#best restaurant in east london

[ratherembarrassing]

2025: week 5

with a bonus monday to make this london week because what the hell else happened this week besides that? uh, nothing.

perth to london, qf9. it's a coin toss on whether this was actually better overall than going via singapore or the middle east. between the flight to flight to perth, the layover, and the delay to departure, all up it took 29 hours from leaving my house to arriving at heathrow, and only 18 of those hours were the long flight. on the other hand, having 17+ hours to sit, eat a food, watch an entire tv season, and then sleep (albeit badly) for 10 hours? is really nice? at the very least it made me pumped for when they launch the melbourne to london and new york direct flights. 21 hours and it's done and dusted? yes. please.

big mood, season 1 (qantas' in flight entertainment thing / channel 4, 2024). it's tradition now to find the dark british comedy on the long haul flight entertainment system and holy heck, this is dark. nicola coughlan is an actual treasure.

theatah: the devil wears prada: the musical (dominion theatre, west end). what i was trying to get at in my exhausted delirium is that when a movie is bad and then turned into a musical, musicals make all that bad worse. anyway, it was fine, i'm glad i went, no one will remember this happened three years from now.

theatah: elektra (duke of york's theatre, west end). every review of this hated it for a different reason, but whatever, i really enjoyed it. a special shout out to the american sitting behind me who said out loud my exact thought: this staging is exactly like the jessica chastain a doll's house. which was true, but also entirely irrelevant for reasons that will become apparent. brie larson is polarizing in the best of circumstances, and these were not the best of circumstances, but the take seems to be that this production was ultimately impenetrable. i think reviewers need to harden the fuck up, if i was fine while almost unconscious from exhaustion. also: stockard channing!

theatah: much ado about nothing (theatre royal drury lane, west end). aaaaaaaaarguably the reason i detoured into london in the first place. it was cute! people love to hate jamie lloyd, and i don't think the crux of those complaints will be overcome with this one. my issue was mostly just that it felt like it was set in a season of love island, which is a comparison i am now equipped to make, and that's just not how i like my art to feel. this was an especially odd vibe because the staging deployed the apparently very on trend empty warehouse thing.a real mixed bag of approaches. as for the celebrities of it all, it was opening night and the people were there for tom hiddleston. it was irritating. it's always irritating. can we bully these people a bit more to get this screaming for the actors thing to stop? and i didn't die from being in the same room as hayley atwell, so that's nice.

jolene, redchurch street. i would be here every day if this was my local. every bakery should do a mean lemon meringue pie.

the dusty knuckle, dalston. i did not let the disgusting laneway put me off: the food was fucking incredible. grilled cheese with an onioniny jam was the best grilled cheese i've eaten in years, pip and nut turnover i will dream about. if you go, get their lemonade.

regency cafe, westminster. sometimes hipsters are right about things, and they are right about this. you should be a little afraid while you try to get some food. it's good for the blood or something. they sold me like a pint of orange juice for £2.70, which is a bar against which i will measure every restaurant forever now.

tate britain. i'd never been before, and that was a mistake! for years i have been thwarted in seeing turners whenever i am in a place that ordinarily has turners on display. why had i then never been to the tate britain? because i did not know! they have an entire wing of turners! as well as an entire wing of all the other things! @notabuddhist is a great art museum buddy, which is the best trait a person can possess. she even hurried through the last two rooms with me when i needed to leave to get a donut halfway across london.

something that did not happen: me getting my donut halfway across london. and it's all the fault of jeremy clarkson and his tory farmers, as the cab driver put it. fuck that guy, i wanted my donut.

barbican: including this feels like a lie, but i did wander through and feel awe and wonder. but i did not get very much time, because see next item.

something that did happen: so there i am going on a casual wander from shoreditch to bask in the brutalist glory that is the barbican. a song in my heart, a coffee in my hand, and a vague idea of where i'm going, but not much more than that. a great time for my phone to die. a perfect time for my power bank to be completely flat. first time since 2008 when iphones were first released in australia that i was abandoned in this way. thank you curry's, for taking me for an absolute ride while selling me a new power bank.

shout outs: the lizzy line (so nice, so clean, always got my back (because i am always going to and from an airport)), the afternoon lost to getting from stratford to dalston on a rail replacement bus through what i'm pretty sure was a crime scene, m&s salt and balsamic vinegar crisps (why are you the most delicious salt and vinegar chips i've ever eaten and why did i only buy one bag), love island and morley's.

[scotianostra]

The actor Ian Charleson was born on August 11th 1949 in Edinburgh.

Best known for his portrayal as Eric Liddell, the Presbyterian missionary who refused to compete on the Sabbath, in Hugh Hudson’s Oscar-winning “Chariots of Fire” . Although he only appeared in a handful of films, he starred in many successful stage shows.

He was the son of a printer and sang soprano as a boy. Raised in Edinburgh, he attended the Royal High School and Edinburgh University, both on scholarship. He was a member of the Edinburgh University Drama Society as an actor, singer, and director, and even worked with costumes. Next, he went to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . Odd jobs included singing at the restaurant, “Food for Thought”, and waiting tables at the “Hard Rock Cafe”. He left LAMDA early and was a member of the “Young Vic Company” in London for two years. His first West End role was in Simon Gray’s “Otherwise Engaged”.

He performed at the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1977 to 1989. Ian did appear in a number of TV shows, the pick of them, in my opinion, are Reilly: Ace of Spies, Master of The Game and Codename: Kyril.

Had a lovely tenor voice as an adult; the Royal Shakespeare Company released a CD of his singing in 1982.He also won the annual Edinburgh Evening News Talent Contest 2 years running singing My Love is Like a Red, Red, Rose.

Sadly Ian Charleson passed away from an Aids related illness at the young age of forty. This was the first celebrity death in the United Kingdom openly attributed to AIDS, and the announcement helped to promote awareness and acceptance of the disease.

The Ian Charleson Day Centre is a leading HIV clinic in London ia named in his memory and The Ian Charleson Awards are theatrical awards that reward the best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under age 30 also remember him.

Ian is buried in Portobello Cemetery on the South east of Edinburgh.

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Today - March 5th, 1976

Eddie Howell "The Man From Manhattan" 7" single released

Freddie Mercury: producer/piano/bvs

Brian May: guitar

Excerpts from an interview

Jacky Gunn-Smith - Official International Queen Fan Club

Eddie Howell’s ‘Man From Manhattan‘ is one of the best known and best loved of all Queen’s collaborations.

Recorded in mid January 1976 at Sarm East Studios in London, the song was produced by Freddie Mercury, who also played piano and sang backing vocals on the track and featured Brian May on guitar. The record is so reminiscent of “A Night At The Opera” in both instrumentation and mood, that many fans regard it as virtually an “Opera” out-take. When it was launched as a single on Warner Bros records in 1976, it became a turntable hit in the UK and looked set to chart until music industry bureaucracy halted it in it’s tracks.

Birmingham born Eddie Howell began his professional career in the late 60’s, when Chrysalis music picked up on his songwriting demos and introduced him to an independent record producer, who in turn licensed his first single “Easy Street”, as a one-off deal to Parlophone in 1969.

Working as a songwriter throughout the early 70’s, Eddie’s next venture into recording came in 1975 when he signed to Warner Bros records as an artist. thursdaysHe released two singles, “Long Story” and “Can’t get over you”, and his debut LP “The Eddie Howell Gramophone Record”, which featured members of “Brand X” and guitarist Gary Moore.

The album was launched at a promotional gig at Thursday’s club in Kensington. Eddie’s band included Phil Collins on congas, Jack Lancaster on saxophone and Robin Lumley on keyboards. Explains Eddie, ”In the audience that night was Freddie Mercury who had been brought along to the gig by my manager David Minns. It was there that he first heard “Man From Manhattan”, which was a newly written song included in the set. After the gig we met and he was very complimentary about the song and offered to produce it. I remember we all went down to ‘The Elephant on the River’ to celebrate”.

Enthused by the prospect of his first foray into production, Freddie wasted little time in getting started. ”I gave him a two track guitar/vocal demo of the song” recalls Eddie, ”and a couple of days later he called and said let’s get going. Studio time was booked at Sarm East Studios and true to form, Freddie quickly took control of the sessions; ”He did lots of pre-production work on the song’s structure and the harmony arrangements”, reveals Ed. ” He had a mini cassette recorder loaded with ideas for the track, backing vocals and answering phrases”.

”We took a week to record the song”, remembers Eddie, ”which was a long time in those days, but because of Freddie’s involvement, Warners gave us a blank cheque. The sessions were quite intense, there was never a lull. Brian came in to play hismikestone2 guitar parts and the musical rapport between him and Freddie was plain to see, they were on the same page. One day, a hand-held spinning bell-cymbal in the key of ‘D’ was required by Freddie for one ping at the end of the track and the studio didn’t have one, so a runner was dispatched to scour the streets of London in search of one. The session was adjourned for half a day while we waited down at the Shazam Indian restaurant in Brick Lane for the bell to arrive. It eventually arrived and took about a minute to record, it must have been the most expensive ping ever recorded”.

