May 2025 Archives

I visited Portmeirion on a warm and sunny day at the end March when I visited Wales. This was not my first visit to Portmeirion. I first visited the village at the end of September in 2004. I enjoyed the 1960's series of "The Prisoner", which is how I first found out about the village's existance back in 2000, as it was primarily filmed in Portmeirion. To learn more about the origins of this picturesque village and to see more photographs, keep reading. It really is a unique place unlike any other in the United Kingdom!

Portmeirion was built between 1925 and 1975 by Clough Williams-Ellis in his vision to create a Mediterranian-style colourful village surrounded by gardens, each building being unique architecturally. Many of the buildings were also constructed from remains of other buildings and structures that were torn down or bombed. The village was built around centralised buildings which are the pubs and hotels.

On the way to the village, I travelled through some picturesque mountains in Snowdonia, Wales.

Visitors have to pay to enter Portmeirion, which is now a charitable trust. There are gift shops and a few cafes and restaurants located across the village, and each little corner has something unique to see or a fantastic view.

It is also located on the edge of the estuary with landscaped views and a nice selection of colourful plants.

It is definitely more beautiful in the sunlight. 

I climbed up to the green dome building to catch a glimpse of the surroundings below.

I also had ice cream from one of the cafes.

There are picturesque views everywhere I looked, so it really is a wonderful place to visit.

The building that was meant to be the home of the main character in "The Prisoner" is now a gift shop selling a lot of items related to the series. 

There are so many interesting points to view across the village. Most of the buildings are not practical and are just created for show, although many of them are also hotels.

For my previous visit to Portmeirion, see my post here: Rainy Wales.

Today, for one day only, Pinner Fair took place. The fair (funfair) at Pinner was established in 1336, so that makes Pinner Fair in its 688th year. The annual fair was granted a Royal Charter in 1336 by king Edward III. I went to check it out after work as I had never been before and was not able to go the past few years when I learned about it due to workloads. The fair is always held on a Wednesday in late May, and it coincides with the schools being off so that families can go and enjoy and spend the whole day here. The fair opens at 10am and closes at 11pm.

The word "fair" comes from the Latin word "feria", which means "a holiday". Historically, these would fall on special occassions or religious events, and the fair was a time for people to enjoy different attractions, shows, and features. The fair was a traveling show, similar to a circus or a carnival. As technology developed with steam and then electricity, the rides became more popular. Today's fairs contain a lot of different types of rides and games where people can shoot an arrow or pellet gun to win a prize or hook a prize on a fishing line. There are also a lot of different vendors to buy food from. Cotton candy (known as 'candy floss' in England), popcorn, candy apples, sweets, pork sausages/hot dogs, burgers, and fried food tends to be sold. 

I had a wander down Pinner High Street, and the fair was very busy in the late afternoon and early evening with many people enjoying their time.

I had a slushie.

People who played some of the games had a chance to win a big prize in the shape of a Highland cow, puppy, or bear.

Cotton candy was a popular treat that a lot of children were enjoying. I find it too sweet myself.

But I did have some salted popcorn.

For just a one day event, there were a lot of rides. Everyone was having fun.

The High Street contained rides and vendors lining down the street, which then went on both directions on Marsh Road up to the end with the roundabout and up to the first section of the parade of shops in the other direction. I was actually impressed with how large the event was with a huge number of different rides, haunted houses, games, and more.

Doughnuts are a very British fair tradition, and I had some fresh doughnuts made.

For people who are not vegetarian and can eat beef and pork, there were a lot of options for food. There were a few other options that I noticed, such as Greek food and also Indian food and snacks (pani puri and paneer chili).

I actually had the chili paneer with rice, which was served in a plastic takeaway container. It was very good, but there was not any place to sit down and eat it (which is why I guess the hot dog/sausages and hamburgers in buns are so popular at these events for people who eat them), so I went to the park and had it there before the walk back home.

Overall, the Pinner Fair is a good community event and brings out a lot of people to enjoy their day. It is a tradition that is still very much strong in this village and has evolved over nearly 700 years into the modern age. 

