September 2024 Archives

At the end of last week, I had a very short visit to Munich to see Oktoberfest and to see my colleagues that I have been working with for the past two years before I am put into another project. I have always wanted to go to Oktoberfest; last year there was some talk about going for work, but it never materialized. I do not drink much, and I do not drink beer at all, but I wanted to experience the atmosphere at this event. 

Oktobefest began in 1801 as a festival for the wedding of the prince of Bavaria, and it became popular and a two-week event. There were horse races and an agricultural fair until 1900, and then new attractions, carousels, and beer tents started to gain popularity. After World War II, the focus became more on the alcohol, street vendors, and parades. Since 1980, the event attracts more and more people that come to drink the beer and listen to the live bands perform in the tents (buildings).

I wandered around the venue and bought some souvenirs and looked at the rides, although I did not go on any. I spent the afternoon on my first day and returned the following day for the morning and afternoon until I had to go back to the airport.

This is the type of event where people are encouraged to dress up in traditional German outfits. I did not dress up simply because I was on my own and did not want the hassle to dress up. However, I would say that at least half or more of the visitors were dressed up. Also note that Munich Oktoberfest is like a large fair, and children and families attend. There is plenty to do for every age group. It does not need to be about getting drunk and drinking beer, although that is probably what a majority of people do.

I went to cafe Bodo's, which is a cafe that serves sweets and is known for the cherry liquour doughnut. I had one and a cocktail. This one is family friendly and popular with both kids and adults.

I then went into the beer tents (buildings). I had a glass of sparkling wine in the wine building, and this was my first alcholic drink in one of the buildings. The band was performing, and everyone looked like they were having a good time.

I love pretzels, and they had some huge ones on sale. I opted for a smaller personal-sized pretzel. These were sold everywhere as they do tend to go with beer and soak up the alcohol in the body. There are people who carry a basket around to sell them, but I bought my one from a kiosk inside one of the beer tents. They had different sizes.

The next morning, I visited the traditional or historical area of Oktoberfest. The historical Oktoberfest, Oide Wiesn, was set up at Oktoberfest in the grounds since 2012, and it is part of the original agricultural fair. There is a museum tent and a couple of beer tents and older vintage rides. The music played in the tents is traditional.

The museum tent had some old props from rides, vintage Oktoberfest logos, an old carousel, and information about the history of the event.

There were also tractors on display. The agricultural show was cancelled this year, but they had a few tractors and machinery around.

I spent a fair amount of time in the beer tents listening to music and watching the crowd, but they were too busy to stay too long. The beer tents (buildings) are temporary wooden structures, and they are taken apart and put together each year. Only beer from one of the Munich breweries can be served at Oktoberfest. The steins that the beer is poured into holds one litre of beer. 

I had lunch at the wine building on the second day. I had a couple of glasses of Bavarian wine and a roast chicken, which was served with potato salad. The chicken was tender and tasty. For dessert, it was a toss between appl strudel and chocolate mousse with sour cherry. I opted for the chocolate mousse. The food was delicious.

There are also parades at Oktoberfest, and the horses are harnessed pulling a cart of beer barrels. There are different ones for the different Munich breweries.

For sale, there was popcorn, chocolate-covered fruit, chocolate marshmallows, various typs of food, toys, candy apples, and gingerbread.

There was also this fish on a stick for sale.

A few places sold cocktails, and I had one before leaving. You pay additional deposit for the glass and get money back when you return the glass. (I also bought a bottle of water, and they encourage you to return the empty bottle.)

The statue that can be seen at the venue is Bavaria, and she is holding the Bavarian symbol.

I did not go on the rides, but I liked the atmosphere. I wondered if rides and drinking mix well; I would not expect it would.

That concludes my visit of Oktoberfest in Munich. It would be a lot more fun to have gone with someone. I would have also gone on a couple of the rides and the ferris wheel.

