All of the things going on in London while I haven't been blogging.

I recognize that I haven't really updated Bloody Brilliant with anything about London in a while. I thought about all of the things that have happened since my last post, and it's been a lot! So here is a little "Month in Review" for July.

Amwell Village Fete




One of my favorite things about London, and England, really, is the village fete. Sort of like a town fair, the village fete is a really great gathering of people and businesses in a community. Village fetes happen all over London, in various little neighborhoods and corners of the city. They also take place out in villages throughout England. Earlier in July, a small hidden gem of a neighborhood along my new walk to work, Amwell Village, hosted a fete and it was absolutely charming. The theme was Through the Looking Glass, and there were costumed players and Madhatter Tea Party tables along the road. My friends Rose and Emily had a stand at the fete selling their crafts and emptying their closets, so I wandered down with the Irishman to say hi.

Pierogies



The Irishman and I have been cooking a lot, and few weekends ago we went chef-crazy and made our own raviolis that turned out a lot more like pierogies. We used a Jamie Oliver recipe for roasted red onion, Maris Piper potato, and balsamic vinegar raviolis; I wasn't really thinking straight until I took the first bite, but the texture and filling made them more like raviolis. The Irishman, despite the influx of Polish workers into Ireland and the UK, has never had pierogies, so it was not only educational to make but to eat as well. We had to improvise, as you can see...



The Notting Hill Traveler's Bookshop

A few weeks ago I was in Notting Hill looking for a different bookshop – a cookbook shop called Books for Cooks – when I stumbled on the famous Travel Bookshop from the movie Notting Hill. A lot of other Americans found it too (obviously).



Karma Kab

Finally, someone at work hired the most excellent Karma Kab to transfer people to an event. It is a fabulous, glittery, fake-flower-ful mode of transportation. People were giddy when it pulled up outside, complete with Hawaiian kab driver, and we all posed for pictures with it. Two days later, I saw it cruising on the streets of London! I really want a ride in it soon... hint hint.