The whole picture: June 2018

Catch up with my May round-up.

Making friends at London Zoo

I am LOVING the weather at the moment. I always thought I was more of an autumn kinda gal, but I'm dreading the days getting shorter and the nights getting darker this year. Turns out summer is the one. The long evenings, combined with working from home a lot more, are really working for me - I've had the most relaxed, productive, healthy few weeks that I've had for a long time. Here's hoping summer sticks around for a while...

What I've done in June

A post shared by Laura Reynolds (@scribbling_lau) on Jun 2, 2018 at 7:30am PDT

June opened with a trip to BlogCon, a blogging conference held on the London/Essex border. It's the first time I've been to something like that, so I was a bit nervous - no need though, everyone was lovely. I managed to pick up some tips on using Pinterest, and have been trying to get to grips with it for my blog. You'll find me here, so please give me a follow and forgive me any Pinterest faux pas I may make - this old woman's struggling to get her head round the new-fangled social networks the blogging kidz are using these days. Another highlight of BlogCon was basking in the Instagram wisdom of @hellomissjordan - I *may* be working on a not-entirely-serious blog post off the back of that, so watch this space.

I finally managed to get a copy of Emma Gannon's new book, The Multi-Hyphen Method. I've only just started reading it, but having seen her speak at two recent Waterstones events, I have high hopes. I'm seriously in need of new book recommendations from similar cool women - think Dolly Alderton and Daisy Buchanan. Any tips, send them my way.

Don't you love it when a plan comes together? For two or three years, I've wanted to go to a flower picking day at Blooming Green, a PYO flower farm in Kent, but they always fall on a Friday which just isn't doable for a #BloggerWhoWorks. This year at work, we've started dabbling our toes in the waters outside London, so I seized the opportunity, and headed down there to film. You can see the video here, but while I was there, I took a few snaps for my own Instagram account. Whatdya think of my attempt at floristry?

A post shared by Laura Reynolds (@scribbling_lau) on Jun 8, 2018 at 11:41pm PDT

Where I've been in June

June was broken up nicely with a trip to Clacton on Father's Day weekend. We headed out to Tiptree on the Saturday to visit the Jam Factory, and I converted my dad into an afternoon tea fan.

Back in London, I found myself exploring a secret Morocccan garden, hidden away behind a chocolate shop in the rather pretty streets of Belgravia. It reminded me of why I started this blog, and why I got into journalism; to share the secret places I find on my travels.

It's June, which means it's that time of year again - Zoo Nights at London Zoo. The zoo has always been a favourite place of mine, and I especially love seeing it at dusk, when some of the animals are more lively. Plus, the street food stalls serve up some pretty tasty nosh.

What I've eaten in June

Just two afternoon teas this month, which is pretty restrained by my standards. The first was the misleadingly named Tea Total afternoon tea at the W London (wouldn't recommend - full review here). The second was that more traditional affair at the Tiptree Tearooms in Essex.

My hunt for London's best buffalo chicken continued at Boondocks, a deep American south restaurant in Old Street. It's the first time a buffalo chicken burger has *almost* got the better of me, the buffalo sauce so vinegary I was almost crying. Not saying I didn't like it though. Might have to go back for another taste.

What's coming up in July

SUCH a busy month coming up, with weekend trips to Winchester, Cambridge and Edinburgh planned, as well as few other bits and pieces. If you've got any recommendations for things to see, do and eat in Cambridge or Edinburgh, let me know. As always, you can keep up with my adventures on Instagram and Twitter - it doesn't look like I'll have much time for blogging in July.

See also - what I got up to in:

• May 2018 (Doughnut-making, Chester, and seaside trips)
• April 2018 (Abbeys, doughnuts and pizza)
• March 2018 (Skyscrapers, scuba diving and Winnie the Pooh)
• January 2018 (Fondue, freakshakes and light festivals)
• December 2017 (Lions, lanterns and buffalo chicken)
• November 2017 (Christmas at Kew and the BT Tower)
• October 2017 (Lake District, Harry Potter cocktails and Alice in Wonderland)
• September 2017 (Doughnuts, dolphins and Bulgaria)
• August 2017 (Canal boats, zipwires and tiger shoes)

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A secret Moroccan garden, hidden behind a London chocolate shop

In blogging, it's easy to lose sight of why you started at all, getting caught up in the nuances of SEO and social media, the pageviews and follower numbers instead. For me though, I started blogging as a way to share my discoveries with people: hidden cafes, little-known beaches and secret gardens. If people actually read it - well, that's just a bonus.