On the first Sunday of the month, I visited Boaters Inn in Richmond with a friend for Sunday lunch. We had one of the last beautiful and warm days of the year and had a nice table outside to enjoy the meal. The Boaters Inn is along the Thames with views over the river, and I noticed that the leaves were starting to change colour. Although autumn had not quite arrived, the last of the summer had come.

I had a gin and tonic to enjoy in the nice weather ahead of my meal of roast chicken with all the trimmings - carrots, cabbage, spinach, Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, and bacon sausage (the bacon sausage was given to my friend as I don't eat pork).

For a starter, my friend suggested the beetroot hummus, and this was served with sourdough bread and dried chickpeas.

We opted for dessert. I wanted the Peach Melba, but they did not have it. Instead, I had the sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream.

She had profiteroles, but I didn't think they were very good nor very fresh.

After the food, we sat and talked for a little while and had another drink.

I had a quick walk along the river afterwards, and it was a perfect warm day for it.

Toward the end of August, I visited Witley Court and Gardens, which is the remains of an Italian-style mansion set in Worcestershire and maintained by English Heritage. The mansion was built in the 1600s and expanded by John Nash in the 1800s for the Dudley family. (Nash architected many areas in London, such as Regent Street.) The house suffered a fire in the 1930s, and it was stripped of its furnishings and all important materials after the insurance company refused to cover it, even though only one wing of the house suffered in the fire. The house has beautiful maintained gardens and a working fountain that should not be missed.

The house is located after a short walk passed a lake, and visitors can take a boat trip on the lake if they wish to do so.

The house is sadly ruined due to the fire, but the shell remains a point of interest.

There are two fountains. One of the fountains is located in the formal gardens.

The fountain that is working is known as the Perseus and Andromeda Fountain. It starts up roughly on the hour, and eventually all of the fountains come on over the course of several minutes. I stayed to watch the fountain come to life.

The fountain jets at the bottom started first before the other higher jets functioned with the higher jets shooting water into the air. The fountain has an engine room, and water shoots up to 120 feet. It was restored with an electric pump in 2002. This fountain was impressive.

The conservatory overlooks the fountain and was built in the mid-1800s. It was heated with hot water pumps for the tropical plants that lived here.

I had a look inside the empty rooms of the house and learned what some of the rooms functioned as before the fire.

The ballroom was one of the rooms, and the ceiling was later raised to glorify the room. This would have been decorated in the French style popular in the 1880s and 1890s. 

Next to the house ruins is the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, which is also a Grade I listed building. I went to take a look inside the church, and it is a beautiful building with white and gold walls and beautiful wall paintings and stained glass windows.

I spent a couple of hours at Witley Court and Gardens. I listened to the history of the house from one of the guides during my visit and watched the fountain.

Bridgnorth is a small town in Shropshire in England. The town itself contains a lower town and an upper town as part of the town resides on top of a cliff. The lower part of the town is in a valley with a river, th Severn, flowing through it. Bridgnorth is known for its clifftop funicular railway, castle grounds and views, town hall building, and a music festival in August. I visited Bridgnorth at the end of August.

For those who wish to walk up from the lower town to the upper town or visit during hours when the clifftop railway is closed, the cartway track can be walked. It isn't that far nor difficult. The cartway was the only way to the upper town until 1786. The goods would come in from the river and be carted up by horses. Cut into the hill where the cartway is were caves, and these were used as dwellings. The town had many inns and lodges for sailors and visitors, but only one of these still remains. 

The clifftop railway was opened in 1892. It used to be water-powered, but it is run on electric today. The cars date from 1955 as they replaced the original 1892 designs. This is the steepest and shortest funicular railway in the United Kingdom.

The views from the top were beautiful.

From the cliff railway ticket office, the rest of the upper town can be accessed.

I had a wander around the streets of Bridgnorth.

Next to Shakespeare pub is Castle Tea Rooms, and I had a late lunch here consisting of cream tea. This included a choice of sandwich and a scone with clotted cream and jam. I had cheese sandwich.

