea includes a selection of two different flavours of sandwiches and a selection of sweet treats and scones with clotted cream and jam. The only item not included was the actual tea or drink. (The rose lemonade was taken from my fridge.) There are five different types of sandwiches to choose from, and I selected the ham and cheese and tomato and pesto.

The sweet treats included a cheesecake, chocolate-covered strawberry, and Victoria sponge cake. I was impressed with the quality of ingredients and the taste of the food. I dislike cheesecake, but this one was actually really good.

The scones (one fruit and one standard) came with a small pot of clotted cream and strawberry jam.

The weather was the best weather of the year so far with full sun. I enjoyed the afternoon tea in my garden and finally managed to get some time to read the "House Beautiful" magazine. If you are looking for afternoon tea delivered, check one of your delivery apps, and you can also order UK-wide from delimann.co.uk, which I have used before and you can read more about here: Delimann Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea Delivery. 

Cookies are my biggest weakness, and I think we are all fed up with being in lockdown. Luckily, there are still a few places delivering UK-wide to get my cookie fix. One of them is Blondies Cookies, a shop that speciaises in creating American-style cookies. Readers of this blog may remember my previous post over Valentine's Day when I purchased one of their large personalised cookie cakes. I visited their shop in Selfridges right before the day in order to place the order.

The staff were extremely nice, and I waited while they created a personalised cookie for me in mid-February.  I checked out their range of cookies while I was in their shop as they were creating the personalised cookie.

I was more than happy with the result, and the cookie is a nice texture of chewiness and crunch and is loaded with chocolate and sugar. The icing on the cookie cake meant that it also went well together, to give a bit of balance and to make it just a little extra special. It was also topped with Oreo cookies and Kinder chocolate bars.

Move on a month later, and it seems like February was an age ago. Blondies Kitchen are one of the few places that are open for delivery only and deliver UK-wide. I'm just far enough out of the centre of London to not be included in any of the London local deliveries through the delivery apps, so I do not have a lot of choice, even though I am well inside the M25. And, as everyone else, I need something to get me through these troubling times. I also wanted to go back to their Selfridges shop in a few months to try some of the other cookies in the range.

I ordered some of their cookies online because, quite frankly, I love cookies and I need something to look forward to during this lockdown. Although I am comfortable staying at home, I also love to get out. I have also spent the majority of the past five years working from home and working virtually non-stop for some of that time, sacrificing my time with the idea that all of this non-stop overtime would change if I work hard now (because I did not know when the wave of being in a freelance job and earning money would end). I would say to live in the now, because tomorrow is never guaranteed, although we all need money in order to achieve these goals. And, a cookie sweetens the deal, right?

Keep safe and well, and I hope to see you all again soon. I hope that this is all over soon.

I visited Shake Shack last month for lunch in Covent Garden, and it was the last restaurant that I visited before the lockdown the same day (March 16th). This restaurant chain actually started its life as a hot dog cart in 2001 in Madison Square Park in Manhattan. For three summers, the cart had long lines/queues, and a permanent kiosk was opened in the park. They were popular for their burgers, hot dogs, frozen custard, and shakes. In 2013, they finally opened in London; Covent Garden was the first branch. They now have several other branches across London. My colleagues told me about how good they were, so I had to try to compare with the likes of Patty&Bun, Honest Burger, and MEATmission.

I ordered a chicken burger and fries. I have to say that I was really impressed. The chicken is a nice bit of meat (not reformed) and coated in buttermilk. I had it plain as I dislike mayonnaise and pickles. The chicken was tender and juicy, and it was actually a perfect burger. The fries were also delicious; they were thin fries and tasty. Honest Burger has good fries as well, but these were better.

Shake Shack can be ordered on Deliveroo depending on the area that you live in. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to wait awhile before I am able to enjoy them again.

Tropidelia is a project based on design and the experimental artwork. The artist is from Barcelona, Spain who experiments with different artistic techniques and subjects. The subjects are meant to shock the viewer, especially combined with the nature of the environment they are found in. Vivid colours are used to create the artwork. Across London, I discovered several paste-ups with an udder theme.

