December 2021 Archives

Hello, readers. I hope that you have all had a good year. I, for one, am glad to see the end of 2021. This year has not been a good year to me, and it was worse than 2020. I went into the year with hope and positive feelings that 2021 would bring improvements and stability, but for me, 2021 has upset my world. A few weeks into the year, something just felt "out of alignment" for me, and things quickly got worse. I felt that I could not get ahead, and so many things were a set-back with me. I have had the worst of times again, and I really do not know why, despite keeping positive and hopeful (until it came all too much). I really do not know what to say other than that I am feeling lost. I am feeling trapped in some limbo cycle that has been continuing for a few years now. I do not know how to break from that path, and I feel that I cannot control it, despite my best efforts. Working hard and supporting or giving to others has not worked in my favour. Despite all of that, I did manage to enjoy some things, so that will be my focus!

January: We started off the year in a continuation of total lockdown. All non-essential shops and all hospitality sectors were shut since last October, and they would continue to be shut until early July with everything reopening in August. On New Year's Day, I took a trip over to Canary Wharf to see the new light illuminations, "Connected by Light" that was taking place this year in place of the annual "Winter Lights" before new stricter lockdown measures were enforced.

I busied my time at work, which I was enjoying more since the agency controlling it was finally gone and we started to make plans. My workplace allowed half-day Fridays, so I made the most of my time getting out of the house and taking walks. Over the next few weeks, I would come to learn about some lovely places on my doorstep to enjoy; I'd lived here for just over five years and had not had the chance to explore them yet! Eactcote House Gardens, Ruislip Woods, and the Celandine Way were three places that I went to explore for the first time. Since we were in lockdown, the footpaths were all so muddy due to everyone going out to walk for their exercise; I fell over on my walks a few times but did not let that stop me. The remains of the Battle of Britain House in Ruislip Woods was one of my little Friday lunchtime walks.

The highlight of the month was the snow day that we had toward the end of the month. I don't like snow, but it is a novelty here. The snow fell on a Sunday morning, and I took a walk around the area to get photographs. So many people (as long as they were able and not working) seemed to be outside and playing in the snow with their families. Parks and front gardens were filled with snowmen and giant snowballs.

February: February was a continuation of walks and watching the first signs of spring emerge (Snowdrops in Ruislip). I was content, and I finally felt as though I had some form of balance and stability in my life; I was looking forward to the end of the lockdowns when I could start to enjoy life fully. I also started the process of closing my freelancing company as I felt that this chapter in my life was now behind me and thought that I had the stable job that I'd longed for.

The middle of the month brought Valentine's Day and Pancake Day virtually back-to-back, and this was followed a couple of days later by my first vaccine appointment for protecting me against COVID-19. On Valentine's Day weekend, I took a tube journey into east London to walk around and see street art, and I enjoyed a take-away Valentine's Day treat from HumbleCrumble (read about other Valentine's Day London desserts.) Lockdown Pancake Day was not the most exciting this year since dining out was not an option and most restaurants were shut. I made pancakes at home, but they looked like cow patties after I put chocolate spread on them! A couple of days later, I had my first vaccine appointment; this gave me some hope about getting back to life.

The end of the month brought a few sunny and warm days, and I was enjoying the signs of spring on my walks around the area, particularly Eastcote House gardens (read my post about signs of spring around Ruislip and Eastcote). One day that I remember particularly well was the first (or one of the first) proper warm day of the year on the last Friday of the month. I had walked to Eastcote House and discovered amazing crocuses in full bloom nearby; I had a long wander and felt amazing. I was full of hope and looking forward to the future.

March: For the past three or four years, I've got to add that March is not a good month to me. Last year, it was the lockdown. Before that, it was issues with contracts or mortgages or being messed around by something that I have no control over. It just has not been a very good month for me for the past few years. Unfortunately, the bad trend continued this year. The "Ides of March" was the lockdown last year, and this year brought trouble at work. We were told that top management were looking to replace the framework at work, and this happened just as I had felt started to feel settled with job security and had started the process to close my freelancing company. We were told that no one would be made redundant. I was worried, and I left that meeting crying my eyes out to a friend. I just feel that I cannot "catch my breath." Also, I thought that I had found the company I wanted to grow with, but they later turned out to treat me poorly and based on what I saw from others and experienced, they do not wish to invest in people (nor realise that they actually do need my skills and skills of others, but these things are always coming from the clueless top management).

I struggled throughout March due to the news. The most positive aspect of March was the "postbox toppers"; essentially, several postboxes in the area were yarn-bombed with spring and Easter themes (Postboxes in Ruislip and Eastcote have been Yarn-bombed). I had fun finding these. Yarn-bombing and crafts have experienced a boom during the lockdowns.

At the end of the month, I had to take a couple of days of annual leave or lose it. Since we were still in lockdown, I did not have many options, but we had a couple of days of glorious weather, so I took advantage of that. On the first day, I walked across Ickenham Marsh and then picked up the Celandine Route trail from Swakeley's Park to Ruislip. It was a long walk, but I really enjoyed it and found some great areas to visit.

The day after the long walk, I had a more relaxing day. I ordered a takeaway afternoon tea (since we were still in lockdown) from Foodie Wuwdies in Pinner and had a quiet day in with a bottle of Prosecco, jazz and swing music, and not as nice weather as the previous day but offered a chance to relax. On one of the Fridays in March, I'd also walked to Pinner on a beautiful day, and it was full lockdown but so many people were out in the park; I listened to a good musician who was singing and playing a guitar on a park bench near the aviary in the park.

April: Easter was at the beginning of the month, and restrictions eased slightly so I could see the bloke's brother and his family in Bournemouth. They'd had a new baby right born around Christmas to meet, but I was unable to meet them due to the restrictions, and the last time I had actually visited them was in January of last year. We visited Hengitsbury Head in Dorset and had a walk around on a lovely sunny day. Due to the lockdowns, I was not used to walking (or leaving the house much) and suffered some blisters on my heels after a short walk.

Then more trouble came. I was stalked! Late at night on Easter night and the early morning, a group of local youths broke into the cricket ground and caused expensive damage there. I was doing some community social media work from October of the previous year. On one of the social media groups, I was targeted because a member had posted images and video of a huge group of intoxicated people (which turned out to be youths of various ages but some of them not legally adults) damaging the property. I was stalked online with a threatening letter put through my door because of this. This actually caused me issues with my mental health and anxiety. The mother in question should have been angry with her daughter and not me; if your teenager is out at 3:00am, then that has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the parent or guardian. Regarding social media and online, I had always been very careful and never shared my personal details online as I have been a bit paranoid before about what is on social media. Unfortunately, I have an uncommon name that I was also using for my social media (because why wouldn't you use your real name so your connections know who you are?), so I had to make changes to that. Then, you start to think about identity and how it impacts your friends and family, and it ended up being a vicious cycle. After this incident, I locked a lot of things down and am still paranoid.

Throughout April, I continued almost-weekly visits to Eastcote House Gardens, and mid-April was my favourite time here. The gardens were stunning with a mixture of colourful tulips and spring blossom.

Toward the end of the month, a few restrictions were lifted and some places could reopen. I visited Emmett's Garden in Kent and discovered a carpet of bluebells. I did not realise that Emmett's Garden is one of the best places to see the bluebells in the south of England. I also saw bluebells at Hatchlands, which probably had the largest display that I discovered this year, and Cliveden (visited for the beautiful daffodil display and separately for the bluebells), Ruislip Woods, and Bayhurst Woods in Ruislip.

May: In May, galleries were allowed to reopen, and I was happy to be one of the few who was able to view Lucy Sparrow's Bourdon Street Chemist at the beginning of the month. I previously visited her first exhibition near Columbia Road market several years ago. All of the items are made from felt. In this case, it was a pharmacy (or chemist).

Toward the end of the month, theatre performances were allowed to reopen at limited capacity, and I visited the "War of the Worlds" Immersive Experience for my second time after a couple of years. Getting back to live events and performances was an amazing feeling. Our expeirence felt a bit rushed with technical issues, unfortunately.

Since I was unable to use much of my annual leave last year, I carried as much as I could over and had to use it throughout the year. I had some time out to take advantage of the warmer weather to visit National Trust properties. A few of the places that I visited included Lacock Village and Fox-Talbot Museum, Lacock Abbey, Great Chalfield Manor, Westwood Manor, and Petworth.

At the end of May, the bloke and I had our first mini-break away from home: Derby. We went to visit museums and to see the Derby Ram Trail. The Ram Trail was my first of several charity sculpture trails this year. Other places we visited on this long weekend included Calke Abbey, Derby Museums, and Katherine's Cafe and Gifts. Katherine's had the best cookie sandwiches, and I wish there was a branch close to me in London! They also make amazing "unicorn" hot chocolate or milkshakes. After so long of not being out of the house much, going away for a weekend was a new experience. 

June: Warm weather continued at the start of June, and the bloke and I headed to Southampton to visit the Elephant Parade, the second sculpture trail I saw this year, and Medieval Merchant's House, an English Heritage historical museum. We had an enjoyable day, and nice weather always helps make life more enjoyable.

The European Cup football games also started this month, and we had a few street parties to coincide with the games and decorated the street and houses with flags. We had BBQs and plenty of drinks and set up space outside with televisions to watch the games.

June is my birthday month, and it was a semi-lockdown birthday for me. I ordered a large sheet cake from Costco and had drinks with neighbours on the day as everything was still largely closed. This birthday was not a total lockdown like it was last year because we had a few freedoms, but reduced-capacity dining was available again from mid-June. I booked Bottomless Champagne Afternoon Tea at Rubens at the Palace to celebrate my birthday a week later, and I enjoyed being able to dine out again and enjoy afternoon tea.

The end of the month took me to Maidstone in Kent to see another charity sculpture trail, Elmer's Big Heart of Kent Sculpture Trail. It required a full day of walking, and some of the sculptures required a car to get to. The bloke and I walked to the majority of them, even though there were large gaps between many of the sculptures. Before leaving Maidstone, we visited National Trust's Stoneacre, which I thought was a beautiful house and gardens.

July: July was a busy month, and the country was starting to reopen more venues and lift more restrictions. I had three overnight breaks this month to begin to use my annual leave. The first overnight trip was to Cambridge, and I explored the city's museums and attractions on my own at the beginning of the month. I completed another sculpture trail, Cows of Cambridge Sculpture Trail, and I also visited the Dinky Doors miniature doors around the city. I visited several museums and other attractions, and these are detailed here: Exploring Cambridge and Punting on the River Cam. 

In the middle of the month, the bloke and I had a long weekend in Northumberland. We stayed for one night at the previous inn that we visited last August and visited Segedunum Roman Fort near Newcastle and a few National Trust and English Heritage properties (such as Belsay Hall and Brinkburn Priory). The additional nights were spent in a bed and breakfast in Alnwick, and one of the best meals that I enjoyed this year was a late lunch at The Treehouse at Alnwick Gardens. I visited the castle, gardens, the largest second-hand bookstore (Barter Books), and other attractions in Alnwick (What to See and Do in Alnwick).

Readers may recognise Alnwick Castle as it was used for filming "Harry Potter". The castle does have a lot of Harry Potter exhibitions and a tour, and the photograph below was where the students learned broom skills. The castle today does offer broomstick flying lessons for children in the same location.

Another highlight of this long weekend break was a visit to the Farne Islands and Inner Farne to walk amongst sea birds and puffins. This was such an amazing trip, and it included about an hour of sailing around the islands to look at sea birds and seals. We had an hour to spend on the island, which included raised walkways so we did not disturb nesting birds. The baby puffins were just about to emerge from holes in the ground, but we only saw a couple of heads poking out of the holes and a few bodies of those that emerged too early and did not make it. The return trip went much quicker because we got soaked by the rain in the boat for the last half hour on the way back to the mainland.

Although the summer was largely a washout, we had a few sunny days here and there. We took off some time to visit some National Trust properties to make the most of our membership. These properties included Baddesley Clinton, Packwood House, Biddulph Grange, Coughton Court, and Moseley Old Hall.

At the end of July, we had another long weekend away for our ten-year anniversary. This time we went to Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. I had originally wanted to visit the Isle of Skye, but it was booked up a few months in advance. On the way up to Dumfries and Galloway, we stopped off at Carlisle for one night and enjoyed one of the best meals that I have had this year at David's Restaurant. We struggled to find places to eat in Scotland, and the country still had strict distancing measures in place during our visit.

