English summer

Afternoon tea at the Corinthian with Claire, Tom and Steph

Travelled to London this summer to work in person with my People team.  While we love the flexibility that comes with remote work, team bonding is taken up several notches when we get to meet in real life and make memories together.  We had a fabulous time setting out our strategy, discussing priorities and mapping out our plans for the rest of the year.  In between sightseeing, afternoon teas, West End musicals and world cuisines at our doorstep.  It was such a dream come true for me to work in Central London!

Showing Claire around some of my favourite sites during my student days in England

Managed to also take a week off and travel to the Midlands to visit friends.  Went back to University of Birmingham for the first time since I left in 1996,  and found Priorsfield.  It was the business school during my MBA days but now serves as the Institute for Language Studies. 

Thanks to hospitality of my friend Cristina Sambrook, I got to enjoy the charms of English country living in Worcestershire. A week of pub lunches, tea on the lawn, dinners by pretty canals and long walks with the dog was so therapeutic.  Exactly the type of summer break I needed to unwind from a particularly challenging spell at at work. Falling in love with her dog Otto was an unexpected bonus 💖

Otto - the first dog I've ever loved

Canterbury Tales

There is nothing I love more than making new friends and visiting new places.  Thanks to Natasha Pritchard, I got to do both!  Natasha has only recently moved to Kent and kindly offered to drive me to Canterbury on her day off where we had a great time.  Thanks so much, Tash!

Canterbury Cathedral from afar - because I refused to pay the entrance fee of ten pounds!

Canterbury is one of the oldest towns in England with a rich history dating back to Roman times.  The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury.  A pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket is the backdrop for Chaucer's famous Canterbury Tales - which was the bane of my existence during A Levels. It's charming medieval character still attracts millions of tourists annually.

Natasha & I with our Kentish cream teas

There were two major highlights from my visit to Canterbury.  The first was tea and scones at Tiny Tim's Tearoom.  It's located in one of the oldest buildings in Canterbury with a setting that is quintessentially English. Miss Marple would have approved. The scones were some of the largest I'd ever seen, complete with butter, jam and clotted cream.  Absolutely delicious - especially the apple & raspberry ones.  There's also a ghost room at the top of the stairs open to visitors for free, an offer which Natasha and I politely (and firmly) declined.

The second major highlight was my introduction to Primark - the home of cheap and cheerful clothing. I walked away with a large bagful of clothes for only twenty pounds. Sorry, there aren't any pictures because no self-respecting female shopper is going to bother fiddling with a camera when there are 2-pound shirts and 3-pound tights on sale!

A Sunday afternoon in Whitstable

I grew up on a diet of Peter and Jane books, and those children were always off to Brighton or some seaside town on August bank holiday.  I hadn't a clue what a bank holiday was but I definitely wanted to experience a day out by the English seaside.  And dear 'ol Tariq obliged by driving us to Whitstable on the Kent coast one Sunday afternoon.

Postcard perfect Whitstable

(L-R) Joanna, Martin & Tariq 

(L-R) Martin, Natasha & Tariq

Highlight of the day - Sunday lunch!

It was a picture perfect day in Whitstable and we enjoyed a brisk walk along the pebbled beach watching sailboats and swimmers.  As it was late in the day, we scrambled to find a place for lunch.  We were turned away at two pubs before stumbling on lucky no. 3 -  Shepherd Neame The Duke of Cumberland.  What a gem it turned out to be!  The kitchen was five minutes away from closing but stayed open to cook us an amazing meal.  Never has a "roast and three veg" looked and tasted so good.  For only 15 quid each, we had a seafood paella, roast lamb, roast pork & crackling for mains.  The vegetable dishes - Mediterranean salad, roasted pumpkin, courgettes & fennel - tasted divine.  It was a superb meal in a garden setting with great beer, a good band and a friendly dog.  How's that for a perfect pub!

London Walks

This trip to London felt like a homecoming and I spent many hours walking the streets, soaking up familiar sights and discovering new ones.