On the final day of recording, a trio of Warner Bros top brass flew in from California and made a beeline for Sarm East studios to meet Freddie. Recalls Eddie, ”They probably thought the red carpet would be rolled out as they were paying for the recording sessions, but instead they were kept waiting in reception for about four hours. When they were eventually granted an audience, the charm offensive was full onlongstory3 and it was all smiles and bonhomie. At the end of the session, after the final playback, Freddie turned to me and said, ‘If this isn’t a hit, sue Warner Bros ‘ ”.

The finished article obviously had a heavy Queen influence with the presence of Freddie and Brian on the track, but ”Man from Manhattan” was far from a tribute to Queen. ”I wrote the song after my first trip to Manhattan in late 74”, reveals Eddie, ”I was reading ‘The Godfather Papers’ by Mario Puzo and the song was about those mafia characters who lead a double life. Musically, I had ‘Dead End Street’, by the Kinks in mind, complete with trombones and a walking double-bass”.

Prior to the ban, ”Manhattan” made top 50 in the UK, top 20 in Australia, Belgium and South Africa and top 5 in Holland, but sadly, as a consequence of the ban, it was never released in America or many of the world’s other major territories.

When it was issued as a single in 1976, Warner’s publicity department played up the Queen connection as much as they could, and “Manhattan” rapidly became a turntable hit in the UK. The record received heavy rotation on the airwaves – particularly in Europe where it became a big hit. Then, just when it looked set to climb the charts in the UK, the Musicians Union mysteriously discovered that Jerome Rimson, the American bassist hired by Freddie for the sessions, had been working in Britain without a permit. This obliged them to place a ban on any and all further UK media exposure due to his ‘Illegally’ recorded playing. A decision which effectively killed off the record.

Having recently regained the rights to his back catalogue recorded during his time with the label, Eddie is now releasing the tracks digitally. ”Man from Manhattan” is first up, more to follow…

(source: https://manfrommanhattan.wordpress.com/)

📸 Pic: Freddie Mercury and Eddie Howell in control room

[writcraft]

Hi Writ darling! I’d love to know your thoughts on 18 for Snarry or 19 for Drarry, or feel free to pick any other ask/ship you fancy 😌 thank you!!! - Liv

Hi Liv! Thank you so much for the ask. I am going to be contrary and take 18 for Drarry :D

Ship asks

What does a date night out look like for them? At first, it doesn't look like a date at all. If they both happen to be in the same bar, at the same time, on the same evening of the week, that's just coincidence. Even when Harry says "See you next week, Malfoy?" and Draco says "If I don't get a better offer, Potter" (and they both know he won't) that still isn't a date. It's just...conversation. If they spend the evening getting closer at their own table (oblivious to the songs, the men, the sweat and the restless beat of the music) that's just because it's difficult to hear one another speak.

On one of those nights, Draco mentions his favourite restaurant. A posh, French place with a name that sounds sexy as fuck when Draco murmurs it in Harry's ear. They go together the week after, with Harry looking far more delicious than the food and Draco speaking enough French to drive Harry to distraction.

The week after Harry chooses the location, a curry place on Brick Lane. Bring Your Own Booze. They drink too many lagers and end up kissing in the shadows of London's East End after the best curry Draco has had in his life. It's still not a date, obviously. They just need to establish who has better taste in restaurants.

Because it's a tie, they have to try other restaurants, naturally. The restaurant competition turns into a bar competition then a competition over the best films. One night, in bed, they argue over the best holiday destination. They take two weeks off, spending the first week in the French Riviera and the second in New York. Harry shows Draco where he lived for a year after the war and they take in the haze and mugginess of the city in the summer.

On holiday they argue over the appropriate amount of time to boil an egg. In a huff of irritation, Draco offers to cook Harry dinner when they return home. "I warrant you're an unmitigated disaster in the kitchen, Potter." Harry returns the favour the week after, "Not that I have anything to prove, Malfoy." The meals on Friday slip into breakfast on Saturday, Sunday roasts in Primrose Hill and sleepy kisses and hot buttered toast before work on Monday.

When Draco's favourite restaurant closes, Harry buys the stained glass window from the front door which they auction off at Sotheby's for a small fortune. When they move out of London, Draco Apparates one Friday night to get a takeaway curry from Brick Lane as a surprise for Harry. It's the anniversary of something, definitely, but neither of them really care what. "The anniversary of you being a pain in my arse," Harry says, before they tumble into bed and lose themselves in the night's shadows.

When they're older they go back to that gay bar and talk about how much it has changed. It's a coffee place now, surrounded by office blocks and busy people in busy suits. They talk about the sweat and the grime, the way their feet would stick to the floor by the bar. They talk about the music, the men, the hours they spent exchanging sweet rum-and-coke kisses and the kisses that weren't so sweet at all.

Their date nights were always complicated, until slowly they became the easiest thing in the world.

[longeyelashedtragedy]

For the wip ask game

10022? I have no idea what it could be

yes! 10022 is a fic i have that is just...tons of little sections that i have no idea how to make into a "plot." i almost think it...won't have a plot? just a series of vignettes in chronological order. it's a fic about someone finally risking it all, or trying to, in order to discover themselves a little, and that's an ongoing process so it kind of doesn't naturally have plot?

that someone is of course frank, and this fic is about his season living in new york and playing with NYCFC. this is my favorite player era of his for a lot of reasons. i actually don't know where you're from so i'll assume you're not from the US just for this purpose (i'm really sorry if i assumed wrong!!) 10022 is the zip code (postal code) for the neighborhood where frank lived in manhattan--midtown east. it's weirdly a neighborhood that i like a lot, and i'm generally no longer a fan of manhattan and now that i don't work there i try to Avoid it--it's just very very noisy and crowded and too many of the worthwhile stores and restaurants that i loved have shut down post-covid or bc of stupid high rents. but this neigborhood is an interesting mix of Huge Buildings, some touristy places, and then as you walk east toward the river it becomes sort of...insular? like just residential buildings with stores geared toward the local population. most of the neighborhood doesn't have very convenient public transit access, so if you walk a couple blocks in you feel kind of cut off from everything else. it suits frank well i think.

wow, i still haven't said what this fuckin fic is about lol. my theory is that in new york he was alone for the first time in his life--no dad to harass him, and while i think christine visited plenty (i mean, london-new york is one of the easiest international flights around, and she certainly could afford it), she does live tv so it wasn't like she could work from home. so frank had all this time to 1) be the Elder Good Example (37 years old) to a team just starting out with a bunch of Young Lads, and 2) to try to be brave enough to explore the sexuality he's known he's had for decades. as part of the fic, he nervously looks up gay bars and ventures off to pick up men, and they're certainly very interested, but he always chickens out at the last minute. i think he's afraid in general, and also the guys aren't...cousin jamie.

something else that makes me want to write this is the way frank talks about living in NYC--he truly loved it here, and a lot of his favorite places/restaurants were not rich people/tourist traps (also one of them is literally down the block from me, lol) and i find that very touching. i appreciate his appreciation for this pain in the ass hometown of mine. i also really think he enjoyed the relative anonymity and the attitude toward things, as part of his Gay Explorations:

If home is the place where you can relax and take the pressure off, then New York City is already home.  The only expectations of him here are professional ones. He can do those things, or try his best to. He can move the ball down the pitch, intimidate the opponent, smash the ball into the net the way it was drilled into him decades ago, score some confident penalties, and mentor the young lads (in football, anyway--regardless of what José has said, he's the last person who should be teaching anyone how to be a Man.) and if he can't do all that, at 36, then he'll know he gave it a good try, and the fans in royal blue will still love him all over the world.  But personally? He's alone as long as nobody is visiting, and being alone in New York will be different from London. He's looked it up. London is the slightly bigger city, in terms of the population, but New York has a firm culture of mind your own damn business and you better not be staring at me and if you saw something no you didn't.  Anything could happen.  If no one saw something you could do anything, really.

getting to write something in a place i'm very familiar with is really fun--i can load it up with authentic details, including stuff that was going on in the social backdrop of the city, weird weather, etc. (though, MLS seasons work differently than a lot of the big european league seasons because of the very cold winters we (used to) have in a lot of the country, so i got confused by dates/timing as usual and kinda gave winter 2016 some of our weird winter 2015's attributes...oh well literally no one will know)

sorry this was a lot to say very little. this fic is really fun to write but i just kind of work on it at random bc there's no plot, haha. i have a scene i kinda recently started working on where frank takes young english lad jack harrison to this diner down the block from his house, but it's not a date! not a date at all! look frank's got his wedding ring on!

here is another excerpt hahah

[alex-the-nonsensologist]

Disney Dreamland - Part 4: Fantasyland

(I had already posted about Mysteryland previously, which retroactively makes it Part 3. So we're moving on to the next part.)

Quite possibly the largest of the five lands, probably even beating out my mega-Adventureland. 

Small World Gardens

Located behind Small World, this sprawling area would transition into Storybook Town Square. Flower arrangements inspired by Keukenhof in the Netherlands. Similar to Paris’s Fantasyland, there would be a couple rivers running through the garden with lovely bridges to cross over them. 

Dumbo the Flying Elephant : The Masquerade Circus could be positioned near the Mysteryland/Fantasyland border so that the back of the tents could serve as a backdrop for the Dumbo ride, which would have its own little area in the gardens. I was at a loss on where else to place this ride, but I stubbornly wanted to include it as it is currently the only attraction to be found in all 6 existing castle parks and I didn't want to break that streak.

