O perfil de clarepgraham

I used to live in Brussels and le pain quotidien was one of my favourite places for brunch, so I was over the moon when I saw it had also arrived in London. When it comes to brunch, it would be pretty hard to beat the french cakes and sandwiches on offer here - from the croissants to the big bowls of cafe latte to the chocolate bombe cake which is soo chocolately it gives you a headache - this is a perfect little place to head for a pick me up after shopping, to grab a snack on the way somewhere, or just to sit one of the huge tables and meet new people

As far as parks go, this is definitely one of my favourites in London and surrounding areas. It might not be the biggest, but in my humble opinion it is definitely one of the prettiest. Its a lot quieter than most of the central London parks, and has grand views over the Thames ans lovely cobbled streets and amazing houses surrounding it. And the park itself of big old chestnuts, which look like they’ve seen alot in their time, but make the park look lovely. In summer people come here to play in their cricket whites - which combined with Marble Hill House as a backdrop and the prettiness of the park, it does look quintessentially english and makes you feel quite proud!

I love Aveda cosmetics and potions, so I was pretty happy to see the Aveda shop open up in Richmond. It’s like a little haven of tranquiliity on a busy street and the staff are always incredibly friendly. It’s never very busy, which might make it a little intimidating for boys, but really, go on, its not that bad. The Aveda range is organic so while it’s a little more expensive than Body shop, it won’t break the bank and what you get is very good quality gloops for your money. Their hair range is my favourite, although I wouldn’t mind anything from here to be honest!

Forget M&S, THIS is where you need to shop for underwear for that special occasion. Not many companies do lingerie quite like Agent Provocateur, and arguably you could say few get the same results either :). Their stuff is on the pricey side, but you could say I know from experience that it’s well worth the price. There’s nothing quite as nice as wearing their underwear on just a normal Monday for work! So I say there’s no need to shop for underwear in the same place as your nan, when there’s places as nice as this to go to!

Smack bang in the heart of St Margarets village, St Margarets tavern is pretty hard to miss. Good thing then its pretty good at at a pub should do, being a social and friendly place, have a buzzy atmosphere and serves a diverse and commendable menu of good pub classics with a slight twist. If there’s international rugby or football then this is definitely the place to watch it - it gets packed on match days but maintains a pretty relaxed atmosphere so you don’t get football idiots in here. Apparently the three pubs in St Margarets have periods of highs and lows, but by all accounts the St Margarets tavern is still riding its wave.

This is one of the best places to pick up a gift for pretty much anyone you know, it’s a small shop but packed full of sotcking fillers, nice thoughts or special treats. And if you’re like me you will probably end up with something yourself as they have a good range of small designers, which changes regularly. And there’s stuff for guys too with an interesting selection of coffee table fodder.

Gyms can be scary places in London but the central YMCA as a gym is better than most, at least its much better than the Oasis gym nearby. Membership is cheap - about £49 a month for unlimited classes and gym access, and the pool is great (yay kid free). There’s acutally a cafe you’d dont mind spending a bit of time in, and a diverse range of classes to try from weights to spinning to languages.

Lichfield is pretty tranquil by day but has become increasingly feral at night. Which might be your thing, but if you’re of a certain age then smoke machines and 2 for 1 on shots no longer has quite the same appeal. So when I’m in Lichfield with friends we generally head to Couch potato which has a bit more of a laid back vibe, even on a saturday night. I haven’t tried the food which as you can imagine is quite carbohydrate based, but i would definitely recommend it for a more relaxed evening out

Definitely one for the ladies :). I don’t think I believed that stat that one in 3 women wear the wrong bra size (I didn’t think myself to be in the category anyway), but after a visit to Bravissimo it’s pretty easy to see where we’re going wrong. It sounds like it would be a pretty embarassing experience, but the ladies at Bravissimo are lovely. I came away thinking I’d had a bit of a bra revolution as I was wearing completely the wrong size, and went home and threw out all my old bras. And as Trinny and Susannah say - it’s what you wear underneath that counts!

It’s in a bit of a cut off place, but then if you’re visiting people nearby (my sister lives opposite which is why I know about it) then it’s always worth bearing in mind. They’ve recently changed chefs so the food is better than it used to be, and they’ve gone back to serving good pub food. It’s a nice old pub with a beer garden too (increasingly a big bonus)