Unfortunately, Scotland still had stricter pandemic restrictions than England, so we did not get to see many attractions here due to the large majority remaining shut. We were able to visit Buittle Castle, which was the highlight of the trip. We also visited Threave Garden, Castle Kennedy Gardens, several distilleries, and a couple stone circles/cairns. I will be posting some of these places in the coming weeks.

August: I wanted to lay low for August as July had been busy, and August usually suffers from poor weather anyway. I also expected that families eager for time away would cause a surge in domestic travel with a shortage of accommodation, so I decided to avoid expensive overnight stays. On a warm Friday, I took the tube across London and a train to Southend-on-Sea where I saw the "Hares About Town" sculpture trail, lovely gardens, and the pier. I did not realise that Southend-on-Sea's pier was over a mile long. I took the train out on it as I did not want to stay out too long, and a train on a pier was a novelty for me. Visitors can also walk the pier, and I nearly did as I did not realise how long it was, so I am so glad that I booked the train for the return journey on the pier.

Then things got worse. I received the bad news at the end of the month - one day before I started three long weekends of holidays, as if that was not harsh enough. I learned that my role was actually being made redundant (we were lied to in mid-March) at the company that I really enjoyed, and I had only just started to feel a sense of stability early in the year. What is even harsher is that most of the pandemic restrictions had just been lifted (but we are still in a pandemic).

This news was the first catalyst for the anxiety and depression that would follow me through following weeks and months. It occupied my mind heavily, and I could not find any enjoyment in anything. I tried, but it was there in my thoughts like a shadow over everything.

That brings me onto the holiday at the end of the month, a day before I was told of the redundancy. It was a last minute plan as a friend contacted me a month prior to go and do something, and we were scheduled to do Leicester and then York. I would not have done anything otherwise. I'd booked my hotel room, and the friend cancelled on me saying he had had the wrong dates in the calendar (dates I told him in advance that I could not do), so I went to Leicester by myself as I'd already made my plans. I visited the Rocket Around Leicester sculpture trail, the National Space Centre, the Richard II museum, abbey ruins, and other museums. There are enough things to do and see for a couple of days should you find yourself in Leicester. The best thing was the farting alien sculpture in front of the Victorian sewage pumping station, and thinking about that makes me laugh. (I'll be adding posts in the coming weeks for unblogged Leicester!)

The highlight of the month for me was the visit to Worcester for one night over the bank holiday at the end of the month. I had fun exploring the beautiful city in the sunshine locating elephant sculptures on the Worcester Big Elephant Parade, yet another sculpture trail. I enjoyed a good breakfast and dinner at The Cosy Club, which was another one of the best restaurants that I ate in this year. While in the area and travelling around it, we visited a few National Trust properties: Brockhampton, Croome, and The Firs. This was only one night away and booked at short notice because I just needed to get my mind off everything.

September: September brought two more long weekends of holiday, but my mind was really struggling. September and October is normally my favourite time of the year, and I had been looking forward to my trip to Ilfracombe all year. It was the first holiday that I booked, and I booked it at the start of the year. To be honest, I could not concenrate on anything this month and found life a struggle. I guess the best way to describe it is "going through the motions".

Now another piece of bad news. I had originally booked my accommodation in Ilfracombe at the start of the year, and it was scheduled to be the first weekend of the month, but the bed and breakfast that I had booked at had decided to sell it with less than a month's notice to my reservation. (Their sale ended up falling through, so I was able to re-book for the weekend after my original booking as my original dates were not available.) Talk about hassle and having to re-book attractions and restaurants! During the days that I was meant to be in Ilfracombe but was let down by the accommodation, I'd decided to book up a budget hotel for two nights in Suffolk to visit a variety of different attractions: Audley End House, Sutton Hoo, Melford Hall, Ickworth, Landguard Fort, a few other heritage properties, and a quick visit to Norwich Cathedral to see Dippy the Dinosaur and GoGo Discover Dinosaurs trail. (Of course, the weather was nicer for the original weekend that I was scheduled to be in Ilfracombe, and nice weather does make a world of difference.)

All of these attractions are very different. Audley End House is a huge 17th century Jacobean mansion with grounds. Sutton Hoo is a series of burial mounds dating from about 2,000 years ago, and there is a museum about the discovered items and the burial. Melford Hall is a manor house that is famously associated with Beatrix Potter, the creator of "Peter Rabbit" and other characters, who stayed there, so there are various items related to her. Ickworth is an Italian-style mansion with extensive grounds and a few pieces of art on display inside the mansion. Landguard Fort is a port fort at Felixstowe and has a history from the 1600s through the Cold War. There are mazes of rooms to discover, and it is rich in history. It ended up being my favourite attraction that I visited on this trip.

As previously mentioned, the Ilfracombe trip was put back to the following weekend, which was then the middle of the month. My mind was very anxious due to the work situation and, on top of that, the bloke was complaining because he did not want to visit Lundy island because he did not want to walk around and wanted to watch the Formula 1! I'd already booked Lundy months ago, so he was aware. So, the stress was getting to me and making me extremely depressed. I was at a really low point. I had been looking forward to Ilfracombe all year, and the trip was already plagued by the accommodation informing me just shy of a month before my visit that they had to change my booking. This week and the next several weeks were amongst my lowest points.

Lundy island, which is a few miles off of the main coast, was the highlight of the visit to Devon and Ilfracombe. The weather was overcast and not too cold nor warm, and I found a few letterboxes. I will have to return to discover the others. I just wish that the bloke had not kept complaining as it really wore me down when I was already at a low, and this made everything worse and meant that I did not have a great time. I was already mentally and then physically exhausted with my life.

I also visited some National Trust and English Heritage properties on the Ilfracombe visit. I visited Knightshayes, a Victorian mansion with a lovely garden and fresh flowers in the rooms. I also visited Monacute, an Elizabethan mansion, and the ruins of a monastary called Muchelney Abbey. The abbey's highlights include the intact outhouse (which is a rare example surviving today) and one of the buildings of the complex. I also visited the beautiful property Lytes Cary, which is a home dating back to the middle ages. Sherborne Old Castle and Arlignton Court were additional attractions that I visited during this trip. Arlington Court house was not fully open, but we could look around a couple of rooms on the ground floor and explore the gardens and the carriage museum. (More posts will be published about some of these places in the coming weeks.)

Before leaving Ilfracombe, I spent the majority of one of the days exploring Lynton and Lynmouth. The weather was not great during the majority of the trip, as I mentioned, and this was one of the wettest of the days; the other wet day, we actually did something in the morning then went back to the bed and breakfast. We walked around a couple of the attractions and took a ride up the Cliff Railway and had lunch (afternoon tea) on top. I still want to walk from the Valley of Rocks as I enjoyed this walk a year ago. There is a pathway into the town from the trail.

October: October is another month that has not been kind to me in recent years, especially when it comes to work. In the middle of October, the redundancy came through, firmly cementing the chapter of my time at the company. At the same time, an aunt and a series of friends were lost to COVID with additional friends and family in hospital or very ill with COVID. With this sudden bombardment and the past several weeks of emotional exhaustion (also not helped by the bloke), my mental health deteriorated. I was emotionally and mentally exhausted, and my mind was in the darkest place. Not only that, but I was really screwed over by that company, but I cannot go into details about that here. It ended up being a really bad place to work and not the company that I thought it was, and that really affected me because I had put in so much effort and went above and beyond. Everything just crashed down on me. 

Before the August announcement, I had been planning to book a spa visit to use up some of my annual leave and to actually unwind for once as I do tend to pack a lot in to my breaks. I was planning to do this in late October as there were some Halloween-themed specials that enticed me. I've never ever been to a spa nor treated myself. I planned to take a few books and enjoy some down-time. Unfortunately, this plan was canned. I was glad that I had actually not booked it as I would have been unable to relax.

At the start of October, I visited the Gratitude Sculptures in Southwark Cathedral. These have been painted to raise charity for NHS charities. All of the sculptures were placed around the cathedral in a socially-distanced group. I met another person in the queue who also visits a lot of these sculpture trails.

Toward the end of the month, a few neighbours and I had a girl's bottomless brunch (Bottomless Brunch at Arens in Ruislip), and then we had drinks at another neighbour's house when we returned home. We hope to arrange more of these in coming months. It was really fun and what I needed.

I also went into London to see Little Amal at St. Paul's Cathedral. Little Amal (although you could hardly describe her as little) is a puppet of a refugee girl that is helping to raise awareness of the innocent people displaced by conflicts. She is constructed by the team responsible for the "War Horse" theatre performance, and she had a couple of days at various locations across London and then at other locations in the country.

October is Halloween month, and I normally love Halloween, but I could not get into it at all this year due to everything bad going on. I did visit London to get some photographs of Halloween-themed decorations and treats one weekend in order to get my mind off everything else that was going on (see post). I was in a low place.

November: I continued to struggle with my mental health this month. I tried to focus on positivity. I tried to get out to keep my mind off things, and other days, I felt like doing nothing at all except sleeping. I had my booster shot at the beginning of the month, and it and a combination of everything else going on (mental exhaustion) knocked me out for two days. I just slept solidly through those two days. 

I visited a friend in Poole to have a chat, and going to visit and chat to friends and family during this time was much-needed medicine. We went out to a pub for lunch and then had a long wander around Kingston Lacy, her nearest National Trust property (Autumn Colour at Kingston Lacy). This was actually on Diwali, and I returned home just in time to have a quick street party celebration with neighbours who were celebrating and provided Indian sweets and a few fireworks. The day after Diwali was Guy Fawkes Day (Bonfire Night). Since we were not locked down this year, I was able to see a fireworks display on Bonfire Night. There were three nights of fireworks with Diwali taking place the day before and the Saturday after Bonfire Night being a prime time for other local and personal displays to take place.

I went into the office for a final time in mid-November. I had been in the office for five days in total to see colleagues and the new office as the company had moved to Nine Elms during the pandemic, and I also got to use the new tube station at Nine Elms soon after it opened in the autumn. I started a new job the following week without a break between them. I hope that the new employer treats me well. (More about the story can be read here: Unblogged Summer and Autumn, Difficult Times.)

Also in mid-November, I tried to keep my mind occupied by visiting the Country Living Christmas Fair; I paid for the VIP ticket, and that allowed me to have a place to sit and relax, exclusive storage for my shopping and coat, and Prosecco throughout the day. It was really worth paying extra for this. There was so much to see, and I spent the day at the fair and managed to see most of it. Because of the bottomless booze, this was actually a few hours where I was able to force my mind not to think.

Also in the middle of the month was my visit to the Lord Mayor's Day Parade, a London event that I'd been wanting to visit the past few years before the pandemic. The parade's origins date back to over 800 years old, and it is a celebration in the City of London with different livery companies, charities, and political figures parading down the streets from Mansion House to Trafalgar Square and back again. The last several floats in the parade feature horses and horse-drawn carriages with the important people, including the new mayor of the City of London in the ceremonial golden chariot and driven by the finest horses.

The day after this parade, I went to Penge to join in on a free street art tour organised by London Calling. The organiser had started to organise street artists to paint in Penge a few years ago. As the street art is managed here with individuals and businesses that have donated walls, the street art manages to remain relatively safe from tagging, a problem that east London has been experiencing for the past few years now. I've yet to post my photographs from that day.

See what I am doing here? Keeping myself busy is a coping mechanism for me.

I normally look forward to Thanksgiving Day each year as it is my favourite holiday, but the past months had been too depressing, and my mind just was not really in it much. Thanksgiving Day was a muted affair this year, and I did not really celebrate except for dinner in the evening at a pub. My mind just was not in it this year due to everything going on. I'd also just started the new job the previous week.

At the end of the month, I took the tube into London with a couple of neighbours to have cocktails at Miracle at Henreitta, the Christmas cocktail pop-up bar.

The bloke and I also had a day off to visit Silverstone's "Lap of Lights". We went last year (it was re-branded this year), and he wanted to go again this year. Last year, he purchased a combination ticket that included Silverstone museum tickets, which he planned for us to do ahead of the light trail, but we were unable to use them due to the lockdown. Since there were not many pandemic restrictions this year, we visited the museum before we went on the light trail. The museum has only been recently opened in the past year or two. Earlier in the day, we visited National Trust's Grey's Court to see the house decorated for Christmas.

December: The first weekend in December was another mini-break that I had organised as far back as late spring and consisted of seeing a few Christmas light trails and a few National Trust properties that had been decorated for the holidays. The first night was spent in Cheshire. On the way, the bloke and I visited Hanbury Hall and Wightwick Manor. Hanbury Hall was my favourite of the National Trust Christmas houses as it was decorated with a 1970s and 1980s party theme that was inspired by the tenants that lived there at the time and threw lavish parties. Wightwick Manor is a mansion built in the 1800s but was inspired by medieval interiors, and the property was decorated for that period of Christmas with a few fashionable dresses created and located around the property.