"Casey Jr. Circus Train": Doesn't have to specifically be Dumbo-themed, I just really want a cute novelty train to wind through the garden, with cute bridges to pass over the walkways and rivers.

“Swan Boats”: Paddle boats. I say “swan boats” but they don’t have to be just swans, but could also resemble other birds such as ducks, geese, and flamingos.

Symphony Gazebo: A gazebo in the garden for a live band to play classical music.

“Windmill snack stand”: I saw a picture of the Old Mill in Paris and thought it looked so charming. German pretzels. 

Storybook Town Square

The town follows in the footsteps of Ananheim’s 1983 overhaul with each building having its own unique look. Would feature a fluid mix of Bavarian and British architecture. The Bavarian half of the town on the west contains “Pinocchio Square” and the theater. The British half on the east contains Peter Pan, Little Nemo (even though Nemo is American), and Mr. Toad. A large fountain stands in the center. Cobblestones would pave the ground. I want this area to evoke the feeling of Paris’s Fantasyland as well as Efteling in the Netherlands . 

Pinocchio’s Daring Escape: Focuses more on escaping Pleasure Island. The only other thing I would change is have all the sets and animatronics appear to be carved out of wood, and have real clothes on the animatronics, for a more high-quality “hand made” look, the implication being the entire ride is a life-sized puppet show. The ride building along with the toy shop and restaurant form a smaller “Pinocchio Square”, which would include a smaller fountain with a statue of Pinocchio.

Geppetto’s Toy Shop: Would feature regular retail plush toys, as well as old fashioned toys like wooden marionettes and wind-ups, as well as cuckoo clocks. Christmas ornaments can also be purchased here.   

Pinocchio’s Pizza Place: Italian cuisine. Basically the Pinocchio Village Haus in Orlando, but with an alliterative name, and also some of the pizzas have toppings decorated to look like Pinocchio smiley faces. Quick service.  

Once Upon a Time Theatre: Hosts live indoor stage shows. While any show with Disney musical medleys is fine, I would much prefer original shows of rarely-featured stories, such as the other tales from the 1001 Arabian Nights, or a stage version of Disney's Return to Oz (which I personally love better as an Oz adaptation than MGM's movie; 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful was meh). Building design would be modeled after the new Fantasyland Forest Theatre in Tokyo.

“German restaurant”: Table service. 

Flight to Neverland: Would utilize the best aspects from each version of the ride. For example, I love that Shanghai’s queue is themed to a London park (Kensington Gardens?), and the chimneys in Paris’s loading dock blow smoke. The building facade would definitely have a functioning clock tower, in homage to Big Ben, but designed to fit with the small town aesthetic. The name change is simply because I feel like guests actually take on the role of the Darling children more than they do Peter.

Little Nemo in Slumberland: Little Nemo may not be a Disney IP, but it has such rich and vibrant imagery, I think it could work really well as a Disney ride. Not to mention it’s in the public domain, so there shouldn’t be any legal issues. In many ways it’s very similar to Peter Pan’s Flight, so maybe it could also help balance the wait times between the two rides. Guests take on the role of Nemo and ride flying beds (or at least, benches that look like beds, with a headboard and a footboard) that soar out the bedroom window. What follows are awe-inspiring, almost surreal, scenes of Slumberland. Things start to distort and become chaotic as the dream turns into a nightmare. Before anything too awful happens, guests “wake up” back in Nemo’s bedroom while the voice of Nemo’s mother scolds us for eating before bed. For visual reference, I recommend the Osamu Dezaki pilot film that was created during the movie’s development, though I obviously wouldn’t put the giant Sauron eye in the ride. 

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: Orlando’s former double-track ride, but with Anaheim’s building exterior. I never got to experience this ride and I really want to.

Ever After Castle

Here it is, the traditional centerpiece of all Disney parks, now the centerpiece of Fantasyland instead. I personally think of most Disney castles as tall but not wide. This castle would be slightly different from the traditional Disney castle by taking up more ground space. I hate to sound blasphemous, but for this castle I’m thinking of something similar to Shrek’s Far Far Away Castle in Universal Singapore but with more detailed ornate decorations like Paris’ castle, and the outer walls slightly covered in ivy vines for a more inviting, homely look. It would also stand on top of an elevated foundation, surrounded by a moat. There would be a large courtyard in front of the main castle building, with the carousel placed in the center of it. The gift shop and the meet-and-greet are each placed on either the west or east side of the courtyard. The north of the courtyard would feature the restaurant on the ground floor, the entrance to the underground boat ride, and stairs to the second floor attraction. 

Cinderella’s Carriage Carrousel: Regarding the visual design, I want it to look like the pumpkin carriage turned into a carousel. The canopy could include fiber optic fairy dust that lights up at night.

Be Our Guest Restaurant: French cuisine. I really like Tokyo’s Beauty and the Beast ride and would love to import it, but I respect the OLC’s exclusivity rights too much. I wondered if I could make it a combination ride and restaurant where each table is a ride vehicle, but I worried that would cause motion sickness which is a big no-no for a restaurant. At the very least, for my version I would love to have animatronics perform “Be Our Guest” every 30 minutes or so. Also, perhaps every hour, Belle and Beast performers would come out onto the dance floor and invite guests to waltz with them. Hot Take: The Grey Stuff is very obviously a savory food as it is clearly presented on a tray of hors d'oeuvres in the movie. But since the version currently offered in the parks has been imprinted in fans’ minds I think it’s best to offer two versions: Savory (chicken liver pate) as an appetizer and Sweet (cookies and cream) as a dessert.

Royal Meet-and-Greet: I personally do not care much for meet and greets, but for the people that do, here you can meet the Princesses, some of the Princes, as well as non-Princesses such as Giselle, Esmeralda, and TinkerBell. 

Kingdom Treasures gift shop: Based on the Tokyo shop of the same name. 

Crystal Caverns Canal: Boat ride underneath the castle. My first idea for this ride was basically Voyage to the Crystal Grotto from Shanghai, if all the character statues were built out of crystals and mosaic tiles. Then I realized, there’s probably too much IP already in the land, so I think there could be an original story about the crystals being a source of magic for the kingdom, and have scenes of wizards and fairies harvesting the crystals and creating experiments with them. Sort of a “tour of the workshop” kind of ride. I’m thinking of something with the same vibes as Dreamflight in Efteling. 

Merlin’s Library / Yen Sid’s Library: Located on the second floor of the castle. Originally I wanted a ride in a similar vein to Symbolica in Efteling, but with a story like that of Mystic Manor in Hong Kong. Then I wondered if it would be feasible to have a ride in the second story, so I’m also okay with this being a walkthrough attraction.  I feel either wizard could work here. Merlin is the more well-known wizard, but Yen Sid is easier to create an original backstory for. The basic gist of the attraction is you wander around a library with little vignettes of magical items operating on their own; a quill pen writing  by itself, a large spell book turning its own pages, floating books sorting themselves on the shelves, etc. There could even be some interactive elements, such as paintings that change, or opening a book can project a scene “coming to life” and “escaping” the book.

Fairytale Gardens: Walkthrough garden. There would be lovely little vignettes scattered throughout, including Snow White’s wishing well, a giant beanstalk, and The Sword in the Stone placed in a little alcove in the castle’s outer wall. This would be outside the courtyard. Maybe off to the side, to the west, wrapping around the outer castle wall, next to Shadowland Forest.

Shadowland Forest

Inspired by the Black Forest of Germany, this area features spookier attractions. West of the castle, shares the border with Mysteryland and the Gravity Falls area. There would be plenty of fir, spruce, and pine trees to make it feel like an actual forest, maybe even hide some of the attractions from view. 

Snow White’s Scary Adventures : Building facade would include the Evil Queen peeking out her window. I would place the building nearest to Storybook Town Square, at the edge of the forest.

“Gingerbread Factory Tour” : Based on my twisted Hansel and Gretel dark ride idea. Guests are given a tour of gingerbread golems at work (something like Tim Burton’s version of Wonka’s factory if it were more surreal and set in 1800s Germany), then are chased through obstacles, such as lollipop blades swinging from the walls, and peppermint stick darts, by Hansel and Gretel themselves. They’ve been very distrustful of adults after their parents abandoned them in the woods, and after the witch held them captive. They deem the guests harmless, and let them go but warn them to never come back.

Candy Carnival shop: The ride would exit into a shop themed to a candy carnival safe haven that Hansel and Gretel built for children lost in the woods. Would feature gingerbread treats and a nice selection of old-fashioned candies and German sweets. Guests can also watch bakers and candymakers at work. (Despite the name, there are no actual rides here, just animatronic decorations.)

Dragon Mountain: I wanted a unique “Mountain” ride, much like how the Matterhorn and Everest are unique to their parks. And dragons are cool. Originally this was going to be based on Maleficent, but now I’m leaning more towards an original story. And to put a neat spin on things, instead of a fire-breathing dragon, it would be a wintery ice dragon! I would also love it if the dragon was not portrayed as a mindless, violent beast hoarding treasure, but a parent protecting their child from intruders.