I also enjoyed a meal at The Castle pub, which has a nice display of flowers.

I took my time to explore the town and even went to the castle, which I already covered: Bridgnorth Castle.

The town hall, which is pictured below, dates from the middle of the 1600s.

For those looking for somthing to do besides pubs and music, the Board Room cafe can be visitd. This cafe allows visitors to play a variety of board games and enjoy some snacks and drinks, and they host other events. The owners were also the owners of the bed and breakfast that I stayed at.

I discovered this cute "Harry Potter" sorting hat themed postbox topper.

The lower town is not as picturesque, but the views along the river did look good. There's some good pubs and a nice Indian restaurant here as well.

While I was in Bridgnorth, I stayed at Stoneway Guest House, which is in the same building as the clifftop railway and is located next to the cartway. There is a small garden located outside from the door that leads to the cartway, which was built into the rock.

The breakfast room had views over the funicular railway, which was unusual. We were told that this was the waiting room in Victorian times.

I watched the trains come up and down.

The room I was in had views out toward the river and lower town.

I enjoyed my stay in Bridgnorth, and I wish that I had enjoyed more of the town and got to listen to some of the live music. 

The new Fourth Plinth sculpture was installed at the weekend, and it features the work of Mexican artist Teresa Margolles. She was a former forensic pathologist, and the work is inspired by th Aztec sculpture of skulls found in Mexico City, the Huey Tzompantli. The work was also inspired by her transgender friend who was murdered, and it is a memorial to all transgender people who have endured violence. The faces are from various participants in the artwork, and each on is different. Some of them contain make-up.

The faces or masks are made using plaster, and they are expected to weather over time, changing the sculpture throughout the next couple of years.

Previous commissions that had time on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square can be seen in the following posts:

2022: 'Antelope' by Samson Kambalu
2020: 'The End' by Heather Phillipson
2018: 'The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist'
2016: Really Good
2015: A horse skeleton with a stock ticker tape
2014: A giant blue rooster
2012: A boy on a rocking horse
2011: Ships in a bottle
2009: members of the public were encouraged to do their own 'thing' on the plinth
2005: limbless pregnant female statue

Bridgnorth Castle is located in the town of Bridgnorth in Shropshire. The site has had a castle on it from the early 1100s, and it was ruined during the Civil War. The town was on the side of Parliament (Charles I), and it was attacked in 1646 and demolished. The remaining structure has evidence of cannon ball fire. 

The castle grounds are high on the hill in the upper town of Bridgnorth. They include flower beds and gardens with scarecrows and a bandstand. Next to the castle is a more modern church building, and next to it are views over the valley.

The castle gardens or park land is a very pleasant place to enjoy.

One of the National Trust's most unique properties is located in Staffordshire near the town of Kinver. The property contains many acres of wilderness with views and the popular rock houses that were once lived in. On top of the hill is an iron age hill fort. With many acres to explore, it is easy to spend part of a day here. I saw what I wanted to see in a morning with an early trek first across the forest to see the abandoned rock houses.  

I had an early start, and I wanted to have a short trek to a couple of the abandoned rock houses on the map at Kinver Edge. The day started out to be a dreary one with cloud and damp; I avoided most of the rain as it halted until I was nearly back to the car. There are some good views over the landscape here.

The first rock houses that I came across were in an abandoned area, and these were known as Vale Rock. There is an old well and a lot of rooms of the houses and brick work. It was a little bit creepy.

After visiting Vale Rock, I headed along the trail toward Nanny's Rock. Most of the trail was through forest.

Nanny's Rock was lived in by a women named Meg-O-Fox-Hole, who was known for making herbal potions and who died in 1617.

I headed back to the car and then parked at the rock houses that have been retained for show. These are the Holy Austin Rock Houses.

Before they opened for the day, I had a walk up to the hill fort just above the rock houses. The hill fort dates from the Iron Age.

