The Chocolate Elephant

Dogs and Kisses

September 22, 2010 in London | 2 comments

Dogs and Kisses are a unique dog day care and boarding service. The company started just over a year ago, when James started walking my two dogs, shortly after moving to London. Since then his business has gone from strength to strength, moving into a five storey building and creating a special home for the dogs, a home from home really.

The empathy James has with the dogs is amazing. Walking with him the other day through Battersea Park, he spotted and recognised a dog who he had looked after on only a couple of occasions. You could tell the owner was impressed!

Dogs can stay for a day or they can board overnight. Picked up before the owners go to work and dropped off in the evening, the dogs are never left alone and often go for trips in the countryside. They go to Berkshire and sometimes even to West Wittering in Sussex, where they can have a good long walk and play on the beach. I think it is this aspect of the service that really makes Dogs and Kisses stand out, that your dog will have had a really great day and arrive back happy and often exhausted.

You can visit their website: http://www.dogsandkisses.co.uk/
Or you can follow them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dogsandkisses

All pictures are supplied courtesy of Dogs and Kisses

Macmillan Charity Sale

September 20, 2010 in Charities, Fairs and Events | No comments

Following our trip to Dundas Castle, we will be in Whittlebury Park, Northamptonshire on 23rd September for a fair raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support and Helen & Douglas House Hospice.

Macmillan provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care. Their fundraising is outstanding and we are always proud to take a part in it. The day after our fair, 24th September, is Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.

Helen and Douglas House provides respite and end of life care for children and young adults with life-shortening conditions, as well as support and friendship for the whole family. Their Youtube channel has some truely amazing stories: http://www.youtube.com/user/helendouglashouse

Dundas Autumn Fair

September 15, 2010 in Fairs and Events | No comments

As the fair season starts to get underway we are travelling all the way to Dundas Castle in Scotland for our next event on 22nd September. This beautiful castle sits to the West of Edinburgh and, although it is pretty far to travel to London, it is such a beautiful place to spend a couple of days.

We don’t generally get to see that much, but might find some time to escape to see some of this fantastic building. The keep was originally build in 1416 as a home and fortress and was then extended in 1436. Named after James Dundas, the original builder, the castle remained in the family until 1846. In 1899 it was bought by Stewart Clark, whose family still own the building and estate today. This change in ownership really reflects the developments that were happening in British society in the 19th Century, passing from a powerful and ancient family to the owner of a Victorian textile mill, an industrialist and part of the new rich and powerful upper-middle classes.

Stewart Clark later became Deputy Lord Lieutenant in the County of Renfrewshire, was a Member of Parliament for Paisley and was respected for being a great philanthropist. Sir Jack Stewart Clark was an MEP, following his ancestor into politics. He is also responsible for rebuilding the castle, which was in a terrible state of disrepair when he inherited it in 1993.

Further Reading:
How Sir Jack turned his ruin into a first-class venue

Our Favourite Stands from Burghley

September 8, 2010 in Fairs and Events | No comments

Winnie Magee Designs

Winnie Magee is a contemporary Irish fashion designer. Her linen rain collection can be found across Europe, Japan and America. Using Ireland’s most famous fabric, her collection is ironable, dry-cleanable, comfortable, breathable, lightweight. Without wax or oil and therefore needs no further treatment.

Rutland Country Designs

Rutland Country Designs, based in Oakham, just up the road from Burghley, sell a range of fantastic and unusual gifts. Being a dog owner myself, I particularly loved their pet gifts. They also have some brilliant things for teenagers, particularly those that are really difficult to buy for!

Our Pics from Burghley

September 6, 2010 in Fairs and Events | 1 comment

Our stand

Burghley Horse Trials

September 1, 2010 in Fairs and Events | No comments

This weekend we are at Burghley Horse Trials, near Stamford. This is our first big event of our fair season and always one of the most fun. We will be in the Country Living Pavilion, where we are most years. Sadly, we don’t get see much of the action or any horses, especially if the weather doesn’t go our way!

Source: Anthony Masi

The actual house at Burghley was built in 1567 for Sir William Cecil and the gardens were landscaped by Capability Brown. As you approach the house it always amuses me to see the big signs for the Gardens of Surprise. As of yet I have never been able to visit them to find out what is so surprising! It is also rumoured that beneath the house lies the lost village of Burghley, which is listed in the Doomsday Book.

