Ten Fun Things I Did in July

1. Let’s start this round up post with a very British comment about the weather… fellow UK dwellers were hit by a heat wave this month and alternated between loving the uncharacteristically warm summer and hating the muggy conditions. As I write this the weather has broken and it’s pouring with rain so it won’t be long before we’re nostalgic for that heat wave again!

2. It was an absolute dream come true to attend Wimbledon as a guest of Pimms and not only experience the atmosphere of being in the park but to also see Serena Williams smash her way into the final with fantastic seats on centre court!

3. Did you have an absolute favourite band growing up? Well aged ten, my bedroom walls were covered in posters of Take That, I knew the words to every song and I was certain I would marry Robbie when I grew up…So you can imagine how I felt when Laura asked me to be her plus one for an intimate concert with the three of the five original members of Take That as part of a promotion for Amazon Prime day.
Though the boys were only on stage for an hour, they belted out around ten of their most popular hits with the audience singing along and screaming for more!

4. Apart from the heatwave another thing that has characterised this British Summer was the World Cup (the third thing being Love Island). Mr S managed to get us VIP tickets with Club Wembley to see the England semi-final in Hyde Park. 
Despite not being a football fan I absolutely loved the atmosphere that was electric with anticipation for a potential England final… oh and even at a football game, I managed to find a flower arch!

5. I think I’ve broken my own record for number of afternoon teas eaten! One thing I’ll never take for granted as a blogger is the fabulous opportunities that I have to review restaurants and hotels, that being said it’s hard to say no to things even if that means having four afternoon teas in as many weeks! It also gave me the opportunity to catch up with some of my blogger best friends: Emma, Lauren, Binny (twice!) and Laura.

A few years ago Mr S asked me ‘what’s the point of afternoon tea?’ Er… cake, cake and more cake? Well I think the new #CUTcakes & Tea at @45parklane is something that he can seriously get on board with. The younger sister the @thedorchester is now serving an American-inspired afternoon tea, dispensing of finger sandwiches and replacing them with mini wagyu burgers and truffled grilled cheese. The pastries are real show stoppers with a strawberry milkshake, ‘cheese burger’ macaron, s’mores and Twinkies. There’s also three flavours of cake pop. Bookings are being taken now!! #Dcmoments #SilverSpoonStories invite

A post shared by Angie Silver (@angiesilverspoon) on Jul 11, 2018 at 4:02am PDT

There was CUTcakes & Tea at 45 Park Lane….

Ask a London blogger ‘what’s the most famous themed afternoon tea in town? Chances are they’ll say Prêt-à-Portea and @the_berkeley , a beautiful, luxurious hotel in Knightsbridge. The tea is inspired by fashion and continually updated to be on trend with the latest runway looks. There’s a yellow swimsuit inspired by @miumiu 👙, a stiletto based on a @tomford design 👠, an @arunaseth handbag 👜, a dress from @dolcegabbana 👗 amongst many more. I was lucky enough to sample the tea earlier this week with my dear friend @binnysfoodandtravel and we even met Chef Mourad Khiat who invented the tea and has kept it fresh and innovative for over ten years. In fact Binny and I even dig up pictures from when we went before. It was the first tea Binny ever tried and it was one of my first too when I visited in 2007 😳!! This tea tastes as good as it looks and along with the pastries comes delicious finger sandwiches, inventive savouries and a glass of @laurentperrieruk ! #pretaportea #SilverSpoonStories invite

A post shared by Angie Silver (@angiesilverspoon) on Jul 14, 2018 at 2:32am PDT

Prêt-à-Portea at The Berkeley Hotel.

An utterly supercalifragilistic day!! Yesterday I enjoyed a Mary Poppins themed afternoon tea up in the lofty heights of @aquashard with my two dear friends @binnysfoodandtravel and @londonkiwiemma! Inspired by childhood favourite, the much loved books by PL Travers, the afternoon tea takes you on a journey through of the world’s most beloved nanny! Highlights include a custom made tea stand with an umbrella and boots, home made scones from the depths of Mary’s carpet bag and a black cherry mousse in the shape of her hat. Fellow fans will be delighted to know there’s a new film coming out at Christmas but before than you can enjoy a spoonful (or two) of sugar 🥄 up on the 31st floor of the @theshardlondon , London’s tallest building. #aquashardxmarypoppins #aquashard #aquashardlondon #SilverSpoonStories invite

