TRAVEL Back to Favourite Places

Before I moved to Sardinia I used to live in London: just off the Old Brompton Road in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Whenever I'm over in England, South Kensington usually pulls me back. It's fascinating to see what's changed, moved in or out and what's still reassuringly stayed the same over the years I've been away. On the Old Brompton Road Harrods and Harvey Nichols are still there of course and at the other end there's the comforting sight of the Brompton Oratory and on Exhibition Road the Victoria and Albert Museum.

A visit to the V & A to see my favourite pieces of English fabric, furniture and pictures is on my list of things I MUST DO to treat myself whenever I'm back in England: together with meet ups with old friends, the essential meal of Fish & Chips and stocking up on Lapsang Tea and Marmite to take back to Sardinia.

My sister's husband came with me this time and we first had some lunch  at an intriguing Polish restaurant - The Gessler - on Thurloe Street, just around the corner from South Ken. tube station.  The food was simple, deliciously wholesome and impressively served.  The restaurant itself was shabbily good looking with an important old fashioned feel about it and in fact the Manager  told us that it was the Polish Officers' Club during WW2.  We ordered the four course set lunch which was a bit greedy and we couldn't manage to finish  the pudding - a spiced seed cake.  A shame to miss so  this was carefully wrapped up in a paper bag.  It came with us on our walk up to the V & A , around the exhibitions and back on the tube and then up north by train from Liverpool St.  We enjoyed it with our tea, sitting in my sister's pretty Essex garden.

Tip: Take a torch some of the exhibits are very dimly lit.

The Victoria and Albert Musuem, Exhibition Road, London SW3

http://www.vam.ac.uk/

The Gessler, 20 Thurloe Street, London SW7

Tel: +44 020 75896117

LIFESTYLE Do we have to Declutter ?

There's alot of urging  around to   GET RID OF THINGS AND SIMPLIFY    life.  I'm torn between my love of collecting  and the idea of throwing at least a third away. Which of course means finding out if it any of it's recyclable, or saleable.  One day I'll get around to the Ebay thing.  Some of the objects I've gathered in my home are someone's rubbish.. precious pieces just thrown away: like this picture of a Tuscan scene which I found wedged behind a bottle bin in Casciana di Murlo (just outside Siena). It's signed 'LOBO' '87 if anyone knows the artist ? 

I also found some glass wine flasks thrown away in the local recycle point which now are the big part of my Green Glass Collection.  These take up more space in my already cluttered lifestyle but they also enhance it. 

Finding them was like getting a surprise present. They were meant to be mine: rather like adopting an abandoned dog  - a 'trovatello'  ( a foundling ).   I also collect egg shaped stones and ...oh yes there are the wine corks :  It's not that I collect them really, I just don't throw them away.  They used to look quite groovy, I thought, in a glass flacon but they've bred over the years and now I've had to hide the evidence of ALL THAT WINE in the garden shed.   Actually we bought the garden shed to house all the wine corks. 

 But yesterday..Hurray!..I've found a great site with some amazing things to do with corks at *Terramia* so I'm inspired  and will try and do something creative to show off on a next blog......

For advice on recycling in the UK 

recyclenow.com

Add your collection and see others (USA)

thecollectionspace.com