June 2025 Archives

One street artist that I enjoy seeing new work from is Abraham.O, an artist who is originally from El Salvador. He paints realistic portraits, and these are often in greyscale, though sometimes a bit of colour is addd. Most recently, he has been experimenting with a pink dot in his work. The people in the portraits often tell a story through the artwork. The most recent work was photographed in east London, though he has also painted in Penge.

I was not sure if the work below is from the artist.

More street art by Abraham.O on this blog can be seen here:

Street Art: Abraham.O
AbrahamO Paints in Penge

In early June with nice weather that we had been having, I made a visit to Pinner. I always enjoy a walk to Pinner after work to enjoy some exercise and a nice walk across the meadows. I saw on my previous visit that one Indian restaurant named Awadh were doing two-for-one cocktails. I decided to stop in and enjoy some nice food and cocktails. I tried a variety of cocktails, including the Passionfruit Martini, Pina Colada, Mirch (chili and tequila and mango), and margarita. 

I opted to have a starter and main, and I wanted to have a dessert, but I was too full of alcohol and food by the time I finishd. For the starter, I had a paneer tikka. The starter was very tasty.

For the main, I had a curry with thick gravy (paneer makhani) and a warqui paratha. The food was tasty.

The cocktails were good too. I cannot even pick a favourite.

I would definitely return for more two-for-one cocktails and food. Also, live music normally happens on Friday evenings. 

Otto Schade is a London-based street artist who has been painting on London's streets for many years now, and toward the end of last year, I discovered more of his work across the Hoxton area. The artist is known for two distinct styles of work: th 'ribbon' style where he paints images using a series of 'ribbons', normall in an orange or yellow colour. The other style is a silhouette style where he features on stencils of social and economical issues.

The above was taken on Brick Lane outside the tourist shop where the artist always refreshes his work.

I discovered a paste-up on one wall somewhere in east London.

This figure of a woman was near Old Street, and the bottom several photographs were taken around Hoxton and Shoreditch.

I've previously posted about Otto Schade's street art in the following posts:

Otto Schade 2024 Street Art in Camden and Brick Lane
Otto Schade - Bull in a China Shop and Other
Otto Schade - The Viaduct and Other
Otto Schade on Farnshaw Street - Eva's Green Apple
New Snoopy Street Art and Other Street Art by Otto Schade in East London
Otto Schade Paints Donna Summer on "Bull In A China Shop" in Shoreditch and Others
Otto Schade Murals on Kingsland Road
Long Street - Otto Schade, CodeFC, The Krah
Street Art by Otto Schade
Otto Schade Paints "The Lady Don't Protest Enough" Mural on Bateman's Row
Otto Schade "Jack the Ripper 2040" Street Art
Otto Schade 'The Believers' and 'WTF'
'Bull in a China Shop', 'Osch-car' and 'Flies Around Sh*t'
Otto Schade 'Peace and Love on the Streets'
Street Artist Otto Schade Paints Southampton 'Zany Zebra' for Charity (and other work)
Street Art Round-up: Spring & Summer 2015
Otto Schade's New Street Art (Meerkats, Portraits, & More) in East London
New Street Art from Horror Crew, Swoon, Otto Schade, HIN, and others
Street Art: Otto Schade

The Tudor Lodge Hotel in Pinner (Eastcote) is located a short walk away from Eastcote tube station, and it's in my local area. I visited for afternoon tea at the beginning of the month; I have walked by the building many times and have wondered what it is like inside as it is a very old building. They also have an Indian restaurant at the hotel. The hotel was built in the 15th century and was a farmhouse. The building was converted into a hotel in the 1990s and modernized with a new area for additional rooms.

I had the afternoon tea, which included a glass of Prosecco and a selection of four different types of sandwich with cucumber, chicken, cheese, and egg fillings. The sandwiches were tasty. It was all served on an attractive multi-tier tea tray.

The restaurant itself looks modern with tile floor and wallpaper, decorative table settings, and set amongst the old room with low black beams in Tudor style architecture. 

I had the English Breakfast tea, but there was a menu to select from.

There were four fruit scones with clotted cream, strawberry jam, and fresh strawberries. The scones were delicious, and the fresh fruit was a nice touch.

