Milk & Manolos

Afternoon Tea is the new Champagne and cigarettes for any lady who used to enjoy the latter. Gone are the days when come 4 pm on Saturday when the coterie and I would be found in a local watering hole with more than was good for us of both said components. While those days are mourned, small people simply aren’t compatible with the former. So along came afternoon tea instead. Well, it had been around for forever, I just chose to celebrate it a little more.

Tea Palace in Notting Hill is a great place to begin your love affair with such an old English ritual. At £ 17 a head ‘one’ (we are enjoying high tea after all) can enjoy a smorgasbord of finger sandwiches, cakes and scones together with a pot of one of the house teas. A fabulous way to spend an afternoon en masse, or to just enjoy a bit of ‘Me Time’ with the latest copy of Vogue, followed swiftly by a trip to Matches.

Roll on 3.30 pm …

I feel like a recluse … it’s been an age since I’ve hit the West End after dark. This girl is ready to drink some sparkles and dust off the sequins.

There’s nothing like a delicious feast at an intimate restaurant. My ideal way to spend an evening, in fact. But sometimes you just want to cut loose and have some fun. For a night on the town, 1950’s style, the place to hit is Bloomsbury Bowling.

Kicking off my Choos and sliding my size 6s into those world famous bowling shoes, I was ready to make a strike or two. Unsurprisingly, my actual bowling prowess wasn’t in the least bit similar to that in my head. Nonetheless, I hit a skittle or two, and provided great entertainment not just for my party but the whole place it seemed.

Enjoying a feast of true American fare, and a touch of Karaoke (my famous rendition of Fame made another outing - at which point I really thought I WAS going to live for ever. A Margarita too many perhaps) evenings don’t get much more fun than this.