Other events in Pinner that I have covered on this blog:

• George's Day Festivities in Pinner

Llanchaeron is an estate managed by the National Trust in Ceredigion, Wales. The estate is noted for its house, which was architected by John Nash. Nash built many famous Georgian streets in London, such as Regents Street and a lot of buildings around Regent's Park as well as Buckingham Palace. Visitors can also visit the servants' areas, farm, walled garden, and see the collections of farm equipment and steam engine at the farm and curiosities in the house.

I visited Llanchaeron at the end of March on a dry but cloudy early spring day. The daffodils and tulips were in bloom.

The estate was in the same family for hundreds of years. It was purchased in the early 1600s by an owner who had traced his heritage back to the Welsh princes. 

After the death of one owner who did not have any heir, the estate was passed to his sister and her daughter, which was rare at that time. The last owner passed away in 1917. The house was managed by his widow, and she ensured that staff and tenants were looked after. The house remained un-changed as she did not have the power to implement modernization of the house as it was owned by her sister-in-law.

I first went to check out the house. There are many rooms open to visitors, and there are collections in some of the other rooms. 

One of the rooms had a collection of fabrics and silk. The below was created in Spitalfields, the area of London noted for its silk-weaving industry.

After visiting the ground and first floors, I headed to the lower floors and servants' quarters. In the kitchen, many items were on display that were used in the times when the house was a home. There were kitchens, a laundry room, scullery, pantry, and many more rooms needed to make the house self-sufficient.

The laundry room is below.

I even got to meet the resident cat, Tom. He was hanging around the servants' area. 

The exterior of the house at Llanchaeron is below; it is Grade I listed.

After visiting the house, I had a wander around the walled garden.

I went to explore the farm and rickyard. A rickyard is a place to store grain to dry.

Baby lambs were enjoying their first days in the straw. The sheep here are a rare local breed of sheep.

I had a look at some of the farm equipment.

There were a few geese or ducks and chickens hanging around the farm buildings. I have not seen geese or ducks like this before.

There is a lot to see and do at Llanchaeron, and I recommend a visit.

This year's Chelsea in Bloom celebrates fashion with the theme of "Flowers in Fashion" and particularly celebrates Chelsea as an influential place in the world of fashion. Chelsea in Bloom takes place each year around the streets of Chelsea to coincide with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The Chelsea in Bloom event is free to visit, and there is a free trail and map to see various local shop fronts and restaurants that have decorated for the event. Basically, the trail takes place around Sloane Square and then a mile down King's Road, and there are often a few displays up along the main road to Knightsbridge Station, but there were only a couple this year. Some years, there is more participation. This year seems to be a year where there was not as much as previous years.

One of the best displays is Cinquecento restaurant, which had a floral dress and display of purple flowers.

Sloane Square had a horsey display with horses and boots.

The other displays celebrated colour in general or with some dresses made of floral designs.

A few celebrated the process of fashion with needle and thread or sewing machines.

Another one of the main displays was a red shoe.

And a handbag was located in Duke of York Square.

Lloyds always participate with a black horse from their logo in the mix.

Another one of the main displays was a punk.

The Ivy Chelsea had a large display with different outfits, mainly related to bee-keeping, and plenty of places for photo opportunities.

The "Lilo" character from "Lilo and Stitch" was placed outside the cinema.

Off a side road was a "Miss Piggy" character in front of a pub.

The pizza restaurant always contributes a display featuring pizzas or the ingredients. This time, we have the employees.

This was a beautiful creation on King's Road featuring a ballet dancer.

Another one of the main displays was a lipstick. This was the only cosmetic that I noticed.

The Cadogan 11 hotel usually impress when they participate, and this elaborate work features flowers and fabric.

Another hotel, Cadogan, had the top part of a dress or shirt made of flowers.

Another one of the large displays featured a woman with a large floral dress and a poodle.

The restaurant on Sloane Street usually does a decent display too.

The sunglasses were another one of the large displays.

I loved the outfits in this shop, and there was one window with 1920s-style outfits.

The last large display was of a hat on Sloane Street near Knightsbridge station. There was not much at all at that end of Sloane Street this year.

