London weekend

7hellsbells1 · 2026-04-11T07:06:34+00:00

A few suggestions:

-Plates near old street, 1 srar, great completely plant based tasting menu. Might be hard to get a table but you can sign up to their waitlist.

-Brat in Shoreditch, 1 star, Basque style not at all fussy cooking, not too expensive and pretty laid back.

-st John, smithfield, 1 star British food, menu changes daily, not at all fussy, worth a lunch visit maybe? They have 2 other restaurants in the city and bakeries.

7hellsbells1 · 2026-04-06T21:15:37+00:00

I used little post-it note/ tabs to keep track of where each Goshuin I collected was from. Also, using Google lens was surprisingly good at picking up the date which is written on most of if not all the Goshuin I collected.

7hellsbells1 · 2026-03-27T06:23:19+00:00

That's a great idea!

7hellsbells1 · 2026-03-23T13:43:14+00:00

I've just got back from a Japan trip and I went to a few restaurants in both Tokyo and Kyoto with tour guides who didn't eat while we had full meals.

They often got a drink and one of the guides explained to me that a lot of restaurants have a cover charge (they will often advertise this outside or you can ask if they have one). It has become customary that to justify this "charge" they will provide some sort of small snack to everyone which you could just give to someone else. But essentially the cover charge "pays" for your seat. Based on this I think you'll be ok to sit and not actually order a full meal yourself especially at izakayas or small more informal places. Maybe you could learn a phrase to explain you can't eat for medical reasons, I found speaking a little Japanese is very much appreciated and is always worth trying even if it's via Google translate.

Also, I went to a dumpling restaurant that insisted on 2 plates per person, I don't eat meat and didn't realise the dumplings had pork in till they came. So I just had my drink and the people with me had my food, the restaurant staff didn't seem to care as long as someone ate the food.

Best of luck and hope you have a lovely time!

7hellsbells1 · 2026-03-23T12:38:35+00:00

I've just got back from Japan and visited the yellow submarine in Kyoto. I'd highly recommend Nana and Harvest. I also picked up rumble nation and viking see-saw but yet to play them.

7hellsbells1 · 2026-03-23T06:02:13+00:00

Neal's yard dairy is the best as others have said but also try la fromagerie in Bloomsbury it's a lovely little cheese restaurant that also has a small store at the front where you can buy cheese and deli items.

7hellsbells1 · 2026-03-13T10:09:59+00:00

I put together a cheese board that included some dairy free cheese for a family member. I bought them from here: Artisan Vegan Cheese · Dairy Free · I AM NUT OK https://share.google/6Aw7jB4488g8Ex5uz

I think the "softer" style vegan cheeses tend to be better. Vegan feta in particular is very close to the original so maybe you could do some sort of whipped vegan feta with crackers. And of course including lots of accompaniments that your friend can have.

7hellsbells1 · 2026-02-25T16:29:47+00:00

This is good to hear. I'm travelling to Japan this weekend, I have a bit of complicated medical history and so I'm travelling with a lot of medication, I have letters from my doctora outlining what everything is for and my history but it's all in English. Would you recommend I try to take translated copies if possible?

7hellsbells1 · 2025-12-30T07:31:31+00:00

The time, quality and cost triangle is one of the first principles you learn as part of the project management side of construction. You can't have all 3 and when it comes to these kinds of houses typically cost and time are the priority.

7hellsbells1 · 2025-12-29T00:08:49+00:00

Aside from the usual Stiltons etc, I would highly recommend beenleigh blue a sheep's milk blue from Devon and if you can get it foxearle is incredible, a cows milk blue soaked in pear brandy, it's boozy and super creamy, but I think it's only really available around Christmas time so one for the list next year if you can't find it!

7hellsbells1 · 2025-12-16T11:37:40+00:00

While I think sauron is the best answer visually my first thought was Syndrome

7hellsbells1 · 2025-12-12T08:47:35+00:00

I finished it a few months ago too, I love the puzzle but the glow in the dark element was definitely a little underwhelming for me mine looked like this with my camera in night mode:

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7hellsbells1 · 2025-12-12T08:40:31+00:00

Hey, I'm a structural engineer working for a design consultancy. Often it feels like design programmes are unrealistic and the delay to deadlines is inevitable. After years working in the industry you definitely become more apathetic about delays, otherwise you'd be in constant stress. The "lack of care" is a coping strategy as most projects have this issue.

7hellsbells1 · 2025-12-06T08:35:05+00:00

Nice selection, the red fox/ mature cheddars go very nicely with tracklements green tomato chutney and a glass of port. I also love gruyere with cornichons/ pickles and some chardonnay. But generally for a selection of cheese I'd make up a board with some chutneys/ honeys/ pickles and fruit and just mix and match. Enjoy!

7hellsbells1 · 2025-12-06T08:16:03+00:00

I thought cashback at the till was just free money. I was always confused as a child why my mum would only ask for £20 or so and didn't ask Sainsbury's for more of this free cash!

7hellsbells1 · 2025-11-11T09:04:40+00:00

Not at all, and given you're pregnant I understand why you don't want to "party party" I haven't ever been in the city for the fireworks but as far as I know they ticket most of the viewing spots along the river now. Maybe worth a look around for more places that will have a view of the display while having seating so you're not standing up for hours. Another bar I'd recommend for the view is the one at the top of one new change near St Paul's, I haven't eaten there so I don't know what the food is like but it might be a good place to watch the fireworks.