Below is the location of where the fort stood.

The views were amazing, even on a cloudy day.

After the hill fort, I went to check out the rock houses themselves. The history of the landscape here dates from the days when the land mass of the United Kingdom was dessert. In the 1750s, there was a permission to live in the rocks at Kinver, but peopl were probably living in them earlier than this. This area would have been lived in by quarry workers and others moving to look for work in the ironworks. In the middle of the 1800s, the rock houses were at their busiest with 11 homes and nearly 50 people living in them.

The rock houses could be chiseled to make room for some larger furniture, and the children could throw items down the chimneys. They were lived in until the 1930s.

The rock houses were restored and kept as a tourist attraction in 1990 with some rooms open to show how people would have lived here in the early 1900s.

The main house has a tunnel connecting to what is known as "the ball room", which is a huge cave area. Bats live in one of the other cottages.

There is even an outhouse on the way up.

Above those rock houses are additional rock houses, which now make up the cafe.

This Sunday, I went along to the ROXYFest event in Roxbourne Park, Harrow near Rayner's Lane tube station. I had seen it advertised in previous years but had not been before, so with the sunny and warm weather, I decided to go. This same day also saw the annual Open Day and Classic Car Show at Eastcote House Gardens, which I walked to afterwards and which I had been before (you can read about it here: Eastcote House Gardens Open Day and Classic Car Show).

At ROXYFest, there was live music by different bands and singers throughout the day. 

There were a lot of kiosks set up. Some of them had games, and there were also fairground rides. There were a lot of people selling items, such as toys, gifts, plants, and items for dogs. Some charities were also set up, and there was a photography contest and a flower and plant contest on display.

One person was selling some different sauces.

I bought some fresh lemonade.

The big event at ROXYFest are the dog shows. There are several different categories of dog show, such as "best in show", "waggiest tail", "best six legs" (the dog's four legs and the owner's two), "most adorable eyes", "best crossbreed", and "scruffiest". This is a time for all of the dogs and their owners to show off.

The judging of the dogs was done by vets, and the top three got prizes.

Before I left ROXYFest, I had a delicious vegetable samosa and a cupcake.

After some time at ROXYFest, I walked to Eastcote House Gardens to see the car show.

This was possibly the last warm summery day of the year before autumn was officially here.

The Bournemouth Air Festival is an annual air show event that takes place in Bournemouth with the planes flying along the beachfront. For the past several years, the air show takes place at the end of August and early September each year, although it did start out beind held over the last August Bank Holiday. The air show has been an annual event at Bournemouth since 2008, and I have been a few times since my first visit in 2009. The air show took place on the Thursday and finished on the Saturday, and I visited the Bournemouth Air Festival on Friday this year.

The weather was warm and sunny during my visit, and it is the perfect weather to sit on the beach and watch the planes fly by.

The Swedish Air Force Historical Flight planes were the first up.

The Red Devils Army Parachute Team were shown twice. They were up in the morning and then again in the evening with special light flares. They came down in the morning with coloured smoke and brought down a large Union Jack flag.

I saw the Lancaster from the Britain Memorial Flight.

Th Firebirds display did some really good maneuvers.

I've seen the Wingwalkers before, and they were back again this year.

This was a mixture of different helicopters and Fairy Swordfish biplane.

There were also Spitfires.

The Starlings Aerobatic Display team also wowed with some good displays.

Rich Goodwin's Aerobatic Biplane was also memorable, and this is one powerful aircraft that really tested the limits.

More helicopters came on the scene to do some moves.

Before the night display, I had a pizza. I brought picnic items along and a bottle of wine to enjoy throughout the day.

The RAF Typhoon was in the air a couple of times; once during the day and another time in the evening for the night display.

I particularly enjoy the night displays. After the Typhoon, I saw The Firebirds night display. These planes were lit up with changing colour lights and had fireworks trailing out after them.