To see previous visits of Chelsea in Bloom on this blog:

• Chelsea in Bloom 2016
• Chelsea in Bloom 2022: British Icons
• Chelsea in Bloom 2023: Flowers in Film
• Chelsea in Bloom 2024: Floral Feasts

Last Saturday in the middle of May, I visited Daws Hill Vineyard located in the Chilterns near High Wycombe. This is a small family-run winery that makes sparkling wine and sparkling cider. A sparkling rosé, white, and cider is available from the vineyard and to try. The vineyard and winery is at a small scale and hosts volunteers to work in the vineyard throughout the season. When we arrived for the tour, we were given a glass of the sparkling cider to try. I first came across this winery as they were selling their products at the local market in December.

I chatted with another couple, and the set-up is quite small, so we waited for everyone to park and met inside the building where the winery operations are storage are located.

We were given a talk about the history of the winery, how English wines are gaining attention in the wine-making world, and the changing climate. Afterwards, we went out through a pasture to access the vineyard. The vines have come back to life from th winter sleep, and they have started to grow again. The vines must be cut and then managed and tied to the supports. 

We were told about the different seasons and the challenges in the weather conditions, wilflife, diseases, and insect damage. 

After we returned to the building, we were told about the wine-making process and also got to try some still wine from one of the large stills or vats.

We were also told about the bottling process, which is all done by hand here as it is a small set-up. We also got to try the sparking white and the sparkling rosé. 

I purchased a bottle of the sparking white and a candle with a summery scent. The winery also sell candles from some of their bottles.

Roti King is a Malaysian restaurant located in an archway under the train line at Battersea. I visited the restaurant last month when I was in the area. I had the roti curry, which is what the restaurant is named after. I had the chicken curry, which was served in a bowl and the roti, which was similar to paratha with a flakey texture. The food was delicious. I also had a margarita.

The restaurant is very small, and it was very crowded inside with every seat taken while I was there. The service was a little bit slow, possibly due to some larger groups and a small set up. I enjoyed the meal and would visit it again.

Harlech Castle is built on top of a hill surrounded by a moat on one side and thick stone walls; the castle looks imposing in structure with beautiful views from the hill over the coast in one direction and the village in the other direction. I went to visit it on a sunny day at the end of March. The castle was constructed in the 1200s and survived conquests with the English, and it is a UNESCO world heritage site and maintained by Cadw, so English Heritage member visitors can also visit it as part of their membership.

Today, the castle is located next to parking and the visitor centre with a few village tourist shops next to it. There is a suspended footbridge from the visitor centre into the castle.

The castle was built quickly under the guidance of Jams St. George, a master architect of the time who surrounded the castle in layers of walls. 

The castle is not too large to explore; the interior is virtually empty with some small foundation stones scattered around and a walk along the exterior of the castle and castle walls.

The castle wall walks have amazing views, although it is a little bit frightening how high the castle is. My visit was on a sunny day, and I could see out to the sea and the sand dunes.

The village is on the other direction on the hillside.

There was a battle at the castle in the early 1400s which resulted in the castle surrendering to the heir of Henry IV. The castle was the last to fall in the English Civil War, and its complete destruction never happened. 

I enjoyed the visit to the castle, and it's an easy one to spend an hour or two at and one of a few castles in this region of north Wales. The height was a little bit daunting when on the walls overlooking the sea views.

Street artist Invader or Space Invaders is a street artist from Paris that has put tile artwork across the globe. The street artist is one of the world's most popular, and an app and map help visitors to locate and mark off the street art they locate. Space Invader or Invader creates mosaic or tile street art, and these are often in 8-bit characters with throw-backs to old pixelated 8-bit games from the 1970s and 1980s and science fiction popular culture. The artist started his "invasions" in the 1990s. Over the years, I have photographed the artist's work in London and many other cities. The below photographs were captured in London and in Manchester over several years, although a few of them may also be from a trip to Manchester several years ago. Several of these have since disappeared or been further damaged.

One of my favourite ones features the "Star Wars" characters Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader ready to battle.

A few of the invaders are of the artist's older style, and these are much older with larger tiles placed. 

His work sadly ofter suffers damage as people try to steal it, such as the below piece. You can see the "after" and "before" picture below it.

I also likd the below mural, which uses a CCTV camera as the centre of the potted flower. There are two additional CCTV cameras on this wall.

This piece walking into the heart of Soho also always makes me smile.

