Puttin' on the Ritz!

Ok, it's a terribly cheesy and unimaginative Blog title I know. I did ponder 'Crackers for the Ritz' and 'Ritz a Wonderful Life' but the obvious one seemed the least cringe-worthy!


To the post!


2 months ago I went for afternoon tea at the Ritz in London, with my Aunt. I'd bought her a voucher for tea for two there a year earlier to celebrate her 50th, and because I'd been living in Hampshire with little funds to transport myself back to LDN for a whole eight months, yes, you heard right - eight months - the day we did eventually go was the last day we could do so before the voucher expired! But oh my - twas fabulous...


We met up at Bond St. station after our working/interning day was over, and had a little drinky and a wander around some shops before heading to Green Park tube station. We were still a little early however - for some odd reason afternoon tea runs from 7.30p.m. until 9.30p.m. Actually, thinking about it they do several slots a day and that was the most convenient time for us both... sirry me!


So we waited in the Rivoli Bar, and not wanting to be rude and order a £15 glass of wine I settled for a bottle of posh elderflower presse. I'm not much of a big drinker, I usually go for a beer but I didn't think that would seem very... Ritzy. Although saying that, I did nab the plush paper coasters they gave us as a souvenir! The staff were wonderful and it made us feel like celebrities! They served mini cheese twists and olives so we had a nice nibble while we waited. We both felt quite underdressed, as other attendees were in more formal attire that you might see at a wedding - but a lot of other tables were birthdays and special occasions. And I think we would have both looked quite silly beforehand, going into work in outfits more suited to a day at Royal Ascot!


I nipped into the loos before we were seated at our table, and was blown away again by the glamour and magnificence -from a toilet!


Observe: 

Plush seats, murals, pink details AND jewellery cabinets!!

The washbasins were so girly, and instead of paper to dry your hands there were baskests of soft white fluffy flannel-sized washcloths! And a hamper to put them in - it did feel a little wasteful, but I can't imagine a hot-air hand drier in an establishment with these levels of extravagance!


The string quartet began playing softly, and we were seated at our table. We were right next to the catering entrance, beside a screen - maybe because we were not so exquisitely outfitted as the other patrons...


But we didn't care because the food was delicious and the surroundings were fabulous! Here's me sipping on some Jasmine Blossom Tea:

 You got to pick from a list of yummy blends and had your own teapot - I had trouble picking one, I could probably have had several pots! Here's my Auntie, check out the yummy cakes and all the wonderful features...

And a final view of the room. 

We had a variety of teeny sandwiches cut into rectangles, such as smoked salmon, mature cheddar and of course cucumber, with staff replenishing them as we ate. They were small, but very filling! Then we were served hot scones with jam and clotted cream - absolutely heavenly. The top tier of our stand was reserved for tiny desserts. My Auntie was stuffed by then so I got to try them- including a gorgeous Macaron - I should have asked who it was by as it was delightful! *mouth waters*


The time went quite quickly and we thoroughly enjoyed the top quality treats and girly gossip. I'd definitely do it again for a special occasion. I can't think how much it would cost for me and Tom to get married there though...


...but imagine it! Wouldn't it be just perfect?


Ta-ta for now!


Swaf


xxx

Blogger, Bloggees, and a quick catch up!

Greetings to you, you being a person who is reading this with their eyes! I bet you didn't know that if you in fact read with your tongue instead the blog will taste like cupcakes, did you?

*crosses fingers and hopes you lick screen*

LICK ME DAMN YOU!!!

No?

Never mind. I've had some sweeties late at night so clearly I'm a wild child and can't be tamed. I'm not sure who is reading this blog, after having it for over a year and not writing many posts within that time (about four I think - shameful, I know, I should be sentenced to suffocation by melted marshmallows) I decided to try and get myself back into the habit of blogging more often, and so I shall endeavour to do so. Goodness knows why, I can't imagine who wants to listen to/read my drivel, and (as I've always called it) "Nonsensical Witterings". Maybe I should trademark that...

But if you are reading this blog and bathing your eyes with my word-shaped ridicoulousness, thenI hope you enjoy it and don't require an acidic eye-wash immediately afterwards, or reach for a tiny fifties cocktail fork to pluck them out and-

etcetera etcetera.

But anyway, if you are reading, then thank you - I hope it gives you a little tickle rather than the side-effects listed previously. And if you do enjoy it, then please leave a comment saying so as it would cheer me up and I won't strangle any kittens.

I'm still getting to grips with this blogging thing, I've had a go at jazzing it up and trying to make it slightly more interesting but I'll be playing around with that for a while - I'm not a technophobe but I do have some learning difficulties which can slow me down! Maybe I will tell you about them some day. But more to the point - please bear with me!

I'm hoping to do some more interesting blog posts at some point - baking, experimenting with my jewellery, shopping trips, reviews and the likes, but at the moment I'm stony broke and living between two counties, waiting to find out which one I'll be living in for the next year. I was looking for work closer to London where I'm from, but my fiance, Tom, is currently living and working in Hampshire on the south coast. I've spent the past year there in our flat and had a number of jobs before I took on my internship. It's been a real struggle - I left a last job to go back to London and during my first week Tom had an accident longboarding with a friend and badly fractured his skull. Luckily I was working with a friend of a family member who was very sympathetic and I was able to rush back down and pack him a bag before hospital visiting hours. He needed constant supervision for at least 2 weeks. Over 2 months later he's still recovering - he's back at work but only on a part time graduating basis - it's knackering him out though - he's really not ready but circumstances were/are quite poor!

Anyway while he was off he decided to get back into some composing (he's a musician, and a very good one at that) because he really wants to write music for video games, TV, or maybe one day even film. He had been doing a music to media degree at Bournemouth University, but had to leave once when his father passed away to help his mum out (the man is a real sweetie - he likes to pretend he's a criminal mastermind but he's got a heart of gold). I was browsing through the website of the college where I studied for my degree, as they are moving this year, and have undergone a huge re-branding. Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication will now be located at the Greenwich peninsula (accidentally typed a rude word there first, involving male reproductive anatomy) just a stone's throw from the 02.

The new building is a striking, modern design and I was intrigued to learn more about it. I noticed that they were running a new course this year - Music to Media Production - and that places were still open for it. Tom's always wanted to finish his degree, and this course sounds amazing and just right for him. There's an interesting article which mentions it from the independent here. So, he applied and got in touch with the staff at registry and his old tutor (he's already been to uni, so they know he'll be up to scratch, and he doesn't have to wait for any results). So we're waiting for either the Admissions tutor to return from leave or for something to happen on UCAS later this week. In the meantime he's been working on his showreel, making some lovely compositions, and I've even given some videos that I edited from old, unused footage from my BTEC in Media Studies six years ago!

So anyway, lots of things are on hold at the moment, including the launch of my jewellery as it will be difficult to sell stuff if I'm in the wrong county or in the process of moving, so until then I will be working on all the little preparation bits that I can. I've really scuppered up my sleeping pattern though, Tom's not been able to sleep with all the pills he's been having to take so we've entertained ourselves re-watching my Green Wing boxset.

So bloody funny, and a fantastic example of British comedy, which is set in a surreal hospital with excellently written scripts improved by fantastically developed characters played by very talented actors. If you haven't already, get your hands on a copy and do not sleep until you have watched it all. We figured out that the characters we were most like were Liaisons Officer Sue White (me) and Anesthetist Guy Secretan (Tom).

Ta-ta for now!

Swaf xxx