The pastries were disappointing as they all consisted of different types of cheesecake, and I am not a fan of cheesecake at all. I would have liked a selection of different types of pastry or desserts and not just different types of cheesecake. So, I was not a fan of these, but cheesecake-lovers would have appreciated it. I left them as I dislike cheesecake.

I would like to come back to see what the dinner is like, but afternoon tea was good and a relaxed atmosphere. 

One of London's most famous residents, Paddington Bear, has had a street art mural painted at Waterloo / South Bank in his honor. The mural appeared at the end of last year in time for the "Paddington 3" movie, and I photographed the artwork early this spring where it was getting a lot of attention from many people who were passing by. The street art is the work of Peruvian artist Gisella Stapleton, which is fitting considering that the character of Paddington Bear is originally from Peru.

Paddington is an ambassador for inclusion, and the mural has the words: "Mrs. Brown says that in London everyone is different and that means everyone can fit in."

The mural can be seen at Sutton Walk near the arches underneath the train line from Waterloo Station to South Bank.

Hunto is a street artist from Italy who resides in London, and his work is influenced by Cubism art styles showing human emotions, relationships, and erotic themes. Influenced by Picasso, his work uses bright colours and defined shapes with the humans connecting in some way. I have covered his work several times on this blog. Since I last posted his work, more has cropped up across east London for your viewing over the several months.

More street art by Hunto on this blog can be seen on the following links:

Street Art by Hunto in East London
Street Art Round-up: Hunto
Street Art Collaboraton with Hunto and Tizer
Camden Street Art Self-Guided Trail
Hunto and MisterThomas Collaborate on Connectivity Matters Mural
Street Art: Hunto
Hunto "Get Kissed Here"
Hunto Paints Wall off Brick Lane
Hunto on Sclater Street and Other Work

The Big Egg Hunt made its first appearance in London in 2013, and it came back this year in partnership with The Elephant Family and Clarence Court eggs. The Big Egg Hunt actually took place in the early spring, launching at the end of March until the end of April and over Easter. The eggs were decorated by different artists, some of them well-known, and over a hundred eggs filled the streets across different parts of London and in some of London's shops. After the trail ended, the eggs were auctioned off for charity. I completed the trail over a few visits into central London as they were spread out into different areas such as Marylebone in west London, Battersea, Canary Wharf, Knightsbridge, City of London, and Chelsea. The eggs raised charity for conversation work in South Asia for The Elephant Family. 

A McQueen Double Volume - James McQueen

I photographed all of the eggs that were not damaged and saw all of the placed eggs except three. Marking off the eggs on the free app also gave prizes of chocolates and free draws. Keep reading below to see some of the selection of eggs for the Big Egg Hunt in 2025.

Shelby - Toikido

Elephant Arcadia - Beth Katleman

Flower Power - Rebecca Campbell

Eden in an Eggshell - All for Love

Swirling Elephants - Gary Hodges

Spectrum Circle Egg - Rob and Nick Carter

Time to Bloom - Caroline Dowsett and Egg Shell Grotto - Duncan Campbell x Charlott

Eclosion - Dominic Harris

Momentum - Mr Cenz and Warmi Pacha - Gisella Stapleton

Family is Everything - Ginger Betty

The World to Be - Rob Ryan

Passionate for Elephantz - Navinder Nagla

Nature's Symphony - Jag Sihra

The Turquoise Egg - Tatiana Alida and Elmer the Patchwork Egg - Sally Adams and Mummy - Haydn Kays and What a Mess - Opake

Blue Dog gg - Heidi Pearce

Jajo Fidu - Zieta Studio

Tread Kindly Together - Bella Gomez

Artemis - Allegra Hicks and Cocktail Hour - Patricia Mitchell and Father - David Breuer-Weil and Tribal Truck art - Anjum Rana

A Day in the Life of IBI - IBI

Intensifies - Ziggy Grudzinkas

Mr Blob - Sebastian Weigl

Back to the Egg - Remi Rough

Blue Eruptions - Alexander James and Tender Trails - Bbblob

Oviparous - Steven Wilson

Creation - Jill Berelowitz

Pangolin - Josh Gluckstein

Tender Armor - LUAP and Empire - Rene MacDonald and What Once Walked Earth But Only Now Lives in Our Imagination - Ryan Lanji and Shantnu Nikhil Valour's Vessel - Shantnu and Nikhil