Somewhere I went recently reminded me of my love for finding - and sharing - secret spots. That place is a Moroccan courtyard garden, tucked away behind a chocolate shop in the fancy streets of Belgravia in west London.

Motcomb Street is typical of Belgravia, with boutique shops and pavement cafes hiding a quaint mews street. Rococo Chocolates is one of these shops. Stepping inside feels a little bit like stepping into a shop run by Willy Wonka's older, more sophisticated sister. A curved, gleaming counter of fresh chocolates tempts the well-heeled clientele, while towards the back, a coffee counter reveals that the shop doubles up as a cafe. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of visitors don't even bother peeking out of the window into the back yard below. I they did, they been unable to resist slinking down the carpeted staircase and outside for a closer look.

Four small round metal tables are dotted around the petite patio area, each sporting a Moroccan-style mosaic table top. The majority of the floor is also paved with Moroccan tiles - it's amazing this place hasn't gained more notoriety among London Instagrammers to be honest, but on a Monday morning in early June, I've got the garden to myself. The high, concrete walls which separate it from Rococo's neighbours only add to the seclusion, but the plentiful greenery and items of Moroccan decor tips the garden over the line from intimidating to enchanting.

Blue and beige wall tiles put me in mind of Marrakech's Les Jardines Majorelles, although the recurring blue theme could just as easily be a nod to Rococo's own livery. The wall is mounted with a parade of mirrors, an extra layer of charm.  Get yourself a hot chocolate, or one of Rococo's inventively-flavoured ice creams, kick back, and enjoy the tranquility of it all.

Rococo Chocolates, Motcomb Street. Belgravia, SW1X 8JU. I visited for work to film, which is why I didn't get a chance to take many photos, but you can see the video here.

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Afternoon tea at Tiptree Tea Room and Jam Factory in Tiptree, Essex

Someone couldn't wait to get stuck in 

When it comes to afternoon tea, there's a lot to be said for opting for the traditional over the fantastical. For every themed afternoon tea that's brilliantly executed, there are 10 queuing up behind it to stomp all over your cake-based hopes and dreams. But even with a traditional sarnies and scones affair, it can be tricky to find an afternoon tea that's done well. Reader, this story has a happy ending.

You don't get much more traditional than a tea room in a barn in the English countryside, and that's exactly what's on offer at Tiptree Tea Rooms in Essex (also home to the Tiptree Jam Museum, which I've covered here).

If that's already sounding like a bucolic ideal, let me make it even more British by throwing in a queue. The Tiptree Tea Rooms takes bookings for afternoon tea on weekdays, but at the weekend, it's every man for himself. The restaurant is a decent size, with around 30 tables inside and a further eight or so outside on the terrace, so it only takes 15 minutes before we're at the front of that queue, close enough to eye up every jacket potato and knickerbocker glory that wafts under our noses.

Now we can get a proper view of the tea rooms, it seems there aren't quite enough staff to cover everything. Several tables are sitting empty, waiting to be cleared, but no-one's clearing them despite a queue of at least 20 people leading out the door. There are mutterings up and down the queue about this, but within a few more minutes, we're whisked off to a table in the back part of the tea room, a cosy area with wooden beams.

We're handed menus and make polite noises about perusing them, but we already know that we're here for the afternoon tea. The menu offers an afternoon tea for two people, but they have no problem in providing one for three of us instead. We're given a choice of sandwiches, each of us opting for a different filling, and then sit back and eye up our surroundings while we wait.

Everything's noticeably on brand, from the Tiptree gin liqueur bottles being used as vases, to the Tiptree jam pots repurposed as salt and pepper shakers, yet far from feeling corporate, this somehow adds to the quaintness of the whole experience.