More street art by Invader on this blog:

Street Art by Invader in Brussels

The ruins of Talley Abbey in Carmarthenshire, Wales is located at the edge of a small village. The abbey was founded by a Welsh ruler, Lord Rhys, and the group of monks that resided here were known as the "white canons" or Premonstratensians for their dress. The monks fished in the lakes and became wealthy and started to build a church. The church ceased building at the end of the 1100s after they had a rival with the Cistercian monks, and this set the order into decline and bankrupcy. This was the only order of the "white canons" in Wales.

The church was never finished, and the remains of the footprints and part of a tower of the structure still remain.

The abbey ruins are at the edge of the small village with a few spaces of street parking at the entrance to the site of the ruins. 

A friend and I were invited to the Savoy for afternoon tea after we had a bit of a disappointing experience in December, and we enjoyed this visit. I am still not keen on the fact that the redecoration of the Gallery restaurant at the Savoy has been filled with seats to accommodate more people, and it feels much more chaotic than personal. The service was attentive, and we enjoyed the spring afternoon tea menu with a glass of champagne.

We visited at the beginning of April and had a nice day.

We both loved the menu design, which is printed on shimmery paper.

I had the vegetarian selection of sandwiches and little pastries: cucumber and lemon, egg, smoked cheddar and marmalade, red pepper and olive, an asparagus and feta tart and a tomato tart. 

Next up were the scones.

I had some with the strawberry jam and clotted cream and som with the lemon curd.

The sweet pastry selection was very much inspired by spring. The first one was strawberry and cream, which was a beautiful pink pastry with strawberry compote and cream. I enjoyed it.

Next was the chocolate and hazlenut cake, which was very rich and sweet. It also had salted caramel. 

My favourite was the coconut and lime pebble, which was mad of coconut mousse and sponge and lime.

The last was the pink grapefruit tart, which was our least favourite.

Aftr the Savoy, we enjoyed some final rays of sunlight in a pub on Great Queen Street.

We did enjoy this visit to The Savoy, and we enjoyed the food. The service was also attentive on this visit. 

At the end of March, I visited Castle Dryslywn in Wales. The castle dates from th 1220s and sits high on a hill with beautiful views over the valley. The castle was owned by Welsh rulers but was conquered by the English in the late 1200s. The castle is not far from Dinefwr, which I went to before I headed to Dryslywn. The castles are similar in design and probably built by the same builder.

The parking to visit the castle is opposite a fairly busy road, and it is at the bottom of the hill. Visitors to the castle then have to walk up the hill, which is not as bad as it looks, and once there, they have a beautiful view over the valley.

The castle is in ruins with earthworks and partial walls and structures.

Once at the top of the hill, visitors can walk into the actual castle structures and admire the views and the remains.

The castle is free to visit. There was a bit of rain (though not hard) during my visit, but I was able to see the views. A clear day would have been much better. 

Street artist Aspire (A51) is known for painting different birds around London's walls. The artist tries to blend in features of the wall and surroundings with the artwork and incorporates a series of pixelated colours shown in the larger part of the work. The artist has been painting on London's walls for many years now, and I enjoy the birds as they bring a slice of nature to the city.

The above piece is one of my favourites as it uses the foliage from the bushes along the wall to create the appearance of a bird sitting on a branch.

Some of the other work tends to incorporate conservation and climate into the artwork, such as the series with a bird sitting on a lit matchstick.

And a bird sitting on a plastic bottle of water.

The below artwork was created many years ago in Camden and also seems to bring up environmental concerns with a "reduced" shop tag seeming to discuss the value of nature.

More artwork by Aspire on this blog can be seen below:

Street Art by Aspire in Penge
Aspire Street Art in Camden
Airbourne Mark and Aspire Collaboration - "Music to Prey To"
Bristol Street Art Round-Up 2018
Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park
London Street Art Review Round-up 2016

At the end of March, I visited Wales. One of the places that I visited was Dinefwr Castle and Newton House on the Dinefwr estate, which is managed by National Trust. Newton House is the modern home or mansion of the estate, which I already covered in my post here: Visiting Newton House at Dinefwr. The estate has the mansion and grounds to walk as well as the ruins of the medieval castle. The castle itself is about a twenty-minute walk from Newton House down a lane and up a hill.

I first headed to the castle. The weather was not too great, but at least there was not any rain. The castle was located down a path with farms on both sides.

Up through a field, I saw the castle on its hill emerging.

I then started to ascend the hillside with views of the ruined castle.

