london pride

Sophie and I have been friends since we were seven. My first real memory of her was performing Hamlet's soliloqy at the ripe old age of eight, complete with a fake skull. She is a natural-born performer and any time we spend together is filled with laughter and love. 

We both moved to London at the same time and had whimsical ideas of running around London together, drinking white wine spritzers and going on plenty of dates with plenty of boys. However, we both found boyfriends within a few weeks of arriving so our plan was somewhat skewed (don't worry boys, we forgive you). We try to meet up as often as possible and this weekend has been no exception. 

The sun has been out in all its glory this week and we decided to make the most of it by watching London Pride and enjoying some cool drinks. 

   

First thing first was find a juice and some yummy puddings to knock off a little thick head on Soph's side. We found this charming pub and hotel on New Quebec Street and dived into freshly pressed juices, a steak salad for Sophie and sweet puddings for after. 

           

Feeling revived we made our way to Trafalgar Square to bag a good spot amongst the crowds. 

           

The atmosphere was buzzing and full of colour. Literally every walk of life had descended here. 

           

           

The parade started with a flurry of colour and a flourish of flags. People cheered, cried and whooped under the blazing sun.

           

           

           

           

The Barclays bus provided us with an explosion of multi-coloured confetti which thrilled the crowd. 

           

           

This float certainly knew how to party! 

           

           

The partying is still going on and will undoubtedly carry on until the early hours. We headed to Old Compton Street and can certainly recommend making a beeline there for a carnival-inspired evening. The streets are alive with colour and love. 

I hope you have all been enjoying the sun - it's set to be a scorcher this week! Don't forget the sun cream! 

L. 

kingston + richmond

I don't want to jinx things but I believe summer might just have arrived. Sunday was blissful and the American and I decided to venture out of the Big Smoke and find some water to bask infront of. 

We hopped on the train down to Kingston upon Thames and arrived to a high street bathing in sunshine and filled with happy shoppers. Having popped in and out of shops and boutiques we picked up picnic essentials (smoked salmon, fresh bread and cold ciders) and found a spot on the river bank to set up camp. 

   

   

The houses dotting this river bank are beautiful and had us squealing in awe at their sheer size and dreamy looking garden terraces. 

   

  

With the sound of soul singing in the background (there was a live performance taking place in the band stand) we made the rather rash decision to walk to Richmond. 

                 

This took far longer than expected but it was beautiful and a real treat. Winding our way along the river bank, we crossed the Teddington Locke, watched sail boats fly by and even the occasional paddle boarder. The sun was beating down and everything looked picture perfect.  

   

   

We arrived in Richmond to a party of sunbathers and day trippers. With the heat burning off we went in search of cool drinks and spent the remainder of our Sunday people watching, dreaming of a house in Richmond and what was for dinner. 

   

   

   

A dreamy Sunday after a long week of writing and number crunching. 

We hope the sun is here to stay!

L.