That first evening, we went to Bolesworth Castle Light Trail to see beautiful lights in the woodlands and sculptures, and we had a bottle of champagne and snacks on "Champagne Island" in the little dining bubbles that have become popular in the past couple of years. 

On the second day, we spent the day at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden. This was our second ever visit, and we had a tour in the morning, followed by a quick lunch. In the afternoon, we walked back through the grounds to the abbey where we listened to the live choir music in the abbey. They sang a mixture of Christmas carols, and some of these were lesser-known carols from other countries. I stayed until it grew darker so that I could enjoy the abbey lit up, and it was really beautiful. 

On the third day, we headed back down south and stopped off at Nostell to see the house decorated for Christmas, Coinsborough Castle, and Hardwick Hall. I'll be adding more posts in the coming weeks for additional places I've not yet published. The mansion at Nostell was decorated with a traditional Christmas with woodland theme, and we had to locate the animals in each of the rooms.

The final stop of the trip before heading home was Christmas at Belton House, an illuminated light trail around the National Trust property. I really enjoyed the wander around here and found it magical.

That brings us to Christmas. This year has not felt like Christmas at all for me, and I had to work through it up to the day without any time off, contrasting to my previous employer that did give us free days off. There was a lacklustre meal out on Christmas day and a trip to London to see the lights and decorations before the big day itself, but that was it. I really struggled to get into it this year with everything that has gone on. The bloke's brother and his family visited on Boxing Day. A couple of Christmas gifts were exchanged on Monday (as I was not ready on Christmas Day itself). I've since felt poorly, which is possibly an accumulation of many different things. For New Year's Eve, I will possibly be in bed before midnight because I really cannot bother.

Conclusion

At this time a year ago, I was grateful for my job and patient/hopeful that 2021 would bring some normality and enable me to start to think about travel abroad again. It's not quite there yet with the travel and normality, and my past employer turned out to mess me around, so I am lacking the stability I had started the year with. I had also planned to take better care of myself and to not work myself to death, but I failed in both respects this year. I leave 2021 in a worse place than I started.

At this point, I do not know what to say. I am at a total loss. The last few years, I have expressed in these "end of year" posts how I just want stability in my life. I am tired of focusing on work and my life being derailed because I have to find a new job, worrying about my contract extension renewal, or suffering a role that requires constant overtime. I want to feel settled. Last year at this time, I has just begun to feel settled in my job, but the pandemic and lockdowns was unsettling. Before the lockdowns had even ended, I'd received the dreaded news about my job. This is why I am not sure what to say. I just feel completely messed around.

I also worry about friends and family. COVID has taken friends and family. Besides the sickness and deaths, COVID has taken much more. It has taken away travel, visits to spend time with my friends and family, and it also (in part) took away the role at the company and any sense of stability.

In a lot of ways, I feel that I have given up hope. I feel disillusioned, and I feel betrayed. I am still not recovered from the wrong-ness dealt to me this year. This year ends, and next year starts on the feeling of being unsettled. This feeling is not going to go away anytime soon. I've got the first six months of 2022 to get through first, and then maybe everything will be different.

I would love to get to the place where I can plan things to look forward to. That requires the employer and the pandemic, so it is not in my hands, and I've begun to realise how little that I do/can control. It does not matter how hard I work or how much support and kindness I have given to others because I have worked bloody hard and have been professional and supportive. I'd worked more hours to help others. All I can do is live one day at a time and hope for the best to get through the next twelve months with a visit to see my family and friends before this time next year. 

I visited Belton House's Christmas light trail at the beginning of December. Belton House is owned by the National Trust, and the construction of the house dates to the mid-1600s. This was my first ever visit to the property, and I will have to return when the house and grounds are open to epxlore it sometime. I visited it to see the Christmas lights trail, and I was amazed at just how much there was to see. Overall, the website states that it will take ninty minutes to walk the trail, though I think I walked it in about two or two and a half hours with some stops for photographs and to enjoy some of the more interactive installations more.

In addition to the light trail, visitors could enjoy some food and drink set up in the stable grounds of the house before (or after) the light show, and there was another space about halfway around the trail where visitors could purchase a hot drink or buy gourmet marshmallows to toast over one of the fire pits. 

The first part of the trail led us past through the front of the house where the name "Belton" was lit up. The front of the house was drenched in blue light with snowflake motifs.

Then, we walked through the light tunnel, which is always popular for photographs. Every light trail now seems to have one of these.

After this, there was a section of colourful trees and a colourful walkway with blues, reds, greens, and purples.

Next up were the singing lit-up trees that played two different songs. One of them was a vocal chorus that I am unsure who sings, which was a little eerie, and the other song was "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney.

The trail then led us through some mirrored hearts, which I remember seeing last year when I visited the Christmas Light Trail at National Trust's Stourhead.

There were a few different places to get photographs through the trail, but I did not bother as there was a queue, and I don't really like my photograph taken at the moment anyway. Some of them were the selfie "Christmas at" windows, and the one pictured below was a bench decorated with pine and bauble garlands.

After this, the trail winded around through heart tunnels, which I thought were really fun. Unfortunately, a couple of the heart arches were not lit up on my visit.

Next up was a little section of woods, and we went over a small bridge which was lit up blue underneath to appear like water. The trees were lit up in greens and blues to a nice effect.

Through this section was an area of lit-up white orbs hanging from the branches of trees with some positioned on the ground.

Continuing on, the magic increased with bright lights spiralling and moving across overhead in blues, whites, and reds. This was set to soundscape and looked magical. 

Ahead of us, it ended into a small field of orbs that reminded me of fireworks exploding. This was set to the Disney song "When You Wish Upon A Star" (I think that was the correct Disney song).

The trail then ended on the side of an expansive lake, and we could see the trees along the other side of the banks lit up to music, which I believe was "Once Upon A December" from the Disney film "Anastasia". I watched the light show a couple of times and had to replace my camera battery here. This looked much better in person as it was more than the frame of my camera could capture.

After the lake light show, we came to the middle of the trail. Santa was there to greet the children, and there were a couple of kiosks selling the hot drinks and marshmallows. We bought a drink but did not linger.

The next part of the trail led us through singing lights. At each pitch of the vocal assigned to one tree, the lights would scale up (or down) the tree to match the vocal range.

After this was a lovely little cove with red poppies suspended in air. This was one of my favourite parts of the trail.

Finally, we headed through a lit-up hedge to complete the rest of the trail, which would lead us back through some familiar areas.

This tree was covered with pink, purple, and green lights and mirrored balls.

And we were back at the coloured forest of trees with the music that we saw toward the beginning of the trail. This time, instead of watching the trees at a distance, we got to walk through them.

And finally, we came to another pond with a temple on the far side. This was sequenced to colour-changing pond lillies to a soundscape. I stayed to watch the display at different angles.

We were almost at the end of the trail now and stayed to watch a soundscape of hundreds of coloured orbs in a field which would change colour and pattern depending on the music. 

After this, we came to a lit-up glasshouse, and in front of this was a field of flames.

We walked through the field of flames to leave the trail, and that was the end of the trail.

Back in the stable yard, we were able to get some food and drink, and we admired the Christmas trees and decorations on the way out.

That concludes Christmas at Belton House. The trail itself is currently on and booking until January 2. I really enjoyed the Christmas trail at Belton House.

I love to see a glimpse of the National Trust properties dressed up festively; they look so magical. While in Yorkshire at the beginning of December, I was able to see the property in its full festive glory. I first visited Nostell in 2020 when a couple of National Trust places had reopened after being closed for months during the pandemic. Only the ground floor was open, so we did not get to see much, and I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to see a few rooms upstairs on this visit. (You can read about my first visit and see photographs here.) Nostell was the first stop of the day, and we arrived early for a snack and a browse around the shop before the house opened.

It is a short trek from the parking to the house and cafe. Near the parking is a little information kiosk, and it had a gingerbread village inside it.

The stables near the house was the first stop as this is where the cafe and shop are located. There were also some decorations here. One of the little rooms of the stables was decorated as a "retired reindeer home", and a little poem accompanied it, hung on the wall for all to read. 

The stables courtyard had some other decorations and a Christmas tree. I enjoyed these gourds arranged like snowmen.

When inside the house, the first proper room to visit (outisde of the servant entrance hallway) was the dollhouse room. The dollhouse was on display and dressed for Christmas. The chef was also dressed festively in the kitchen of the dollhouse, and the little mouse can be discovered here if you have a keen eye to see it. Children love to spot the mouse.

The main entrance hall contained three trees, and the fireplaces on either side of the room contained festive garlands. The theme of the Christmas decorations in Nostell this year was woodlands. Each room had a hidden woodland animal to discover on a board when you enter the room. So, that was a fun game to enjoy while looking around the house.

After exploring part of the ground floor and locating some woodland critters, seeing a few other decorations, and having a chat about a large painting, we headed upstairs. The dining room was laid for a Christmas meal.

The next room was amazing, and I did not expect it to be so beautiful. It was the "wow factor" when I entered the room. The fireplaces on both sides of the room were decorated, and the largest Christmas tree in the house was set as the feature for this room. This is the musical room. We had a chat to the volunteer in the room about the owner of the house and the scandals of the family.

The next room contained a lot of paintings, and we learned a little about one or two of them. The Christmas decorations in the room were blue, and it was a fox in this room. He is sitting on the sofa.

The bedroom was next, and we had a good chat with the volunteer while we took in the beautiful room. We learned about the fire damage that happened to this room. This was the last room to visit before heading downstairs. The volunteer mentioned a library, but it didn't appear to be open as we were directed downstairs.

There was a final room to check here, and the other more "museum" rooms were shut. This room was the kitchen, and it was laid out with some festive treats and jelly moulds.

I loved seeing the Christmas decorations in this house and speaking to the volunteers here. I can't wait to go back to visit when the whole house is open to the public.

Craft Gin Club is a monthly gin subscription box that sends members one full-sized bottle of gin with a range of snacks and mixers and a magainze "Ginned!". The magazine is filled with information on the "gin of the month", cocktail recipes, and other content. The December box is the festive box and promises to be extra special. For December, the gin of the month is Kirkjuvagr Yuletide Gin, a gin that is produced exclusively for Craft Gin Club by The Orkney Distillery. The gin is described as using Christmas flavours, such as nutmeg and cinnamon. 

The tonics this month are from London Essence: Ginger Ale and Pomelo Pink Pepper tonic. These tonics were included in this month's box because they work well with highlighting the flavours of Kirkjuvagr Yuletide Gin. Also included in the box is the Amarula Ethiopian Coffee Cream Liqueur, which is created using sustainable ingredients from Africa and is perfect for creamy cocktails. (I do not like the taste of coffee, so this one is going to get a new home.)

Now onto the additional mixers this month: Bibite Polara Melograno and Angostura Bitters. Bibite Polara Melograno is described as a sweet-tart flavour with pomegranate. Angostura Bitters are made from the finest Trinidadian cocoa.

Subscribers also received a small box of Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles. (I dislike LINDOR chocolate, so this one will also get a new home.)

We received four different snacks from brands that had featured in past boxes this year but that have had a festive makeover. One of my favourite items in a previous box was Cheesies, a popped cheese-flavoured snack. For December, they have lauched a festive flavour (Cheesies Jingle Bites) using a mix of cheddar, gouda, and emmental. Another previous treat with a Christmas twist is from Copperpot fudge. The brand is back in the box with a festive flavour, the Copperpot Christmas Spiced Fudge. This Cornish fudge contains spices, fruit, and brandy in its festive twist. 

Two additional snacks that were in previous boxes have also had additional festive makeovers. The British Snack Co. have included a festive flavour this month: the Awfully Posh Mince Pie popcorn. I dislike mince pies, so I am not sure about this one. Mackie's of Scotland have included a Turkey and Stuffing potato chips.

As always, the box also includes special garnishes. This month, it is orange and redcurrants to keep in the festive theme. Fireside Fizz cocktail syrup is the bespoke syrup for the cocktail of the month recipe.

I am only just getting around to writing this difficult post; well, I have written it and then edited it and then wrote it again and edited it some more. This is a difficult post to write because the result of it is that I have been messed around, and I am disappointed and have been let down. So, bear with me while it unfolds, but I cannot go into too much detail really. I wanted to write it down to vent, and I figure that this will help me. It all started earlier in the year but escalated in the summer.