I initially wanted a sub-land recreating Halloween Town (with a spooky "Scare-ousel") but I felt Fantasyland was already overrun with too many IPs (and seven carousels is enough for one park), so here an area is set aside for seasonal Nightmare Before Christmas or Villains themed events, leaving the Haunted Mansion free during the holidays. 

Disney Dreamland Railroad Fantasyland station: Styled after the ruins of a medieval castle. Located on the edge of the forest near Ever After Castle, next to the entrance to Winter Village.

Wonderland

East of the castle, on the border with Create-It-Land. While there would be plenty of natural green, there would also be an abundant mix of giant pink, purple, and turquoise “wildlife”, as seen in the initial scrapped concept art for Tokyo’s expansion. Giant mushrooms in place of benches,  trees decorated with misleading signs, lamp posts that look like giant flowers. March Hare would definitely be included as a walk-around character alongside Hatter and Alice. People often forget the tea party took place at the Hare’s and mistakenly believe Hatter to be the host, and I will not stand for this March Hare erasure.  I would also have plenty of card soldiers roaming around, “patrolling” the area.

Down the Rabbit-Hole: An upside-down funhouse with wonky mirrors, and trick doors galore! A hall of doors in the end would lead into the maze. I was thinking there could probably also be a madhouse ride portion where guests can experience the room actually turning upside down; inspired by Villa Volta in Efteling. 

Wonderland Maze: As much as I like the Alice in Wonderland ride in Anaheim, I personally feel that Wonderland is a world that is best experienced up close and at your own pace, which a maze perfectly embodies. While the maze would obviously be themed to classic animated Alice like the Paris version, it would have different environments, like Shanghai’s Tim Burton version. First half of the maze would be a forest-like environment with giant plants and singing flowers. Second half would have rose bushes, fancy iron fences, and carved stone walls and statues for the Queen of Heart’s castle area. There would be a handful of tiny doors scattered throughout that guests can crawl through as shortcuts. Among the character statues scattered around the maze, I really want to include the Mock-Turtle and Gryphon, based on their designs from the Jell-O commercial, perhaps on a sandy beach shore by a small fountain / pond.

House of Cards Banquet Hall: Inspired by the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall in Tokyo. Would follow the same eccentric and colorful design scheme, but I want it to look like a stone castle made out of cards. Definitely would have lovely stained glass windows. Desserts include Royal Heart Tarts. They could also come in souvenir cups and plates like the ones found in Tokyo.

Mad Tea Party: Would have a canopy roof to protect from the weather and direct sunlight, but I also wouldn’t mind a stained-glass version. Or even a canopy made of trees. Teacup designs would be a mix of various patterns from all versions (except Orlando’s, I do not care for the zigzag scribbles). Would also include the giant teapot with the Dormouse in the center. To help with queue waits, I’d even have two ride systems, much like how Orlando doubled their Dumbo ride. One could even be themed to the Hatter while the other to the March Hare.

March Hare’s tea shop: Would have the same building design as March Hare Refreshments in Paris. Would sell several varieties of tea, Unbirthday Cake, and macarons. Could also feature a long table with interactive tea things to play with, like Shanghai does at the end of its maze, and plenty of fancy chairs for photo-ops.

Mad Hatter’s hat shop: Hats, Mickey ears, and other headgear. To match the March Hare’s chimney ears, this building would resemble a large top hat. Would also feature hat racks for photo-ops, like Shanghai does at the end of its maze.

100 Acre Wood

East of Town Square, on the border with Create-It-Land. A tiny little area with tall trees providing shade, a lovely little Poohsticks Bridge over a small river, and a cozy corner for a meet-and-greet with Pooh and friends.

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day: Basically the same as Pooh’s Hunny Hunt in Tokyo, which includes the giant book facade, and the same level of crafted detail and technical marvel throughout the ride, but with scenes added for the “rain, rain, rain”, and Pooh’s hero party as the ending. I would also use Anaheim’s zany color scheme for the Heffalumps and Woozles room with some added special effects for even more zaniness.  The ride’s name change is just to both set it apart from the other versions, and because I realized with the exception of Pooh stuck in the honey tree, all the iconic scenes in the ride come from Blustery Day.

Pooh Corner gift shop: Also utilizes the same English cottage look as Tokyo’s.

Hunny Smackerels snack stand: Hunny Pot cupcakes, honeycomb, honey ice cream, and a separate cart for honey popcorn in lovely Pooh-shaped popcorn buckets. It would be really cute if the stand is actually inside a giant tree trunk, with a dutch door counter window for guests to order from. 

The next three sub-lands would be behind Ever After Castle, outside the perimeter of the railroad tracks border. The entrance to Winter Village is between Shadowland Forest and the castle, while the entrance to Encanto Valley is between Wonderland and the castle. Mermaid Lagoon is directly behind the castle, between the other two sub-lands and only accessible through them. Small mountains would form berms for each sub-land. For reference, think of how Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and Toy Story Land are arranged in Hong Kong.

Winter Village

Inspired by my Narnia theme park concept. This entire mini-land would be indoors, to have air-conditioning to sell the illusion of winter, and to preserve the artificial winter setup from the real-life elements outdoors. This mini-land would be round (roughly) so that the glass ceiling that lets in natural light can have a hexagonal snowflake design. At night time there’d be projections of Northern Lights. NOT Frozen themed. It’s a cute movie and all, but far overstayed its welcome before it was even released on DVD. Village would be a mix of Russian and Scandinavian architecture.  Can be used for a Santa Claus meet-and-greet during Christmas.

Enchanted Snow Palace: The planned but never built ride based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen. The concept art looks leagues better than the final product of Frozen Ever After.

“Winter Sleigh Ride”: Ride through winter scenery in sleighs pulled by reindeer. Technically a dark ride, since the entire subland is indoors, but feels like an outdoor ride.

"Snowball Arcade": I really wanted something to simulate snowball fights, but without the chaos and mess. Here, guests can throw snowballs at targets to win plush prizes.

"Russian cafe": Russian pastries and snacks

"Ice skating rink": Free if you bring your own skates.

Mermaid Lagoon

A scaled-down version of the land in Tokyo DisneySea, without the playground and kiddie rides. Like DisneySea, it would have a lovely seashell castle facade, with the attractions indoors. Unlike DisneySea, there would be a small lake in front with a ship restaurant docked on it.

“Under the Sea”: NOT a retelling of the movie, but instead an original story that would take place some time pre-movie. Follows Ariel on one of her outings as she explores the sea looking for new treasures to add to her collection. Final scene could be of Ariel in her grotto after completing her latest trip, but feeling unsatisfied as she wistfully looks at her collection, while instrumentals for “Part Of Your World” softly play in the background. 

King Triton’s Concert Hall: Just like the one in Tokyo DisneySea, this would be a 360 degree show with Ariel “swimming” in midair above the audience, a giant animatronic Triton, performer puppets of Flounder and Sebastian, and other mixed special effects. 

Undersea Carousel: Fish carousel. Underwater lighting effects and blows bubbles as it spins. 

Ariel’s Grotto gift shop

Ship restaurant: Mediterranean seafood. I mean, it’s on a human ship that’s not technically in Triton’s Kingdom, so I think this gets a pass for serving fish. It could even be themed to Chef Louis for a laugh. 

“Nighttime Water Show”: Just spitballing an idea, maybe the lagoon could also be used for a nighttime water show a la Fantasmic / World of Color. The viewing area could be across the lagoon from Triton’s castle; the lights of Triton’s castle would coordinate with the show.

Encanto Valley

A lovely recreation of the valley, with Casita and a little village area for shops and Colombian dining, and plenty of lush greenery. 

La Casa Madrigal: I really like @rrdcooc’s idea for Casita as a walkthrough attraction! It’s so cool! Especially the ideas for Pepa and Luisa's rooms. I wouldn’t change much, aside from adding a few extra touches, such as an interactive flower wall in Isabela’s room that mimics guests’ silhouettes (like Daniel Rozin's "Mechanical Mirrors"), and maybe a couple themed flat rides to add capacity, such as a flowery swing spinner ride in Isabela’s room, and a tiny jungle animal carousel in Antonio’s room. In Dolores's room, guests can see sound waves (like that Magic School Bus episode), and Camilo's room can contain "mirrors" with different character models that mimic guests' movements in real time (like VTuber avatars). Also includes a gift shop selling “homemade” fashions and plush toys by Mirabel.

“Magic Realism Art Exhibit”: While I think the final movie is perfect, I would have loved it if Casita more closely resembled its concept art, which leaned much more heavily into magic realism. This attraction would be a walkthrough art exhibit full of giant optical illusion paintings that guests can pose in for photo-ops. For reference, I’m recalling the Trick Eye Museum, a temporary art exhibit I went to years ago in Hong Kong.

Encanto Sing-Along: I’m not always a huge fan of the “book report” shows they do in the Parks, but in this case, most of Encanto’s songs are so specific to the story that removing them from the context of the movie wouldn't work (especially in the case of fan favorite “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”).  The stage can also be used for original Colombian performances, as well as from neighboring Latin American countries.

Julieta’s Arepas: Food cart. These arepas may not heal you, but they’re magically delicious! 

