Travel Accessories - Julie Slater and Son

When you commute nearly an hour and a half to and from work, as I do every weekday, you learn the importance of a good travel card holder really rather quickly. The standard National Rail card holder won't last anyone with a hint of a fashion sense very long at all as it's really rather dull, and it's really quite surpising how hard it is to find an alternative travel card holder that's not only good quality but actually looks nice too.
Over the past year in which I've been commuting to London every day from Surrey, I've bought a total of four travel card holders, all of which in turn have either fallen apart or lost all their prettiness a few weeks into use. My latest one, for example, I bought for its pretty pink floral pattern - which then rubbed off completely two weeks into use, leaving me with a plain grey travel card holder. Not exactly what I had in mind when I bought it.

So when Julie Slater and Son offered to send me one of their travel card holders, I was more than happy to give one a try. I'd heard good things about the company and the quality of their range of travel accessories before, and it turns out their travel card holders are no exception.

Knowing as you do my love for anything floral, it probably doesn't come as any surprise that I chose the Daisy Chain oyster card holder for its gorgeous print! It's beautifully made, as well - real leather on the outside (smells lovely!), two clear windows with matching printed fabric lining and a further leather pocket on the back of the card holder too. It's a perfect size too, of course, and the best bit is that this really feels like a travel card holder that will last - one that won't fall apart or have its pattern rub off a week into use! It's available to order from the Julie Slater and Son website for £13.50 - really very good value for a high quality, leather product.

If floral travel cards aren't really your thing, Julie Slater and Son have around nine other card holders with different prints to choose from - as well as a whole range of other travel accessories, bags and purses in various designs.

Disclaimer: I was sent a Daisy Chain Travel Card Holder by Julie Slater and Son to reviewand keep, free of charge. This post contains my honest and independent thoughts on the product I received.

Restaurant Review: Samarqand

Have you ever tried Uzbek food? Up until very recently, I can't say I ever had - or particularly had ever realised that I wanted to.
Finding myself standing outside restaurant Samarqand, though, I have to say that I was intrigued. Located near London's Bond Street station, it's an inconspicuous little place tucked away amidst the standard Italian chains, Indian restaurants and English pubs - and a welcome change.

With the menu positioned on a stand outside two large black double doors at street level, those deciding that the food takes their fancy then venture down a dark wooden staircase into the basement restaurant below. It's all rather mysterious and atmospheric.

Soft lighting, cushions, intricate patterns and wooden decorations all set a very calming scene, with impeccable and friendly service; but, of course, we were here for the food, the most important thing about any restaurant. And, luckily enough for Samarqand, their food is delicious.

Ordering a round of starters, we tried a variety of dishes, such as the Choochwara, aromatic grilled meat dumplings with soya dressing and mixed leaves, and the Funchoza, a spicy rice noodle dish with beef and carrots that delivered quite a kick.
Moving onto mains, we deliberated over the menu for quite a while - so much looked great, and the starters had really whetted our appetite. Despite very nearly going for the Manty - steamed lamb dumplings with Asian herbs and yoghurt dressing - and being incredibly tempted by the Alanga, fried minced meat laid on handmade pasta sheets served with yoghurt, the most traditional dish was the one that eventually caught my eye.
I have to admit that it was the name I saw at the top of the menu which made me laughingly choose it at first. Plov. I'd never heard of a plov, but the friendly waiter told me it was the most famous, most typical - and, best of all, most delicious - dish on the menu.Well, with that recommendation, how could I resist?

Half an hour and a glass of rather nice wine later, I was presented with a huge plate full of perfectly cooked rice, chunky lamb pieces, spiced onions, carrots and chillis and a cool refreshing tomato side salad. Beautifully presented on a gorgeous blue china dish - a rather novel step away from the usual plain white restaurant dining plate - it was a perfectly size portion and really did taste great.
Unusual in its flavour combinations, if there had to be a criticism of the dish it would have to be that it could have done with a sauce or something similar - it was a little dry, but perhaps that's just how the cuisine is (my experience of Uzbek food is, after all, really very limited). That, and perhaps also the fact that I mistakenly chewed and swallowed a whole chilli, which ruined my taste buds for the remainder of the dish (but I acknowledge that as my own stupid fault!)