The summer has flown by as life slowly opened back up after eighteen months of having one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. This summer, I had been "making up for lost time" and have a lot of entries to write and post from the past few months, so I have been behind a lot of the time. Despite life opening back up, this year has always felt to me as though something is "out of alignment". I know that we are still in a pandemic, but something did not feel exactly "right" a few weeks into the year. I guess it started with bad news in mid-March, but I tried to remain positive. Then, I had more bad news at the end of August, a day before going on holiday, regarding my role due to the company seeking to replace the technology stack. 

I wrote a post in mid-March (A Year in Pandemic Lockdown) just before I had the bad news about my role at a company that I loved. Work was one aspect of my life that I appreciated and was grateful for, especially after many years of contracting and not having a break or stability, and then the pandemic hit. I felt that I'd got the perfect job and that things would go easier in that area of my life. I was looking forward to 2022 so that I could use my work benefits and finally travel again as I wasn't able to when I was contracting and then since the pandemic. I really thought that I'd found a place that I would stay at for several years. The past several years have truthfully left my exhausted, and that goes for this year and last year due to the pandemic.

The last three months (the end of August through to mid-November) have come with the worst news and is one of the worst periods in my life so far.

Work was not the only thing wrong. COVID also ravaged my home area at the same time as my role was being made redundant this autumn, and in a very short space of time (roughly a month), I have had a few family and friends die or become very ill. So far, three have died (including one close family member), and others had gotten very ill and were in hospital. I am worried about the rest of my family and friends. I've become mentally exhausted with everything. So, obviously my mind is not in a great place. I've felt depressed and anxious, which hit the worst in the autumn. It did not help that others were not pulling their weight at work and that others had been made redundant in June, meaning that there was a lot more on my plate.

The ordeal with the redundancy is particularly cruel because most of the restrictions on our lives for the past 18+ months were lifted in early August, and just as things started to reopen and as soon as I start to take annual leave, the news comes, and my life is turned upside down. As if the pandemic and COVID hitting my family and friends in the states where I'm unable to do anything is not enough.

The redundancy has impacted my plans completely. I was originally due to see my friends and family in the states in 2020, but then obviously that didn't go ahead. From the autumn of 2020, I planned to use a lot of annual leave at the end of next March and beginning of April. I had nearly twenty days of annual leave to use until the end of March. These plans to see my family and friends has cruelly been taken away from me in the decision.

Readers of this blog will know my sacrifies over the past several years with freelancing and not being allowed to take holiday and lacking stability. The reason for me going permanent was to have that stability in my life. I was tired of short "rolling" contracts and not being allowed or able to take time off. On top of that, a few of the contracts required working evenings, weekends, and bank holidays, and I even worked on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve a couple of times to meet the deadlines. I'd put work above myself.

Of course, the pandemic meant that I and others have not had much stability anyway. All in all, I had about six months of "job stability" from late summer 2020 until March. 

I have spent my annual leave and waking moments worrying and depressed (I think I've become quite good at hiding it) with everything going on and feeling helpless. I feel emotionally exhausted. For this to happen to me after all of the difficulties in the past few years and just as the majority of pandemic restrictions were lifted earlier in August for life to "return to normal" is just wrong. Particularly as I worked very hard and had put in far more hours, often working overtime to help others out.

Generally, life has made me feel that I "cannot catch my breath". I remember the reasons I went contracting originally, and that was because I had been screwed over previously with redundancy and with a direct offer of "a dreamjob", which turned out to be all hot air. However, contracting was the same way. You are always at the mercy of the client or company. A few people I have worked with previously have tended to be extremely lucky and ended up in long-term contracts and contracts that are long-term without tight deadlines.

Contracting (not that I would want to do that again, but if I really had to) is not even an option now as I had started the process of closing my company in early March, and I couldn't have backed out. So, I am not able to create another company for two years from that date. I don't want to anyway. 

I had absolutely loved my previous job and the team I worked with; I had helped to evolve and create that time and I had hired one of the people on the team. There is a lot more going on than I can say, but in short, I was treated very poorly. This has tainted my feelings of the job, and I have become disillusioned with employers now. I was appalled at how I'd been treated despite all of the great feedback from colleagues and all hard and extra work that I'd put in, and I genuinely thought that I was appreciated and valued. Obviously, it is the topmost managers and HR making decisions, and they really do not know, but the way they handled me with everything that I was going through was horrid. I have realised that it is not the good employer that I thought it was.

I started a new job in mid-November. 

Generally, I am still feeling exhausted about everything. Settling into a new role and new company, especially during a pandemic and in the run up to Christmas, is not easy. 

I am hoping that things look up for me. That's all I can do, HOPE. 

If you've come to see the photographs, I am sorry to rant. I was in a far worse place not long ago, but I feel that I can type it out now without saying too much, but it really is worse that I've let on. Anyway, if you have come for the photographs, I have included the following: 

• LOVE sculpture discovered in Mayfair in London
• Parrots decorate Annabel's night club in London
• Pink flower display in Regent's Park
• Ilfracombe harbour
• Colourful bollards at Covent Garden
• A visit to Sheffield Park in October near the height of everything bad happening to try to clear my mind and see autumn colour. 

Merry Christmas! I was not ready at all for Christmas this year, and I'm not getting (and did not get) any time off of work to sort things out. (Actually, more on the work situation is coming soon.) So, a lot of it has actually been delayed until Monday. Regardless, I ended up booked into Christmas lunch at The Apple Tree at Gerrad's Cross on a whim. Readers may remember that I went here in 2019 for Christmas, and you can see that post here: Christmas Lunch at The Apple Tree, Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire. It was a novelty then. The second phase of renovation was in its final weeks, so we wanted to get away from it all. Overall, the meal was not nearly as good as 2019. The service was not attentive and unfriendly, and I had to get up to tell the staff twice that they left off some items on my plate and then again when I found a hair in my food. For the cost of it, I expected more. 

The deal we got was the same as last time with the five course meal. This came with a small selection of olives and bread to start. Last year, we got larger portions each. I purchased a soda separately, which was not included in the cost. The five-course meal came with a glass of champagne, which wasn't even topped up (glasses above in photograph have not been sipped), and a cocktail. The second course was the appetizer. It was thrown in front of us without any explanation of what the food was or any polite courtesy. The bloke and I both had the carrot and parsnip soup to start.

For the main, I had the turkey. It was missing the stuffing and sausage/bacon (pigs in blanket). The cranberry parcel, which was delicious last year, came with a hair in it. It was only two thin slices of turkey, contrasted with last year. We had a selection of vegetables to share. By contrast, the bloke had the venison, which came topped up and with a lot more meat.

The bloke had the dark chocolate and raspberry delice, and I had the chocolate and orange bomb. This was served with a pot of caramel, which I had to pour myself. Again, there was no explanation of what you had to do here, but I knew the sauce was to be poured over the chocolate bomb because I've had a similar dessert a couple of times. However, others may not know.

Overall, it was a disappointment at the Apple Tree in Gerrard's Cross this Christmas, and I won't be visiting again.

After the meal, the bloke and I went home to tidy up as we are having visitors tomorrow. This evening, a group of us on the road headed a few doors down to have drinks and a toast to Christmas day. They set up a bar in their garden this year and have an outside area. We had drinks and had a good laugh. So, in the end it was a decent day. It just has not felt like Christmas this year at all. 

Anyway, I hope all of my readers had a lovely Christmas day.

Christmas has returned to London with a more normal display of Christmas lights, decorations, treats, and other events this year. Over the past few weeks, I have had a walk to see some of the best Christmas lights and decorations that London has to offer this year. For those who have not been able to get to see them, I hope that these photographs will be enjoyed, even though it is not quite the same as seeing them in real life. There are some great displays this year and some firm old favourites too. This article lists all of the different areas of London where you can see some of the best festive decor and try some festive treats.

Covent Garden: Covent Garden is always a pleasure to visit over the holiday season. This year, events and exhibitions returned to normal levels. In fact, they actually seemed to do more than they have ever done in the past. The Pink Figaro car (which has its own Instagram) was located in Covent Garden with a floral display at the end of November.

Also from the end of November, Disney's "Frozen" took over Covent Garden due to the theatre performance at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. A display with falling snow and music launched at the end of November along with a day filled with "Frozen" ice sculptures with ice sculpture carving. The infinity tunnel of lights at Conduit Court (on the edge of the market) was also themed with white and blue lights and neon lyrics to the entrances and exits of the infinity tunnel. Later in the season, a fashion show inspired by "Frozen" was on display in the market. (The full blog post is here.)

Also new to Covent Garden this year is a Christmas food market so visitors can get food and drink. Indoor dining domes have been set up outside the market amongst several decorated Christmas trees, and visitors had to reserve them in advance.

Also on the entrance to the market was a tunnel created. It was lit up and encouraged photographs.

The large Christmas tree is also back at Covent Garden this year.

The mistletoe and giant silver baubles have also returned to the market along with floral displays. They have been firmly amongst the Christmas decor for several years now.

For several years (with the exception of the past few), Lego had created installations at Covent Garden. They have returned again this year with a "Carousel of Creativity" display and a group of gnomes amongst some of the floral displays. (The full blog post is here.)

Additionally, at the end of November, one of the sculptures of balloon dogs from artist Whatshisname was displayed with a Christmas bauble. The others were removed, and this one was only on display earlier in the season. (The full blog post about the art installation from Whatshisname at Covent Garden is here.)

The Ivy restaurant at Covent Garden always contains a festive display. It is not as lavish this year as it has been in previous years. It is white, silver, and green with snowflake motifs.

Miracle at Henrietta is a pop-up bar specialising in Christmas cocktails. This was the third year that I have visited it, although I did not visit it last year but did the previous two years. (To read more about it, click here.)

Some of the restaurants and shops across London have been decorated beautifully, such as this little Santa sleigh with a group of dogs as reindeer pulling it. This restaurant, Clos Maggiore, is located in Covent Garden. I thought that it was such a cute display.

Connaught Village: Connaught Village came onto my radar this year. It is a part of London that I've not really visited before. It is located just to the north of Marble Arch and consists of a row of specialty shops. The festive Christmas lights were put up at the end of November and are inspired by the seasonal film "Love Actually" and feature quotations from the film. The street itself contained white light netting from one end to the other.

Miracle at 34 Mayfair: This restaurant, located in Mayfair close to Grosvenor Square, is decorated exteriorly this year. The past two years, the interior of the restaurant was filled with hundreds of Christmas baubles hanging on the ceiling and walls. (You can read about last year's here.)

Annabel's: Located off Berkley Square in Mayfair, this exclusive nightclub has become a firm favourite go-to for seasonal displays. This year, the building has been transformed into a giant gingerbread house. It looks amazing during the day and is transformed with lights at night.

Mayfair: Several of the high end shops are now decorating for Christmas with some new ones this year. Chanel is one of the new ones and features a larger-than-life perfume bottle. Ralph Lauren has expanded their display and offers coffee (though they did offer the coffee last year too, but it's on a much larger scale). Tiffany's also has a new larger display. Cartier, which did kick off the popularity with their picturesque display, has gotten bigger and better. Stella McCarney has returned with the neon lights that have appeared in past years.

The Christmas lights down New Bond Street have remained the same for the past few years with white peacock feathers.

Bill's Restaurant in Soho (Brewer Street): New to the Christmas decor this year is Bill's restaurant in Soho, which has been transformed into a giant smiling Rudolph. At dark, the nose and antlers shine.

ChinChin Labs Ice Cream in Soho: On the menu this year at popular ChinChin is a dessert that is a menu secret. It is a Christmas tree shape of Basked Alaska. It is marshmallow meringue, ice cream, nuts, and sour cherries and tastes as delicious as it looks. (To read a post about this popular ice cream brand, see this post.)

Milk Train in Covent Garden: Milk Train are always on game with seasonal treats. They became popular and sought after a few years ago with their cotton candy ice cream creations. This year, they have a gingerbread ice cream. They also brought back their Christmas tree creation with ice cream and cotton candy, which I purchased last year. (To read about last year's Milk Train creations, click here.) (To read about Milk Train on this blog, click here.) 

Peggy Porschen: Known for their beautiful cafe front and beautiful treats, Peggy Porschen is a must to visit. This year, they had a range of Christmas treats and a gingerbread theme to their cafe front. They had different cupcake flavours from mince pie to gingerbread to cranberry. They also had a hot chocolate special with gingerbread. There are two branches of Peggy Porschen's in London; one is on King's Road and the other is located in Belgravia. (To see last year's treats from Peggy Porschen, click here.)