Arabian Oasis (scrapped)

Before Encanto was released and became one of my favorite recent movies, my initial idea was to put in an Aladdin-themed area. Not an exact recreation of Agrabah, more like a broad strokes version of Agrabah in the same manner as Arabian Coast in Tokyo DisneySea.

Magic Carpet Ride: A suspension ride in a similar manner as Peter Pan’s Flight, using the carpet vehicles. Fly through the Agrabah marketplace, over the desert, and above the clouds. Ride music features instrumentals from “A Whole New World”.

Scheherazade’s Tales From the 1001 Nights: Stage show.

Flavors of Agrabah: Arabian / Middle-Eastern cuisine 

Cave of Wonders gift shop: I think the theming is appropriate considering guests are exchanging money for goods and not stealing them (ideally).

Other parts:

World Galleria

Adventureland

Mysteryland

Create-It-Land

Discoveryland

[forensicated]

01x02 - A Friend In Need

This episode (and the one after) was shown out of sequence when it first aired (unless you lived in London). This is because of a Technician's strike against Thames TV. It was shown after The Sweet Smell Of Failure (London aired a Minder repeat in the same time slot for those 2 weeks)

(This appears to be before they used the Isle Of Dogs area as Canley when showing maps.)

Superintendent Brownlow asks Roy for his opinion on 3 recent bomb hoax phone calls. Roy believes they're pranks, however, the Commissioner and Home Office are both applying pressure on Charles to treat them as potential terrorism; especially as two of them were made to Jewish restaurants.

Roy is reluctant to step on Bob's toes as he has been investigating them since they began. Charles assures him it's no reflection on Bob, it just needs to be seen - by the higher-ups - like it's being taken seriously hence a Detective Inspector over a Uniform Sgt. Charles is also aware Bob has had a heavy workload of late and that he has a graduate probationer, PC Higgins, attached to him. 

Roy smirks and is told off by Charles for his refusal to have Higgins in CID for a few weeks, warning him that Higgins could be his governor in 10 years given the accelerated promotion his 'type' are getting. ('Type' being university graduates but the obvious disdain in both men to this thought is wonderful!). "I don't care how you do it but get it done."

Also unimpressed with the graduate is probationer Jim who tells him he just had to watch and listen in his first week. "But with you of course it'll be different. Work experience I suppose." The well-spoken Higgins agrees, telling the gathered officers that he'll be attached to an outer division for the next week and then to Police College for a few years. "And then come back as Sgt I suppose" June drawls. "Destined for high places are we?" Taffy laughs. "That's the theory."

Jim tells Higgins that he's lucky he's been placed with June as she's a good copper and 'one of the best'. June is visibly unsettled by her ex Dave Litten approaching them. She tells him to go and "park his arse" at Ted Roach's table rather than squeeze onto theirs. Taffy and Jim tell Higgins that it's something he's going to have to get used to. "If it's not Ackland Vs Litten it's Galloway Vs The Rest Of The World." 

Unmoved, Dave asks "Henry Higgins." ("It's Derek actually...") what he thinks of Sun Hill. He thinks it's quiet for an East End station and he expected more to be going on 'outside'. The officers explain it's not always like this and to treat it as the lull before the storm. They joke that they wouldn't be surprised if Roy had made the hoax calls himself to keep them on their toes. Dave tells them he's already had a run-in with him that morning, muttering about something. Higgins asks if that's what Roy is usually like and, sensing a wind-up, Taffy tells him: "No, not really. Nice quiet chap when you get to know him. You can always knock on his door and ask for a quiet cosy little chat. Very accessible. Especially towards the uniform branch. Father figure you might say."

"Father Figure" Roy is tearing into Bob after reading the file on the hoax calls and accuses him of cocking it up. "You don't bloody listen, do you? You're as pigheaded as ever!" Bob shouts back, warning him they need to be tactful and can't just crash bang wallop into it. Ted and Mike are hilariously making no secret that they're enjoying the show when Roy slams the door to his office. Roy snaps that it's just a prank and claims Bob has inflamed the situation by treating it with kid gloves and in doing so Bob has got no MO and no leads. Bob points out that he's been rostered on the early turn when none of the owners are available. He's bound by procedure and he has to treat each call as real and can't take shortcuts. He reminds Roy that Uniform don't have the luxury of getting cases passed up half worked on with evidence and lines of inquiry found like Roy and CID do. "Don't worry Sarge, the CID - as usual - will sort it all out. Know what I mean?" Bob warns him that when he falls from his high horse and needs help, no one will lift a finger, least of all him. "Get the violins, Robert." He snaps before the men place a bet on Roy cracking the case within 2 weeks.

A fourth call has come through, this time to a Greek restaurant. Tom Penny speaks to the owner and asks him if he's positive it's a hoax. The caller says they've cleared the restaurant and searched it. Tom tells him to double-check thoroughly to make sure. (Cor, imagine doing that now! I was even surprised when they had staff involved in searching the cinema with them in episode 143 but I can imagine that was partly due to having the person who was placing bombs involved in the search). He warns them not to touch anything suspicious and that they'll send the bomb car over. He then arranges for CID to be informed.

Mike tries his hardest to speak to men who mostly only understand Greek and want to go home that Roy is on his way and that no one can leave. Ted is... Ted. ❤ He only stops eating when Roy appears.

Ted tells him it's the same as all the others and that nothing has been found. Roy tells him he can leave and take Mike and uniform with him as he and Dimitri - an old friend - are going to go over everything. "Even if it takes all night."

"Your public is waiting for you out there, God help them!" Bob dismisses uniform from the briefing, placing Higgins and Jim together. Jim hasn't learnt all the bad habits of the others yet so he is partnering them together despite Jim being a probationer himself.

Mike and Ted are in bright and early to continue working on their cases. They're very amused that, come 9.20am, there's still no sign of Roy, nor did he write anything in the book about the case. He finally makes an appearance a few minutes later - paler than usual which is quite some doing.

Mike goes to make him a black coffee whilst Ted finishes dressing him, warns him to take water with his Ouzo and the boys try to find their boss some aspirin to dull his whimpers.

"The things I do for this job." Roy pouts before telling Ted he's found the specific phone box the calls came from as there are roadworks audible in all the phone calls and it's the only one that has had roadworks happening nearby all week. He suspects it's a way for 2 men to avoid paying their bills when eating out by getting a friend to ring and make a bomb threat. Through his investigation, Roy has found 2 men in particular who requested the bill at each restaurant just before the threats came in and they had to evacuate. Being the 80's, there's no one at BT to speak to over the weekend so Roy tells Mike and Ted to visit every local eatery to ask them to keep their eye out for 2 men making large orders and behaving suspiciously. He wants them to call the station so that officers can catch those responsible.

Roy tries to relieve his hangover by dunking his face in cold water much to Bob's amusement. Bob mocks him and his 'for the sake of the job' excuse and says he has no sympathy for him. He does however help him locate the towel dispenser when Roy misses it by a mile and almost faceplants into the wall... even if it is empty!

Mr Rutherford arrives at the station and insists on speaking to Roy about the bomb hoaxes. He gets riled when Rutherford implies that the police aren't doing much and directs him to "the thirteenth hole at the golf club" to speak to Brownlow.

The two men [one being Perry Fenwick] in question for the bomb hoaxes speak to their 'friend', a gullible magazine seller on the high street. He is oblivious that he's being set up to take the wrap should the police become involved. They slip him a few quid and ask him to make a call to a Chinese restaurant at approximately 2.30pm.

Roy takes his mood out on uniform by reading through the report book, first bollocking Taffy to redo his crime reports, then telling Bob he wants to see Hollis. As he does, a frequent flyer drunk called Lampton tries to make a donation to the police widows and orphans. "Charity, Dear Sgt, begins at home. And I'm beginning to feel like I live here." "I think I'll stick to vimto..." Higgins remarks after seeing Lampton out. "Me too!" Jim adds - if only you did, Jim!

Lampton finishes his bottle and places it in the gutter. Jim asks Taffy if he's nearly finished as there's only 5 minutes left. Taffy says he'll be 15 minutes and to get him a drink and he'll meet him at the pub. (The barmaid, Sadie, guests in several episodes over series 1 to 4. Cheryl Hall who goes on to play Smithy's mum. If only she'd been called Sadie and not Pauline it could have been a nice nod 😉) By the time Sadie serves Jim, they've already been paid for by Lampton. When he arrives, Taffy is horrified that Lampton brought them drinks and tells Jim they're leaving. Sadie asks Jim to remove Lampton, claiming he's his responsibility as he's drinking with him. Taffy explains it's a disciplinary offense to associate with a criminal on bail and they need to leave before the drink is misconstrued as a bribe. Jim feels bad but Taffy says Jim can do what he wants but he's not losing his job for a drunk. Jim wrestles Lampton out and tries to take him home.

At the Chinese restaurant, the suspects have arrived and work their way through the menu. At 2.15pm the older one asks for the menu again. The younger one groans and says he only wants a coffee as he's full up. Just after half 2, their friend makes it to the call box but the phone line has been cut. He hurries into a nearby shop to make a call. The shop assistant asks what he's doing, startling him. He runs off before he can end the call, leading to the assistant speaking to the person on the other end. Now sure of what is happening, the owner of the restaurant gestures to a waiter who alerts the other staff. Panicking, the older suspect shouts out that there's a bomb and there's a stampede of people to leave the restaurant, causing people to get hurt. The chefs leave the kitchen, entering the main room with huge machetes, looking for the suspects!

