April fun and frolics

April is the month that ‘petrichor’ arrives – the alluring smell of warm pavements and rain showers… Not this year, there weren’t really any warm pavements, and we had snow in London just days from the start of May!  April 3rd was our 6th wedding anniversary – time is flying!  I went away with work on our anniversary and so the day before when it dawned bright, sunny and cold we put on our walking boots and headed into the New Forest (read my luxury guide for Hippie in Heels here) for a spot of bluebell hunting!

We were a week early for the bluebells sadly – I found three, even though we were in a ‘guaranteed’ bluebell wood near Lyndhurst – Pondhead Inclosure.  The inclosure was gorgeous – a true old woodland. We really liked the little pathways and even found a wigwam – the woodland is being managed by volunteers in a sustainable way.  Even better, it backs on to the luxury Limewood Hotel and so we found ourselves enjoying anniversary bubbles and coffee in their garden for elevenses!

On our anniversary I left home before 7am, destination Miami.  Miami on business, pretty fortunate – I’m not going to lie, rarely do I have fun on work trips but this was a winner.  Jet lag meant up working by 5am and then finishing in the office at 6pm swiftly followed by evening cocktails…  Rather than head straight to sleep on arrival as my body wanted, I had sundowners with my husband’s best friend who is working there and then my boss and I happily stumbled across the peruvian La Mar restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental for a delicious supper.  Wined and dined on my anniversary, just not by Mr P!

It doesn’t get daylight in Miami until gone 7am – it was strange to be sat on my 29th floor balcony working in dark warmth each morning waiting for the sun to rise! We made the most of the sunshine and fresh air after hours choosing to work in the bar each evening – we have a certain notoriety now as a result!  On our final night we headed to South Beach – a necessity I am told. We left it late to book but found the Delano Beach Bar.  I’m not sure we were cool enough (shazaming music as we went), but we had great service and food, good banter and worked our way through the outstanding cocktail menu…

The worst bit of the trip? British Airways food!  Something is wrong – I suspect the reason the Virgin flight was fully booked when I tried to book!  The fizz has gone down market and then there is the food – oh dear…  My unidentifiable low-lactose meal was terrible.  Main was grilled chicken with soggy veg, a disgusting sauce and dry rice (I’ve been given it before, never this bad).  The dessert was paper pie (rice pudding).  Thankfully the lovely Angela took pity on me as I hadn’t eaten my lunch and afternoon tea “wasn’t looking much better”.  She came back from first class with scallops and beef – no dairy and there was spare!  I have tried complaining to BA – but apparently they get lots of positive comments so I suspect the catering team won’t do anything about it.

Mid month it snowed as far south as Oxford, and then again in London at the end of the month! But even with winter still lurking, one thing not to miss is the cherry blossom.  It’s gorgeous, as are the bluebells and snowdrops and the occasional sunshine sighting too!

I spent a fair amount of the month in London and stayed up on occasion.  It has been a while since I have, but as ever I enjoyed the Apex on Fleet Street which is always so peaceful.  2 minutes walk from the office and I have built on my duck collection! Dinner with our team at Bird of Smithfield was a delight.

It has been too long since I was last on the water, but finally the boat was ready and we headed out racing.  Unfortunately there wasn’t much wind, or warmth (we de-iced the car) but there was sun, and that’s been in short supply! It was lovely to come home with pink cheeks!  It was also particularly lovely to catch up with these smiling faces!  A gorgeous day to be outside – a few more degrees of warmth and a few more knots of breeze please!

The end of the month brought treats! We had a weekend staycation in London with friends – lovely not to have to commute home on the Friday (The new Hilton Bankside is definitely a cut above other Hiltons)! We then flew here and there in a Boeing 747 – incredibly lucky to have the opportunity of a day in the sim and it was incredibly realistic. Take off and landing with my skilled co-pilot weren’t too hard and using the cross hairs to guide meant smooth and controlled landings! I can see why the heads up display on newer planes is so popular as you can see the view as you go! What we did learn is why on a commercial flight the plane only banks up to 15 degrees to turn… Green passengers at the front of the bus wouldn’t be popular!

And then some more speed – this time a track day at Thruxton! Fantastic fun and 110mph is surprisingly stable and the sound of the Jaguar engine accelerating was superb! It took me a while to get used to accelerating into the corners!  One of my instructors is apparently winning single seater events so I do hope he gets to Formula 1 as I have photos of me driving him!

April seems like it went on forever but what a busy and fun month it was! The month has been manic at work that’s for sure, but happily a good balance of work and life!  Roll on May – I cannot wait to get on the plane to Tel Aviv, happy days indeed.