Chestnut: One of London's newest bakeries, Chestnut occupies the space where the now-closed Dominique Ansel's was once. I had a peek inside, but there was a queue and not much seating. It is a smaller and more homemade affair that seems to specialise in breads and lunch. They do not stock a lot at a time, but there were four festive-looking gingerbreads. 

Yolkin: I did not visit them this year, but Yolkin are famous for their ice cream macaron sandwiches. They have the same Christmas range each year with different festive motifs and flavours. (Yolkin Ice Cream Macaron Sandwiches - Christmas)

Fait Maison: This cafe makes beautiful treats, and I visited over Christmas last year but did not see what they had on offer this year as they have not advertised much. (Read more about Fait Maison Brunch and Holiday Cupcakes or see their range of treats when I visited last year here.)

Bubblewrap: Last year, I bought a reindeer ice cream. They have a similar reindeer ice cream bubblewrap creation this year. (See their treats from last year.)

Doughnut Time: Their doughnuts always look amazing and are on full display in windows with witty names. They have another great festive range this year. I am not a big fan of these doughnuts myself as they are too large and too sweet, but they always have fans. There are a few branches across London now.

Lola's Cupckes: Lola's can be purchased at multiple places across London, and they are in virtually every main station. They always go out with seasonal ranges. 

Whipped: Famous for cheesecake and cookies, Whipped create some season treats. Unfortunately, their cafe near Covent Garden closed just before Christmas at short notice, but they do have a Brixton branch.

Humble Crumble: I did visit them again this year for their festive creation, which is their festive crumble flavour topped with whipped trees and sprinkled with white chocolate shavings. 

Fortnum and Masons: This shop always looks extremely festive Christmas, and I love looking at the window displays. The past few years, the whole store has dressed itself as a giant advent calendar. I even managed to see the little clock work on the front of the building when I visited.

Liberty: Liberty department store has decorated its famous floor inside with a hot air balloon. With the exception of last year, the store has been creating a festive display inside the area here. The windows and floral display at the front of the building are also worth seeing.

Selfridges: I did not get to visit this year, but their windows are always filled with festive displays, and they offer up a lot of treats inside the food hall too. (To see last year's lights, see this blog post.)

Oxford Street window displays: The major department stores in London decorate along Oxford Street, but it looked empty last year. I did not venture down there this year. (To see last year's lights, see this blog post.)

St. Christopher's Place: This little alley (blink and you'll walk past it) near Selfridges off Oxford Street contains many restaurants and shops. There's always Christmas decorations down here, and they are slightly different each year. I did not venture down there this year, but you can read about it in my past posts. (To see last year's lights, see this blog post.)

Carnaby: I would argue that these are the best Christmas lights to see in London because they are different every year, and they really put on a display. This year, the theme is 'Canarby Kaleidoscope'. It features hundreds of reflective butterflies floating above Carnaby Street. The display is difficult to photograph because of the reflective nature of the materials, and it does not tend to capture well in photographs. It looks much better in real life. (To read more about the Carnaby Christmas lights this year, click here.)

Connaught Hotel Christmas Tree: Each year for the past several years, with the exception of last year, the Connaught Hotel commissions a Christmas tree design from different artists. This year, it is Annie Morris and Idris Khan. (You can read more about this year's Christmas tree here.)

Mount Street: Mount Street is the road that The Connaught Hotel and a lot of other restaurants and shops is situated on, and it runs from the top of Berkeley Square to Park Lane. It has gotten more festive this year with new Christmas lights in the shape of blue bows. A few of the restaurants and shops have also started to decorate more. Scott's is a seafood restaurant located on the road, and it has gone all out with festive lights and a sleeping moon with clouds. 

Hedonism Wines: Located not far from the top of Berkeley Square, this large wine shop always has a festive display outside, and it had gotten bigger and bigger each year. However, it's a bit more muted this year and is best described as a winter scene. It features a snowman, bench, postbox, and a lot of snowballs. It is definitely there to encourage selfies, although I have not really seen it in many.

Burlington Arcade: Burlington Arcade is one of London's top arcades (and the most famous) at the edge of Mayfair. The arcade is decorated with a 007 "James Bond" theme this year featuring the colours white and gold, and there are gears and giant baubles and 007 motifs like the gun barrel imagery from the opening credits.

Regents Street: The lovely gold angels have returned to the street and are a firm favourite with many a visitor to London. They have been the street's festive decor for a few years now and were inspired by a traditional display.

Oxford Street: This year, Oxford Street is twinkling with thousands of gold stars hanging from strings of light. The stars are new this year and add a touch of magic to the street.

Seven Dials: Seven Dials returns with its silver, gold, and white lights, and the middle of the roundabout features a lovely display of lights and garlands across the street.

Leicester Square: The Christmas market has returned to Leicester Square with many festive twinkling lights, plenty of food and drink, and gifts galore.

The Strand and North Bank: The Christmas lights this year are new and feature blue and gold lights in the shape of baubles. Down toward Embankment are golden orbs of lights.

St. Pancras Christmas Tree: This year's Christmas tree at St. Pancras station is hosted by London Zoo. Last year was a trying year for the zoo. The Christmas tree is a bit more muted than in previous years, but it features a book filled with zoo animals and a tree with animals on it. There's a festive-looking penguin on the sign above. 

Granary Square: North of King's Cross is Granary Square, and new this year is a giant cracker encouraging photographs and interactions. A giant pair of dice (a cracker gift) and hat/joke have popped out of the cracker. 

A new tree has also appeared this year to replace the one last year at the square. The new tree changes colour.

Coal Drops Yard: One of London's newest shopping and night life areas hosts a new Christmas tree each year. This one is interactive and changes colour and pattern.

Soho: Soho's Christmas lights this year have been designed by children. Central London schools contributed to this with artwork submitted in May for the lights to be created. 

The Shard: Each year in December, the stop of the Shard is lit up with different colours that cycle through in different patterns. I did not get a chance to go this year.

London Bridge: The area around City Hall and from London Bridge to Tower Bridge has Christmas markets and Christmas displays. Also check out Hays Gallery for a Christmas tree. I did not get a chance to visit this year.

Harvy Nichols: This department store has been brightened up with every colour in the rainbow and stained-glass effect designs.

Harrods: The whole shop is covered in lights, and there are nice window displays. However, the top attraction this year is a giant Chanel sculpture marketing their perfume.

Chelsea: I do not know where to begin here, but if you walk around Chelsea, you are bound to find some lovely displays, such as the two below.

The Ivy Chelsea on King's Road: This year, the Ivy have been inspired by the story of the Grinch. The village, mountain cave, and Grinch stealing Christmas have all been included in the display. This display is always a firm favourite.

King's Road: Giant Christmas trees, lights, and floral displays are located down King's Road.

Victoria and Victoria Station: Victoria has had several Christmas decorations placed around, and an advent calendar Christmas tree is on display in the station.

Tate Britain: Tate Britain's winter commission has not taken place this year, but you can read a post about the popular installation by Chila Kumari Singh Burman that displayed last year. "Remembering a brave new world".

Churchill Arms in Kensington: The Churchill Arms is London's best-dressed pub with Christmas trees covering the outside of the pub. It is worth a visit and is a little different each year.

South Bank: South Bank has a festive Christmas market on select weekends. I am not sure of the times. However, there's a lot of street food and restaurants along South Bank, so there's always something going on here. They are also hosting a version of their own Winter Lights exhibition until January 9, so it is worth a visit to see some illuminated artwork.

Winter Wonderland: After last year's cancellation, Winter Wonderland is back on again this year, but visitors must purchase tickets in advance in order to visit. This is to prevent over-crowding. Visitors can ice skate, visit a circus, shop at Christmas markets, enjoy food and drink, enjoy various roller coasters and other rides, and much more. I have not been this year, and I don't want to go. It's too busy at the best of times for me.

Previous London Christmas lights are below:

• Where to see London's Christmas Lights and Decorations in 2020
• Where to Buy Christmas-Themed Treats in London (2020)
• Where to see London Christmas lights and decorations (2019 Edition)
• Christmas in London 2018 - Lights and Displays
• Where to see London's Christmas Lights 2017
• London's Christmas Lights 2016
• Christmas Lights and Windows 2015
• London Christmas Lights 2014
• London's Christmas Lights 2013
• London Christmas Lights and Window Displays 2012

Previous London Window displays are below (I've phased these out as they have not been as interesting the past few years and more interest seems to be on the facade of the building as opposed to displays inside the windows):

• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011

Fans of Disney's "Frozen" have had a treat at Covent Garden this November and December with a celebration of all things "Frozen", which is currently showing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Visitors can visit the "Frozen" artwork with Christmas trees in front of the market, and snow falls to an instrumental version of the animation's famous "Let it Go" song every hour from mid-day. Over the past few weeks, the market has been the place for "Frozen" fans with an infinity light tunnel, costumes, and ice sculptures in addition to the falling snow and music.

The infinity light tunnel at Conduit Court in Covent Garden has become themed to blues and whites for "Frozen" with lyrics to the "Let it Go" song on display above the tunnel. Both times that I visited, it was attracting a large group of visitors.

The "Frozen Forest" is a cluster of decorated trees and the "Frozen" logo in front. This is where the snow falls each hour and where music is played. It attracts a lot of people, but the quietest time was in the morning. On the first weekend, it was particularly busy because that was also the weekend of the ice sculptures, and so many parents were around with their children dressed as their favourite "Frozen" characters.

Several ice sculptures were displayed for one day only in early November. In addition to the display, which was put on by The Ice Co, one of Europe's largest ice sculpture companies, the sculpture of Sven the reindeer was being carved in front of an audience. I visited in the early afternoon, and the sculotures appeared to be melting quickly.

The last "Frozen" fun at Covent Garden features fashion. Central Saint Martin's and Disney's "Frozen" have partnered together. The inspiration was on fashion in stage, and they were inspired by "Frozen". Six of the items were on display inside Covent Garden market. 

The "Frozen" display at Covent Garden's last day is on December 27, so if you do want to see it, then head over. Alternatively, if you are a Lego fan, there is an additional Lego installation at Covent Garden, and you can see the details here: "Christmas Carousel of Creativity": Lego Returns to Covent Garden.

This year, Lego has returned to Covent Garden with a brand new installation called "Christmas Carousel of Creativity" after a few years. The installation is free to visit and features scuptures made for the 2021 holiday advertisement. A few years ago now, Lego used to reveal a new Lego installation for the holiday season each year in Covent Garden. December 2016 was the last official time that they did this because a new Lego store had just opened in Leicester Square at the end of 2016. In addition to the main installation, a secondary installation featuring some gnome sculptures has appeared amongst the floral displays in front of Covent Garden market.

Last year (2020), there actually was smaller scale Lego at Covent Garden over Christmas. There were smaller sculptures nestled in with the plant display in Covent Garden. The sculptures featured Mario and Santa with moving eyes, and you can see them in my Christmas post last year: Where to see London's Christmas Lights and Decorations in 2020.

In 2016, the last year that Lego did anything in Covent Garden for a few years, a large installation of Santa's workshop appeared (Lego "Let's Build Xmas" in Covent Garden). It was made of Lego bricks and had several sculptures with kits that could be purchased. As the official Lego shop had opened (First Look at the Lego Store in Leicester Square), I assumed that they were no longer interested in their installations at Covent Garden. 

The rotating carousel depicted different large-scale Lego creations: a car airplane, a firefighter dragon, a Christmas tree, a princess race car driver, a globe in the shape of an ice cream cone, and a cactus. A large-scale snowman and Santa and Christmas trees are also on display.

In previous years, the following Lego installations appeared at Covent Garden over the holidays: Santa and his reindeer, a large snowglobe filled with London monuments made from Lego, and a large Lego advent calendar which was opened daily. Visitors could sit inside the sleigh and have their photographs taken and were encouraged to use social media to upload them.

Bournemouth's Christmas Tree Wonderland Trail launched in 2018, and it's been held every year since. I did not visit it in 2019 nor in 2020, but I visited it again this year. In addition to the original trees and sculptures that I saw during my 2018 visit, there were a few new ones. Most of the Christmas Tree trail takes place in the middle of Bournemouth in the Lower Gardens. There is an expansive Christmas market in the middle of the town (just outside the Lower Gardens) as well, and the trail runs from the seafront. As with 2018 when some of the displays malfunctioned, some of the trees were not completely lit or lit at all, but the majority were. The Bournemouth Christmas Tree Wonderland will take place until the second of January. 