On one of my last personal visits to central London at a weekend in early March, I stopped at VQ on my way to the British Museum. All-day breakfast was in my sights as I love breakfast and did not have anything to eat before leaving home. VQ is located in Bloomsbury and is a European restaurant on the ground floor of St. Giles Hotel, just off Tottenham Court Road. I love pancakes, so I opted for the pancakes with bacon, syrup, and fruit. These really hit the spot.

In addition to pancakes, they also make scrambled eggs, bubble and squeak, full breakfast with vegetarian options, breakfast wraps, and a large amount of healthier items too. Their breakfast takes place all day, but if you do not wish to enjoy breakfast, there are options to have lunch or dinner options and set meals. They also have a bar.

It appears that VQ is open for deliveries or take-away food at this time as long as you are near one of their locations. I would recommend a visit before or after a day spent at the British Musuem, once the lockdown is over with. When I visited in early March, there was plenty of seating available.

LoveLula is a beauty, body, hair, and make-up shop that specialises in organic and natural products. These products can be purchased as a monthly beauty box subscription or as individual full-sized or sample-sized products. I decided to place an order to try some of the products. This post is very late in coming; I actually ordered this box back in the spring of 2015, but it was packed away in a box until mid-February. 

REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask 50ml (50ml): This peel mask promises to renew the complexion and skin tone by removing dead skin cells, which clears the complexion and removes blemishes.

Pacifica Mediterranean Fig Solid Perfume (10g): This is a small-sized dry perfume that is perfect for travel, and it is 100% vegan. It comes in a trendy tin and smells of fig.

JOIK Damascus Rose soy wax scented candle 145g (145g): This rose-scented candle lasts 30 hours, and it is made from natural candle wax and soybeans so that it is biodegradable.

Sample of Cowshed Horny Cow Seductive Body Lotion (ONE per order) (10ml): Rose, vanilla, sandalwood, and cinnamon are the tones of this body lotion.

Sample of Dr Bronner's Lemongrass Shikakai Hand Soap (ONE per order) (Sachet): This hand soap is fair trade and uses organic ingredients that help keep skin clean and nourished.

Sample of Suki Exfoliate Foaming Body Cleanser (1ml): This cleanser and exfoliator is good for problem skin and cleans, nourishes, and prevents blemishes.

Sample of REN Satin Perfection BB Cream (ONE per order) (3ml): This BB cream helps even skin tone and leaves skin looking flawless and with a non-oily finish while protecting skin against the sun and firms and tones.

Sample of REN V-Cense Revitalising Night Cream (3ml): This is a nourishing day cream that helps to minimise and prevent signs of aging. It contains a boost of vitamin C and other ingredients to stimulate collagen.

NATorigin Hand and Nail Cream: This product promises to relieve sore and dry hands and nails; it includes ingredients that moisturise the skin and absorbs into the skin without leaving a greasy or oily feeling.

Living Nature Vitalising Cleaner: This is a natural cleanser that washes away dirt and leaves skin feeling fresh and revived, and it is delicate on skin.

Dudu-Osun Black Soap: Dudu Osun is a black soap made from natural ingredients, and it promises to restore damaged skin and helps to heal eczema, acne, and spots. This product promises cleaning, protecting, moisturising, and anti-aging.

Botanicals Beautiful Hands: This product helps to repair damaged hands and nails, and it is a perfect product for winter or spring gardening.

Mary Elizabeth Spearmint and Tea Tree Balm: This product can be used on the lips or on other parts of the body that need some extra TLC.

On one of my last personal visits to central London early last month, I visited the British Museum and then stopped off at Danish bakery Ole & Steen on Tottenham Court Road before getting the tube home. Ole & Steen has been serviving pastries in Denmark for twenty years before setting up chains in London and Oxford. In the cafe, I opted for a "Festival Bun", which is pictured below. The pastry was flakey with a berry mousse, but it was a little too sweet and dry for my liking, so I could not finish it; it was actually a large size and could have been shared between two people, I thought.

I had better luck with the chocolate pastry (pictured below), which I took home and had for breakfast the following day.

Due to the lockdown and COVID19, the bakery is currently closed. 

'Love Piepenbrinck' (lovepiepenbrinck), a street artist from Germany, creates small pig sculptures and paints and decorates them in different colours and outfits before pasting them on walls. The artist has created many of these in London and across the world, but they have not been spotted for a few years now. The ones posted below are amongst the last that I discovered and never posted.