Big Ben & Houses of Parliament - my all time favourite 

The London Eye was new to me as it was built after my last visit to the UK

Piccadilly Circus - another iconic London sight

Sunny day at Buckingham Palace

St Paul's Cathedral

Fortnum & Mason's, the royal grocers at Piccadilly, was another first for me. The shop assistants and cashiers wore coat tails and gloves! And all this while I thought Marks & Spencer's was posh. Brought home some tea, biscuits and shortbread so that I can pretend to be royal too over an afternoon tea...hehe...

Dreams do come true

I woke up one morning in May after dreaming that I had spent my birthday sailing down the Thames, enjoying views of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  Not having been back in England since 2000, I decided to make that dream a reality.  I messaged two of my best mates from MBA days, Tariq Shahab (from London)and Martin Riemen(from Berlin), and invited the boys for a birthday bash in London.  They both said "Yes"!

(L-R) Martin, Joanna & Tariq reunited in London - Sept 2014

So on the 26th of September 2014, my friends and I stood on the Westminster Bridge and snapped this photo.  More than anything, we cherished the time spent catching up on each other's lives in the past 17 years since leaving Birmingham University.  Tariq has a successful international sales career in pharmaceuticals while Martin has seen much action in the fast-paced world of investment banking.  They are both also proud fathers, and I'm grateful they set aside time for our mini reunion - and to celebrate my birthday too!  Surely, it's a sign of true friendship when all the years just melt away and we can chat as if we'd only left uni yesterday.  Although the boys did drag up some horror stories of my misadventures from the distant past that I'd completely forgotten...grrrr....

Day and night views from our penthouse apartment

Tariq did a great job finding us a penthouse apartment in central London with a panoramic view of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral and the Shard.  Needless to say, we spent a lot of time on the balcony!

Tariq and Joanna celebrating her birthday with lemon and strawberry tarts from Paul

My 2014 birthday celebration was indeed a dream come true!

Student days in England

Having read through my 2007 posts, I'm startled at the lack of information on my brief sojourn in England. After being so enamoured by the glories of Great Britain as a child, it was dream come true for me in 1995 when I packed my bags and headed for the home of Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Austen. I woke up instead in Birmingham - the home of the Indian balti!

(L-R) Martin, Deena, Joanna & Tariq outside Priorsfield, the MBA graduate school

Thanks to the generosity of the British Council, I received a scholarship to study for an MBA at the University of Birmingham in 1995-1996. It was the start of all my travel adventures and I relished every moment: new environment, new friends, new culture - it was wonderful! As a Chevening scholar, I was determined to emerge as top student. As a curious student, I was determined to see as much of the UK as I could. And so began a disciplined regime of long study periods on weekdays, and a relentless pursuit of FUN on weekends!

Aunty Jo-Jo enjoying the autumn scenes in Cambridge

One of my first weekends away was spent in Cambridge, where Harvey was studying...oops..I mean "reading" Land Economy at Robinson College. It's a beautiful ancient town filled with intellectuals but strangely enough, I seem to remember more about pub crawls and a lovely sandwich place named Gardenia's (which I was constantly calling Daffodils). I even attended my first May Ball with Harvey & Carl and survived till the next morning, although I remember passing out for a little while after my 2nd tequila shot! :-P

Aunty Jo-Jo standing under the Rose Window at York Cathedral

There were other spiritual (and sober!) weekends spent visiting churches and cathedrals. I've always admired ancient architecture and merry ole England serves up a fine treat! Although the English churches aren't quite as grand as the European cathedrals, the intricate details and surrounding countryside leaves an indelible mark on visitors. Having now seen many of the great cathedrals on the Continent, English history and architecture remain a firm favourite.

Aunty Jo-Jo striking an arty, Bohemian pose on a rooftop in Golders Green

Ahhhh...this is one of my favourite photos of London! It was taken on the balcony of Chris' flat in Golders Green, North London where I spent many happy daytime hours sunning, reading and chatting. That was usually followed by nights of boozing, clubbing and risque theatre productions...heh..heh..

And despite all the (mis)adventures, I didn't turn into an alcoholic and returned home with an MBA & a distinction!

P/S: I really must apologise for my horrid hairstyle in those days *shivers* But what to do? Student mah!