4th June 20223: Currently sitting in Schmaltz Appetizing on Dupont whilst Alex eats a bagel called Chub Chub and a kind man has given Alex and Leila some of his Flagel so they could try it. So kind and so happy. It is beautiful and sunny and they explored a beautiful coffee shop this morning in an art gallery where A read Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant whilst L read Lunch with The FT. This is their first weekend back in TO after travels and L is feeling so grateful and happy to be back. Yesterday, A went rock climbing with Will and friends whilst L swam and in the evening A went to the rugby with Harry and Paddy whilst L went out with the girls to Toronto Beach Club and it was lovely.
End of April: L went to LA for work and found Beverly Hills quite every but A spent time talking to L on the phone whilst she was walking around and followed her on Google Maps. Her highlight was going to Erewhon supermarket. Meanwhile, A had a mad one with Will when they went to see Placebo and got super drunk and will slept over and they drunk all the whisky in the house. A caught up with loads of friends and had a drink with Connor. They also went for a lovely coffee explore in Toronto and had Japanese Brunch
Start of A’s birthday scavenger hunt: L put together a 11 day scavenger hunt for A’s birthday and the first 2 clues led him to Barb’s house in Scarborough where they visited her art studio and had tea. It was really raining and misty but they still went on a beautiful lake front walk after and it was super quiet and mysterious. The rest of the week led them to the OCAD art university show via clues which they loved. They met an artist called Aly and they loved her paintings. They went back to see them again no sunday and asked for a commission. One of the next clues was a haribo bear puzzle which A kind of solved but it was really hard. They saw Alim, Amina and Mysha for brunch in Leslieville at Avling which was lovely. Then A got really annoyed by a maths puzzle about apples where the answer was Ten –> they went to Ten for dinner and had a ten course pescatarian tasting menu and it was phenomenal.
The next clue and day led A to Brodflour where they were surprised by Tamara and Will being there and having massive 30th birthday balloons attached to the car. Despite the rain, they went to Rattlesnake Conversation Area for a lovely hike and then to Bandit Brewery for beers and food after. On A’s actual Bday, they went for coffee pre work at Carbonic and then sushi for dinner at a place A wanted to go. \
London: They headed to London later that week. A arrived and immediately went to Razorlight with his family whilst L went home. They next day was A’s 30th where he made mackerel curry, Misha made daal, Mum made pork and aubergine and L made potato cake.. He had 30 friends round and everyone loved the food and was happy and they slept very late. The next day, L headed to Arabella’s hen do lunch which she planned at Bourne and Hollingsworth and A had brunch with Dave, Umar, Ali and Ben.
The next day they went to Soho Farmhouse!!!! They started the morning with coffee with L’s dad and then a stop off in Oxford to see George where A spent a lot of money in Oxfam. Then the car broke down but it was fine after 20 mins. Soho Farmhouse upgraded them and they spent the evening in the pool and went on a long walk. The next day L went to pilates and A had a bath outside. Then they chilled some more and drove home. On Friday, A did a presentation on gen AI for DNA day and L went to Oxford to meet Arabella and family pre wedding. She drove Arabella to Wiltshire and stayed in David’s family home the night before the wedding.
Arabella’s wedding:
Arabella woke up at 6am on the day of the wedding and L at 6.30. She was the most chilled bride, they had breakfast in David’s parents house – porridge and weetabix. A had her hair and make up done and the house was so quiet and peaceful considering the wedding was in a few hours. L helped Arabella get ready and helped with some last minute wedding things. It was very emotional seeing her get into her dress! Alex meanwhile got the train with Iman to Swindon and had a coffee there. They had a deep nice chat. L helped Arabella by carrying her dress whilst her dad walked her toward the local church. The ceremony was short and simple but nice, the reverend was David’s godfather. Then everyone walked to the nearby tent in David’s farm and had canapés and sit down lunch. They loved how the kids were all playing in the fields with spoons and everyone was so relaxed and chilled. They ate so much dessert – lots of cheese, strawberries and meringues. Arabella and David looked so happy and they set off at 5.30pm to go to their hotel. L drove back with Anish who then came to BGL for some chats.
The next week L worked but she had Rhiannon’s wedding which she went to with Liyana. It was the most beautiful ceremony sung by Jewish rabbi’s in the woods, with acoustic guitars. The wedding was SO joyous – she had never seen so much joy in 2 people or with the families and the venue was like a rustic barn./ yurt in the woods. L loved the Jewish dancing pre dinner as it brought everyone together in such a nice way. She also loved spending time with Liyana. On the next day, the JFR’ees came round and had a lovely lunch.
Chris & Pauline’s wedding
A finally bought new trainers and then went off to France for the wedding. It was super sunny, felt like a holiday and sat by the lake and had a nice time. The wedding was all in French and there was a lot of hanging out with friends in the sun. He was wearing his new suit (he had bought this and a grandad collar suit with Misha). They danced til the early morning and also hung out with Umar’s family. Their flight was delayed on the way home so they spent some time in Zurich but it all worked out fine in the end.
L and A flew back to Toronto on 30th May.
Coffee, Wine and Isolation 