In praise of adventures

Five years ago today, I did something really brave, if I may say so myself. I got on a plane and flew to South Africa, where I spent two weeks on my own.

I say that like it was a spontaneous thing. It really wasn't. It took months of planning. Months of saving. Months of dithering. Months of anxious phone calls to the guys at Real Gap who dealt patiently with each and every one of my amateur, ridiculous questions.

 But, at the end of it all, it was the first time I'd flown on my own. It was the first time I'd been anywhere as culturally different as South Africa. Heck, it was the first time I'd even been to Africa - or to anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere for that matter. And I survived. Not only that, I thrived.

I made new friends, both human and not-so-human. I learnt how to haggle. I got an insight into modern African culture. I learnt more about how other people live.

I was 21 years old when I did that. I'd graduated from uni four months previously. I'd been hopping around various short-term jobs and internships, looking for a break into journalism (little did I know that I had another 14 months of that ahead of me before landing a permanent job). Now, at the age of 26, I can't imagine doing something like that. I'd love to, but I've always got an excuse ready; I can't get the time off work. That's too much money to spend on two weeks. That 21 year old seems like a different person

But if 21 year old me can do it, 26 year old me definitely can. 26 year old me definitely should. Why am I writing this here? I'm making a public promise to myself - that way I can't renege on it - to be more spontaneous. To do more things. To not let the what-ifs hold me back.

Here's to more adventures.

The whole picture: October 2017

Miss my September round-up? Catch up here.

What I've done in October

Freshest in my mind as I write this is my three-day trip to the Lake District with a couple of friends for a hen do. It wasn't your usual hen do, consisting instead of cottages and lakes, long muddy walks and autumn leaves, home cooked meals and whisky by a roaring fire. I returned to London feeling so relaxed, I can only imagine what a full week would have done to me. Suffice to say the Lake District is firmly on my list for a longer visit in future.

I also took the opportunity to visit Knole Park, a National Trust property not far from where I live. It's something I want to do more of - so many people focus on exotic holidays abroad, despite having seen very little of their own country, or even their own county. The house itself is beautiful, and the deer roaming free in the grounds are an added bonus - and autumn is by far the best time to visit this Kentish jewel.

But I think the most bizarre event of my October was my evening at the London Dungeon. It was the press launch of both the London Dungeon's Halloween special Necropolis railway, and of Krispy Kreme's Halloween doughnut range.

To cut a long story short, I found myself on a tour of the Dungeon with Tom Daley, clinging onto a friend for dear life in the scary bits (that Ripper bit, though!) and carrying home a (thankfully not-life sized) coffin full of doughnuts on the train.

What I've eaten in October

At this point it would be easier to list what I haven't eaten this month. A shocking total of three afternoon teas is top of the list, including an afternoon tea for fussy eaters like me, a somewhat disappointing Alice in Wonderland themed tea, and a board game themed afternoon tea to celebrate the launch of Tunbridge Wells Monopoly (full blog post about this one to follow).

Onto the savoury, and my love affair with buffalo chicken really intensified this month. Shortly after declaring the buffalo chicken burger at Meat Mission to be the best in London, my decision was thrown into disarray by this offering at Brewdog. I'm still suffering split loyalties to be honest. Guess I'll have to go back and try them both again...

For work, I tried the new vegan and veggie menu (I'm neither) at American chain The Diner. The overall opinion was decidedly average, but the extent of The Diner's veggie and vegan options is impressive.

My favourite slurp of the month was the enchanting Harry Potter cocktail menu at the Booking Office bar in St Pancras. It ties in with the British Library's new Harry Potter exhibition, but if you want to just sit at the bar and get tipsy in a magical kind of way, that's OK too. Top tip: grab yourself a bar seat, watch them whip up your drinks, and order yourself some bar snacks to soak up that absinthe.

Perhaps I'm finally growing up, but I can finally see the appeal of paying a bit extra for a drink to sit in a serene and impressive setting like this, rather than doing battle with the masses in happy hour at Be At One. For an extra dose of ooooh, order the Camouflage Coupette and watch the candy floss disappear as your pour in the potion.

Talking of playing with food, brunch at Beyond The Grounds in Tonbridge consisted of a delectable stack of pancakes, and this DIY hot chocolate.

The Lake District mainly consisted of delicious and warming home cooked food, but on the the last day we ventured out for breakfast at Granny Dowbekin's, a tearooms/cafe in Pooley Bridge. At this point, the luxury hot chocolate (whipped cream, marshmallows, Maltesers, solid chocolate spoon) had been talked up to me for two days at this point, so it would have been rude not to. I followed it up with a Full English and was good for nothing expect lazing in front of the fire for the rest of the day.

A post shared by Laura Reynolds (@scribbling_lau) on Oct 24, 2017 at 11:22pm PDT

Oh, and then there was the Fireball, but that's another story for another day.

What's coming up

I've not currently got much planned for November, which makes a pleasant change. The main event is a trip up to the top of London's rarely-opened BT Tower - watch this space for pictures. I should definitely get some exercise in at some point if the above food intake is anything to go by too.


Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with next month's antics as they happen.

London's best buffalo chicken: BrewDog

Guys, we've got a problem. After months of rigorous testing and dedicated tasting, I recently declared Meat Mission's buffalo chicken burger to be the best buffalo chicken in London.

I, erm, may have been wrong.

I was discussing buffalo chicken with my colleague, the inimitably whimsical Will, who declared Brewdog to have the best buffalo chicken in London (I was sceptical), and dictated that our next lunch meeting be held there so that he could prove it.

Trouble was, this conversation took place in a pub. On a Friday night. By Monday morning, Will had forgotten that we'd even had the conversation. By Wednesday, he was reneging on his BrewDog declaration. By the time we were seated in a booth in BrewDog Shoreditch the following Friday lunchtime, he was making all sorts of mutterings about being drunk when he tried it, and it probably not being as good as he remembered it. After a week of anticipating this burger, he was stamping all over my dreams (and those of the other four people we'd dragged along to settle the argument).

At this point, the burgers made an entrance to resolve the situation. You smell them before you see them, that intense, vinegary smell getting your tastebuds tingling with anticipation. The burger is served with a full on meat knife stabbed through it, which seems a little OTT at first - until you try to get your gnashers around the entire offering in one go, at which point it becomes entirely necessary.

The balance of flavours and textures is spot on, the intensity of the buffalo sauce matched perfectly with the blue cheese dressing, and the crispy chicken bouncing off the soft burger bun. Be warned though: things get messy. Don't wear light colours, be prepared to wear a bib, and stock up on napkins before you get stuck in.

The portion size here is ideal (get a portion of fries on the side), leaving us feeling full, but not so stuffed that we were waddling down the street afterwards. It feels a more satisfactory meal than that at Meat Mission, and the sauce is that bit more intense in flavour, which is why I'm giving it the edge.

Rating: 9/10

It'll be pretty damn hard to beat this one, but I'm not giving up the dream that there's even better buffalo chicken out there somewhere.

BrewDog, various London and UK locations.

Do you know of a better buffalo chicken burger than this in London? Let me at it (let me know about it in the comments, or tweet me).