The tea arrives a few minutes later on the traditional three tier stand, beginning with the sandwiches on the bottom. They're noticeably fresh, each one cut into quarters with the crusts removed. A sharer salad sits at the centre of the plate, accompanied by a pot of Tiptree onion relish.

The scones too taste fresh, and have a homemade appearance, which is much more appealing than the too-perfect scones that often feature in afternoon teas. They're accompanied by a pot of Tiptree jam - what else? - and cream each. It's a shame that the cream is served in plastic pots, giving off a slight aeroplane-food vibe, rather than a ramekin, but that's a minor niggle in an otherwise flawless meal.

Up top, a selection of six cakes is flanked by a strawberry each, and a pot of Tiptree Chocolate spread. Although all tempting, it's not made clear what each of the cakes is, as the menu just promises a selection of that day's offerings - but that's nothing a bit of tasting can't solve. Our selection is a chocolate cake, a chocolate and orange cake, carrot cake, a country slice, a lime tart, and a blueberry mousse - sufficient variety to keep everyone happy.

From the choice of sandwiches to the freshness of the products, the cute pots of jam and the impressive selection of cakes, the Tiptree Tea Rooms afternoon tea is a traditional and highly recommended experience. If possible, I'd advise going on a weekday when things may be a bit less hectic - but even at weekends, the queue is worth it. The two afternoon tea novices I was with found themselves completely converted by the experience.

Tiptree has 10 tea rooms dotted around Essex, plus a new Jam Jar Bar in Colchester, which I fully intend to visit very soon.

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Visiting the Tiptree Jam Factory and Museum

It'd be easy to think there wasn't much going on in Essex between the TOWIE nightclubs and the bright lights of the seaside. But it's actually a really fascinating county with beautiful buildings, picturesque villages and fascinating museums.

One such gem is the Tiptree Jam Museum, a small rural museum next to the factory where Tiptree jam is produced. You know Tiptree - the jam and marmalade with the classy black and white label that you see in the supermarket. Turns out it's named after the Essex village where it's produced. On the edge of the village, along with the factory, is a visitor centre with tea rooms, gift shop and a small museum.

I thought the museum would be within the factory, showing the process of the jam being made, but it's actually in a barn outside, focusing on the history of the brand, the factory and the village. It's not a big museum - you could see it all in half an hour - but it has some really interesting items.

For me, the most fascinating exhibit is a display of some of the more unusual labels and jars from the brand's history, showing how it has changed through time. Take a close look at the jar above - by appointment to "the Late King George V", it appeared on a jar produced shortly after the king's death.

That's not the only bit of royal memorabilia. The whole site might as well have "Queen woz 'ere" stamped on it - a plaque in the entrance commemorates her visit, and there are plenty of photos in the exhibition too.

One of the odder exhibits is a taxidermy four-legged chicken which was bred on a nearby farm. A plane propeller, wooden carvings and milk jugs are just some of the other exhibits lining the walls of the barn, while a 10 minute video plays on loop in the centre.

There's apparently more to be seen in the outbuildings around the site, with a focus on agricultural machinery. On certain days, you can take a tractor ride around the strawberry fields for a small extra charge - or you can enjoy the tearooms like we did (keep your eyes peeled for a further, scone-filled blog post...)

Tiptree Jam Museum, Tiptree. Essex, CO5 0RF. Entry is free.

Tea Total Afternoon Tea at W London Hotel, Leicester Square

After a recent, questionable experience of a cocktail-paired afternoon tea, I'm completely off teas that involve booze in any way, so when I received an invitation to W London's Tea Total (see what they did there?) afternoon tea, it sounded ideal. Afternoon tea against a flower wall backdrop, right next to Leicester Square - what's not to like?

...Well, quite a lot actually. Despite its moniker, a brief glance at the menu reveals that Tea Total is in fact not teetotal. It's not even close. Each sweet treat is paired with a mini, 'crystallised' version of one of the bar's most popular cocktails. 'Crystallised' we later found out, means jelly.

When I queried the non-teetotalness of the Tea Total tea, I was told that they could whip up a non-alcoholic version on request, although this isn't made clear on the website - so if that's what you're after, do double check when booking.