Next up was Otto the Helicopter, which I remember from previous years. The helicopter lights up and launches fireworks.

After the air show, I stayed to watch the fireworks launched from the sea at Bournemouth.

My previous visits to Bournemouth Air Show / Bournemouth Air Festival that I included in this blog are below:

• Bournemouth Air Show 2019
• Bournemouth Air Show 2018
• Bournemouth Air Show 2008

Street artist JimmyC recently returned to London and painted a couple of walls. The street artist painted the walls on Hanbury Street off of Brick Lane. The first piece was a collaboration with Taqi Spateen, and it appears on a large horizontal brick wall on Hanbury Street with the solo piece on the corner. Both artworks were recently painted. Th artist uses colour in his work with dabs of paint.

The solo piece is titled "Colours of the Heart".

The collaboration piece was painted with Taqi Spateen. The colourful landscape was painted by JimmyC with the flowers and sky, and Taqi painted the walls and concrete as this is what he expriences in his home country of Palestine with the ongoing conflicts there in the neighbouring countries. The poppy is a symbol of hope and remembrance. Despite the conflcits, nature will continue to do what it does. CCTV cameras have also been painted onto the wall. 

An earlier work by JimmyC that I have not posted yet is pictured below.

More artwork by JimmyC that I have posted about in this blog are:

Zabou and JimmyC Collaboration "Self Reflection"
JimmyC Street Art - Spring
JimmyC Paints "Vaccine Nation" Street Art in Shoreditch
London Cityscape at Blackfriars by JimmyC
JimmyC Swan Street Art by Borough Market
JimmyC Updates South Bank Shakespeare Mural
JimmyC Paints Wall of Hearts to Honour Victims of Borough Market Attack
JimmyC Paints "Royal Wedding" Mural for St. Christopher's Place
Mick's Hands
'Open the Mind'
JimmyC Redchurch Street Heart
JimmyC Paints Shakespeare on South Bank
Street Artist JimmyC Paints Caledonian Road
RIP David Bowie & An Afternoon in Brixton
New Mural in Ever-Changing Shoreditch by JimmyC
New 'Spring Offering' Mural by Bailon and Sliks (JimmyC, Zadok Sonar Uno)
New JimmyC Mural on Joe's Kid (Cafe), Fashion Street
JimmyC Street Art - New Inn Yard, Brick Lane, Hackney Road
New Street Art by JimmyC
Street Art: JimmyC

Street artist Phelgm, who is from Sheffield in the UK, painted a wall in Hackney Central in the summer of 2022. I recently went to Hackney and photographed the artwork on the wall. Phelgm's artwork is instantly recognisable with his long-limbed creatures in patterned dress. The artist always creates his work using monotone (black and white) illustrative style.

At the end of last month, I visited Worcester and took part in the hunt for the penguin sculptures located around the city that make up the sculpture art trail "The Great Waddle of Worcester". The sculptures have been placed by Wild in Art and St. Richard's Hospice to raise charity. The sculptures were in place over the summer for eight weeks with fourty or more large sculptures and a range of smaller ones decorated by the community, and the last day of the trail is today. The large ones were decorated by artists. 

I went to Worcester a few years ago to see another sculpture trail, Worcester's Big Elephant Parade. While in Worcester, I also enjoyed the views of this old city.

The trail led down the river all of the way past the old docks and over a footbridge and back to the centre. 

I enjoyed views of the cathedral.

In the meadows, I saw these unusual-colour-patterned cows.

After the long walk to find all of the sculptures, I went to have a couple of cocktails at All Bar One.

I enjoyed visiting Worcester and enjoyed the sunny weather on both of my visits.

For the first time since 2022, street artist Cranio has returned to London for a new exhibition. The exhibition at BSMT Spac Gallery in Dalston is called "STOP WAR" ($TOP WAR), and it arrived at the end of August and was in place until the second weekend of September. Cranio is a popular street artist from Brazil, and the exhibition relates to capitalism wars relating to the Amazon, and he often paints with a social message of the boundaries of daily life and culture. Cranio is known for his blue tribal people, and his work has a political, social, and environmental theme.