More street art by Love Piepenbrinck on this blog is located below:

Street Art: Love Piepenbrinck
More Art Pigs by Love Piepenbrinck
New Street Art 'Love Pigs' in London by Love Piepenbrinck

Back in early March, I visited Cupcake Stories, a little cafe and bakery specialising in cupcakes and located in the lower ground floor of Covent Garden market. Visitors can come here to get breakfast and coffee or tea or even afternoon tea while listening to the live bands and singers performing in the open courtyard square here in the lower ground floor of the market. The cupcakes change with the seasons, and in early March, they had a mixture of several different flavours with Valentine's Day decor still on display as the shadow of that holiday had just passed. 

Plenty of seating is located inside the Cupcake Stories cafe, but there are also tables outside.

Here's a little more of the range on offer.

I had the rainbow-coloured cupcake, which reminded me of a circus theme. The cupcake was a chocolate flavour, and it was a good cupcake with the correct ratio of icing to sponge, and it was not too sweet nor heavy. 

I wanted to return to visit to try a different flavour or afternoon tea, but the lockdown happened before I could. Hopefully, it will still be there when things clear, though I am not sure what the future holds.

Over the past few years, I discovered several miniature house sculptures pasted onto various walls around east London. At least, they look like minature houses and buildings to me, constructed out of clay and formed with clay blocks. I thought that they looked really interesting, but I am not sure who is behind them or what their story is.

If you know anything about these miniature clay buildings, please drop me a message.

Since I cannot enjoy going out to try new food due to the lockdown, I must have it delivered to the house. Many companies are offering home deliveries at the moment, and there is still much money to be made by keeping the operations going. Although many of these only offer limited services within a mile or so of their area, others are offering UK-wide delivery. With the cachement areas of the deliveries being this limited, this meant that I cannot enjoy taking advantage of many of these deliveries in central London as I am about twelve miles away from central London (Trafalgar Square is known as the central point of central London); I am close enough to central London, but many companies who are allowing delivery are not able to delivery to me. On top of that, with many of the takeaways closing their doors, I now only have a couple of options for takeaway delivery. But, some companies are allowing UK-wide deliveries, and Dollies is one of those. 

Dollies sells cookies, and they are based in Leicester but offer UK-wide delivery. This is perfect if you want to order a few different flavours of cookies to share instead of having to cook your own (or locate ingredients to be able to do so). Cookies are dispatched within seven days of order, and they offer seasonal flavours. The cookies themselves keep for a few days but taste much better warmed up for a couple of minutes. 

I decided to give them a try, and I was not disappointed. I had the following flavours: Love Note, Shiver Me Timbers, Cadbury Milkybar Chip, Funfetti, Chocolate Chip Walnut, Chocolate Chip - Nutella Stuffed, S'mores, and I'll Never Let Go, Jack.

Love Note was a white chocolate with raspberry or strawberry flavour. Shiver Me Timbers was a peppermint cookie that would taste perfect for December but felt a bit out of place in the spring. Cadbury Milkybar Chip contained Cadbury Mini Eggs on top and was a good and solid chocolate chip cookie. Funfetti was a white chocolate chip cookie with sprinkles. Chocolate Chip Walnut was a chocolate chip and walnut cookie. Chocolate Chip Nutella Stuffed was the standard chocolate chip with Nutella filling inside. S'mores was a perfect autumn cookie with dark chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker, and miniature Hershy's chocolate bar on top. I'll Never Let Go, Jack is a named inspired by the 1990s "Titanic" film and is pistachio and rose.

What were my favourites? The Chocolate Chip Walnut was a clear winner for me, and the "I'll Never Let Go, Jack" was also a good cookie.

You can order from them here: https://www.dolliescookies.co.uk/

You can view their Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/dolliescookies/

Good morning, and Happy Easter. I hope that everyone is enjoying this very strange Easter, the lockdown Easter. I hope that everyone is staying safe and protecting each other and not going out so that this illness can be controlled and we can hopefully leave home sometime this year. Before the lockdown and when I was working near Covent Garden in March, I managed to pop into Hotel Chocolat and buy some Easter chocolate. They always have a nice range of Easter chocolates.