So, misleading moniker aside, how does this afternoon tea measure up? Like most afternoon teas, it's very well presented, put together with the Instagram generation in mind. The flower wall which appears in the promo photos only takes up one tiny part of the bar, so you may be queuing to get your snap. In design and colour, it's strikingly similar to the larger flower wall at Dominique Ansel Bakery. Beyond that, the decor is something of a talking point - think old school hall meets art gallery meets what I can only imagine the interior of Spearmint Rhino looks like. Enough said really.

We arrive promptly - and hungry - for our 1pm booking, yet our food doesn't arrive until 2pm, leaving us to amuse ourselves with our tea for an hour, with no explanation for the hold-up. We assume the sandwiches are being made fresh for us, but their dryness and tastelessness when they do arrive stomps all over that theory.

The scones are decent, if on the small side, served traditionally with jam and cream. For me though, an afternoon tea lives or dies on the quality of the sweet selection, and in this case that translates as floating through life without much comment. A quartet of treats includes an overly rich chocolate mint mousse, a slightly odd eyeball type concoction, a delicious but sickly sweet white chocolate cake, and a meringue with a slice of carrot cake stashed inside it. Again, thought has clearly gone into presentation, but nothing leaves us wanting more.

At the end of the meal, we discuss our favourite part. For both of us, it's the scones - which tells you all you need to know about this afternoon tea. Average, but not memorable. As for the title? I've still got no idea who thought 'Tea Total' was a good name for a booze-laden experience.

Tea Total Afternoon Tea at W London, Leicester Square. £37-£42 per person, book ahead.

Here's why physical maps and guidebooks are still important in this internet age

When you come back from a trip, do you get rid of your maps and guidebooks, or do you keep them as mementos and souvenirs?

I recently threw this question out on social media, and wasn't at all surprised at the result. Like me, most of you are absolute hoarders when it comes to travel paraphernalia (there is one monster among you, but I won't name names).

But why do we keep them? A map of the souks of Marrakech is not going to be any use in the Kent countryside, and a plan of the Barcelona Metro offers no solution to the trials and tribulations of the London Underground. They sit there, gathering dust on our already overstuffed bookshelves in space-deprived flats, surviving the many clear outs, while their lesser bedfellows are reduced to the charity shop pile.

In my opinion, a map book is the best storyteller a traveller can have, equal in importance to the photos when looking back on the trip. Here's something I wrote about the map I took to Venice.

A ode to my map of Venice

I bought you from WHSmith in Victoria station, about a week before we were due to fly. I barely looked at you at all to be honest, until we got on the plane, but I checked my bag time and time again to make sure you were there, the knowledge you held almost as important to the success of the trip as my passport.

At this time, you were a perfect stranger to me. The city you laid out before me was the great unknown, backstreets of nerves, canals of excitement, bridges of possibilities. You were sights yet to be seen, meals yet to be eaten, bars yet to be discovered. Streets that we would wander and strangers who would become friends.

We unfolded you across both our laps as soon as we got on the plane. Living far apart, my friend and I hadn't had time to do any proper itinerary planning until we took off. Luckily, the elderly, well-spoken gentleman next to us didn't mind us unfurling your streets before him. In fact, your very existence struck up a conversation - he noticed us plotting the tourist hotspots, and gave us some other pointers he'd gleaned from his time living in Venice.

If you're into travel books and maps, check out Stanfords in Covent Garden

For our whole four days, you were with us, squeezed into my handbag between my camera and my water bottle. You quickly became stained with the debris of pitstops in cafes and bars, yet you remained resilient. A coffee cup ring now circles the entirety of Murano, like a bizarre, waterlocked crop circle. A pizza grease stain became another island in the Venetian lagoon. Your corners are dogeared, your face scarred with hastily scribbled circles where we earmarked a shop or restaurant to return to later. That cute courtyard where we ate pizza on the last night was a particular gem.

You're in the photos of our trips too - sticking out of bags and pockets, sometimes held in our hands as we snapped away, thirdwheeling your way through the weekend. I say thirdwheeling, but you were actually more like our steering wheel, guiding us across those bridges and round the canals.