Outside Jim is trying to escort Lampton home as people scream and run from the restaurant. He has to leave Lampton - who drops his wallet in the confusion and runs over to take charge. At the station Tom and Reg are sorting the ambulance and police response to the restaurant. "[The staff] have caught the bomb hoax pair..." Reg smirks when he's asked for another ambulance. Roy hurries to the scene and congratulates Jim, telling him the two suspects will live - just - after their run in with the staff.

The next morning, Bob asks for volunteers to take Higgins out for his final shift...

No one volunteers so Bob asks Higgins who he wants to go out with and he replies, "With the hero of the moment, Sergeant. Carver." Unfortunately for Jim however, Lampton is in the front office to make a complaint, alleging that Jim has stolen his wallet.

Roy is in a buoyant mood which doesn't dim even when catching up on station gossip. "All that good work gone to waste." he sighs before laughing at Bob calling the Chief Super in on a Sunday. Bob explains he's hoping Lampton will come to his senses when he realises the importance of what he's accusing Jim of before it can go any further. Roy tells Bob that he knows where he is if there's anything he can do. "Esprit de corps." (Team moral) Bob sighs.

Brownlow reminds Lampton he was "under the weather' when he left the station and that he could have misplaced the wallet. Lampton insists he had it when he left and in the pub only for it to be gone when he returned home. "Who else could it have been? He took me home - why should he do that?" No good deed goes unpunished, JimJim. Lampton asks Charles what happens now - will the police sub him as he needs 'groceries' (ha!) Charles tells him he's jumping the gun and that he needs to speak to Jim and uniform. If he's satisfied there's a crime then he'll call in CIB.

No one believes Jim is guilty other than Lampton but it has to be looked into. Bob gives Jim a subtle heads-up whilst Taffy speaks to Brownlow. "It's not what you've done, it's what they think you've done!" Bob is more disappointed than anything, telling Jim he keeps making stupid mistakes and that he's a policeman, not a social worker. Jim is near tears, telling Bob that he's never taken anything from anyone in his life. He admits he felt sorry for Lampton because he has a problem. Bob tells him he's not the only one with a problem and sighs, telling him he's stupid enough to do it again.

Ted and Mike discuss Jim and they watch Taffy enter the canteen. Ted tells Mike that Taffy might be up for disciplinary if the Chief Super sticks to the book. Ted teases Taffy by calling him a 'Scab' (Taffy had swerved the uniform group staring silently at him and moved to sit alone before Ted spoke) and asks what happened. Taffy sighs and admits that each time he opened his mouth he seemed to drop Jim further in it. Charles had asked if Jim had ever mentioned being short of money. "Oh god..." Mike sighs.

Higgins is annoyed at being called in too as he wants nothing to do with it. "It's not going to do my career any good." "Right born leader of men you are." June drawls. Roy asks Bob how things are going and Bob admits the Super thinks Lampton is trying it on. As they chat an elderly lady makes a fuss at the front desk. Bob asks her to wait and then when she continues to complain he asks Higgins to deal with her. Lucky for Jim she's very honest. She's handing in Lampton's wallet! Bob has to pay up on the bet after Roy cracked the case in well under a fortnight. However, instead of keeping the money, Roy hands it to Jim and tells him to create a hamper of food for the lady who handed the wallet in. "She won't get a reward from Lampton will she and she's not got two pennies to rub together." Bob is absolutely gobsmacked at Roy's generosity. "I never thought I'd see the day, Detective Inspector Roy Galloway - Social Worker?" "Oh piss off!" Roy scoffs and hurries to the safety of his office.

[doctornilayxaksoy-esfahani]

sing me a song of ancient times, of forsaken gods and fallen empires; let me feel the heartbeat of history.

𓂀 𝚋𝚒𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢 || 𓂀 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜 || 𓂀 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚋𝚘𝚛, 𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚒𝚜

🏺𝙳𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝚁 𝙽𝙸𝙻𝙰𝚈 𝚈𝙰𝚂𝙴𝙼𝙸𝙽 𝙰𝙺𝚂𝙾𝚈-𝙱𝙰𝙸𝙻𝙴𝚈🏺

𝚊𝚐𝚎 & 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢: thirty-five & august 3rd, 1989.

𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 & 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚜: cis-woman & she/her/hers.

𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌 & 𝚜𝚎𝚡𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: demiromantic pansexual.

𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚜: in a relationship with elijah falvey; dating since august 18th, 2021.

𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗: hatshepsut kosem bailey, 7 ; rhiannon nurbanu falvey, 2.

𝚗𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍: deer park.

𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚋𝚘𝚛, 𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚒𝚜: four years ; since august 2020.

𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚛𝚜: egyptologist ; anthropologist ; classicist ; assyriologist ; caucasologist ; content creator ; author ; history of egypt wing and the hall of ancient mediterranean civilizations curator at blue harbor’s chambers museum.

𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚛𝚜: blue harbor university professor, taught: ancient civilizations studies (undergrad & grad), ancient near east studies (undergrad & grad), jewish studies and history (undergrad, grad, and post-grad), egyptology (undergrad, grad, & post-grad), ancient greek history (grad & post-grad), and turkish studies: language, history, and culture (undergrad, grad, and post-grad).

𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚖: hande erçel.

🏛️𝚃𝙻𝙳𝚁 ( trigger warnings: foster care, adoption, pregnancies, near-death experiences, comas, attack )

before coming to blue harbor, illinois...

Born in Mardin, Türkiye and abandoned on the steps of a foster care organization by her biological parents, separating her from her fraternal twin, Doctor Nilay Bailey grew up there for nine years before being adopted by the Baileys. Richard and Jasmine were two prolific scientists and patrons of science and the arts, being one of the richest families in the world and the owners of the Silk Road restaurants and Jade Palace hotelier, who had adopted a boy from Greece named Theo just years prior. Proving to excel in her studies, she started college at the age of twelve, starting her Bachelors at the University of Chicago before working on her Masters and Doctorates primarily at the American University of Cairo between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, along with doing online schooling with other institutes during the years. After she turned twenty-four and returned to London for awhile to work at the British Museum to prepare for her first dig back in Egypt, she had gone out with some coworkers for one last hurrah before meeting someone. She doesn't remember his name nor his face; But they had drunkenly slept together that night, then she left right away the next morning. Returning to Cairo at age twenty-seven, she'd only been back for a few months when she discovered that she was pregnant. Without knowing who the father of her baby was, she decided she was going to take matters into her own hands, deal with her high-risk pregnancy of having placenta previa by herself, and ensure that her daughter, Hatshepsut "Hattie" Bailey, would have the best life possible.

after coming to blue harbor, illinois...

After raising Hattie, making a discovery of a lifetime by discovering a second Library of Alexandria beneath the Temple of Dendera, and her career kickstarting with some books and television programs, Nilay was given the opportunity to be a curator at the Chambers Museum and the university in Blue Harbor, Illinois, and moved there in August 2020. Where she would soon meet Elijah Falvey not too long afterwards. She fell in love with the musician and while they tried to remain friends within that first year, after she had been attacked in July 2021 by a man trying to rob her, resulting in being in a two week-long coma before waking up, Nilay couldn't hide her feelings for longer. A few weeks later, her and Elijah confessed their feelings for each other and started dating. Eventually they moved in together and had a daughter, Rhiannon Falvey, in July 2022. They have been together ever since, going through every hurdle life has sent their way side-by-side.

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢; 𝙱𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝.

𓂀 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜 & 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚜

📜When it comes to Nilay's career as a documentary hostess and author, her career claim is of historian Bettany Hughes and historical fiction author Costanza Casati. She has written these books (and is currently writing a historical fiction book based on Shajar al-Durr):

Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore (2017) Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities (2019) Venus and Aphrodite (2022) Clytemnesta (2023) The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (2024) Babylonia (2024, UK ; 2025, USA)

And participated in these television programmes:

The Nile: Egypt's Great River (2019) Egypt's Great Treasures (2019) A Greek Odyssey (2020) Secrets of Pompeii's Greatest Treasures (2020) Egypt's Great Mummies: Unwrapped with Doctor Nilay Bailey - Also known as Top Ten Treasures: Egyptian Mummies (2021) Pompeii: Secrets of the Dead - One-off documentary (2021) Doctor Nilay Bailey's Treasures of the World - Three series (2021-2024) From Paris to Rome with Doctor Nilay Bailey - Travel series (2022) Exploring India's Treasures with Doctor Nilay Bailey - Two-part documentary (2023)

📜When it comes to her content creating, her career is like that of MoAnInc and Dig It With Raven. With this blog, she does reviews over books and movies that pertain to classical history, civilizations, and mythologies; She does reactions to movies and shows while also going in-depth about their historical accuracies and inaccuracies; She talks about history, civilizations, languages, and mythologies; She's done covers of songs from media such as EPIC: The Musical, Hadestown, Disney's Hercules, The Lighting Thief: A Percy Jackson Musical, etc.; And more. She started up the channel back in 2019 following the success of her four-part series The Nile: Egypt's Great River. While she hasn't reached one million subscribers yet, she still has a good amount of nearly five hundred thousand.