There were some new trees and a picture frame in the Christmas Market, which encouraged photographs.

My favourite was probably this glowing tree, although a few of the branches had malfunctioned.

I really wanted a hot chocolate, but we were in a rush because we were visiting family with small childen and baby, and the second time that I walked past the hot chocolate kiosk, it was rammed. So, my photographs are also all a bit rushed. It was also packed and impossible to do too much.

The high tree with music and lights that change colour and patterns had also returned, and visitors could walk through it again, but it was so busy.

There was a new fountain made of lit-up archways.

The trees are named after world cities, such as Seattle, Moscow, Bethlehem, and Warsaw. 

I loved the giant deer.

The buildings and trees around the Lower Gardens also had snowflakes projected onto them. 

The giant bauble could be walked through and attracted a lot of attention.

You can see my previous visit and photographs here:

Bournemouth's Christmas Tree Wonderland - 2018

In 2018 and 2019, I visited Henrietta Hotel in London's Covent Garden to enjoy Christmas-themed cocktails from U.S.-based pop-up bar Miracle. This is the fourth year that the pop-up bar has been in London. Miracle serve up a selection of festive alcoholic drinks in special glassware amongst Christmas decor. This year, it was not vintage Christmas (except for the old-style television playing "It's A Wonderful Life"), but it was still Christmassy with LED lights, warm blankets, a Christmas tree, garlands, wreaths, and a selection of modern Christmas music played with other hits. I visited with friends this year, and it was still good, but I felt that it was better in 2018 and 2019.

The drinks below are Christmaspolitan, On Dasher!, and Yippie Ki Ya Mother F****r! The drinks are pretty strong here, so you do get what you pay for. On Dasher! is a gin and vanilla liquer creamy cocktail topped with soda. Christmaspolitan is the Christmas version of the Cosmopolian cocktail but with a cranberry and spice twist. Yippie Ki Ya Mother F****r! is rum-based.

The Jingle Balls Nog came in a miniature mug and was a creamy cold cocktail with sherry, cream, milk, cognac, and other ingredients, but it was not strong at all. 

SanTaRex comes served in a festive T-Rex mug and includes tequila, melon liquer, and bitters.

For previous visits to Miracle at Henrietta in Covent Garden, see the links below:

Miracle Pop-up Christmas Cocktails Returns to London Henrietta Hotel
Christmas Cocktails @ Miracle at Henrietta

The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree gained a lot of publicity this year. Each year, a Christmas tree is placed in Trafalgar Square and lit with lights in the traditional method (as per Scandinavian style, the lights are hung horizontally instead of vertically). The tradition started in 1947 as a gift from Norway to Britain as a "thank you" for the support during World War II. The felling of the tree outside Oslo is an additional tradition with a poetry project attached to the process of the gifting. This year, however, the Christmas tree was mocked because it did not appear to be shaped perfectly and had some sparse branches. 

This is a real tree, and it is a gift from Norway. The significance should be placed upon that. The tree was given as a significance to remember those who helped each other. A real tree is not going to look perfect. What is "perfect"? Sure, some of the branches may be a little sparse near the bottom. Perhaps that part of the tree was covered by another pine tree. Perhaps it got the shade on a hillside or other trees and did not grow much there. Perhaps it had some damage on its way to England. In my opinion, it is a beautiful tree. It does not have to be perfect. What is perfect anyway? It is nature.

I imagine this tree in the forest in Norway, enjoying the company of wildlife and fresh snow. Then, it is chopped down to enjoy a Christmas in London so that everyone can enjoy seeing it and remember the history of the tradition.

Next to the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is a nativity scene in a glass box, which is an art installation known as "Christmas Crib" by Tomoaki Suzuki. The work was commissioned by the church St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square.

This year, there was also a fairly large Christmas market at Trafalgar Square and up by the National Gallery. Perhaps there was a marketing plan to get as many people into Trafalgar Square this year to see the Christmas tree.

This year, Christmas has returned to Carnaby Street with a bang. Over 600 butterflies fly overhead along Carnaby Street, and each butterfly is decorated with reflective wings and neon patterns. The installation has been a collaboration with the charity Choose Love to raise funds for refugees. The butterfly represents rebirth and change, which marks a significance with the charity work as well as the changing life due to the past couple of years.

I visited the Carnaby Street Christmas lights, which showcase the wording "Carnaby Kaleidoscope" on the arch above the street. he butterflies are difficult to photograph, and they were captured better on mobile than on my digital camera.

One of the side roads contained an additional butterfly installation.

To see previous Carnaby Street Christmas lights in my blog, see the below posts:

•  Carnaby Street Christmas Lights 2020: Choose Love
• Carnaby Street Christmas "One Ocean One Planet"
• Carnaby Street Christmas Lights Celebrate Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"
• Carnaby Christmas Carnival
• Carnaby Christmas Revolution
• Carnaby Christmas Party
• Robins
• Santa
• Rolling Stones (rock and roll)

The Connaught hotel in Mayfair has worked with an artist each year (with the exception of last year) for the past several years in order to design their Christmas tree on Mount Street. The Connaught hotel's Christmas tree this year is designed by Annie Morris and Idris Khan. It features a Nordmann Fir that stands at nine meters. On three focal points of the tree, Morris' most famous work of stackable shapes is included, and each one is made of painted wood board and lit with lights. At the top of the tree is another of Morris's motifs, the "flower woman". Khan's contribution to the Christmas tree is the base, which shows the text "Merry Christmas" translated and superimposed numerous times.

Previous Connaught Christmas trees that I covered on my blog are below:

Wightwick Manor is a property maintained by the National Trust in West Midlands. This was my first ever visit to Wightwick Manor, and I got to see the house and grounds decorated for a traditional Christmas. Despite the appearance of a Tudor-framed medieval home, this house actually dates to the late 1800s. The house is influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris. The influence of the design in the house is medieval with the rooms appearing to be medieval instead of built at the end of the 1800s.

I had a wander around the grounds to see the front of the house, and it is a nice-looking house. The hedges were designed to look like Christmas puddings, a traditional English dessert made of dried fruit drenched in alcohol. 

The gardens had some decorated trees and hedges and a herd of reindeer that appeared to be ready to help Santa.

Inside the house, the influence of medieval rooms is apparant, but there's also the pattern and decoration made popular by the Arts and Crafts Movement on the walls and tapestries.

The Christmas decorations are inspired by traditional Victorian Christmases. In addition, we were told that one of the volunteers had experience making dresses, so there are four dresses located around the house to see. The first one was in the main room.

The fireplace in this room looks amazing, and I enjoyed the flower arrangements.

A couple of the rooms could be peeked into but not entered, so I had a look at them. A fireplace in the study shows some vintage toy animals, stockings, and garlands of greenery.

The other side of this room was the library.

The little nook inside the door contains a large fireplace and impressive stained glass and garlands.

The breakfast room was decorated with table settings set.

The hallway was also decorated with greenery, red berries, and candles.

The upstairs of the manor was closed, but the second dress was located on the top of the staircase, decorated inspired by the peacock. 

The hall is probably the most lavish room with high ceilings and decorated beautifully for Christmas. 

The third dress was in this room.

Off of this dining hall was the games room, and it was also decorated.

That room led into a smaller dining area with the fourth and final dress.

This room then leads to the servant quarters, and the kitchen off the side of this room was decorated with festive turkey and Christmas dinner.

Along the hallway were additional decorations and luggage, including sporting items that would be enjoyed on days away.

The kitchens were laid out with the festive meal in progress. It was the warmest room in the house, complete with roasting chestnuts and mince pies.

The servant's room also had its own decorations and Christmas tree.

Their kitchen was also in preparation for Christmas day, and on the way out was a walk through the laundry room and the game room with hanging pheasants.

Wightwick Manor looks like a lovely property, and I hope to visit it again soon and once the upstairs is opened. I enjoyed visiting the house to see the traditional Christmas decorations and the beautiful dresses.

I recently visited Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, which was one of my favourite places that I first visited a few years ago. During December, the abbey comes to life with bright colours that light the pillars and walls, recorded choir music, and live singing in the cellarium. The cellarium has great acoustics and is a picturesque part of the abbey today. I arrived in the morning to go on the tour of the abbey and the Studley Royal Water Garden; the morning tour focused more on the UNESCO World Heritage property as a whole as constructed and used as a fashionable pleasure garden in Victorian times. There is a separate tour for the abbey history.

The tour focused on the abbey grounds and water gardens. The abbey was purchased to add to the water gardens as a romantic ruin; in those days, it was fashionable to have a ruin of a castle or abbey. We walked to the water gardens with the guide and finished on the other site and had a bite to eat in the cafe before heading back to listen to the choir.

On this day, it was York Musical Choir who were singing in the cellarium. They sang a group of Christmas songs - some traditional and some from other parts of the world. There were about ten songs that were sang, and they later sang the same songs again after a short break.

It was gradually starting to grow dark, so I waited around for the bright rainbow of lights in the cellarium and the abbey to be clearer. The lights were shining during the choir singing too, so it was magical. 

I wandered around the grounds and waited for the darkness so that I could see the colours more. The different colours and lights lit up various parts of the abbey.

After enjoying the colours, I headed over to Scotton to Guy Fawkes Arms pub to have a meal. I had enjoyed a meal at this pub on Easter during the year that I visited and went to Fountains Abbey. The food was still good, even though it is under new management now.

My previous visit to Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden is here: Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden. 

With the exception of last year, the past few years have become a new tradition to take afternoon tea during December with friends. Our reservation at the Savoy was cancelled last year for obvious reasons. Due to a mess-up with the reservation there this year, we ended up visiting Rubens at the Palace hotel for their Winter Wonderland Afternoon Tea, which comes with bottomless mulled wine. I had previously visited Rubens for the bottomless Prosecco afternoon tea, which I had in June (Bottomless Champagne Afternoon Tea at Rubens at the Palace).

The mulled wine came out first, and it was not too strong at all. It was also not as warm as I would have hoped. 

This was followed by the plates of sandwiches, scones, and pastries.

The hotel offers several different menus for diet requirements: gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and standard. On the standard menu is roast turkey with cranberry and pomegranate sausage roll, smoked salmon with horseradish, beetroot and pastrami (or goat's cheese), truffle egg and ham mayonnaise, and cucumber and lemon cream cheese. There was also a jackfruit or nutroast with the vegetarian menu.

There were two types of scone provided - a plain and a speculoos. Clotted cream and a seasonal fruit preserve were included, and the preserve was plum. 

Now, on to the themed pastries.

Santa's Log: Mascarpone cream, poached vanilla apple, ginger honey sponge, and a biscuit create this red pastry that is topped with a white chocolate golden buckle.

Cherry Choux: white chocolate whipped ganache, cherry and yuzu compote, and cherry cream create this choux pastry. The cherry on top is soaked in liquer and quite boozey-strong unexpectedly.

Clementine: Dark chocolate mousse, orange curd, Madeleine sponge, orange marmalade, and a crunch base make this glossy orange pastry. It is topped with a white chocolate leaf.

Christmas Pudding Tart: This is a cranberry jam frangipane with custard cremeux. It is topped with a couple of berries and a white chocolate leaf.

On the way out, we spotted a hot chocolate bar in the entrance.

We saw some Christmas decorations at Victoria and on the way back to the underground.

Overall, the service was very good for our afternoon tea, and there were bottomless sandwiches. We enjoyed afternoon tea at Rubens at the Palace hotel.

A week ago, I spent my evening wandering around the Christmas Light Trail at Bolesworth Castle and enjoying a bottle of champagne with the bloke on "Champagne Island" toward the end of the trail. Bolesworth Castle is located in Cheshire, and it is a venue to hire for events and is also notable for its equestrian history and events. Bolesworth Castle Christmas Lights Trail caters to different audiences with champagne and a Christmas market, Santa and reindeer, a fairground, and various light displays. There are over 1.2 miles of trail covered in the Christmas Light Trail.

It was just starting to get dark when I arrived at Bolesworth Castle.

Before starting on the Christmas Light Trail, as it was still too bright, I decided to opt for some food. Unfortunately, the food kiosks (there were only three) were still setting up, which was a miss. I'd decided not to have lunch so that I could enjoy some food at one of the market stalls before the trail. There were only pizza and burgers, but unfortunately only the fries were cooked.

The light show (Arena Light at Laser Show) with the Christmas tree feature runs every half hour from 5:30 or 6:00. It features lasers and a light show that is tuned to music.

