Autumn in London
As I was saying in one of my previous posts, autumn is my favourite season because there are so many exhibitions, concerts, movies and shows to see. In order to make it easier and save you some time I have a compiled a list of lovely things to do in the following few months- if you live in London.
Opera (Royal Opera House)
1. Manon- one of my all time favourite ballets (in November)
2. The Sleeping Beauty- a classic (in October, November and December)
3. The Nutcracker- no Christmas without this enchanting ballet (on Christmas time)
4. La Traviata (October till January 2012)
Exhibitions
1. Postmodernism at the V&A
2. Degas and the ballet at the Royal Academy
3. OMA/Progress at the Barbican
4. Leonardo da Vinci at the National Gallery
5. Ryan McGinley at Alison Jacques gallery
Theatre
1. Hamlet at the Young Vic
2. One For The Road at the Young Vic
Movies
1. Wuthering Heights
2. We Need To Talk About Kevin
3. Sleeping Beauty
4. My Week With Marilyn
5. In Time
6. Drive
7. The Help
8. Like Crazy
9. The Debt
10. The Ides of March
Misc
Have a lovely afternoon tea at the Kensington Palace Orangery or chez Le Chandelier.
Visit the Hampton Court Palace.
Have cocktails at Vista Bar.
Listen to a classical musical concert at the Barbican or to one of the many concerts by candlelight at St Martin in the Fields.
Hire a bicycle and go for a ride in Hyde Park.
Visit Kew Gardens and admire the beautiful autumn colours from a treetop walkaway.
One lovely day a week, keeps a lady forever chic.
I love Thursday evenings. That’s when I get to thinking about Friday, my favourite day of the week. All of them are dedicate to doing something I enjoy but not have the time for during the week. Every lady should have such a day and don’t consider it a luxury. It is a necessity. To me, it’s not a ‘pampering’ day, first of all because of the word’s ugliness and secondly because everyday, everything I do is for myself. We all do, and there is nothing selfish about that, it’s the reality. However, my Fridays are special because they are about silly, old-fashioned, useless- if you like- activities, rather than priorities. So here are my suggestions for a lovely day:
Play, pick a ‘theme’ and get into someone else’s shoes for a change: be Marie Antoinette and have a rich afternoon tea with cakes and fruit served on beautiful china. Or pick Juliane Moore and spend 2 hours applying eyeliner and creating a special make-up like she does in A Single Man. This is both a great chance to have fun and to try things that you’ve never tried before.
Take some books or magazines and go to a park, a castle or a pretty café. You can also take the train and go read on the beach or countryside. A journey like this could make you feel even better than a holiday that was planned well in advance. After all, this is about taking a break from planning every detail of your life.
Learn to arrange flowers, to sew on a button, or how to properly iron a shirt. Little things most women don’t do anymore but then again, you never know when you could actually use some of these démodé skills. What I like most is putting my hair on rollers while painting my nails and listening to classical music. Who needs rollers when we have the Brazilian blow dry and the stylist’s number on speed dial, you might ask. Well, I enjoy the experience which can sometimes make me feel better than having my hairdresser pull my locks while I flip through a bad magazine.
Play with kids. They bring joy to the heart and also require a lot of energy. A much better ‘work-out’ than running on the treadmill. Afterwards, an afternoon nap is required. If you don’t have one, get a silk, lavender sleeping mask. You will thank me later.
There is so much to do and so little time, this is why you need one day every week. Maybe you want to meditate, watch a collection of black and white movies or all of Audrey Hepburn movies. Perhaps you’d like to finally get a chance to read all those coffee table books that you usually trade for self-help nonsense or important novels. Even organising your wardrobe can be one of these activities if done out of love for your dresses rather than necessity of tiding the mess. Whatever it is that you choose, take your time and do it slowly because i’s not something you have to do.
I guess these are the kind of things that make the difference between us as human doings or as human beings. Now, have a lovely Friday.