At the end of March, the floor in the woodlands near the castle was being carpeted by green. These are bluebells, and I was about three weeks too early to catch them in bloom.

At the top of the hill, I saw the entrance to the castle. On the other side were beautiful views over the valley. The castle seemed to be popular on my visit with a small tour group and a large group of boys from a college.

I went to explore the castle, climbing the towers and walls. The castle dates from the 1100s, and it would have seen some conflicts and was conquered in the early 1400s. The castle was also rebuilt in the 1500s and functioned more as a home instead of as a fortress then.

There are impressive views on all sides.

From the castle, visitors can see Newton House. This is the mansion that can be entered for National Trust members.

After visiting the castle, I walked back down to explore the house and saw some primroses in bloom.

The sheep also greeted me on the way back.

I enjoyed my visit and walk up to Dinefwr castle. 

Street artist Yorgos (u.said.it) has been painting across London for the past couple of years, and the artist is based in London but grew up in Germany and Greece. The style is illustrative and features the artist's characters in abstract illustrations. The figures in the artist's work are emotive with interactions between them, and the concept is one of social and emotion as the figures seem to interact.

This artist has been painting on a lot of walls across London in the past couple of years and increased the output this year.

In December of 2023, a collaboration street art mural was painted and arranged by floral designer Renatto Ribeiro and Dave Plants. The street art is still located in its place on Brick Lane in London, but I noticed that for 2025, it had a new makeover. The portrait of the girl is the same, but the dried branches look to have been added to, and the festive decorations are new with the green and cold.

The original artwork can be seen here:

Street Art: Renatto Ribeiro and Dave Plants

Street artist Sr. X from Spain has painted many walls across London. The style of his work is inspired by vintage illustrations and advetising. I recently came across one of his murals that I had not seen before in Southwark, and it is located on a wall and advertises Old Union Yard next to a pub and over an archway.

Additional work by the artist on this blog can be seen below:

Sr. X 'The Flock'
Sr. X Mural in Camden Town
Sr. X Paints "Hello Molly" in Penge
Sr. X Paints "Gimme That Soma!" on Redchurch Street
Sr. X Street Art at Paternoster Square
Sr. X Summer 2020 Murals in Camden
"The Back of Your Mind", New Street Art by Sr. X
Camden Street Art Self-Guided Trail
Sr. X (Señor X) "The Rapture" Street Art on the Village Underground
Sr. X (Señor X) "The Itching" Street Art off Brick Lane
New Sr X Octopus on Hackney Road
Sr.X Paints Village Underground Wall
Sr.X "Buy Shit!" Sign on Village Underground
Sr X Collaborates with Zabou

My first ever visit to Raglan Castle was in 2008, and I visited the castle again at the end of March during a day of pleasant weather. In nearly twenty years, I can see that there have been some changes in that the castle seemed to have more areas open to visit that I do not remember visiting before. Raglan is the largest castle built by the Welsh, and it became one of the largest houses in the 1630s. The castle was taken over by Cromwell.

The castle is huge with a lot of ruins to explore, towers to climb, and cellars or underground passages to explore.

The castle dates from the 15th to 17th centuries.

The castle is surrounded by a moat. The largest tower was deliberately destroyed.

It does not take a lot of imagination to understand that this massive castle was once an important place. Click here to see my previous visit to Raglan Castle.

As we have had a mini heat wave recently, I have been thinking about eating a lot of fruit and having refreshing ice cream. One gem that I discovered is the mango ice cream from Snowflake Gelato. I visited the Westfield branch and saw the mango-shaped ice cream and had to have one. They are made with mango sorbet and decorated to look like a mango. 

Overall, this is a refreshing treat for the warmer temperatures, and they look so cute.

Also, the above is a throwback to when Snowflake Gelato used to be in the food hall in Selfridges. I had a pineapple, mint, and lemon sorbet, which created a refreshing combination for a hot summer day.

This post features typography street art by Lilly Lou and Candie that I photographed many years ago when I used to work in east London, and these murals date from around 2015. Lilly Lou painted in London with influence on typography. The street art was painted in the spring on an orange backfround "No good reason".

Street artist Candie also paints in a typography style. The artist has also painted type and grafitti across the world. 

More street art by these artists on this blog:

Lilly Lou in Walthamstow