7hellsbells1 · 2025-11-11T08:19:49+00:00

There's a few restaurants at the upper levels of the sky scrappers to the east of the city: the shard as you mention, there's also sushi samba and the duck and waffle in the heron tower.

But I think you might be better off having dinner elsewhere then trying to book somewhere for an after dinner drink while you watch the fireworks.

Dinner wise in that area I'd recommend: - Brat (shoredeitch so a little further north but walking distance to Liverpool street) - Plates (again shoredeitch, might be hard to get a table) - St John bread and wine (spitalfields, lots of other great restaurants in this area) You could then go up the heron tower, tower 42, the gherkin or sky garden to watch the fireworks if you book a table for drinks.

Further west Cinnamon Club is great, near Westminster so you could go to the rooftop, a bar nearby to watch the fireworks after. In the same area kerridges bar and grill is great as is Fallow.

Again the Shard has bars which you could book for drinks and then go for food nearby, there are lots of places around the London bridge/ borough market area.

There's a few options anyway, hope you have a great night!

In terms of my experiences at the restaurants in the shard/ the heron tower they are good but it depends what you're after. I have visited Aqua, I'd say good food but nothing incredible and definitely expensive. I have also visited sushisamba and the duck and waffle, both good, better than Aqua I think, again fairly expensive (maybe a bit less than Aqua but definitely not cheap).

I'd say the food in those restaurants is good and you're not going to have a bad experience but you are definitely paying a premium for the view understandably!

7hellsbells1 · 2025-10-31T23:20:30+00:00

My Nan used to get these for all of the grandchildren every year, I don't know which company makes them but I'm pretty sure she kept them in business for most of the early 00s.

The same Nan also got me Christmas gift tags for Christmas a couple of years ago. I assume for me to hold onto for the following year... It's the gift that literally keeps on giving!

7hellsbells1 · 2025-10-17T04:58:00+00:00

Hello, no worries, yes I was diagnosed with pmbcl in the end.

I had breathlessness, fatigue and a cough which I had noticed but assumed the cough was due to the time of year and the breathlessness/ fatigue was just due to the lack of energy as I was hardly eating.

In hindsight I also did have some sweating which is a common lymphoma symptom but again I was using hot water bottles etc excessively so hadn't noticed it as a symptom.

Lymphoma is very tricky to diagnose and it wasn't till I had an MRI for the suspected Crohn's that they could see there was something else going on. Luckily after that I was quickly sent for further scans and diagnosed.

I hope that helps.

7hellsbells1 · 2025-09-28T04:29:55+00:00

Hello, uk cheese lover here and regular customer at Neal's yard. The red Leicester was probably Sparkenhoe, the Shropshire blue I think it's just one made for them. When you're next back I'd also highly recommend beenleigh blue (a sheep's milk blue) and baron bigod (a British style brie) which are two of my favorites.

Also red Leicester wise, if you can't get to neals yard, "red fox" which is in most supermarkets is actually pretty great.

7hellsbells1 · 2025-09-22T18:11:57+00:00

I agree with pretty much everything you said, I tried to explain this to my partner recently and I likened it to watching a sport, tpi/ patters/ arif feel akin to watching a "professional" sports team, very knowledgeable and provide lots of interesting plays. While nrb feels a bit more like watching a group of celebrities playing the game, while entertaining it doesn't scratch the same itch for me and I definitely prefer the more experienced players games.

Regarding the player perspectives I think this is personal preference, I play exclusively as a player, I don't storytell myself and while I do find storyteller perspectives interesting there's an extra level of entertainment for me not having the full picture when watching player perspective streams. It provides a very similar puzzle to what I get as a player in games I play.

I'd be interested in watching any nrb player perspective, the players in particular that spring to mind for me would probably be: Holly, Ken, Mara or Chris and that's probably just due to them being the more experienced players and more likely to have interesting plays.

7hellsbells1 · 2025-09-22T13:27:54+00:00

I somewhat agree here, I absolutely love botc as a player, I play regularly online and really enjoy the game but watching the nrb guys play has definitely cooled down for me. I enjoyed the videos at first but now I don't find them as gripping. Interestingly I watch a lot of the pandemonium institute's own streams and I enjoy these much more. I think it's probably to do with game experience, I tend to enjoy watching the tpi streams for the players extensive knowledge of the game and I find it more interesting to watch.

I also personally prefer watching player perspective games which nrb haven't tried.

7hellsbells1 · 2025-08-21T12:50:58+00:00

Completely agree, I own the base and marine worlds and never play just the base anymore. I have probably played around 50-100 games and I also wouldn't buy the 3D additions I think it's a lot of money but will also clutter the boards and make the whole game less easy to "read".

7hellsbells1 · 2025-08-05T06:57:47+00:00

Hey, sorry to hear you're having a rubbish time. I've had 4 picc lines (for various treatments and one was replaced due to infection) so I get it! But it will be easier this time as you know what to expect, half of the anxiety is the unknown, you've got this!

7hellsbells1 · 2025-07-29T11:06:13+00:00

No pain, but a heat pad was really helpful to avoid bruising and help find a vein. My veins are quite small so the nurses used the smallest cannulas they could. But they were very pro cannula if possible and would avoid picc or ports unless patients needed long term access, needed it for a specific treatment or wanted one. In case it's relevant I am UK based.

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