The Wellington Arms in Baughurst has the best pub garden ever!

On a beautiful spring day my hubby and I head off to The Wellington Arms in Baughurst. We were expecting some great food, what we also discovered was a pub garden that usually only appear in your best dreams

High heeling it at Le Bar at Le Grand Intercontinental and the restaurant Drouant, Paris

We decided to go ‘out-out’ in the rather grand neighbourhood of Paris called Opera, so-called because of the magnificent Old Opera House that dominates it. Le Grand Intercontinental hotel sits beside this beauty. We started this rather extravagant evening at Le Bar, followed by a meal at the Drouant, just a stroll away.

Eating with the locals: Le Tournebievre, Astier and cafe Loustic, Paris

Booking a restaurant, bar or cafe where you eat with the locals has become a quest for me. A bistro or brasserie brimming with neighbourhood Madames and Monsieurs is like hitting the jackpot to my lot. You feel more immersed within their culture and somehow reassured that the famous French palette will guide you.

Dinner at The Ascot Bar, Pennyhill Park Hotel

My daughter, Charlotte, used to work in the Ascot Bar in Pennyhill Park Hotel when she was at college. Gosh, we’re talking 5 years ago already! So, now we return, both customers, both hungry after a long day and both ready to let our hair down and have a giggle.

Meeting the ancestors at The Plough Inn, Longparish

I have lovely Aunties. Today I met my Aunty Sand for lunch at The Plough Inn in the pretty village of Longparish. I’m attempting the ancestral family tree and she had some new photos  and names for me. This stuff fascinates me and I love having a picture to a name and piecing together their lives, especially over a hearty pub lunch!

Mother’s day lunch at The Barn, Coworth Park hotel

I get a bit spoilt on Mother’s day with chocies, flowers and cookbooks. I feel so lucky and grateful that it’s often a bit ’emosh’, as they say. This year we had a wonderful lunch at The Barn, Coworth Park hotel, in Surrey. The atmosphere was bustling with families large and small. So, not the sort of place you have to stick out your pinky-finger, but more like you are sitting at a big kitchen table that happens to have extremely nice wine glasses…

Lunch date at The Royal Oak, Paley Street

One of my favourite things in life is an impromptu meal out. So when my hubby asks me on a lunch date to The Royal Oak at Paley Street it took me all of one second to say ‘yes!’. Even more delicious is that it’s a week day – naughty!