After the light show, I walked along to the start of the trail. The first feature was a field of cubes and trees that change colour to set Christmas music. There is a view of Bolesworth Castle, which has been lit up. The trees and the cubes changed colour and pattern depending on the music playing.

The first part of the trail led along to the "Enchanted Forest" with trees covered in lights.

The "Enchanted Forest" was my favourite part of the light trail because lights had been set up around the trees so that they could glow different colours.

At the entrance was a small herd of giraffs.

A little further along was a sparkling figure.

This led to a walkway with festoon lights.

The glowing deer reminded me of a famous book and film franchise.

I love how they managed to get different colours of light shooting amongst the trees.

An interactive tree was included on the trail, and the colours of the tree would change with a button push. The four buttons were named along with each season, and each had a different colour or pattern. Unfortunately, the spring one was broken, but the others worked. The summer one was the most interesting because it changed into multiple colours and played music.

The disco balls were up next, and below them were a family of frog minstrel sculptures. The disco lights had a strange effect.

I absolutely loved the colour of lights and the layering used here.

There were some other sculptures dotted around too, such as these hares.

I caught a glimpse of "Champagne Island", which was up on our list.

Before heading to "Champagne Island", I was able to check out Santa's reindeer. These reindeer are "reindeer-in-training" for Santa, and one of his sleighs is located inside. There were three adults and a child reindeer.

This led us to the sculpture trail, which was on the way to "Champagne Island", and we could see a variety of different sculptures around. Some of them were artistic figures. There were deer and horses and a giant pair of shoes. Most of the sculptures were of exotic animals.

Although the map with the event seems to suggest that you can walk around this sculpture trail in a loop, you actually cannot. So, you cannot get any closer to the bridge than the end of the sculptures (unless you have a "Champagne Island" ticket, but then you have to follow the trail as it does not loop around nearer to the river but simply goes over the rainbow bridge here.)

We approached "Champagne Island".

After crossing the rainbow bridge to the island, we were shown into our "bubble" where we had a heater, plenty of place to sit, pillows, blankets, and candles. We were given a bottle of champagne and then a platter with chocolates and a mince pie each. It was cosy inside.

The other side of the "island" was another bridge to cross. We should have come through this way, but we did not see it as it was dark, and no one guided us as they were meant to have done.

After the champagne, we walked back over the rainbow bridge so we could see the sculptures and the signage about the history of Bolesworth Castle as we rushed by them previously. I took some photographs on the bridge.

Near the reindeer area is a bar and toilets and a break point. We walked through, though, as we had had the champagne.

We walked through a lit-up archway or a light tunnel.

On the way back to the fairground rides, Christmas market, and ice skating, there were two final sculptures. One of them was a series of pine trees made of lights and miniature reindeer.

There were also these red tulips.

One of the Christmas markets had a lot of sculptures of primarily science fiction and fantasy characters, which I thought were really good.

I had a stop back at the market where I purchased some brownies and gin before heading out. It was a lovely evening. 

During December, National Trust open a few of their houses that have been decorated for the holidays, and seeing the properties decorated is always a treat. I had previously been to Grey's Court, an estate located in Oxfordshire not far from Henley-on-Thames and in the Chilterns, once during the lockdown when only the gardens and grounds were open, so I had never seen inside the mansion. The house was open with the rooms decorated for the holidays, so I spent the morning having a wander.

The house dates from the 16th century and was home to the Brunner family. There are walled gardens opposite, and other buildings on the estate date from the 14th century. I arrived before the house was open, so I had a wander around the gardens.

The below building is located opposite the house, and it contained a Christmas tree. This was used as extra accommodation for guests.

Around the garden were miniature sculptures of robins to find.

Once inside the house, I had a look inside the different rooms. The house is not too large, but it feels a comfortable size with good-sized rooms. 

The dining room is off from the entrance hall.

On the other side is a more formal room. The tree was decoated with robins.

The most beautiful room was the parlour or main living room. It was beautifully decorated with a Christmas tree, piles of wrapped boxes, pine garlands, and a working toy train circulating on a track around the central Christmas tree. This is a fascinating room.

From here, visitors could go upstairs. One of the rooms at the top was dark but decorated with hanging snowflakes and lights.

Next door was the children's bedroom, which was arranged with piled wrapped boxes and vintage toys.

The main two bedrooms were decorated with Christmas cards.

The main bedroom has amazing views over it and a spacious en suite.

Back through the bathroom led to the servant area rooms and then downstairs to the ground floor where we entered the spacious kitchen, which was decorated with knitted Christmas items - a knitted nativity scene and decorations, such as miniature Christmas puddings, mince pies, and colourful chain garlands.

It's a beautiful property, and I hope to visit it again next year. There are garden tours that take place in the morning, but we had somewhere else to be so could not stay for that.

Other posts about Grey's Court on this blog can be seen by clicking onto the below links:

A Visit to Grey's Court (National Trust, Oxfordshire): Lockdown Edition

This was my first ever visit to Hanbury Hall in Worcestershire, which is managed by the National Trust. The hall was built in the early 18th century by a wealthy family, and it replaced an earlier home. It was lived in by various members of the family until the mid-1900s, and it was then rented to tenants. The style of Christmas decorations are from the 1970s and 1980s, and this is an ode to the tenants of that time who threw lavish parties throughout the year. 

The manor house is a red brick building and described as being Queen Anne in style. It contains an orangery and formal gardens in the grounds.

The first piece of 1970s and 1980s popular culture is located at the front of the house with the Rubik's Cube planters holding miniature Christmas trees.

Inside the house is the main hall or reception area, and this room has the "wow factor". Off to the left is a grand staircase with floor-to-ceiling (including ceiling) paintings depicting scenes from mythology. For Christmas, the centrepiece is the Christmas tree, covered in blue and red and decorated for the cinema. The decorations are varous props from films and television series of that time: "Ghostbusters", "Indiana Jones", "A Clockwork Orange", "Knight Rider", and so on. 

To the left in the room is the grand fireplace and a lot of party decorations, including a 1970s-style bar, Babycham drinks, and more.

The room on the left of the grand entrance is a small sitting room or lounge area. There are many games and toys from the 1970s and 1980s to look at under the tree and also in a cabinet along one side of the room.

The room on the right of the entrance hall is a larger living room or parlour, and an old television was set up playing "Only Fools and Horses". The room had the curtains drawn to appear as if it were evening.

The room next door is the dining room, and this room was set out with 1970s and 1980s party food and party decor with bright pink Christmas trees and colourful decorations. The sweets and packaging of items were all vintage 1970s and 1980s, so it was like a step back in time.

The upstairs was also open, so after exploring the ground floor, I ventured upstairs to have a look.

The first room at the top of the stairs was a bedroom set out to appear unmade, as if the occupant had retreated from the party a little worse for wear, leaving hat and shoes and drinks glasses to the side with thrown-off clothing.

In a room next door, a temprary mattress remained on the floor with plenty of magazines, dresses, and posterboards. This is a girls room dating from the 1980s.

Another room was the room for the smaller children, and it was dark inside but filled with toys.

The last bedroom was decorated as if occupied by a teenage boy with a love of music.

After exploring the house, I went into the kitchens, which are located at the ground floor of the house and serve as the cafe and tearoom today. A Christmas tree greeted at the entrance, and 1970s and 1980s cook book and other items were scattered about.

I had a hot chocolate.

The formal gardens have even had a makeover with each triangular conifer tree having a silver or gold bauble placed on top of it.

I aso explored the second-hand bookstore, which is located off the formal gardens. It has the best second-hand bookstore at the National Trust that I've been to so far. I ended up finding a lot of books on my list, and there were plenty more that I wanted but could not carry. Inside the bookstore was another Christmas tree with a beautiful fireplace and Christmas display of books.

I did not walk around the larger part of the gardens because there's not too much to see at this time of the year, but I do plan to return to Hanbury Hall again during the summer so that i can see the gardens and have a longer walk around the area.

I really liked the Christmas theme of this house, and I thought that it was all done really well and is a beautiful property. It is always a treat to see the National Trust properties and houses decorated.

Sleazy Pizza is one of London's newest pizza restaurants having opened on Dray Walk off Brick Lane in mid-November with a free launch party. The menu items are named to coincide with the "sleaze" with starters being known as "fluffers" and twelve-inch (*laugh*) pizzas named "Missionary Margs", "Debbie Does Diavola", "Morning Glory", "X-Rated", "Sleazy Wonder", and other similar phrases along the same lines. The membership cards are known as "Friends With Benefits" to carry on the "sleaze" theme. I ordered the "Missionary Margs", which is the traditional cheese pizza and made with tasty ingredients.

The walls of the pizza restaurant are covered in "sleaze" posters and a "Money Shot Wall" is covered with photographs of some of selfies of customers with the pizzas. The idea behind the pizza restaurant was to create an Italian (the founder is from Sicily) pizza with clever and memorable branding on Brick Lane, which is traditionally popular for its Bandladeshi-owned Indian restaurants.

Sleazy Pizza is located at Dray Walk off Brick Lane.

Croome, located in Worcestershire, contains a Neo-Palladian mansion (Croome Court) that was built in the mid-1700s, landscaped parkland, a church, walled garden, and Defford museum. The mansion and park were designed by Capability Brown. The estate was visited by George III, Queen Victoria, and George V. It was used by the military during both World Wars, and it was a children's school from 1950 to 1979. In 1979, the Hare Krishna movement used it as their main college. In the mid-2000s, it was purchased by National Trust. I had a walk through the parkland and explored the house during my visit at the end of August.

The house was opened to the public toward the end of 2009, and the rooms are in the process of being restored one room at a time. Currently, six of the rooms have been restored, but most of the items remain in crates. The Tapestry Room from the house is currently reconstructed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is inside the grounds and on the hillside with views over the parkland to the mountains in Wales beyond. The church was built in 1763, and the location was used for a World War II film "Our Father".

There is a short walk down to the house along the river where visitors can glimpse the Chinese bridge.

I went inside the house first.

The first room contains many crates which contain book cases that used to belong in the house at the library down the corridor. The shelving came into the possession of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and hopefully they will be re-installed in the house.

Some of the other rooms in the house have been restored, and some paintings are on display along with some other items in the collection.

Hare Krishna movement used the house from 1979 for their training college, and it was visited by George Harrison. The movement repainted the dining room and held events until 1984 due to financial reasons. 

This room contains an exhibition of china.

Other areas of the house had different exhibitions, such as an exhibition for the children who called this house their home during the 1950s-1970s when it was used as a school. The basement of the house contains some children-specific exhibitions.

After visiting the house, I wanted to check out the walled garden. The walled garden sits above the house and on the bank of the hill. It is managed separately from the rest of the parkland, and an entrance fee applies to visit. I did not visit it on this occassion; I did not realise that it was privately-managed. On the way to the top of the hill, I came across cattle and calves.

The rotunda sits on top of the hill along from the walled garden. It was built by Capability Brown in the 1750s.

I decided to walk back down the hill and explore the parkland. The parkland at Croome contains a man-made lake and river with various statues, temples, and other buildings. 

I followed the river around to the man-made lakes.

There are a lot of little buildings that add interest as well as grottos and constructed "ruins" to help provide interesting viewpoints. The grotto is a feature point at the edge of the lake.

Temple Greenhouse is an impressive building built in the 1760s. Before the pandemic, it was used as a tea room.

RAF Defford is located at the property, and there is a museum here for it today at the entrance to the grounds. It was a top secret base used during World War II, and it housed over 3,000 people (including 600 women working for the war effort). There is a lot of information to read about the base. Defford was where radar equipment was researched, tested, and built. It is known mainly for its advances in radar technology, and some of these items are on display at the museum.

A lot of information is included in the museum about those who worked here. The women who worked in their own air force were known as "Wrens", and they did the same roles that the men did but were paid only a quarter, which is so unfair.  Also on display is the wedding dress worn by two people who met while working at the base.

A variety of different air craft was used at the base, and the last of these is currently on display here, a Meteor WD686. 

A few of the National Trust properties have been decorated for Christmas, and some of these have been opening up from the end of November to get people into the properties before they shut for the winter months. Hughenden Manor in Buckinghamshire is one of the properties that has opened for the Christmas season. I first visited Hughenden at the end of the summer in 2019 (which you can read here:  Hughenden Manor). The estate was owned by Benjamin Disraeli, who was the prime minister during some of the reign of Queen Victoria. He became a friend of the queen, so the house contains some objects from her. The house was also used during World War II, and it was a secret base for cartographers. During the Christmas period, only the ground floor is open with decorations in every room.

