Scribbling Lau: May 2018

Catch up with my April round-up.

Deckchairs on Brighton Pier - things to do on a day out in Brighton

What I've done in May

May has absolutely rinsed me, financially speaking. Pay day cannot come soon enough.

My birthday came early in the month. I'm SUCH a birthday person, I absolutely cannot get enough of birthdays. Combine that with the fact that my troublesome living situation made last year's birthday a bit of a let down, I was doubly determined to have a good time this year. I took the day off work and ventured down to Brighton with a friend. We played games on the pier, wandered the back streets, and had lunch - and, more importantly, milkshakes - at JB's Diner on the seafront. It was one of my favourite birthdays yet.

Later in the month, I appeased my inner adrenaline junkie with a go on London's new zip wire. I make a brief cameo about halfway through this video, kicking my legs furiously in a bid to go faster.

Box of six doughnuts from Doughnut Time's Doughnut Academy, Shaftesbury Avenue, London

After April's Krispy Kreme behind-the-scenes tour, I managed to go behind the scenes at Doughnut Time on Shaftesbury Avenue this month. The Aussie doughnut brand has opened a few London stores in the past year, and is now launching its Doughnut Academy, where you can learn to decorate them. I got a preview of an academy workshop, and I'm pleased to say that I decorated all of the doughnuts pictured above myself.

Where I've been in May

Looking over Chester High Street from the city walls

Other than that day trip to Brighton, my main excursion was a weekend in Chester with a friend. It was very much a whistle-stop tour of the city; we arrived late on Friday night after heading there straight from work, and Saturday was spent mainly at Chester Zoo (cute baby elephant alert). We headed out into the town for dinner on Saturday night, but were shattered from walking 7km (!) around the zoo, so grabbed a quick pizza and headed back to the hotel. We managed to pack all our exploring in on Sunday, walking the entirety of the city walls (major York flashback) and seeing most of the sights before hopping on a train back down south.

Hyacinths in bloom at Columbia Road Flower Market, East London

Closer to home, we got up early one Sunday morning to visit Columbia Road Flower Market. It's one of my favourite things to do in London - an east London street closed to traffic comes alive with the colours and smells of flowers and plants, and the shouts of old-school market traders trying to flog them.

What I've eaten in May

A full English breakfast at the Mad Hatters Tea Rooms, Chester - where to eat on a weekend in Chester

My favourite new foodie discovery this month was the Mad Hatter's Tea Rooms in Chester. Situated inside one of the beautiful Tudor buildings that the city's famous for, the cafe is Alice in Wonderland themed. We found ourselves there for breakfast on the Sunday morning, and indulged in the full English, plus a couple of cakes to take away. Good food, an excellent theme, and dog-friendly - what more could you want in a cafe? (I'll write a full blog post on it soon, just as soon as I find the time).

A Lucky Charms milkshake at JBs American Diner, Brighton

It's not a new discovery - it's actually a bit of an obsession of mine - but my other favourite meal this month was at JB's Diner in Brighton. The American-diner style food is pretty good (the portions are huge, leaving us rolling down the road) but for anyone in the know, the real draw is the milkshakes.

I wouldn't be me if I'd gone a whole month without afternoon tea. This month's extremely photogenic offering came in the form of Dominique Ansel Bakery's new plant afternoon tea. It's very cleverly pt together, each piece of food designed to look like a stage in the life cycle of a flower, from seed to blossom - and it's served up in a stunningly flowery conservatory. Not only did we try the afternoon tea, but we went behind the scenes in the kitchens where the famous Cronut is made.

Other meals this month have included a trip to the new Miller & Carter steakhouse in Sevenoaks, a highly confusing burger at Coin Laundry, and a salad - a rather left field choice for me - at Blues Kitchen in Shoreditch.

What's coming up in June

Beach huts on the seafront at Walton on the Naze

I managed to get myself a ticket for #BlogConLDN2018, a blogging convention in east London where I hope to learn some tips and tricks from the workshops and panel talks. I'm a bit nervous about going by myself as it sometimes feels like everyone else in the blogging world knows each other - so if you're going too, drop me a line on Twitter and say hi.

It's Father's Day in the middle of the month, so I'll be heading over to Essex for the weekend - perhaps there'll be a repeat of last year's beach hut extravaganza? Watch this space.

See also - what I got up to in:

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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Floral heart in Duke of York Square, London, for Chelsea in Bloom 2018 free flower festival

A floral centrepiece in Duke of York Square

Chelsea and Belgravia in Bloom, two free flower festivals that take place in May each year, are some of my favourite annual events in London; they're free, the flowers are gorgeous, and it gets people out and about seeing parts of London they may not have seen before.

The theme for this year's Chelsea in Bloom is Love, focusing both on the swinging sixties and the Royal Wedding. Without further ado, here are some of my favourite photos from this year's festival (if you want to catch up on last year first, here's Chelsea and here's Belgravia).