A day out in London.

There is something about London that just makes me smile. I love it. I have never lived in London but I have plenty of friends who do and whenever I return from a visit I seem to miss it.

A couple weeks ago my father offered me his tickets for the Masters tennis at the Royal Albert Hall. I had an initial panic as having booked my hair appointment 8 weeks ago I now had a clash – considering I am currently unemployed, clashes rarely happen in my diary. I didn’t know what to do! I simply LOVE tennis but then at the same time I wouldn’t be able to see my hairdresser till after Christmas, he’s annoyingly popular so you have to be outrageously organised booking appointments. For example I can tell you already that my next visit to the hairdressers is on the 4^th February. Anyways I suddenly realised I can’t not go to the tennis – next problem who was I going to go with? Fear not I called a fellow unemployed graduate and off we went.

Neither of us had been to the Royal Albert Hall so that was exciting in itself. Secondly we’re both big tennis fan so watching tennis in such a stunning building was just incredible. 

Thirdly we were watching Mark Philippoussis and it didn’t take long for us both to realise how good looking he was. We almost became obsessed.

This all started when at the end of his match tennis balls were hit into the crowd at this stage we weren’t fussed about catching a tennis ball. Well we weren’t until…Andrew Castle announced if you caught one you would be meeting Mark Philippoussis. Suddenly we both sprung to our feet and were shouting “Mark, Mark” but no balls were hit our way. I just have to put it down to the fact he didn’t see us. If he genuinely is single and the average age of the audience was 50+ (it was the masters tennis after all) then why did he not throw it our way? Even the ladies in front commented on the situation in shock – highlighting the age of a member of the audience who had caught one. Anyways we weren’t put off by the lack of a ball we went to the meeting point and followed those who did have balls to the special room. Upon entering the room people were handing over their balls and sadly we had to bail last minute. We were genuinely devasted.

We didn’t stop there though, we took to twitter. Couldn’t find Mark Philippoussis so tweeted to the masters tennis twitter account. The tweet read as follows: "@masters_tennis loving the tennis but sad to have missed out on the meet and greet with #markphilippoussis - feel free to put in a good word." Sadly we failed.

It took a while but we moved on from Mark Philippoussis and onto the V & A museum. I cant think when/if I have previously been, if I have it would have been on a rather uninspiring school trip, which would have consisted of filling out question sheets. You wouldn’t really take in any of the beauty just simply answer the questions as quickly as possible so you could go to the shop and/or café. I love being at an age where I actually enjoy visiting museums. I think it’s also the addition of my SLR as I love being able to snap away especially at the architecture. A couple pictures from the V & A are below.

We didn’t stop there. Oh no, on we continued to Harrods and yes after looking at the jewellery and handbags we did make our way to Santas grotto. Now our initial plan was just to see it – we tried peering round the corner only to be greeted by this….

Now this lovely pink elf (if that’s what she was) informed us Santa’s Grotto was in fact FREE. Now as most of you know nothing comes free but it actually was. So with our new pink elf friend we made our way to the queue. 

This is when we suddenly realized it is actually a little bit weird that at 22 years old we were queuing to see Santa – this was emphasized by the average age of 6 surrounding us. At this stage we looked at each other and the role play began. Oh yes we pretended to be American.  Of course this is the kind of thing American tourists would have loved. The good thing was at this stage we were only chatting amongst ourselves and bizarrely enough we speak in American accents on a regular basis.

A little something to keep you smiling in the queue to Santa.

The issue only came when we were situated at the front of the queue. At this point we had an elf chatting directly too us and it was for a good 7 minutes whilst the kid ahead of us had their moment with Santa. All I can say is this felt like a life time, but imagine the embarrassment if half way through we slipped into English. I could see my friends face beginning to panic but we made it through and this had to be the highlight of the day. As we left Santa’s Grotto we just burst into laughter but it certainly was worth it. Fingers crossed Santa makes our wishes come true. For those of you reading “we would like boyfriends and jobs” Please contact me if you can offer either. 

Coworth Park Hotel

Part of the famous Dorchester Collection, Coworth Park is a stunning contemporary country home – right on my doorstep. Despite its contemporary style it remains quintessentially British.

Coworth Park Manor House

With a passion for interior design I sat in the stunning conservatory in awe of my surroundings. My friend (another interior design lover) and I sat there discussing every style choice and how much we loved them - both wishing one day we’d be sitting in a conservatory of our own with such exquisite finishes.