The Christmas trees and decorations for the National Trust houses have different themes, and the theme at Hughenden this year is "Gardener's Christmas". The theme is inspired by the gardens at the estate, which were created by Mary Anne Disraeli. The decorations have been made by volunteers and all relate to gardens with some additional items added that the Disraelis may have appreciated. Each room was decorated in its own style. One Christmas tree contained a selection of hand-knitted vegetables, and another contained carved wooden items of gardening equipment.

Queen Victoria did dine at Hughenden Manor once, and the chair that she sat in is still around the table pictured below. The queen was short, so the legs of the chair were trimmed for her so that her feet would reach the floor.

Disraeli loved peacocks, so the Christmas trees outside in the garden were decorated with peacock colours. One of the trees in the house used the same style with bright blue and purple peacock feather designs.

The house can be explored with its Christmas decorations until January 3. Additional posts about Hughenden Manor can be seen below:

Hughenden Manor

Leicester's National Space Centre offers a wealth of information about all things related to space and astronauts, and I was not prepared for just how large the museum is. Visitors can certainly spend at least half a day or more at this museum and learn about various aspects of space and space exploration. There are plenty of items to see and interact with, and there's a cafe, shop, observing tower with rockets, and Planetarium. 

The museum is located along the river Soar a couple of miles from the city centre of Leicester. It is easily-spotted around the area with a space-age style of building that reminds me of bubblewrap used for protecting glass bottles.

A sculpture outside the museum features as astronaut.

Visitors are met with various space objects on entering. They can then read and interact with the various exhibits. There are exhibitions with audio and video on how the universe was created and various space theories, all of the planets (sun and moon), space debris, astronauts and living in space, and so much more. It was all very interesting, and any visitor (you or old) can learn a lot.

Some space suits for different functions are on display, including the Mars suit (as the feature image) that was used in a film.

A record of Earth sounds was also sent into space. There was an exhibition on aliens. 

Some meteorites were also on display.

A signed baseball is one of the features in the astronaut area.

The observation area is built on several floors, and visitors can climb up to the different levels and visit the exhibitions while making their way to the top of the rockets on display.

An old television was showing the moon landing of 1969.

A section of the international space station has been set up with some research projects.

The Planetarium is impressive. I was booked into the last film of the day, "Astronaut". The film was aimed at children and provided information about astronaut training and experiences. I would have enjoyed a more traditional "planetarium" exhibit; I have only ever been to one once, and I was very young and in Girl Scouts, so I did not get a lot out of it. I was mesmerised by the stars.

The sculpture trail in Leicester features rockets, and there was one of the sculptures outside the museum.

This is such a cool museum, and I would recommend it to anyone who is travelling around the Leicester area. Definitely have a stop on your UK staycations this year and next year.

Three new murals by street artist Shepard Fairey appeared in London toward the end of 2019. Shepard Fairey is one of the world's highest profile illustrators and street artists, and some of his work was used in campaigns and made the cover of magazines; his work is shown in art galleries today. One of the famous series of artwork is "Obey", which started as a symbol and gained popularity and has since been referenced a lot in the artist's work. In early 2013, I captured some of the artist's work that was located around east London. Today, I think only one of those pieces remain high above on Grey Eagle Street (Street Art: Shepard Fairey). In the autumn of 2019, Shepard Fairey returned to London to host an exhibition "Facing the Giant" in Shoreditch, and at this time, three new murals appeared around east London.

The first mural is located on Whitby Road, but at the time of publishing this post, the mural has just recently been painted over. It uses the bold illustration style of the artist with red, cream, black, and the introduction of blue patterns. On one side of the mural is a portrait of a woman. It is painted along two walls of a building.

The second mural is located on Hanbury Street and is another portait with a heavily-stylized graphical representation using black, yellow, pink, and blue colours as a minimum.

The third piece is one that I'd finally just been able to visit recently and is probably my favourite of the three murals. It is representative of the artist's previous work in London and shows a floral pattern with the words "Humanity is worth fighting for" and "We shape the future". It is a symbol of hope with a rose in the middle, bars, and a chain. The mural is located on Mare Street around the corner from London Fields and just off Hackney Road.

For more artwork by Shepard Fairey on this blog, see:

Street Art: Shepard Fairey

It's December first, so that means we can all dig into our advent calendars for the big count down. This year, I purchased the Craft Gin Club Advent Calendar and the "Perfect Pairing Advent Bundle" available with a selection of different tonics and garnishes for each daily sample. The advent calendar comes with twenty-five miniature bottles of gin from twenty-four different distilleries and one from the Craft Gin company, and those who receive the advent calendar can learn about the daily gin and the best pairing for it. For spoilers, scroll below or click away from this page if you want it to be a surprise. 

The gins that I received in the advent calendar include:

• Nelson's Distillery & School: Nelson's Gluggle Jug Gin
  
  • This small-batch gin was created by one man who had previously worked in Michelin rstaurants. The distillery is located on the borders of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, and it's a relatively new venture. Nelson's Gluggle Jug Gin is a dry gin, and it won the Gin of the Year award in 2019.
• Brinfle Distillery: Cuckoo Supernova Gin
  • Brinfle Distillery is produced on a Lancashire farm, and their range of gins is called "Cuckoo". The "Cuckoo Supernova Gin" miniature is provided as a sample, and it is described as a summery gin with hints of refreshing grapefruit. I've sampled one of the other gins in their range previously, and it was a treat.
• The Spirit of Manchester Distillery: Manchester Gin - Wild Spirit
  • This distillery in Manchester started as a hobby where the founders began to distill gin out of their dining room in Manchester, and they won awards. Their distillery dates to 2019, so it is a relatively new venture. The "Wild Spirit" gin is a herb-flavoured gin instead of citrus. Sage, thyme, and silver birch are all used to give the flavour.
• Brass Lion Distillery: Singapore Dry Gin
  • Brass Lion Distillery is located in Singapore, and it was one of the full-sized bottles for the subscriber "gin of the month" for August (see post). This gin won the gold award at the Gin of the World awards this year. The gin concept was born in 2012, and they toured the world to create different gins and then to create one using the flavours of Singapore, which is how this gin came about.
• Cotswolds Distillery: Cloudy Christmas Gin
  • Cotswolds Distillery, located in the Cotswolds, distills different types of alcohol (namely gin and whisky). There's a wealth of knowledge behind this operation. The Cloudy Christmas Gin is their award-winning dry gin, but it has a Christmas spice twist.
• Poetic License: Old Tom Gin
  • Poetic License is a relatively young small-batch distillery located in the north east of England. The Old Tom Gin uses a recipe from the 1800s, and the gin is aged in oak casks and retains a golden colour. It is a dry gin and described as having a sweet taste.
• QVT Distillerie: QVT Dry Gin Edition CGC
  • QVT Distillerie is based in Provence in France, and a full-sized bottle of this gin was given in the April subscriber box this year (read post). The dry gin is described as having floral notes using juniper, and it is an easy-drinking gin with an enjoyable flavour.
• Batch Distillery: Whinberry Gin
  • Batch Distillery is a distiller of rum and gin. It is a small batch gin founded in an old mill in Lancashire. The distillery started in 2011-2012 and started to win awards a few years later, kicking off to popularity in 2017. The Whinberry Gin is a type of sloe gin.
• Otterbeck Distillery: Winter Cotton Gin
  • Based in the Yorkshire Moors, the gin was created using local ingredients. The award-winning Cotton Gin is named after the history of the area with its cotton and silk mills. The company prides itself in sustainability. The Winter Cotton Gin is a twist on the distilleries award-winning gin.
• Dunnet Bay Distillers: Rock Rose Citrus Coastal Gin
  • Based in Caithness in Scotland (in Dunnet), this distillery focuses on tradition, sustainability, flavour, innovation, and heritage. The gin has won many awards. "Rock Rose" is a name of one of their brands of gin, and the sample received is the Citrus Coastal flavour. Their branding implies the tradition of this part of the world. The distillery has been in operation for several years, and I have purchased some of their products previously.
• Sabatini Gin: London Dry Tuscan Gin
  • Sabatini Gin is created in Italy. The family's history in distilling goes back generations. This London Dry gin is described as having a Tuscan twist using the flavours from Tuscany.
• The River Test Distillery: Chalkstream Gold Gin
  • Based on the River Test in Hampshire, England, this gin was provided as a full-sized bottle in the March subscription box this year (see post). It is made from local ingredients, including local barley and it has a herb flavour. The gin has also won awards. I found this gin to be enjoyable.
• CHX Distillers Ltd.: Altitude Gin
  • CHX Distillers Ltd. is a distillery based in Mont Blanc, France that had previously gained popularity in 2020 due to Craft Gin Club. It was founded in 2017. The company supports sustainability and environmental research with the sale of its gin, and its gin has won awards. Altitude Gin uses local ingredients, such as pine from the Alps, to create unique botanicals.
• Warington's Original Ludlow Gin: Ludlow Spiced Gin
  • Based in Wales near the Welsh-English border, this distillery has been experimenting with creating the best gin for many years now. The Ludlow Spiced Gin is a spiced version of their popular gin.
• Burleighs Gin: Burleigh's King Richard III Gin
  • Based near Leicester, Burleighs Gin distills out of a converted barn and has been in operation since 2014. The King Richard III gin is named after the king who was killed and buried in the area, and it is named after the different ingredients that would have been used in the kitchens of the palace - clove, sage, thyme, mace, etc. 
• Anno Distillers: B3rry Pink Gin
  • Based in Maidstone in Kent, Anno Distillers was founded in 2011. The "B3rry Pink Gin" is inspired by the Kent countryside and uses various berries - strawberry, blackberry, and elderberry - to create the flavour.
• Pennington Spirits: Lakeland Moon Snowfell Gin
  • Founded in the 1990s, Pennington Spirits creates different liquers. The Kendal Mint liquer is one of the first created, more of a hobby. Its success meant the founding of the company and the distilling of other flavours of liquer and gin. Lakeland is their popular gin brand, and it has won awards. A small sample of the Lakeland Moon Snowfell Gin is provided, and this won the silver gin awards and was produced with Craft Gin Club. It is a more refreshing citrus take on the company's gin.
• Warner's Distillery: Sloe Gin
  • Warner's Distillery was created by a farm family who decided to get into the gin business in 2012. The company creates different flavours of gin, and the sloe gin is provided in the advent calendar.
• Pienaar & Sons Distilling Company: Orient Gin
  • This small craft gin distillery is located in Cape Town. The Orient Gin is created using different flavours of Asia, which uses spicy and sweet flavours.
• Whitby Distillery: The Bramble & Bay Edition
  • Whitby Distillery is a new distillery located in the town of Whitby in northern England. The Bramble and Bay edition of the gin uses blackberries and bay leaves to create the flavour.
• Chemist Spirits: American Gin
  • Chemist is located in North Carolina in the U.S.A., and the gin is distilled in the Appalachian Mountains. The botanical ingredients are rose, citrus, spice, and juniper. A full-sized bottle of this gin was provided in the subscription box for the month of July (see post). The gin has won multiple awards.
• Cambridge Distillery: Cambridge Dry Gin - Rosemary & Lemon Verbena Edition
  • Cambridge Distillery is inspired to create gins that are inspired by the English seasons and countryside. In the advent calendar, the Rosemary & Lemon Verbena Edition gin is provided as a sample.
• The Gower Gin Company: GWYR Gin Original
  • The Gower Gin Company is a Welsh distillery. The GWYR is one of their signature gins and is created with foraged local ingredients using the dry gin and citrus flavours.
• Southwestern Distillery: Tarquin's 'The Cornish Christmas' Gin
  • Southwestern Distillery was founded in Cornwall in 2012, and they create colourful bottles of gin. I've previously had their gin, and their gin has won awards and is on sale in many shops. The Cornish Christmas Gin sample is provided.
• Craft Gin Club: Schofe's Winter Gin
  • Craft Gin Club have created a new gin with Phillip Schofield, "Schofe's Winter Gin". A sample of provided in the advent calendar.

In addition to the advent calendar, I purchased the tonics and garnishes ("The Perfect Pairing Advent" selection), and I received a different flavour of Artisan-branded tonic for each gin and four bags of garnishes to be paired with the gins. I received five of each flavour of the tonic: classic, skinny, violet blossom, pink citrus, and Amalfi lime. The garnishes included large bags of: grapefruit, lime, lemon, and orange.

I am looking forward to enjoying a daily gin and tonic each evening, so keep coming back to check out my favourite brands.