Swirl - Penny Fowler

Fanbury's Chrome Egg - Fanakapan

The Man Who Sold the World - Vincent McEvoy

The Doodle Egg - Mr Doodle

A Cat Amongst the Pigeons - Holly Frean

The Globemaker's Egg - Bellerby & Co and The Bigger Picture - Caio Locke

Tectonic Egg - Andy Sturgeon and Thea Thomas

Coiled Spring - Lily Lewis

Forminiifera II - Jumeriah Carlton Tower and Family - Sophie Tea

Beginning - Orlanda Broom

The Birth of the Lobster - Philip Colbert

Love Letter to Oneself - Anabela Chan

? - Real Hackney Dave

Royalty Wears a Crown - David Loftus

Origarden - John McAsian

A Brush with Nature - mma van Klaveren Finlay

Florescence - Claire Coles

Parallel Lines - David Yarrow and Anya Hinchmarch East - Anya Hinchmarch

Eggstrusion - David Mellor

Genesis of a Giant - Annie Ralli

The London Garden - Dr Hormazd Narielwalla

Chopard Insofu - Chopard and Do Not Follow - Cassandra Goad

The Art of Tea - Newby Teas

Name Me - Szabolcs Bozo

The Way That Way - Opake and 70 - Simon Emery

Origins - Martin Aveling

Out of this World - Mel Smith

The Queen and Her Kin - Sasha Compton

Queen of Happiness - Emily Powell

Cheeky Monkys at the Goring - Goring Hotel and All the Kings Horses - Alice Shirley and Laura Ashley's Timeless - Laura Ashley and Cosmic Egg - Emelie Pugh

Aching to Pulpate - Charlotte Colbert

Eggstinction - Maria Ines Aguirre MIA and Garden of Joy - Ozlem Thompson

Jag Sihra

 Horse Girl's Mantle - Danny Sangra and Beyond Mowgli - Rutu Shelke and Utsava - Natasha Kumar and Aquarius - Chris Carnabuci

Nest - Shuang Jiang

Women in Flow - Laxmi Hussain

Reality of Nature - Susan Entwistle

Scratch the Surface - Anna Pakosz and Peekaboo Egg Shell - Boyarde and Sonder - Luke Adam Hawker and You Are Loved So Much - Ginger Betty

Fragile Yet Unbreakable - Maja Djordevic

love is Chaos I'd Choose Twice - Marine Santoni

Rebirth - Dan Baldwin

For more posts about previous Big Egg Hunts that took place in London, see the below links:

• Eggs of an Era for the Platinum Jubilee in Chelsea
• Hunting Eggs in London: Fabergé Big Egg Hunt
• London's Big Egg Hunt Grand Finale at Covent Garden
• Big Egg Hunt in Covent Garden
• Big Egg Hunt 2013 Begins in London

Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang are responsible for the creation of a whale sculpture made from recycled items. The sculpture us located at Canary Wharf and was generating a lot of attention from others who passed by. The sculpture is made from 5 tonns of plastic waste that have been pulled out of the ocean. The sculpture highlights the issue of plastics in the ocean, and the duo pulled as much from the ocean as they could in order to build the sculpture and help the environment in the ocean.

Canary Wharf is ensuring that its services to reduce waste and encourage sustainability in the area.

I visited Wales for a long weekend at the end of March, and for part of my visit, I stayed at the Treffedian Hote. The Treffedian Hotel opened in 1904 and is a family-owned hotel located near Aberdovey with sea views and stretching over sand dunes and golf course at Cardigan Bay. I first stayed at the hotel in 2004, and I posted a couple of photographs during my visit. 

I had a sea-facing room which also overlooked the golf course and a train track and the sand dunes.

The cost was room and board, and this included breakfast each morning and a four-course meal, and wine or alcoholic drinks could be purchased at an extra cost. The supper menu changed daily with different options, although there was not a lot of vegetarian selection with only one item per meal, which I did find a little bit of a challenge.

There are various rooms in the hotel to have a break and enjoy time outside the rooms. There were puzzels and board games.

Also during the stay, I received a free cream tea. This included tea and a scone. I had it in one of the nice rooms that overlooked the sea.

