facttime

After many cold and rainy visits to Barmouth and Dolgellau, where the mountains of Snowdonia meet the west coast of North Wales, I've been rewarded with rather fine weather on my more   recent   trips . Last week's staycation was no exception, and it was warm and sunny — often simultaneously — for most of my short trip to join my parents at a cottage overlooking the Mawddach estuary. Mawddach moments Once again, we stayed at Aberamffra Cottage , on the edge of Barmouth, whose large balcony overlooking the Mawddach estuary — with views of the 19th century railway bridge and Cadair Idris — is a real gem. We spent plenty of time on the balcony, breakfasting, barbecuing and simply enjoying the panorama, especially during golden hour. Barmouth Bridge is a few minutes' walk away and we crossed it several times, both walking and running, in my case. Once you've crossed the bridge, you can join up with the Mawddach Trail , which takes you along the estuary to Dolgellau, with s...

Update (4 Nov 2020): When I visited this restaurant during its soft launch, it retained its original name, The Dairy, but it has since been renamed Bermondsey Larder. I've updated this post accordingly, but some of it photos reflect its original name. Like many people, I was a fan of Robin and Sarah Gill's  The Dairy in Clapham , but I didn't make it over there often enough, which filled me with huge regret when it closed permanently this summer . But to my pleasure, it has now reopened in a new location in Bermondsey . I'd actually been running past its new home, inside the attractive new Bermonds Locke aparthotel on Tower Bridge Road, while it was being created and jumped at the chance to take advantage of its soft launch. If you're entering Bermonds Locke from Tower Bridge Road, you'll need to cross through the Shaman coffee shop  (which also now operates on the ground floor of Treves & Hyde ) and lobby seating area, to get to Bermondsey Larder, which is...

If you were looking for good coffee while in Bankside, you used to have to head to Borough, but the arrival of branches of Caravan and Origin Coffee has filled in a few Southwark speciality coffee gaps. And the latest addition, Saint Nine Coffee , is rather special too. Located on Southwark Street, a short walk from the Tate Modern and the South Bank, Saint Nine occupies the ground floor of a wedge-shaped building at the junction with Lavington Street. It's small inside with just eight seats, perched at the windows, and very elegant seats they are too.  But in all likelihood, it will be the stunning mural that runs up the back wall , wrapping up onto the ceiling that you notice first. The artist, Gabe Sapienza , is a friend of owner Laith Toukan and features as one of the subjects. It's actually printed on fabric and installing it was no mean feat, but the result is impressive, and I'm sure that leaning backwards to capture the 'full scroll' will become a rite of ...

The Vanishing Half — Brit Bennett Blame Francine Pascal, whose Sweet Valley High  novels I devoured during my tween years, but I've always had a certain fascination with novels featuring twins. Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half , which tells the story of light-skinned Black twin sisters Desiree and Stella. Although parts of it are set in California and although Stella's daughter might not be too out of place in Sweet Valley, it's otherwise worlds apart. Spanning several decades and generations, the story opens in the 1950s when the 16-year-old twins run away from their poor Louisiana town to New Orleans. During a job interview Stella 'passes' as white and gets hired, eventually marrying her boss and raising a blonde, blue-eyed daughter in California. In order to do this, however, she has to erase her past and abandon her family — even Desiree, who remains haunted by the ghost of her sister for decades to come. She raises her own daughter whose skin is 'blu...