Hotel Chocolat "Pen Pals" are a cute trio of chocolates in milk, dark, and white featuring a chick (Elizapeck), sheep (Woolliam), and rabbit (Rabbert).

I also picked up three of the egg sandwiches in different flavours. These included a cute Lamb & Mint egg which is dark chocolate mint; it has a cute lamb chocolate face on one half of the chocolate slab and the lamb tail on the other half. The second one is Caramayo, which is a caramel milk chocolate. The milk chocolate caramel is my favourite from the brand. The last one is Cookie Dough and Ice Cream, which appears to be a flavoured milk chocolate with strawberry and cookie dough flavouring.

I don't think this is how anyone planned to spend their Easter. I had hoped to enjoy the season in London as Easter is always a nice time of the year; I hoped to see flowers, florals displays, and possibly even go to Columbia Road Flower Market as I have done in previous years. I had originally hoped to go to Cambridge for one of the days because there were a couple of sculpture trails to see. I am sure others had plans of family gatherings, Easter egg hunts, visits with friends, and pub lunches. I hope that everyone manages to stay safe.

I visited Gelateria 3Bis in Borough Market a few years ago with a friend. Gelateria 3Bis was founded in Rimini, Italy, in 1987 and came to London several years ago now. The Borough Market branch can get quite busy with tourists, and I've had ice cream and sorbet a couple of times there with friends and family. On this occassion, I had the dark chocolate and pistachio ice cream in a cone. This came with a waffer on top.

The pistachio was a decent flavour, but I prefer chunks of pistachio nuts in my pistachio ice cream. The better flavour, i thought, was the dark chocolate.

There are two branches of Gelateria 3Bis; one of these is in Borough Market, and one of these is in Notting Hill. 

My Dog Sighs is a popular street artist who has painted all over the UK. His work is comprised of a couple of different styles: realistic-looking eyes and fun illustrations of his 'Hug' figures. Both styles are completely different and contrasting. The 'Hug' paste-ups often make an appearance and are accompanied with text. A few of the 'Hug' figures work is below.

The other subject that My Dog Sighs paints often is realistic-looking eyes. These are usually painted, but a series of these were completed on newspaper and sheet music and then pasted across various walls in London. 

The below eye was later modified by Pez, a street artist from Spain that I have previously covered in this blog. You can see Pez's work here: Pez, "Smiling Since 1999" Street Art.

In addition to eyes, there was also a series of bubbles, which is created with a similar style to eyes.

Previous work from My Dog Sighs on this blog is located on the below links:

My Dog Sighs on Rivington Street
My Dog Sighs 
My Dog Sighs
Mural in a hidden alley in Blackall Street
Collaborated with street artist Midge
Manchester Street Art
My Dog Sighs @ Bristol Upfest 2015
Artist My Dog Sighs' Hug Mural in Bedminster, Bristol

Tonight and early tomorrow morning are the best times to see April's Pink Super Moon. The moon itself will not appear in a pink shade, but it will be a paler orange or white colour. The name actually comes from the time of year; it was named by the native Americans as it is a full moon near the start of spring. April is known for the presence of many flowers, notably the "moss pink" or phlox flowers, which it was named after and one of the plants that blooms at the time of year.

The sky was a little cloudy or hazey tonight, so the photographs of the super moon are not the best moon photographs that I have managed to take.

The moon will be at its best in the early morning, so set the alarms early to check it out. The super moon can be seen in the UK, Europe, and in North America.

Earlier this year, I started working on the Strand near Covent Garden, and I really enjoyed my daily walk from Holborn station through Covent Garden each day and before the market got busy. The spring flowers were in bloom and arranged beautifully, so I managed to get several photographs without having to wait for other people in the way of the shot. Covent Garden's displays always look pretty, so I was looking forward to seeing how these evolve over the course of the year. 

I also managed to get a photograph of Le Pink Fiagro, which often is parked outside Henrietta in Covent Garden. It was sporting white hearts.

Another pretty floral display is located on New Row outside of an Italian restaurant.

The Ivy in Covent Garden also decorated nicely, and their spring display is located below. It was only changed a couple of weeks before the lockdown.

The Ivy on King's Road was also decorated for spring.