📜Her adoptive family, the Baileys, have been the owners of the Jade Palace hotelier since the late 1800s and the global fusion restaurant, the Silk Road, in the 1980s. Her parents started working on the JP location in Blue Harbor back in early 2021 before opening officially in April 2022, along with the Silk Road that's located at the hotel yet opened for the public as well as guests.

📜Her parents moved to Blue Harbor in July 2021, after her attack. Wanting to be closer to their daughter and granddaughter, not wanting to risk something happening again only for them to not be there to help them. Which would eventually end up being a good idea once news of Nilay's pregnancy with Rhiannon became known.

📜Nilay left the university after having Rhia. However, she still goes on campus to see her old coworkers and any remaining students she taught, along with occasional lectures, so her presence on campus can still be constant from time to time.

📜Since moving to Blue Harbor in 2020 and being a member of the Chambers Museum, she has joined the town's Historical Society to help protect historical locations and to help inform residents and tourists about Blue Harbor's rich history. She and her family have become avid donators concerning the upkeep for Laurel Village, which is Nilay's personal favourite neighbourhood in town.

📜About every few months, and with a group of others, Nilay goes to the local cemetery to help clean the tombstones. She started doing this not too long after her attack and her brush with death again. It helps scratch the itch whenever she's not excavation, while also helping her feel more grounded. She often forgets that she's alive still; Sometimes, she feels more like a ghost in purgatory. Going to the cemetery and cleaning the tombstones, tracking down the names of those who reside there so she can research them, and bringing flowers when she can helps to remind her that she's not a part of their world—yet.

📜While not necessarily ghost hunting, per se, she sometimes likes to go to abandoned and/or "haunted" historical places. Much like the tombstone cleaning, she does this whenever she feels more ghost than human, and needed to be reminded that she's still alive. While she has yet to catch a ghost, she has wondered a few times if there might've been someone else with her instead of those a part of her party.

📜She's a massive geek for historical reenactments. While she's more partial to ancient, medieval, and the Victorian and Edwardian historical movements, Nilay's more than ready to give anything a try. She has done some videos on her channel of her recreating ancient civilizations wardrobes. One of her most popular videos was her recreating an ancient Anatolian and an Minoan outfits, along with doing historically accurate clothing for Disney characters Megara, Jane Porter, Ariel, and Jasmine, Dreamworks characters Miriam from The Prince of Egypt and Marina from Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and an ancient Anatolian-inspired redesign of Wonder Woman.

📜She's an avid video gamer, completely obsessed with playing games such as Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Civilizations, Catan, and other similar games. She has done some videos for her YouTube channel talking about the games, particularly Assassin's Creed: Origins, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and Assassin's Creed: Mirage, and some subscribers have recommended she start up a Twitch channel as well so that she could play those games with her audience there.

📜Nilay has been apart of EPIC: The Musical since 2021, when Jorge Rivera-Herrans had reached out to her to help with fitting the mythological aspects and turning The Odyssey into a musical. After learning that she could sing, he encouraged her to audition for a role. She was granted the part of Athena, the Greek goddess of Wisdom, Battle Strategy, Arts and Crafts, and Patron of Athens, and has been playing her ever since.

𓂀 𝚗𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚢'𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

Nilay has been in a relationship with Elijah Falvey since August 18th, 2021; They also have a daughter together. — @elijahfalvey

Nilay has two daughters: Hatshepsut "Hattie" Kosem Bailey (father unknown) and Rhiannon "Rhia" Nurbanu Falvey.

Nilay's adoptive parents are Doctors Richard and Jasmine Bailey ; Her biological parents are Adem and Ceren Aksoy.

Nilay's adoptive brother is Theo Bailey ; Her biological siblings are her twin, Evrim Aksoy, and younger sister, Safiye Aksoy. — @theobailey & @safaksoy

Nilay's former personal assistant-turned-friend/pseudo-daughter-figure is Phoebe Yates, who now works at the Blue News. — @thephoebeyates

Nilay's best friend is Moshe Behar, whose family is friends with the Baileys and have been in each other's lives since she was adopted. — @moshebehar

Nilay has known James Bennett since he was stationed out in Egypt during her pregnancy with Hattie, whom has since become a brother to her and an uncle to her daughters. — @jamesxbennett

Nilay and Saul Weissberg met at their local Reform shul, him eventually joining her and her family for services and holidays over the years. He's become an uncle figure to her. — @saulweissberg

Nilay has been taking yoga classes taught by Thalia Edwards for awhile now, which has led for them to become good friends. — @edwardsthalia

Dylan Westwick is Theo's girlfriend and the mother of their fraternal twins, Leda and Lysander Westwick-Bailey, and Nilay's niece and nephew. — @dylxwestwick

Nilay had dated Isabel Guzman for a few months in late 2020/early 2021 before breaking up with her after realizing she was still in love with Elijah. — @isabelguzman

Nilay had faced down Leon Wozniak over the last pack of Nashville hot chicken tenders at the supermarket's deli; Despite her winning, he claims that she cheated. And he's Elijah's best friend, who wasn't too amused about the showdown. — @leonwozniak

[cocoartistwrites]

Hey Coco - loving the big sister energy you bring to your anons! Got a question. I'm headed to London in November and need your recs on the best places to stay. Looking for places with proximity to cool bars, shopping or events. Last time I went to London, I was a kid traveling with my parents and did all of the cliche, touristy stuff. Tons of fun but obviously a different experience compared to traveling as an adult and with friends.

firstly thank you so much <3

Secondly: London, like most big capital cities, obviously has several cool enclaves that are not necessarily all convenient for each other so none of these will be perfect but all of them should be pretty great. Also I don't know your budget! They're all quite established so should have plenty of options.

Soho - when we say 'I'll meet you in central' or 'let's go to central' we mean Soho. As a grown-up tourist you'll be near anything you need to be near e.g. bars and clubs and restaurants.

For a more chilled version with goodish transport links, walkable to the river, the tate modern, and the Globe try near Borough Market/off Bermondsey Street.

People like Camden, I don't know it that well tbh but go there for music/comedy sometimes.

Angel. Good transport links and some nice local bars and restaurants, can walk to Exmouth market for a bit of a vibe.

If you want to go east, somewhere round Broadway Market next to London Fields is great but maybe better for a day out and drinks than to stay, then end up at Night Tales for the night.

Also ran: Hackney, Brixton, Portobello

[mi6014manuelasanchezmartinez]

Independent Work: University Master's Programs

Since I know I want to further my education in a master's program a year after graduation, I decided to look on the UCAS website to search for universities that have the master's course that i want, the entry requirements and the tuition fee. Unfortunately, for many people (including myself), money is a big factor in choosing the right master's since i have to rely on any money i make during the year in between graduation and master's. I currently work in a gift shop where all the other locations are still within the North East, so if i were to move away from the North East, it wouldn't be possible to simply transfer to another location unlike people who would work in chain restaurants, for example, as it would be more than likely that the same restaurant would exist in another location. And even if i decide to risk it and move away from the North East, despite my best efforts, it is likely that i may never get a job in the time frame of 1 year.

Additionally, there have been many people that I have talked to who recommend a year abroad when doing their master's. They make connections become more worldly, and it's a cool experience. Unfortunately, tuition would be a lot more to pay with no Student Finance, but even then, luxuries like the NHS, which provides many things, including most importantly my ADHD and Asthma medication, can be a big challenge. For example, ECIB in Barcelona looks like an amazing university with so many courses that I would love to learn more about, like Stop Motion and Storyboarding. But with these different factors, it's something that i most likely won't be pursuing. Of course, that might change, i don't know what will happen 1 year in the future, but current me understands how hard that will be.

On the bright side the universities that interest me are;

Teesside University

Leeds Art University

Coventry University

Ulster University

Kingston University London

National Film and Television School

[latest-trends-2025]

Property Investment in Marbella: Why Lux World Realty is the Best Choice for Buyers in 2025

Marbella is more than just a luxury destination on Spain’s Costa del Sol — it is one of the most secure and rewarding places to invest in high-end real estate in Europe. Whether you're a seasoned investor or a first-time buyer looking for a second home or a golden visa opportunity, choosing the right agency is crucial. Lux World Realty stands out as the premier real estate partner in Marbella, thanks to their professionalism, personalized service, and exclusive access to the finest properties on the market.

Why Marbella is Europe’s Luxury Real Estate Hotspot

Unmatched Climate and Mediterranean Lifestyle

Marbella boasts over 320 sunny days per year, pristine beaches, and a lively cultural and gastronomic scene. From Michelin-starred restaurants to designer boutiques in Puerto Banús, Marbella offers the ultimate lifestyle for those seeking luxury, relaxation, and elegance.

Safe and Secure Investment Destination

Spain has one of the most transparent property laws in Europe, and Marbella has been a favorite destination for high-net-worth individuals from the UK, Middle East, Scandinavia, Germany, and beyond. The market remains stable and resilient, even in times of global uncertainty.

High Rental Demand and ROI

With tourists and digital nomads pouring in year-round, owning a property in Marbella can generate strong rental income — especially in luxury beachfront villas or apartments with panoramic sea views. Short-term holiday rentals, long-term expat leases, and corporate stays all contribute to Marbella’s booming rental market.