Anthony Masi

Notting Hill Carnival

August 25, 2010 in Notting Hill | No comments

This weekend is Notting Hill Carnival. It’s our first year at Ledbury Road and so this is going to be a new experience for us. We will have to close the shop over the weekend and board it up, but nevertheless, we are still extremely excited. Having lived and worked in the area for a number of years we’re not new to the carnival, but it is still something we look forward to.

The Carnival originated in 1964 and has its roots in Carribean culture. It begins on Saturday and leads up to the big procession on Monday. The entire area is completely transformed with music on every corner and bands, often seemingly randomly, cropping up in the street attracting instant crowds of dancers.

Another highlight is the tremendous amounts of yummy West Indian food. So if you’ve never been before, make sure you don’t have too big a breakfast!

Top 10 London Websites

August 18, 2010 in London | 2 comments

These are our top sites for things to do and see in London:

Daily Candy – this is a great site for finding unusual things to do. Their daily newsletter is fantastic and their top tips for the weekend are brilliant, whether you want something fun to do with the kids or a quiet dinner with friends.

Time Out – the famous magazine has a great website, full of up to date events, museum exhibitions, restaurant and bar reviews and much more. Their FREE iPhone app is good as well, for if you find yourself in town and want some quick tips of things to do.

London Travel – aimed at tourists mainly, it’s still a great source of information. Their Top Ten Free Things to do in London is brilliant if you have guests staying. It also has some unusual day trips outside London that you may not have thought of.

London For Free – a good site for exploring some of the less famous sites in London. Some great walks to do and an excellent section on prisons!

Day Out with the Kids – fantastic site focussed on fun for the kids. They list the big attractions, but also many small one’s you may not have considered, like the Battersea Park Children’s Zoo.

London Town – on a similar scale to Time Out, it claims to be London’s most trusted source. It does cover all the main tourist attractions, but you have to dig pretty deep to find unusual things. A good starting point though if you’re new to London.

Visit London – a more tourist based site, it still lists events and places that you may not have thought of. Their shopping page is good and the news section often turns up with some surpries.

Street Sensation – brilliant site for shopping, don’t be put off by the basic design. Although not an exhaustive guide, it does list most major shopping streets in London. Brilliant if you’re planning a trip and want to check out somewhere new. Check us out on the Ledbury Road – Westside!

London Net – great site, love the simple navigation and easy to use categories. The movie reviews, features and Londoner of the day make this site a little different.

London Online – another listings site, it has a good news section and a focus on history. The London Directory is a good resource as well.

Family Connections: Culpeper House

August 11, 2010 in Family Connections | 3 comments

In the next part of our Family Connections is our father, Ian Thomas, who was formerly the chairman of Culpeper House, now Culpeper Ltd. After the founder, Hilda Leyel, died in 1957, the business began to deteriorate. When Ian took over in 1972 the remaining shop was at 21, Bruton St. He rebuilt the business to 19 shops in the UK, four in Japan and two in Malaysia.

Whilst searching for information about Culpeper we found some rather fine old advertisements. They date from 1939 and use fantastic straplines: ‘For complete loveliness’ and ‘She was the loveliest bride of the year’. Wonderfully simple! You can see them here: http://www.oldadvertisements.co.uk/Advertisers/CulpeperBalm.htm.

Bright Horizons – Pimlico Nursery

August 4, 2010 in Pimlico | No comments

As part of our series of posts on local shops, last week I went and met the lovely people at Pimlico Nursery. On Saturday they were having their Summer Fair and we had donated some scarves to the raffle.

I met with Nicola and Mark, Manager and Deputy Manager, who are relatively new to the nursery, but their enthusiam suggested they had already formed a close relationship with the place. A testament to what a lovely atmosphere has been created.

They cater for children aged from three months up to five years, when they go to school. Given the importance of the role they play in the lives of the kids, they form a close relationship with the parents, recording key events that take place throughout the day and even emailing pictures of activities. I felt that the enthusiasm stemmed from this interaction and an understanding of the role they are playing in family life.

Being based in the heart of South West London, with such close proximity to Victoria, means that they have a diverse community within the nursery. Some of the children have recently moved to England and so speak little English. All the staff strive to learn simple words in each language and many of the signs are multi-lingual. To celebrate this diversity they are planning a World Food Day, which also helps keep the parents involved in the activities.

Bright Horizons nursery is a fantastic place and it is a real pleasure to be involved and learn a little more about our local community.

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