Leaving London: Antipodean transition

Over recent months, my London diary has taken a backseat as it seemed somewhat daft to be blogging about London when in the midst of planning to leave this great place.

My T and I have been planning to do a working holiday in Australia for some time, and now its all come together. We have got the moneys saved, the flights are booked, the things insured, our other things stored and our bags are pretty much packed. So you won't hear from me for a while on here, but hop over to my other blog (hoping there's a link over there somewhere!) And you will be able to see  more about our adventures in the southern hemisphere!

More Al Fresco Frolics - Frank's Cafe

This may be posisbly the most over-used phrase of the summer, but what the heck is up with the weather?! Autumn is trying to take over and just when you think that the pathetic excuse we've had for a summer is over, the sun comes out blazing  and your wardrobe dilemmas continue to exponentially increase. I've essentially crippled myself with back ache of late because of the growing size (and weight) of the handbag I've been hauling around so I can be prepared for all eventualities. I was in boy scouts after all.

It's not an overstatement therefore to say that we Londoners have been clinging on to summer as if our lives depended on it. To that end, I am continuing on the theme of al fresco destinations in London that don't often crop up on the 'top 10' list but that are definitely worth a visit, even if we just have to face the fact that it's not really summer anymore after all.

A few weeks ago, it was Becca's birthday celebrations and I was excited to hear that Frank's Cafe was the venue of choice. I'd heard about it before but being an East London girl, Peckham Rye is not a frequent destination for me. In fact, I'd never really been there before except once by accident when I got a night bus in the wrong direction but the less said about that, the better.

Frank's Cafe is on a carpark rooftop about a minute's walk from Peckham Rye station, a short hop on the overground from London Bridge. It's confusing, you have to follow a red line I think. Don't do what I did and go up the first set of stairs you see, that is a fire exit for the nearby cinema, they won't appreciate you trying to get in there. Once you've negotiated the car park ramps and steps and reach the roof, you are rewarded with an amazing view of London, you can see every landmark there is from up there and it's great trying to identify them all and realising that many of them are not where you thought they were (in relation to Peckham at least!). Perhaps it would be more accutate to say, Peckham's not where I thought it was in relation to everything else. Anyway, the view is ace.

The bar itself is great too, lots of choice, lots of Campari and lots of lovely staff. They serve Greenwich Meantime, what could be better? The queues were long but you didn't wait long to get served and the food was fantastic BBQ fair. My favourite being the sweetcorn with lip-smackingly good paprika butter, something I've since tried (and failed) to recreate at home. Not having a bbq was obviously the problem. Probably. It's a really fun place and a fun time was had by all. There is an awning to protect you from the worst of the rain but it is exposed up there so take a rucksack of jumpers and blankets and those rain ponchos that tourists wear (or an umbrella) and you'll be set. 

I thought it was only open for the summer but I think it might be open all year round... so worth a visit then whenever the mood strikes except maybe not in the snow. Although saying that, in the snow I think it would be a bit like being in an Alpine lodge, albeit in Peckham but how nice!?

Down in Battersea town..

This ia bit overdue but a few weekends ago it was a beautiful day and so T and I decided to cycle down to Battersea and have an explore. We made a day of it too as we had tickets to the fabulous Battersea Arts Centre in the evening.
After a lovely cycle along the river from Aldgate East, it's just a hop over the river and even though the river is not the most direct route (probably is the easiest) it only took half an hour, which is about half as long as I was anticipating.
So, after a little basking in the sunshine in battersea park, we had to have lunch and we went to a lovely spot on Battersea Rise called Entrée. Now, it was a while since we went but it was fantastic. T had pork belly (I remember distinctly the food envy) and I had trout for the mains - both were great. The atmosphere is very nice for a late lunch as well and there's a cocktail bar downstairs which must be lively come the evening. The service was also excellent, very attentive. I was leaning to the side so I could see the kitchen past T when the waitress came over asking if we were ok as she thought I was trying to get her attention. I then had to explain that I was just being nosey and looking at the kitchen as everything smelled so delicious. Hey, at least I wasn't lying! Worth a look if you're in the area at any rate.
After a little shopping, a little mooching there was suddenly a need for something and that something was CAKE. We didn't have dessert with lunch after all (as if there's ever a need to justify cake).

I've wanted to go to visit Cake Boy for ages but it is totally out of my way. When I knew we would be going to Battersea though, how could we not go? I became aware of Eric Lanlard about 4 years ago, maybe? When a friend invited me to a wedding cake tasting at the shop where she was working at the time. The cake was absolutely amazing, and since then, Eric has had a tv show on channel 4 and released a book all about his fantastic cake creations, he was at the cafe the day we visited which was nice to see.
Although it is in a slightly unusual location, (it's back by the river away from the main shops in the bottom floor of a new block of flats). It's unusual in the sense that it's out of the way but it is worth the trip, the picture below speaks for itself. When we arrived, a cake class of some description was just finishing up and all the students had the biggest grins and had clearly really enjoyed themselves. I also overheard Eric give career advice to an aspiring baker which was so nice! It's a very chic cafe with something for everyone and the counter literally spills over with treats, both made at the cafe and a few others thrown in. It is a very hard choice I went for a chocolate walnut slice that was just so rich and decadent with amazing decoration including gold sparkles! This coupled with a beautiful cup of tea was perfection.

In the evening, it was off to the beautiful Battersea Arts Centre for a performance of Homer's Odyssey by The Paper Cinema. This will mark the fourth time I've seen them since I first became aware of their work in 2009 as a volunteer for the East London festival. Essentially, the team that is the The Paper Cinema create films out of beautiful ink drawn puppets and projects them live to live music and sound effects. That description doesn't really do it justice at all but the video below gives you more info. They'll be going on tour this year and I urge you to see it. It's just gorgeous, see anything they do for that matter.



What better way to spend a saturday in London than exploring a different area of the city? It's definitely something  I should do more often! What's your favourite way to spend the weekend?

Bras for Buildings?

Alas no, it's not some new architectural feature (sadly) however, pootling home from work on my bike a week or so ago, a flash of neon pink caught my eye. I ground to a halt and crossed the road to eOn the other side of the river near the National Theatre, I saw the ITV Southbank Building sporting a rather fetching hot pink bra.
As it turns out, it was a commission by Vanish in support of Breast Cancer Campaign's major fundraiser Wear It Pink Day on the 28th October. At 30 metres in 'the chest' it took one person four weeks to make and weighs the equivalent of 1800 bras, officially making it the world's largest bra (verified by Guinness World Records)! A brilliant and innovative way to raise money and awareness of the charity and all the work it does. It's the second year running that the campaign has been supported by Vanish with donations to the charity coming from sales of their specialised packs. Of course, the whole thing was documented, so check out the videos (googling giant bras can bring up some weird shit, believe me).  So, props to Chillisauce events, Vanish and Breast Cancer Campaign for teaming up pulling it off, the only question is, can they better it next year?
To find out more or to donate click here. You could simply donate £2 by texting the word CURE to 70070.