I love going to La Chapelle. It’s a restaurant that is housed in what was the assembly hall of my mother’s old school, Central Foundation School for Girls. When I first came to London, they were in the middle of demolition and I was sad that it was disappearing. So I was pleased that a piece of the school was still standing. It was slowly transformed into a fantastic restaurant space, La Chapelle, by Galvin.
I’ve had almost perfect meals here, with a few exceptions. I always go for the discounted meals, a few pounds off or a free cocktail thrown in. It’s not the cheapest place to eat but it’s far from the most expensive.
My friend, Caroline, and I went to La Chapelle at the end of January. I chose the roast beef and she chose pheasant. In a way I felt I copped out but I knew they do a great job on a roast and I don’t make it at home.
A delicious meal and for once I couldn’t finish the whole three courses and had to go without my usual coffee, which is served with a beautifully presented bowl of treats – truffles and macarons. Another time!
Anyway, look out for those deals and let me know how you like La Chapelle!
I’ve made three dolls lately. Sewing is a great stress reliever for me and I’ve been under a bit of pressure from here and there.
The first doll was a surprise for a friend of mine, Joanne, who is a witch. She has always sent lovely comments about my dolls and I wanted to do something special. Pretty cute witch, I must say, and Joanne seemed to really love it.
The next doll came about because I got some lovely red brocade from the remnant bin and decided that it would suit a Chinese theme. It’s almost Chinese New Year so this doll turned into my Chinese New Year doll. She’s a bit sassy. 新年快樂！
Finally, after making what seemed like a cute but not strongly girly doll, I went a bit frilly with a fancy offering. It started out with me thinking I should use some more of the green brocade I had left over. From there I added a deep purply blue sari fabric. In my head I kept hearing ‘blue and green should never be seen except with something in between,’ and at first it looked rather odd. I kept adding to it with bits of lace detail and ribbon until it came together. She didn’t get as much attention as the Chinese New Year doll but I really like her.
To finish up, people ask me how do I get my ideas for dolls. When I was a girl I wanted to be a fashion designer or a fashion artist or journalist. I got put off this by the competitive nature of the business. When I went to Canada I took some designs to a well known Canadian designer who told me to go away and learn now to make patterns. In the next season or two I saw two of my designs and some strong colour influences in her collection. C’est la vie but i was turned off for life.
I make dolls like I write. I have an idea at the beginning – usually colour comes first, then style. But when I start to write or design, the stories begin to write themselves, while the dolls start to tell me how they want to look. It’s like they take on lives of their own and I’m often surprised at the result. Not sure how hokey that sounds but it’s the truth! Feedback and adoption offers always accepted! I have about twenty dolls who need homes 🙂
That green and that blue look good together to me. There’s also
“Red and green should never be seen, except upon an Irish Queen”
The Irish colors are orange, white and green, so that’s a bit odd.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the Chinese New Year doll was that she wearing bandoliers, like an old fashioned way bandit. Craving Chinese food now.