I decided to make my way to the sand dunes like I did with the others I traveled with in 2004. I remember walking up and through the sand dunes to find the beach, and I did the same this time, but I forgot just how high the sand dunes are. I did not make it to the beach this time, but I had some beautiful views just before sun set.

On one day, I had a walk in Aberdovey, which is the nearest town. They fish in the waters here.

The hotel is comfortable and also has a pool, but the last thing I wanted to do in March was go to the pool. The hotel is modern but with the class of the old style when visitors could explore for the day and come back for their meal and then breakfast before they head out again.

I got up to the following attractions during my visit:

• Castle y Bere
• Tretower Court and Castle
• Dolgach Falls
• Aberystwyth Castle
• Dolaucothi Mines
• Cymer Abbey
• Gwin Dylanwad Wine Tasting
• Holgates Ice Cream
• Llanthony Priory
• Portmierion
• Llanchaeron
• Harlech Castle
• Talley Abbey
• Dryslywn Castle
• Dinefwr Castle
• Raglan Castle
• Newton House at Dinefwr
• Lunch and Wine at Sugarloaf Vineyard
• Skenfrith Castle
• White Castle
• Grosmont Castle

In early April, I caught up with one of my friends for bottomless brunch at Daisy Green. I have wanted to do their bottomless brunch for awhile now and had attempted once during the pandemic years but was told that they were not serving it at the time that I booked. I finally got to visit and enjoy the three course meal and bottomless Prosecco (or topped up with orange juice to make a Mimosa).

The Prosecco is their own brand, and the bottles have their quirky different female characters on them.

For the starter, I had the posh bacon sandwich. This came in a paratha, which was crispy and delicious. 

My friend had the French toast.

I had th stack of pancakes.

We celebrated a past birthday and shared a slice of coconut cake.

The brunch seating is downstairs in their room with flowers hung on the ceilings and a masked rabbit.

I enjoyed the bottomless brunch and thought that the food was really good. Overall, this one was a winner for me.

Castle y Bere (Castell y Bere) really is a breath-taking castle with views over the mountains in Gwenydd in mid-Wales. Castle y Bere dates from the early 1200s, and it fell into Edward I of England. The castle became a ruin under this time when a revolt caused the destruction of the castle, and it was never rebuilt.

The parking for the castle is at the bottom of the hill and surrounded by farmland. 

I walked up to the castle on a pathway that winded around the hillside.

Finally, I came to the castle on top of the hill. 

I enjoyed wandering around the ruins of the castle and appreciated the views.

It was my birthday this week, and I cannot believe that it has come around so quickly this year. The year feels as though it has only just gotten started, and here we are in June. For my birthday this year, I ordered an ice cream cake from La Dolce Vita in Ruislip. I have been wanting one of these cakes for awhile, so I was able to go into the shop and order my cake. I had pistachio with icing, and I also got to choose three flavours of ice cream for the cake - coconut, strawberry, and Dubai chocolate. The cake is solid ice cream.

I've been getting through a lot of books this year, and I've been trying to plan some fun activities later in the year. I feel that time is short because it seems to be passing so quickly. Despite the cake, which I have given to friends, I have been very conscious of eating healthy this year and have made fitness a priority too. 

On a sunny day in late March, I visited Tretower Court and Castle when I was in Wales on a mini-break. This is on of the best examples of a fortified house in existance as it escaped the war and destruction. The progression of the site was a medieval castle, which was in use when the medieval court was built and is 11th century. The court dates from the 14th century. Today, it is managed by Cadw and has been used for filming. 

I first went to check out the court as it is closest to the entrance, and there was an audio guide to accompany the visit.

Inside the inner courtyard, there were various rooms to visit.

The Picard family owned the castle, and they had helped the Normans in the conflict and established themselves as powerful Welsh lords. It became a lavish place for visitors.

The tour started inside the kitchen area, and these are picturesque rooms that gave a good sense of how the court would have been lived in and with its screen separating some rooms before the great hall.

This led to the great hall.

Upstairs were some bedrooms and other rooms to see.

And there was a walkway to visit some of the other rooms on top.

This is the gallery, and it has some games to play today.

From the walkway, visitors could look into the courtyard.