A post shared by Angie Silver (@angiesilverspoon) on Jul 20, 2018 at 3:11am PDT

The Mary Poppins Afternoon Tea at Aqua Shard…

Feeling in the pink? Last Friday I went to @blenheimpalace for the first time ever to experience @laurentperrieruk ‘s latest afternoon tea offering. Served in the Orangery, LP Pink Tea is inspired by the 60s in collaboration with Searcys. There’s a prawn cocktail, ham sandwich and smoked salmon baguette for the pink savouries and rose jelly, strawberry macarons and Battenberg cake for the sweet treats with a glass of @laurentperrierrose . All enjoyed with a view of the stately home’s beautiful gardens. Thank you to @laurajhyatt for being my plus one for bubbles!! #SilverSpoonStories #lovelaurentperrier invite.

A post shared by Angie Silver (@angiesilverspoon) on Jul 29, 2018 at 9:40am PDT

And The Pink T at Blenheim Palace…(review to come)

Watch this space as there’s more themed teas to come in August with Afternoon Tea Week on the horizon.

6. Sushi!!! I was fortunate enough to be invited to a very intimate multi-course sushi dinner at The Berkeley with opportunity to try the authentic cuisine of Chef Endo.
I also caught up with my bestie at the bottomless brunch at Aqua Kyoto, one of my favourite sushi restaurants – review to come! Mr S and I also had a fabulous date night at Laurent, the new restaurant at Hotel Cafe Royal, specialising in steak and sushi.

7. My current obsession with Zimmermann is still going strong…

The beautiful gilded Oscar Wilde lounge is named after the lost famous patron of @hotelcaferoyal . It’s the very room where the writer well in love with Lord Alfred Douglas, David Bowie retired Ziggy Stardust and the Beatles and Elizabeth Taylor partied! Today you can enjoy the hotel’s award winning afternoon tea in this beautiful room. #HotelCafeRoyal #SilverSpoonStories

A post shared by Angie Silver (@angiesilverspoon) on Jul 9, 2018 at 9:11am PDT

I picked up this little party dress in the sale…

Childhood dream achieved ✅ I got to meet Bert from Mary Poppins and feast on afternoon tea at @aquashard . The new themed tea is running Monday to Sunday’s from 1pm to 5pm and is a celebration of the famous book by PL Travers. You can even end your experience there with candy floss!! #aquashardxmarypoppins #SilverSpoonStories #aquashard invite

A post shared by Angie Silver (@angiesilverspoon) on Jul 21, 2018 at 3:40am PDT

And also found this one, which is really just the perfect summer dress!

8. Travel has been confined to the UK this month and I was very lucky to go on a press trip to the Goodwood Estate and experience many of the food and drink options around the hotel and the grounds. I particularly loved checking out the new Farm-to-Table restaurant Farmer, Butcher, Chef which I just know is going to be a hugely popular addition to the estate.

I’ve never experienced anything quite like @goodwood_estate , located in the Sussex countryside. Within the 12,000 acres there’s so much to see, do, eat and drink! We were hosted by @goodwood_hotel , a former 18th century coaching inn which is the perfect base to explore everything that this wonderful estate has to offer. I started the day with a tour of the farm and discovering all the local produce and the care taken in raising the live stock. Next we moved on to new restaurant @farmer_butcher_chef to taste the estate’s own cheese and beer plus some epic bar snacks including pork scratchings the size of my head!! G & T’s were tasted at the estate’s private members club The Kennels and later it was back to @farmer_butcher_chef for an informal dinner and the most incredible meat tasting boards I’ve ever seen! Taking the farm to table concept seriously flavour, quality and provenance is at the forefront here. Stay in hotel, or hire the ten bedroom Hound Lodge for a group and experience a private chef and butler! Just perfect if you’re coming to experience the signature events: @goodwoodrevival , @goodwood_races and the Festival of Speed! #GoodWoodStyle #SilverSpoonStories press trip

A post shared by Angie Silver (@angiesilverspoon) on Jul 3, 2018 at 8:00am PDT

9. What I’m reading? Well, I’ve not made too much headway with book this month seeing as I’m binge watching Season 2 of Love Island on Netflix and catching up with the current season every night…

10. It’s travel link up time again!