In addition to the artwork within the gallery, the artist painted a couple of walls. One of the walls is in east London, but the piece got quickly tagged over. It was located near Pedley Street.

Cranio also painted on two walls that make up the exterior of BSMT Space Gallery. One is on the street side and features his blue tribal characters with the side door on the building being transformed into the entrance of a temple with carved figures.

The other wall is at the back, and it features a street art collaboration between Cranio, Mighty Mo, and Mau Mau. (See this post for Mau Mau's work and this post for Mighty Mo, Mighty Monkey). Both Mau Mau and Mighty Mo have been on London's street art scene for many years.

I also visited the BSMT Space Gallery and looked at the work. Like the exhibition that I visited here a couple of years ago, Cranio has used some of the walls of the gallery as his canvas.

Previous artwork by Cranio on this blog can be seen by following the below links:

Street Art by Cranio in Summer 2022
Cranio and Phlegm Collaboration in Dalston - War
Collaboration Street Art: Cranio & Fanakapan
Cranio - Collaborations with Himbad, Zadok, & Kazz
Cranio's Newest Mural on Pedley Street: Blue Natives 
Cranio Repaints His Wall on Brick Lane
Cranio's Mural on Great Eastern Street
Recent Street Art in Early 2014
Street Art: Cranio, Senna, HIN, and Mo
Street Art: Cranio
Cranio Returns to London in 2020 and Paints Brick Lane

Last month, I met up with some friends for Sunday lunch in Hampshire. Afterwards, we went to the Vyne Estate, which is managed by National Trust; this was my second visit to The Vyne this year having been once at the start of the year. We had a sunny day, and it was not too warm, but it felt like late summer. My friends and I had attempted this visit in late June, but we ended up only doing the meal as that was the day that England went was playing having made it to the semi-finals.

Our first stop was to the Frog and Wicket pub near Basingstoke for our Sunday roast. When we visited it June and our friends had to leave after the meal, we said that we would plan a phase two! So during the first visit in June, we were sat in the extension bit near the door. It was not the warmest of days, and the pub got very busy. A bunch of children were running in and out of the doors, and we did not like to be sat near here where it disturbed our meal.

We had Sunday roasts, and I had the brownie for dessert.

The August visit was sunnier and warmer, and the cricket was being played opposite. 

I also informed them to sit us in the main restaurant. During this visit, the pub was virtually empty with only a couple of other tables being used. As it was school holidays, I believe that everyone was away on their vacations. The food this time was not nearly as good as our first visit.

I had the Sunday roast again, and I liked the look of the lemon dessert that one friend had. This time, the dessert looked a lot different and included raspberry jam on top. 

After the Sunday lunch, we drove to The Vyne and had a walk around the estate. I attempted this circular walk with my friend back at the start of the year, but it was too muddy to complete it. We completed the walk along the river, then through the woodlands. 

The river empties into some wetlands further along, and the woodland walk allowed som views over this. There is also a bird hide to see birds.

We then decided to sit and have a chat. We did not go into the house this time as we had visited it before.

Afterwards, we had a light refreshment and then went into the walled gardens.

Some previous visits to the Vyne are below: 

January Walk at The Vyne (National Trust, Hampshire)
Spring Afternoon at The Vyne (National Trust, Hampshire)
Days Out: The Vyne in Basingstoke, Hampshire

Inkie is a street artist from from Bristol. He started his street art career in the 1980s. The artist now lives in London and has worked for popular brands, such as Xbox and SEGA and has created numerous prints and illustrations for the fashion industry. The artist paints in an illustrative style. The following two murals were discovered in Worcester.