And just before the lockdown, I had the pistachio bunny sundae from Hotel Chocolat. This was their Easter special. It was a wet and rainy spring and unusually cold, and I was really looking forward to warmer days spent in this part of London, which is one of my favourite parts of London.

Unfortunately, we have had to go into lockdown. I just hope that everyone stays safe. Until we can enjoy London again, I hope you enjoy these photographs in the meantime.

I previously had lunch at the Far Rockaway Bar, which was located on Curtain Road in Shoreditch. I only visited the once with a work colleague back in 2014, and I enjoyed it and always wanted to visit again. Not long after that visit and I attempted to visit it again, but it was closed for refurbishment. It never seemed to open after that when I walked past it. It was an American-style diner and bar with USA-themed items and a collection of artwork and action figures, amongst sports items. I really liked it,a nd I loved that a lot of street artists painted inside. 

There was this huge collection of action figures, which was pretty awesome.

And skateboards lined one of the ceilings.

Street artists, such as HIN, painted some artwork for the walls.

Saki and B*tches also painted the walls in one of the rooms with her fantasy women.

I had a chicken burger with onion rings, and I enjoyed it. 

I wanted to visit again to enjoy more food (onion rings!) and cocktails, but I never got to. I had hoped to visit here for my work-leaving party back in early 2015, but it did not happen. It is unfortunate that it doesn't exist because there was a lot more street art there that I never got to photograph, and I only had an old camera with me, so the photographs did not come out well.

Previously covered on this blog is the street art of Jay Kaes, a London-based artist who often paints in east London. His work uses a comic-book style of illustration using bright colours and bold lines. Portraits, technology, and social scenes (groups of people together) are common subjects. Some of his work has a science fiction or fantasy theme to it as well. The below photographs were captured over the past few years.

For more work by Jay Kaes on this blog, see the links below:

Meeting of Styles Wall 2018
Jay Kaes Refreshes Pedley Street's Street Art
Jay Kaes and Falko One Murals on Old Street
Jay Kaes on Pedley Street
Early January Street Art and All-Female Paint-up in Blackall Street
Mural on Old Street by Kaes and Core246
The Final Days - Leonard Street and Blackall Street (Street Art)
'Meeting of Styles' London Street Art Festival 2014

The Worshipful Company of Gunmakers is located on Commercial Road, just outside the city of London and on the same stretch of road that eventually becomes Whitechapel Road. It is 73rd of the 110 livery companies of the City of London and started in 1637. The purpose of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers is to test guns for safety. Since 1675, they have been located at "The Proof House" on the Commercial Road location. In addition to testing firearms, the company also investigate all issues involving them. They are also responsible for proofing all of the safe firearms and are stamped with a pass; if the firearms pass the proof, they cannot be sold in the UK.  

For more information about London's livery companies, see http://www.liverycompanies.info/a-z-list-of-companies/.

Do you want to know an April Fool's Day joke? I think we can all say that 2020 has been a big joke. It would be good if this whole coronavirus was a huge April Fool's Day joke on the world. It's actually a really bad joke because it's not at all funny with the situation that the world is in. I think everyone just wants it to end so that we can all get on with our lives, but I don't see us getting back anytime soon. Even in China, which started the mess, it has been around five months, and they are still not fully-operational. When I count five months, I am counting the middle of November, where I have read that the first case happened although it was not recorded until December. The first cases in many other countries were toward the end of January, and most places did not lock down, so I think we have until the middle or end of June before the threat levels go down. 

As I commute to work and was working with my colleagues in the office until St. Patrick's Day, I stayed indoors since then. Yesterday was day fourteen, and if I was going to get any obvious symptoms, I more-than-likely would have had them by then. I had to leave my house for the first time in fourteen days in order to get medication. I actually do not want to leave the house. Food supplies are running a little low too, and besides the St. Patrick's Day week when I was able to get a grocery delivery, I have tried all of the major supermarkets and am unable to get a delivery at all. It's crazy. It's scary. It's a nightmare.

Anyway, I thought that I'd post some photographs of my flowers in the garden because there's little else I can photograph, and I particularly do not want to go outside and risk getting ill.

But anyway, happy April First, Apirl Fool's Day. And I've not even given a joke because nothing can compare to this nightmare of 2020.