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Category: Architecture/ Archeology

  1. The Magic of Staying in an Oxford College

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     Christ Church Hall

    Oxford, with its world famous university, is only about 50 miles/ 80km from London and is easily doable as a day trip. During the vacation period many colleges rent out their rooms to the public, it's a great opportunity to stay somewhere very unique and historic, so I booked a two night stay at Christ Church, Oxford's largest college. To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect but it exceeded my expectations and I loved every minute of my stay there. 

  2. The Wonderpass - Discovering Baker Street's Colourful History

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    The Wonderpass - Baker Street Quarter 

    The Wonderpass is now open. The Marylebone subway, next to Baker Street Tube Station, has been transformed to showcase the area's colourful history and its cultural attractions. In 2014 Baker Street Quarter Partnership, who commissioned the project, approached me to research the timeline for the Wonderpass. When it opened in January 2016, I was very proud to visit and see the results of my research on display.

  3. Following in the Footsteps of Vincent Price on the Witchfinder General Tour

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    Witchfinder General Tour Lavenham Guildhall

    Lavenham Guildhall

    Lavenham, in Suffolk, is one of Britain's finest medieval villages. With its magnificent timber framed Guildhall and pretty cottages it is the quintessential, picture postcard town. However in 1968, its picturesque Market Place became the film location of one of the most horrific scenes in Vincent Price's Witchfinder General. Last month I was thrilled to attend the Witchfinder General Location Tour with the Vincent Price London Legacy Tour 2015 and Victoria Price, Vincent's daughter.

  4. Scones of the Month � October 2015

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    The Farmacy

    The Farmacy – Philadelphia

    This month’s scone blog features two fabulous afternoon teas but I’ll start off with a little controversy.  Last month I was in USA and  it was lovely to see @keftiugal again. She took me to some very cool and amazing places, but nowhere we went to had scones on the menu. The nearest I got to eating my beloved scones was when we went for Sunday brunch to The Farmacy, a restaurant in West Philadelphia near the University, and on the menu were American biscuits.  

  5. Scones of the Month � September 2015

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     Tea and Tattle

    Tea and Tattle

    September found me enjoying scones in quite diverse locations, starting off I made a return visit to one of my favourite tea rooms, I then partook of a cream tea in one of London’s top hotels and finally checked out the in store café in supermarket.

  6. "This is a Spot Most Beautiful" Eltham Palace's Art Deco Elegance

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    Eltham Palace - Entrance Hall

    Entrance Hall

    Eltham Palace is best known today for its sumptuous art deco interiors created in the 1930s - 1940s when Stephen and Virginia Courthauld resided there. The house however has an amazing history, from medieval manor house and Tudor royal palace to the Courtaulds, which is covered my original blog post.

    Last month I made a long overdue return visit to as this year they have opened five more rooms and this blog is going to focus on its art deco interiors, although at the time this style would have been referred to Moderne, as the term art deco wasn't coined until 1960s. If you think the Entrance Hall looks amazing wait till you see the bathroom. Warning there are rather a lot of photos. 

  7. Scones of the Month - August 2015

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    Maison d'être

    Maison d’être

    This month’s blog is a bit of a scone fest, featuring a whopping six reviews, and including scones from London, York, Oxford and Northampton. Be warned it’s a bit of a long one but hope you enjoy the photos. I’ll start with this month’s only London entry which serves an extraordinary selection of  jams.

  8. The New Lady Betty Afternoon Tea in the Art Deco Splendour of the Queen Mary Inspired Belmont Room

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    Bettys - Lady Betty Afternoon Tea

    Bettys has just introduced the new Lady Betty Afternoon Tea and earlier this week I visited their elegant Belmont Room in York to partake of this. For anyone unfamilar with this small chain of delightful tea rooms in Yorkshire you may like to read my original blog post Bettys is Brilliant. 

  9. Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the Wallpaper at The Goring

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    The Goring

    The Goring is the hotel where in 2011, Catherine Middleton and her family stayed the night before her marriage to Prince William. The other week I visited for afternoon tea with @DawnCorleone which is featured seperately in my Scones of the Month blog. When I entered their Front Hall, I was immediately impressed with their beautiful wallpaper, so much so that when we left the restaurant we went to have a closer look. The Goring's Facebook page states that "The Goring's Front Hall is a destination in itself". DawnC was staying there, as a guest, so was able to tell me more about it, thanks Dawn, and I loved it so much I felt I just had to blog about it.

  10. Scones of the Month - July 2015

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    The Goring

    The Goring

    This month I’m delighted to say that I’ve managed to partake of afternoon tea at The Goring and Oakley Court, two hotels which have been on my to do list tea list for absolutely ages, plus enjoyed scones for breakfast at Caravan.