In some places, your starched creases have ripped completely, their structural integrity weakened by a sudden rain shower on a cobbled back street. It came so unexpectedly, we had nowhere to shelter except underneath you.

That was more than two years ago, and you now sit on my bookshelf, nestled between Paris and Prague. It's not geographically accurate, but together, your rips, doodles and stains tell the stories of my travels. How could I get rid of that? 

---

That's the story of just one of my maps. Each of the others tells a story too. Our Marrakech map turned out to be mostly useless, the winding, overwhelming souks too complex for even the most skilled of cartographers to render on paper. The Paris map was hurriedly bought at Gare du Nord as we arrived on the Eurostar; the friend we were staying with - who knew the city intricately - was feeling unwell and left us to explore the unfamiliar city on our own instead. My map of Barcelona is the only one I've had cause to use more than once - I've been there three times to date. Perhaps it'll get another airing one day.

"Years ago, when I was backpacking across Western Europe, I was just outside of Barcelona, hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo (if you know, you know...)

To me, the idea of lending the map to someone else is unthinkable. It'd be like lending them a notebook that's already full of my thoughts and scribblings. I'm more than happy to pass on recommendations of restaurants to visit, back streets to wander down and markets to haggle in. I'll even tell you the exact route we took through those back streets, as best as my memory will allow. It's not the experiences I'm precious over, it's the physical map itself. It's too personal.

Throughout your time away, whether that's a two-day city break, or a two month trek through the Himalayas, your map or guidebook is with you. For me, that's far more powerful and emotive than any magnet or shot glass you can buy in a gift shop. And when you look back at that map, it won't just be meaningless lines and colours and squiggles. You'll remember the things the map doesn't show you; how steep that hill was, the way scooters weave among pedestrians, that time you were overtaken by a camel.

You don't get that from Google Maps.

A weekend in Leeds, part 2

Catch up on my first day in Leeds.

After a busy day of walking, picnicking and hunting out secret bars, we began my second day in Leeds by... heading out for more food. My Leeds-based friend had offered several suggestions for somewhere to get breakfast, but as soon as she mentioned that one of them serves coffee from a lifesize VW Camper Van, I was sold.

Archie's is situated in the train arches right under Leeds station. Unlike London's much-lamented Archie's, it offers more than just cheese, including a cracking full English which set me up for the day splendidly.

Handily, the Leeds waterbus stop is almost right outside, leaving us not far too waddle. Part James Bond speedboat, part yellow New York taxi, the waterbus was set up to offer free rides to Leeds Docks, to encourage more people to visit the area.

You can see why. There's not much going on in the Docks - it's mainly luxury flats overlooking the water. The main attraction is Armouries, a free museum about war and armour from all over the world. Despite its historic subject matter, it's a thoroughly modern building, its light and airy nature making it feel more like an art gallery than a museum.

 You could spend hours there if you were so inclined but we had exploring to do, so we left the museum, and wandered back towards the town centre where, I discovered, Leeds has a wealth of street art.

We passed the rest of the afternoon wandering through the many grand arcades of Leeds, both the ornate, older ones and the sleek, modern ones. The Corn Exchange, now used as an indoor shopping centre full of interesting indy shops, is a stunning building, and worth popping into if you need to escape the rain. Unfortunately its vast ceiling makes it difficult to snap a decent picture, so you'll have to make do with this shot of another arcade instead.




I have to admit, I'd misjudged Leeds. I've always thought of it as a dull, metropolitan city, with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants, and not a lot else. In reality, I saw plenty of historical, architectural and cultural features that tell its story. More on that in a future blog post, but my camera was kept extremely busy.

Oh, yeah. Didn't think I'd finish the day without cake did you? Our final pitstop was a tea and cake break at Mrs Atha's Coffee House. It's not a huge place, the basement area crammed to bursting with eclectically mismatched tables and chairs, but it's cosy, and ideal for seeing out the rain.

My trip to Leeds was part of my mission to visit a new UK place every month this year. I'm documenting the mission on Twitter and Instagram. I'm open to suggestions - where else should I go?