Other artwork by Inkie on this blog can be seen below:

Inkie Street Art in Camden
Leicester Street Art
Worcester Big Parade Elephant Trail
Bristol Street Art Round-up 2018
Bristol Upfest 2018
Minerva's Owls Sculpture Trail in Bath
Street Art Tour of Birmingham
Bristol Upfest 2015
Whitecross Street Party 2014
British Phone Boxes BTArtbox

Greyfriar's House and Gardens is a medieval merchant's home located in the centre of Worcester and managed by National Trust. The house and gardens can be visited, and there is a bookstore and a cafe on site. I first saw the house in 2021 when I visited Worcester, but at that time, it was only partially opened and by guided tour only. I was not able to visit until the end of August when I went to visit the city. I will show photographs of the house and gardens and go into some of the history of the house and occupants.

The house was lived in and restored by Elsie and Matley Moore. These siblings loved and cared for the house and restored it when it was at risk of demolition. The house itself was probably constructed as a guest house to the friary, but it may have been a brew-house. The National Trust have managed it since 1966.

Matley Moore was an artist, and she restored a lot of artwork. She was also an expert in many areas. On show are some of her artwork, including doorstops and rescued pieces that she would search for when out on her travels.

The cafe and gardens and entrance to the house are located underneath into the inner courtyard.

There is a nice garden to enjoy with some seating.

Inside, the entrance led directly into the Great Hall.

There was another room to the side on the ground floor.

There were several rooms upstairs.

The building dates to around the late 1400s. I am glad that it was restored so that we can enjoy it today.

August's monthly subscription box from Craft Gin Club finally arrived, but it had a couple of missing items that they had to resend out as the box got delayed in transit and had opened up, judging by the new packing tap and condition that the box came in. The Craft Gin Club subscription box contains a full-sized bottle of gin, mixers, snacks, and a magazine with gin cocktail and food recipes for ideas to either pair with the gin or that use gin as an ingredient. In this post, I cover the August 2024 subscription box. This month's full bottle of gin is from the Chile and is Gin Provincia Andes Dry. It is made using glacial waters and botanicals native to Chile.

Seventeen Tonic Water: This tonic water is also from Chile and uses natural ingredients.

Lemonaid Passion Fruit: This juice drink is made from natural ingredients, and it supports local communities. I've had other flavours of this, and I've always enjoyed it. This time, the drink is used in the cocktail of the month.

Schweppes Blueberry Mojito: This one is not pictured, but I received the fruity cocktail, and I enjoyed it. I'm glad I received this one, but other readers could have received the aperitivo spritz.

Amazon Natural Spring Water: This Brazilian spring water makes donations to help restore the rainforests. This was one of the missing products, but they resent it.

Darling Corn Barbeque: This dried sweet corn is delicious, and this barbeque flavour hit the spot with a gin.

BARE Cinnamon Popcorn: This was one of the missing products. I love cinnamon and love popcorn, so I was gutted it was missing as I really wanted to try this product.

Hippeas Blazin' Hot: I received the Blazin' hot variety, and others may have received barbeque. I liked the product, though I would not consider it to be hot or spicy. The product is made using chickpeas.

Toberlerone: This was one of the missing products, and they resent it to me. I am not a fan of Toberlerone chocolate, and I didn't think it paired well with the gin.

Andes Gold Cocktail syrup: This cocktail syrup makes the gin cocktail of the month.

Dried pineapple slices: The dried pineapple slices can be used to add to the gin and tonic or cocktail.

This June, Taylor Swift fever hit London with the singer having a few concerts in Wembley that month and then a few more concerts in August. To celebrate Taylor Swift coming to London, a couple of murals appeared at Wembley. Both of the murals are near to the stadium.

The first mural is by Humor X and is titled "Ready for It", and it features the singer with some lyrics. It is located outside the stadium in an underpass.

The other mural is located on the Spanish Steps outside the stadium. It was created by Frank Styles, a street artist from Sunderland. The stairs becam known as the "Swiftie Stairs" during the concert days.