Despite living so close to Coworth Park, this was my first visit.  Over our customary visit to Fegos Café in Ascot my friend assured me that it was definitely worth a lunch trip. She managed to persuade me as I had simply presumed prices would be high but in fact they were comparable.

After enjoying the truly sensational food, we couldn’t resist a walk. The sun was shinning and it all looked so tempting. I have included a few photos from my phone below.

For anyone wanted a country escape that isn’t that far out of London I can definitely recommend a trip to Coworth Park  - and I can only imagine with Christmas coming it will be even more magical. http://www.coworthpark.com/

Something about Federer

In Federer's recent ATP World Tour semi-final match against Ferrer, Ferrer was only 2 points away from winning the opening set. Despite this at 5-4 down and an 8 minute game you can hear the elation of the crowd when Federer brings it back to 5-5. What is it about Federer that truly captivates his audience? I am one of them and have always been a huge fan. For starters he is guaranteed to always display true sportsmanship skills but furthermore he is a joy to watch.

I was extremely jealous that earlier in the week my parents had prime seats at the O2 Arena to watch the much raved about Federer vs Nadal game. Unfortunately I didn’t watch the match but this little clip on YouTube shows the quality of the match and why the BBC’s headline read; “Roger Federer masterclass stuns Rafael Nadal in Tour Finals”

Go to 2.03 for a truly exceptional rally.

Sunday afternoon and we’re all sat at home gripped by another Federer final. I must admit I did have a temporary switch of allegiance and in the 2^nd set found myself supporting Tsonga. This was simply because I love that Federer comeback and he definitely displayed the best tennis in the third and final set. According to the BBC Roger Federer said this latest win is "one of his greatest accomplishments". You can understand why Federer is describing it as such a great achievement because it did it fact mark the 100th final of his career and a record breaking 6 wins at the ATP world tour finals.

Well done Federer on another win – fingers crossed for a 17^th grand slam victory in 2012.

Children’s Videos.

What is it exactly that captivates us with the comical videos online of children. They seem to amuse literally all generations. This was highlighted to me at the weekend when my grandparents asked me if I’d seen the “funny video charlie bit me” – of course I had but at least a couple years ago. The same thing happened but this time with the opposite end of the age scale. I was babysitting family friends aged 7 and 5 years old when they pretended to act it out, before asking “have you seen that video?”

 What fascinates me is the incredible number of YouTube hits these clips receive but also how some have been turned into money makers.

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2011

In the build up to Christmas it is hard to deny that both the M & S and Coca-Cola adverts holding a distinctive place on our TV’s. I didn’t think I’d find one to compete but …I have. I absolutely adore the delightful new John Lewis commercial. 

You truly feel the little boys pain at having to wait till Christmas day. Furthermore you can actually remember that agonizing wait till you can open your presents. Despite that assumption the adorable little kid has been so restless throughout purely from the excitement of giving his parents their gift, its just adorable and I love it. 

M & S Christmas Commercial.

One of my best friends is known for getting overly excited about Christmas very prematurely. But with the high street shops now stocking Christmas decorations, the numerous celebrities seen all over the UK switching on Christmas lights and Coffee Shops changing to their Christmas themed cups, I can’t dismiss the fact Christmas is coming.

But the pinnacle for me has got to be seeing the latest M & S Christmas commercial. With excitable youngsters, merry parents and sleeping grandparents, the joy of Christmas is evident throughout, with the commercial highlighting the excitement and happiness it brings.

What I find interesting is the use of the current X Factor contestant's who are singing “When You Wish Upon A Star”. The commercial concludes with the written words 'may all your Christmas dreams come true’. It is not only targeting their audience’s dreams but also playing on the idea that for these contestants their Christmas dream is without a doubt to be X factor winner and have the Christmas No.1 single.

I really enjoyed the clip and of course M & S have produced another brilliant Christmas commercial. I can now accept Christmas is nearing. 

Nokia Lumia Commercial

The opening of the commercial asks, “who says the everyday has to be so everyday?” following which the commercial shows a number of unique clips - the compilation of clips all with their own distinctive story or act is brilliant. There is also a sense of bringing everyday people together illustrated throughout the commercial. 

My favourite clip is undoubtedly the “Ironing Gangster” – this also appears to be the general consensus. All of the clips are available to watch separately but the Ironing Gangster has the most You Tube hits. I love the fact they invited him from The Bahamas to LA in order for them to film the clip.