London Diary December & Links à la Mode

December will soon be upon and the capital is gearing up for a Santa filled sack of festivities.  Here are some events that may tickle your fancy, if you’re looking for alternatives to the usual fare of ice rinks and Winter Wonderlands.


Magic Lantern Festival, Chiswick House
Tall Brown Fox and I did this last year and is a lovely evening event.  It’s now open until 1st January and as it’s popular make sure you book in good time.  Last year’s theme was The Silk Road and the installations were truly stunning and intricately designed.


Wear wellies or walking boots, as some parts of the trail were very muddy by the time we got there.  And taking a torch with you is good idea too.

Christmas at Kew Gardens
It you want to see Kew Gardens in a totally different setting to its daytime one, then you’ll be in for a treat with a nightime visit to Christmas At Kew.  A light trail winds its way through the gardens taking you on a wonderful outdoor journey through and past beautiful light installations.  And at the famous Palm House, you are treated to an incredible lazer light show. There are food stalls, a few vintage fairground rides and you can sip mulled wine to keep you warm on your way round.  


Book as soon as you can as it sells out.  Tip – book an early evening slot to get the maximum time there.  Last year, we could only book a late evening slot.  We still had time to enjoy the evening but an extra hour there would have been even better.  


As with the Magic Lantern Festival, wellies and torch are advisable especially if it’s recently been raining.


Here I am last year, being totally dwarfed by two towering trees of light at the start of the trail!

Hampton Court Food Festival, 8th-10th Dec
A good start to your Seasonal Feasting would be to visit the BBC’s Good Food Festive Feast in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace.  Mulled wine and mince pies here we come.


Unusual Afternoon Teas
So you’ve done your Christmas shopping and before heading home you fancy a cuppa tea in town but you want to eschew the usual chain of coffee shops for something a tad different.  Nowadays, you don’t have to go to the North Pole to taste some Nordic cuisine. How about indulging in  twist on a British classic – a Nordic Afternoon Tea at Aquavit Restaurant.  


You can find lots of other Usual Afternoon Teas in town from a Choco-lat Tea to a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party!


The Magic Circle Christmas Show, 19th-29th Dec
If Christmas is to you a magical time of the year, then why not combine it with some real magic at The Magic Circle Christmas Show?


Wildlife Photographer of the Year
And if you need a detox from anything remotely Christmassy, I can highly recommend the The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017, held annually at the Natural History Museum.  Tall Brown Fox and I go every year, as we shall next month and the stunning photography never fails to disappoint.  It’s running through until 28th May 2018.  

And Finally… Links à la Mode

With only just getting back into a blogging rhythm again after a long time away,  I decided to dip my toe in and submit a post to the weekly round up feature on Independent Fashion Bloggers.  I’ve been full of cold this week – thank you so much Tall Brown Fox for sharing your cold with me (!) so it was a welcomed boost to find out that my Playing with Proportions  post was chosen.


Thanks to Tarah-Lynn for including my post in the weekly round up Links à la Mode.  All the links are listed below.  Swing by some of them for interesting reads.

On to the links…


I particularly liked Cubicle Chic’s post on why the change to Instagram’s algorithm holds no fear for her.


Machu Picchu is on my bucket list and if you have the travel bug, then Have Clothes, Will Travel’s post on visiting this extraordinary place is worth book marking.  

All the links are below, so why not dive in and discover some new blogs.  
Happy reading!

Tarah Lynn writes: So many ideas, so little time! Time to dig deep into this week’s fashions posts and in-depth thought pieces dealing with feeling stuck in the blogger-sphere and Instagram algorithm mind games. You ready?

Links à la Mode, November 16th

• Aesthetic Distance: Can Fur Ever Be Ethical?
• Cubicle Chic: Why I Have No Fear of the Instagram Algorithm Change
• Gutterfashion: THRIFTED: Help! This Blogging Thing is Stressing Me Out!
• Have Clothes, Will Travel: 10 Things To Know Before Visiting Machu Picchu
• LunaVida Blog: Olive You, Fall | Denim Jacket + Tank + Black Jeans + d’Orsay Flats
• Online Personal Stylist: How to Create the Perfect Capsule Wardrobe
• Petite Silver Vixen: Playing with Proportions
• Sifa’s Corner: Why You Need to Try Pop Beauty Velvet Powder Base
• Tales of Two Blog: Unisex Fashion – Is It Really Working?
• Smile Is It: Fall/Winter Fashion Trend: How to Wear a Suede Dress
• Style and Grace: Taking Flight

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