Bond Street is notorious for being a bit pricy; and the fact that I was dining out with a selection of lawyers and bankers didn't exactly help keep the cost down to my media industry salary budget. However, sometimes paying a little more than you usually would is justified when it's a really unusual dining experience you're not bound to experience again too soon - and this is the case with Samarqand. Starters came in between £9 and £15 each, with mains averaging around the £14 mark, without sides.

Would I make Uzbek cuisine a regular choice of mine? I can't say I liked it quite that much, although it was really good, and definitely worth a try. And besides, it's always good to try something different; after all, when's the last time you tried Uzbek, Russian or Mongolian cuisine?

You can visit Samarqand's website - and find out more information including location and booking availability - here.

bourne & hollingsworth

Unsuspecting but intriguing, Bourne and Hollingsworth has realised a goal that many cocktail bars strive for but rarely manage to achieve; it is, quite simply, different. Yes, it may be so small that there’s hardly enough room to swing a cat, let alone dance to a gramophone record - and yes, it may be teetering slightly on the worse side of shabby chic - but its dedication and enthusiasm for quirky cool in the heart of media London makes this a stand-out venue.

After several recommendations from friends and colleagues, and finding ourselves near Goodge Steet and in the mood for a cocktail one Friday night, we decided to pay the small bar on Rathbone Street a visit. Tucked away in a basement on a street corner next to a busy restaurant, it's very easy to miss completely; we ourselves had mistakenly wandered past twice, ending up, confused, near the BT tower or down some long-forgotten alleyway.

Realising after we ventured down the stairs to the Bourne & Hollingsworth basement that we'd be sharing the place with exactly eight others, we soon found that a situation which would have been off-putting in any other Central London bar at 10pm on a Friday actually felt strangely and intimately endearing at Bourne and Hollingsworth.

After all, set out like a crazed long-lost great Aunt’s lounge that was in need of a spot of decorating some 50 years ago, it’s definitely a step away from the loud pubs and booming music of the modern world outside. This place has a way of warmly luring you in, with teacups on tables, floral wallpaper, frilly lampshades and framed needlework on the walls. Oh, and the promise of a Jammie Dodger with your cocktail, of course.

Propped up against the bar, we listened to the DJ - a choice of entertainment which may seem slightly out of place, but, like everything in this strange juxtaposition of a Central London bar, it just works - and examined the origami-like folded paper menu. Pleasantly surprised by the variety of different and unique cocktails that were on offer, little symbols by each cocktail to show how it’s served is particularly appealing if you're someone who chooses drinks on appearances and names over the actual contents. Alongside the normal cocktail glass, there are drinks in an array of different objects, and we chose one in a jam jar and one in a tea cup - a floral tea cup, no less, with a saucer and a piece of shortbread. Impressive, and tasty, the cocktails themselves are strong and not really too expensive for London prices - we paid just under £15 for two.

Incredibly friendly barmen are also on hand to take pity on any bewildered first-timers gazing round in bemused wonder at the place, and it’s certainly good fun to watch staff who wouldn’t look out of place in a modern bar making cocktails next to plates of biscuits, paper napkins, cupcakes and china teapots.

This is all very quirky and endearing, but why, really, does Bourne & Hollingsworth work so well? Apart from its individuality and its good, strong cocktails, its best feature must be its immediate appeal to the latest craze for all things vintage-inspired; although, like similar venues elsewhere, it refrains from doing this in a pretentious way, and instead evokes a kind of effortless chic. It has the ability to feel like your own little secret hideaway, whilst being extremely popular and doing a very good trade; and that’s quite some paradox to pull off.

Is it any coincidence that almost everyone who’s recommended me to go to this place has, at some point, lived in Brighton? Not at all; it has a sense of the hippy eccentric about it, and you can’t help feeling that Central London could do with more naturally quirky places like Bourne and Hollingsworth amidst all its commercial chains.

Or maybe, instead, the point is that B&H really is one of a kind - maybe it is that, after all, which makes it one of Central London’s most effortlessly cool bars.

If you’d like to visit, have a look at Bourne & Hollingsworth’s website - it’s an extremely basic landing page, but, again, this is all part of the charm.

And a P.S: a little name check here for Alex, the first person to mention Bourne and Hollingsworth to me.