After visiting the house, I walked outside and saw the garden which was arranged to what it would have been like in its day.

Walking around to the back of Tretower Court, the castle can be seen. It is a short walk away. The castle dates from the 11th century. The tower is surroundd by a shell keep, and the formal rooms were inside the tower.

Today, the castle is in ruins with part of the tower still standing. Visitors can climb a small staircase to look inside the ruined tower.

There is not too much to see. The birds love it here.

I had a few more glimpses of the castle ruins, which are next to a farm.

I walked back to Tretower Court and through the garden, which was not quite out in foilage yet at the end of March. The daffodils were in full bloom.

As it was a warm day and the shop was quite nice, I bought some local ice cream in mint chocolate flavour and enjoyed it on some benches outside.

I enjoyed the visit to see Tretower Court and Castle.

At the weekend at the beginning of June, a friend and I went to bottomless brunch at The Aviary in London. It is located at Montcalm Hotel at Finsbury Square. There are options for two course and three course bottomless brunch, and we had the two course option with either champagne or Prosecco and a selection of other drinks, such as beer, mimosa, Bloody Mary, and Coffee Martini. 

When we arrived, there was a lady playing live music on a saxophone.

I started to get the Proseccos in with my friend enjoying the Mimosa. Unfortunately, I kept having to ask them for a refill, and the service was very very slow at first. (I did not get tipsy, but I wanted to make sure that I was okay so that I could go to a friend's daughter's birthday party the same evening.)

I had the vegetarian option, a broad bean garlic risotto. My friend had a Wagyu burger. I also ordered a side of the rosemary chips.

For the second course, we had desserts. My friend had the Eton Mess 'cruffin', which is a combination of muffin and crumpet or croissant.

I had blackberry French toast, which was served with toasted almond and carmelised banana. The food was very delicious without any complaints.

I decided to have a look in the toilets, which I suspected may have a decent view and did.

I also had a look outside the rooftop garden before leaving. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn and had rain storms and bad weather.

Overall, it was a good bottomless brunch, but the service was too slow and did not top up the drinks. I had to ask a few times on the first occassion before they finally came to fill it up. The music was also too loud to have a good conversation.

At the end of March, I visited Wales and had a stop off at Dolgach Falls to see the waterfall and have a walk. I was not sure if I had ever visited the falls before, but when I saw them, it came back to my memory that I did visit before back at the end of September in 2004, although I did not walk up to the top (or I do not remember doing so). So, on this visit, I had a wander to the falls, which is via a well-paved and accessible pathway.

The valley with the falls make it a perfect place for ferns to grow with the moisture and the humidity. 

There are some decently-maintained steps up the steeper parts of the trails around the falls.

After checking out the falls, I walked up to get more views and saw more falls.

The views were beautiful, and this is a great time to visit them before the foilage is completely out.

A lot of the paths were very steep, but the views were amazing.

I walked to the top of the falls.

And then I walked back down the other side.

I recommend a visit to the falls. There is a small fee for all-day parking. I spent about an hour exploring the falls and enjoying the nature around me.

When I was in Wales at the end of March, I stopped off at the ruins of Aberystwyth castle. The castle dates from the Welsh war of the 13th century, and it was a location of the Royal Mint during Charles I and eventually had its downfall after Oliver Cromwell. This castle replaced another one that was located not too far away, and a town sprung up around the castle.

The castle is a short walk from parking and next to the seaside with views stretching out across the sea. There are some gardens around the walls of the castle.

I had a look around the ruins with views over the city.

The castle ruins and grounds seem to be a popular park and spot for walkers with their dogs or just to grab a bit of peace and quiet.

Upon leaving, I caught another view of the castle with multiple brightly-coloured terraced houses along the seafront.

I visited Dolaucothi Mines at the end of March, and this mine system dates back over 2,000 years and was in use by the Romans. It was mined until World War II, and it is a site managed by the National Trust today and no longer mined. I arrived for the tour of the mines, which are only on certain days throughout the year and which are worth going to in order to learn about the history of the mines and to go on a guided tour. I was able to learn far more about the site from the tour, although the mines are currently not accessible at all due to the bats that live inside the mines and safety concerns.

We were told about the rocks and how the Romans used the mines. There was a fort located not far away, which probably guided the mines. 

