I wanted to share some discoveries from my recent 48 hour trip to London. We were in town to support the extremely important Heads Together Comedy Night For Young Minds at The Shepherds Bush Empire.

One of my favourite things to do in any big city is to wander around drinking in the sights, smells and sounds. Two great places to get lost for a couple of hours are Foyles Bookshop on Charing Cross Road & FOPP music & DVD store. Watch out as you won’t be able to close your case when packing for home with all of the box sets and books you’ll buy. You can always celebrate your finds by heading to the glorious Liberty Café at Liberty Of London for afternoon tea with warm gluten free scones topped with jam & clotted cream.

Speaking of stuffed suitcases, when in London one must shop fashion and as a fan of the series Mr. Selfridge, I love to visit the beautiful building itself on Oxford Street where you would only be investing in something really special as the prices are pretty hefty but mainly it’s a great environment for style inspiration. I have found once I’m filled with new ideas I can pop out on to high street to Zara and Topshop for a more reasonably priced similar piece. It helps when your best pal (stylist Una Gibney) lives in London and directs you towards, (and more importantly away from) the right purchases. One of which I found in the new Vintage section of Topshop which is an explosion of sequins, leather & feathers. Somehow I managed to push my hand in to one of the stuffed rails and pull out the kind of black velvet jacket only the likes of Julianne Moore would wear and was gobsmacked to discover it was a normal persons size (14) rather than the usual size 6! Really affordable too at £70.

Shopping is hungry work and as a coeliac sometimes wandering, rather than planning where to eat can be a big mistake and you end up chewing on a seed bar or struggling to swallow a chunk of gluten free “bread”. This time luckily however after a meeting at the historic home of performers, writers and all things Showbiz, The Groucho Club on Dean St. I found myself on Old Compton Street in Soho and spotted this board outside a restaurant  Leggero. What followed was the best ever gluten free pasta meal I have EVER had. I now plan to get there every trip in the future. I popped over to The Hummingbird Cafe for a mouthwatering gluten free Red Velvet Cupcake for dessert.

Yvonne,

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