Bumper Weekly Diary: friendship addicts, book launches, meetings and a bank holiday
We ate, we drank, we hung out in swanky London members' clubs hoping nobody would find out that we didn't belong...
Hello there! It’s been a busy couple of weeks, so this is a bumper weekly diary to catch you up on everything. Grab a cup of tea, settle in and (hopefully) enjoy.
THURSDAY 21 MARCH
We’re kicking things off with a very exciting day: my lovely friend Emma and I are catching the train into London to see our beloved Elizabeth Day in conversation with Jamie Laing at the London Palladium. We booked these tickets months ago and the day is finally here!
Emma has recommended The Palomar in Soho for a pre-show dinner: it is absolutely divine (lots of bread, dips, fresh salads and small plates). We walk the ten minutes to the Palladium and head straight to the bar to grab a drink before the show starts.
Elizabeth is dazzling as always, and Jamie an excellent interviewer. After the show, we’re lucky enough to be invited for post-show drinks in the theatre bar, thanks to lovely Emma Reed Turrell who I finally got to meet in the flesh after months of working together.
We have a glass of prosecco, briefly chat with Elizabeth and take some photos together (she is as generous with her time as ever), and then rush off to get our train back to Kent. Just the most gorge evening, and I’m thrilled that my friend got to meet someone she really admires.
SUNDAY 24 MARCH
Dear reader, I thought it pertinent to let you know that at this point I’m taking a shortcut straight to Sunday: mainly because Friday ended up being a very slow day after a late night on Thursday, and Saturday was equally as non-eventful.
On this particularly spring-like Sunday, we decide to treat ourselves to a roast dinner at one of our favourite local pubs, The Hare in Langton Green.
We crack on with the Sunday cleaning (who else here loves a weekly Sunday reset?!) and then walk the 30 minutes or so to the pub and grab ourselves a window seat for a pre-lunch drink (rosé for me, beer for James).
It couldn’t be a nicer end to the week, not only because the sun is shining and it’s actually starting to feel warmer, but also because we get to spend quality time together before the chaos of another week begins. We happily stumble home after a lot of food and a fair few glasses of red wine and collapse on the sofa for the rest of the evening.
MONDAY 25 MARCH
I have lunch plans with my lovely mama today, so I get to my desk at 7am to power through my to-do list before meeting her mid-morning for a cup of tea at one of the local cafes.
We catch up over a pot of tea for two and then make our way to The Beacon, a lovely restaurant/wedding venue that I’ve spoken about many times before. We both order a cheeky glass of wine and a chicken and bacon club sandwich (absolutely delicious), followed by a slice of carrot cake to share. Just as we’re finishing our cake, the sun decides to make an appearance, so we order an earl grey tea for mum, decaf coffee for me and sit out on the balcony.
Mum and I hop on a bus back into town, say our goodbyes and then I hot foot it to my favourite nail salon to get a manicure before a very exciting event. Roll on Tuesday!
TUESDAY 26 MARCH
I’m heading into London on an early afternoon train today and then straight to Parson’s Green for a meeting with the lovely team at Jet Studios, a photography studio/events space that brands, photographers, videographers, stylists and creative directors use for their projects.
Amazingly, I bump into the lovely Jemima as I walk into the studio, who is there working on a shoot for Trinny London. I first met Jemima at a book event and we’ve kept in touch on Instagram ever since then; she is a joy and so talented at what she does. She introduces me to Annie Swain, the stylist working on the shoot who also happens to have styled Elizabeth Day for her recent Friendaholic book tour.
After my meeting, I jump straight back on the tube to Oxford Circus and walk in the now torrential rain to the Allbright members’ club in Mayfair, where the launch party for Emma Reed Turrell’s upcoming book What am I Missing? is happening. The venue is stunning, as is the host herself, and I get stuck in straight away taking photos and video clips for social before everyone arrives.
It’s wonderful to catch up with the team at Penguin who are such a joy to work with, as well as some of the guests: Sathnam, Elizabeth, and Emma’s lovely husband and family. James arrives soon after and it’s honestly so lovely to have him there; he never usually comes along to these events because they’re generally working events for me. I get to introduce him to Elizabeth and Emma who have both heard so much about him (I’m a serial blabber when it comes to James) and it’s one of the highlights of my entire week.
We buy pasties from the little kiosk at Charing Cross on the way home and eat them piping hot, straight out of the bag on the train. A very, very special evening.
FRIDAY - MONDAY (EASTER BANK HOL)
The rest of the week passes by in a blur of to-do lists, and before we know it, it’s Good Friday. It’s a bank holiday weekend of being fed and watered for us; we start off with afternoon tea at my parents’ house on Saturday, followed by a BBQ at James’ parents’ on Sunday and the traditional roast lamb at James and Rachel’s house (old Rayment family friends) on Easter Monday.
The weather is glorious, the food delicious and our wine glasses always full, and by the time we catch the train home on Monday evening (in daylight, woo hoo!), we are both looking forward to getting back to the routine of a normal week.
Thank you for joining me! I hope you enjoyed this bumper weekly diary, and I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend whatever you got up to x