Our Likes

Few handy hints from recent St Albans holiday.

Baltic restaurant- near the Tate Modern- 74 Blackfriars Rd, SE1 8HA, 02079281111. Eastern European food in an awesomely contemporary setting.

Hummus Bros- restaurant-Southampton Row in Holborn- www.hbros.co.uk 02074047079

Then there's Ace Fusion -afro-carribean place- at Clapham Junction- www.acefusion.co.uk 02072285584. And check out the nearby 5-star luxury www.hotelrafayel.com nearby.

Or if you'd rather South African cuisine at Shaka Zulu in Camden- at Stables Market, London NW1 8AB- www.shaka-zulu.com 02033769911. Looks nice on the web-site- set on 3 floors- with DJs in residence- but still family friendly. Hooray!

Still in Camden- Frederick's- Camden Passage, Islington- 0207 359 2888.


Like the sound of "The Gun". 0207 515 5222 www.thegundocklands.com . Portugese barbecue restaurant. Views across the docklands to the O2 Arena- and a riverside terrace.

And now they've got all these Lidos in London- in case you fancy an impromptu plunge. They have them in Hampstead Heath, Hyde Park (The Serpentine), Tooting Bec, and in Brockwell Park- my old stamping ground when I lived in Herne Hill.
Outside of London check out-

Farington Lodge Hotel in Preston- www.classiclodges.co.uk 5 minutes from Leyland Station

and - Leoni's Italian restaurant - 55 Cross St, Manchesterrr. M2 4FW- 0161 835 1254

In Bristol at Clifton there's Papaji's Bar and Teasmith's- that's right tea taken to another artistic level- 01179 466 144, www.papajis.co.uk

DemiJohn is a "Liquid Deli" in York at 11 Museum Street- 01904 637487 www.demijohn.co.uk. Sounds interesting- a "liquid deli".

And if you're short of somewhere to stay in the South West- try Archanagel Hotel in Frome in Somerset. 01373 456 111 www.archangelfrome.com 


(Also just heard of Cafe de la Post in Biot near Nice for lovely cupcakes- but of course that's miles away). Enjoy. But then heard of Ashoka- bar with a live DJ and open fire in CapeTown. 0027214220909- www.asokabar.co.za

Quick B & Bs

Quick post of B&Bs that have caught the eye and aint too expensive.

Quality seems to approach that in Shaftsbury (Somerset) stayed in years ago.

There's southquaybedandbreakfastpadstow.co.uk (01841532383) in Cornwall- close to Uncle Rick's place and the Padstow harbour.

I also quite fancy - The Archway in Cumbria of Windermere. www.thearchway.com 01539445613

And of course, if you stay in Staffordshire- it has to be Stoop House Farm in Butterton. www.stoophousefarm.co.uk 01538304486.

Really fancy Ivydene House in the tiny village of Uckingall, near Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire close to the M50 and M5 and Cotswolds. £75. www.ivydenehouse.net 01684592453. (It has it's own tennis court in the garden!).

But nearby in Northleach in Gloucestershire is Wheatsheaf Inn- a reasonably priced country hotel- with Bang & Olufsen TVs, a spa, & 14 charming rooms. Billed as "countryside with edge" this one. (01451 860244, cotswoldswheatsheaf.com). Hmmmmm!

In chic Clifton Village in Bristol is the cool Number 38 Clifton. Handy for Bristol Zoo, the Lido (restaurant, Spa and Pool www.lidobristol.com) and for shopping in Clifton Village. www.number38clifton.com 01179466905.