While I and a small group waited for the tour to begin, we looked at the small museum that held some Roman items and read some of the material. The entrance into the modern mines is via a shalf that is 146 metres deep, and the shaft was flooded, so pumps would have been in operation to pump out the water. The structure worked like a lift to bring up rock. The sheds on the other side were the inner workings, which was done via steam and then electricity.

It was only when the modern shaft was dug that the Roman artefacts were discovered, such as a water wheel fragment to remove the water and Roman tools that were left behind. Before that, no one realised that the mines were started by the Romans.

Inside the shed is an office dating from the time in the 1930s where the mines were used. The mining ceased by 1938.

The tour started with a walk up the hill. We were told that the gold mining here likely started in the Bronze Age, and the Romans mined inside the rock for the gold veins. Vast amounts of soil and rock had to be moved and piled up, and it is not sure if those who did the labour were slaves or local people. Much of the dug tunnels have not even been explored due to the large size of the activity and parts of the tunnels collapsing.

From the top of the hill are the views and the general location where the Roman fort would have been.

We came upon on tunnel, which is the lower Roman tunnels.

Further up the hill, we came to another tunnel (we did see the other side as well), where we peered through the gate inside. 

On the walk, we had some nice views and saw the boundary of the operations and mining carts.

We crossed one place where the barracks used to stand for the local workers in the 1930s. From here, we started to walk down the hill and came across more entrances to tunnels or caves.

At the bottom, we had a wander around the equipment in the sheds.

There is also a gold-panning location on site where visitors can try their luck. I found some, but it was Fool's Gold.

I enjoyed the visiting to Dolaucothi Roman Mines and learnd a lot. The tour guide was very good, and it would be interesting to visit the tunnels at some point.

On my end of March visit to Wales, I had a quick stop at the ruins of Cymer Abbey. It is a small set of ruins actually located next to a farm and a caravan park, but there's a few spots of parking down a narrow track, and the site to explore is not very large. There were many daffodils in bloom here, and they looked beautiful.

The abbey was founded in 1189, and all that remains is the structure of the church. However, the abbot's house was reused as a farmhouse. The monastary was a small one, and there were only five monks living here in 1388; the site was in decline.

The church was small and a simple design.

The daffodils were really beautiful here and added to the beauty of the ruins.

The abbey is free to visit.

When I was in north Wales at the end of March, I visited Dylanwad Wines, a wine shop and cafe in Dolgellau. There are a large selection of wines and other spirits for sale here, and I found the staff to be knowledgable about the products. I first opted for the tasting of the champagne from Cordeuil winery before moving on to try a selection of white wines.

The three tasters from Cordeuil that I tried were the "Brut Tradition", the "Brut Rose", and the "Brut Vintage". I was told about the winery, the champagnes, and shown some photographs of it. 

I then opted for some wine tastings, and I had a board with cheese and nibbles. I did not realise just how filling the cheese board selection would be! I had a selection of different Welsh cheeses, which were all very nice, crackers, grapes, chutney, and wasabi peas.

I was then given a small taster of six different types of white wines, two of which were wines in a can. I do not like red wines, so they were able to substitute white wines in place of the red.

The staff were friendly and knowledgeable. I would recommend stopping in if you're in this part of north-west Wales.

When I was in north-west Wales at the end of March, I visited Holgates Ice Cream Shop, which is located near Tywyn and not too far from Aberdovey. The staple flavour of ice cream is "honey", but it tasted like vanilla but is made using honey. The honey ice cream can only be bought at the shop here, and it is famous and made fresh every day.

In addition to ice cream, there are sweets and other desserts on offer. People can also customise their ice cream, and I got chocolate curls on mine. The ice cream really was delicious.

This post covers my visit to Llanthony Priory at the end of March. The priory was Augustinian, and it has beautiful views over the Brecon Beacons mountains area in Wales. The ruins are free to visit, and the site has a hotel amongst the ruins that was formerly accommodation but converted to a house around 1800. The ruins themselves date from 1100 at the location of a ruined chapel, and the church was built dedicated to John the Baptist.

The most memorable here were the amazing views over the mountains.

The house is located amongst the ruins and functions as a hotel.

The ruins are free to visit, and there is a large parking area next to them.