Good morning!David Bowie ⚡️ has died which is very sad news - Bowie is rather wonderful, I love this song, and he has only just released a new album. I share my love of Bowie with a number of friends and last week we almost went to a Bowie night at Camden Blues Kitchen. Nick, I am still sad we did not go, I think we are now going to have to make up for it and go dancing.So, this how I kept myself entertained this weekend...Saturday:The main excitement was a trip to Chiswick House 🏡 or Lord Burlington's villa at Chiswick - Lord Hervey described it as, 'Too small to live in, and too big to hang to a watch'⌚️. I personally think it is the perfect size, and I would absolutely love to have a party there (a civilised one 🍸with these kind of champagne glasses), so if anyone would like to allow this to happen... 💃It was actually built to be used for entertaining 💃 and for displaying Lord Burlington's extensive art collection 🎨 and was never meant to be lived in. It is a wonderful example of Neo-Palladian architecture 🏡 and is a charming mesh of the classical temple design of ancient Rome and Andrea Palladio's 16th century villa design. Something I really want to do is take a trip along the Brenta Canal and go and visit many many of Palladio's villas 🏠🏠🏠. The original plan for the villa by Colen Campbell, was actually rejected by Lord Burlington, and was subsequently used for Mereworth Castle, somewhere else that would be fascinating to have a nose around.My sisters and I decided to go on a trip there, as we like it lots - and we picked up Olivia on the way. I seemed to be running an uber 🚕 service as I picked up people from various parts of London - and the traffic was TERRIBLE 🚙🚕🚗🚕. This trip actually really was fairly disastrous - it took us an hour to get there, I almost had a break down when I got trapped in one of those criss-cross yellow boxes 🚧 (they are the bane of my existence driving in London) and Olivia wasn't feeling super sparky 😳. We did eventually get to Chiswick after some appalling map 📉 reading from my middle sister, and some seriously questionable back-seat driving. We only had 40 minutes until the grounds closed, as our trip had been delayed as Emily had 'needed' to get her nails painted 💅...Anyway we had a lovely wander about the gardens 🌳🌱 (designed by William Kent), looked at the house 🏠, observed the many many hounds 🐶🐺 frolicking about (I have never seen so many dogs roaming in one place), looked at some fun flamingoes (not real) being set up for a lantern festival 🎆, took a nice photo of a Monkey Puzzle 🙊 tree and had a peak into the conservatory. The conservatory was a highlight as they are filled with Camellias 🌸🌺 in flower! I really love camellias very much. So after all that it was time to go home - AND IT TOOK SO LONG. Emily ran home (you've probably spotted she's all clad in lycra and neon trainers - 100% the best option though.) I am never driving on Saturday in London ever again - I mean Wandsworth to Chiswick really shouldn't take that long, it really shouldn't. And it properly poured with rain. ☔️. Anyway we did get home eventually as Susannah was off to a ball in her super Butter by Nadia dress 💃.Sunday:Sunday was nice. We had breakfast in Flotsam and Jetsam 🚣 on Wandsworth Parade, which is very nice indeed. It is definitely the most hipster destination in Wandsworth (you can have a flat white ☕️ and smashed avocado 🍵) - although Wandsworth can never be hipster, it's really more Gwyneth Paltrow wannabe yummy mummies, with dachshunds 🐶, small children on scooters and pristine Hunter wellies. But Flotsam and Jetsam is lovely and I ate this 🍓👌:I also visited Alex (who put up with me living with her for 3 years!) and James and it was very nice to see them both. Alex is a very good host, and we drank lapsang ☕️ from her wonderful teapot and she fed me chocolate 🍫 (not literally). We then had champagne 🍸, just because and Alex already had some open, and I am unemployed. Just a glass each - as James has been learning to do this:He has a sword 🔪, don't you know, and he says he is happy to give lessons 😉.So the weekend was good - and I am excited for the week to come!Alice xxx

Jan 11 A Trip to Chiswick

Jan 12 Day 1 of Week 2

Jan 9 Peter Vaughan - All Over the Shop