Lux World Realty – Marbella’s #1 Luxury Real Estate Agency

When it comes to buying property in Marbella, Lux World Realty is not just another agency — they are your trusted investment partner. Here's why:

Specialized in Premium & Off-Market Properties

Lux World Realty focuses exclusively on high-end villas, beachfront estates, modern apartments, and gated community homes. Many of their listings are off-market, giving their clients an edge in Marbella’s competitive real estate landscape.

Local Experts with Global Vision

With deep roots in the Costa del Sol and international experience, their agents offer insightful, strategic advice tailored to international buyers. Whether you're buying from Dubai, London, or Geneva, they understand your expectations, language, and standards.

Full Legal, Financial & Tax Support

Navigating property transactions in Spain involves legalities, taxes, and local bureaucracy. Lux World Realty provides end-to-end assistance, including:

NIE application

Legal contracts

Notary support

Golden Visa eligibility

Mortgage coordination

Currency exchange optimization

Their multilingual team ensures seamless communication and a stress-free buying process.

Confidentiality and Professionalism

Their clientele includes CEOs, celebrities, investors, and luxury lifestyle seekers. Discretion, transparency, and a client-first approach are the hallmarks of every transaction at Lux World Realty.

Top Locations in Marbella for Investment (Curated by Lux World Realty)

1. Golden Mile

This is Marbella’s most exclusive address. Lux World Realty offers ultra-luxury villas and modern penthouses with private beach access, panoramic views, and unmatched prestige.

2. Nueva Andalucía

Ideal for golf lovers and investors. Lux World Realty’s listings here include stunning contemporary villas, apartments, and homes close to Marbella’s best golf courses and international schools.

3. Sierra Blanca

A gated community known for its privacy and security. Lux World Realty features designer estates and high-tech homes in this elite hilltop location with sea and mountain views.

4. Puerto Banús

Luxury shopping, nightlife, and yachting define this area. Perfect for short-term rental income, Lux World Realty offers waterfront apartments and stylish penthouses here.

5. La Zagaleta

The crown jewel of Marbella’s gated communities. If you seek absolute exclusivity, Lux World Realty can help you access multi-million-euro mansions in this billionaire's enclave.

Marbella’s Real Estate Trends in 2025: What Buyers Should Know

Rising property values in top-tier neighborhoods

Increasing demand for eco-friendly and smart homes

Surge in remote buyers from Europe, Asia, and the Gulf

Expansion of Golden Visa programs for investors

Marbella remains a low-risk, high-reward market

Lux World Realty is constantly updated on these trends, providing real-time market data, price analysis, and opportunity mapping for every client.

Why International Buyers Choose Lux World Realty

Hassle-Free Buying Experience

From viewing to notary signing, Lux World Realty ensures efficiency, honesty, and professionalism every step of the way.

Golden Visa Assistance

Investing €500,000 or more in Spanish property qualifies non-EU citizens for the Spanish Golden Visa. Lux World Realty has a dedicated legal team to handle your visa application from start to finish.

Multilingual & Multicultural Team

Fluent in English, Arabic, Russian, French, German, and Spanish, they bridge the communication gap and eliminate cultural misunderstandings.

Exclusive Post-Sale Support

Once you buy, their relationship doesn’t end. They offer:

Property management

Rental marketing

Renovation and design

Concierge and lifestyle services

Client Testimonials

“Thanks to Lux World Realty, I secured a villa in Marbella’s Golden Mile within weeks. They handled everything — paperwork, bank setup, even furnishing the home. Highly recommend!” — Amira K., Dubai

“Professional, honest, and incredibly well-connected. Lux World Realty helped me find an off-market apartment in Sierra Blanca with a view that blew me away.” — James T., London

Your Dream Property in Marbella is Just One Call Away

Whether you're looking for a beachfront penthouse, a secluded villa, or a high-yield rental apartment, Lux World Realty is your best guide to the Marbella property market. Their personalized service, unmatched portfolio, and deep market knowledge make them the top choice for luxury property buyers in 2025.

[islifearecipe]

Gravy Baby Malacca Review: OMG the pies…

Gravy Baby Malacca Review: Best Restaurant in Melaka?

Gravy Baby Malacca Review: Where East Meets West in a Saucy Love Affair: AKA Gravy, baby… Oh, my dears! What an absolute treasure I’ve stumbled upon during the families recent Malaysian adventures! Gravy Baby in Malacca (or Melaka, if we’re being proper about it) is the sort of place that makes one contemplate missing your flight home on purpose: I was literally thinking about telling our driver to push our return out by an hour or so, but Jude Jude had school the next day…

Sitting pretty along the Melaka River side in the historic heart of Malacca, this fusion café has apparently been causing quite the stir among locals and tourists alike—and after my first visit, I can bloody well see why! It was mobbed by a smorgasboard of people, and it was a buzzing, food was a flowing, and cocktails were a shaking. Its quite cool and rather extensive menu was conceptualised by its British executive chef, Paul Elliot , last being the Head Chef at the Rag – Army & Navy Club, London.

Upon entering, we were greeted with the most wonderful mishmash of aromas, and décor which is uber-cool on all fronts. Exposed brick and then “fun-fare-style” light-bulbs and signs: which I have to say are hystercial. Have a wee zoom in on the photo of the restaurant interior with amy in it. Seriously funny: I like Dad Jokes, and these nailed it.

Also the staff need a call out. A few Filipinos were front of house and serving us and they were just most-excellent. Gravy Baby, serisouly you staffing choices were excellent. We felt like family this day, and really did not want to leave: #BeProud!!! Here comes: Gravy Baby Malacca Review.

Gravy Baby Malacca Review: Now, onto the food, which is what you’re all here for! Gravy Baby’s concept is brilliantly simple yet utterly mad—taking traditional Malaysian dishes and giving them a Western gravy twist, while also offering Western classics with Malaysian flavours. It sounds like the sort of fusion experiment that could go horribly wrong, but blow me down if they haven’t nailed it! The Chef is a genius!!! Their signature dish, Rendang Roast, features tender beef slow-cooked in rendang spices, then served Yorkshire-pudding-style with mashed potatoes and coconut-lemongrass gravy. The first forkful had me making the sort of noises one typically reserves for private moments, causing the nice Singaporean family at the next table to ours shoot me concerned glances.

The restaurant has found quite the following on social media, such as Instagram, thanks to their photogenic dishes and somewhat daring flavour combinations. The Braised Steak and Ale Pie is perfect for the Instagram crowd. I spotted several influencer types at neighbouring tables attempting to capture the perfect “gravy pour” food porn shot, which provided additional entertainment as I tucked into my pie unabashed and undistracted, almost…

Gravy Baby Price: Gravy Baby Malacca Review

Price-wise, Gravy Baby sits comfortably in the mid-range category. A hearty meal for two with drinks will set you back about 120-150 Malaysian Ringgit (roughly SGD 20-25), which I consider an absolute bargain given the quality, creativity, and portion sizes.

Gravy Baby Menu: what did we eat today in Malacca?

I am not a fan of massive menus and this one is collassal, but you know, it kind of works. It is sectioned, so it is almost like having ten versions of the Gravy Baby Menu in one. Gravy Baby Malacca Review, here we go: Let me explain the sections:

TOAST on Gravy Baby Menu: so you can choose from ~10 dishes gthat come on toast, for example Poached Eggs on Toast, or Scrambled Avocado Toast.

EGGS: yeap, you guessed it ~10 egg dishes, including Chilli Dipping Eggs, and Egg Florentine.

FRENCH TOAST: Only four options for this bad boy, so Classic French Toast to Apple Berry French Toast… interesting.

GOURMET BREAKFASTS, and MORE GOURMET BREAKFASTS: I should have checked if “all-day” but some of these are killer. Clearly Chef’s British heritage (minus the bacon) has kicked in here. Full English Breakfast, and even the American classic Steak and Eggs, and on page two All American, and New York Brunch.

GRILLED CHEESE on Gravy Baby Menu: three cracking sarnie options leaking melted cheese faster than the Titanic filled up.

OUR INFAMOUS GRAVY BABY PIES: I agree with this terminology after the pie I consumed today, with the most heaveny gravy. Yeah a pie, WOW moment and some!!! Try the Braised Steak and Ale (as we did), or Pumpkin and Apricot Tagine (what the…).

SANDWICHES AND WRAPS on Gravy Baby Menu: Just a huge selection, like a bus load of choices. How about Tuna Melt, or Pastrami and Turkey?

CHICKEN WINGS: From Buffalo, to Garlic Parmesan Rub chicken wings, they have the lot.

BURGERS: Folks, a full two pages of burgers, there’s a Gravy Baby Menu all on it’s own right here. But, no. The selection is crazy with Greek Lamb Burger and The Cod Fish Burger being high on everuone’s order list.

TEX-MEX, TACOS, and FAJITAS, Gravy Baby Malacca Review: Yep, I truly kid you not, this place has a menu like the Tardis. It’s just totoally bananas. This is another THREE pages of options. How do they keep fresh produce not frozen? Now I am starting to be a little negative in my thoughts… Anyhoo, you can get Quesadilla, Tacos galore and Chargrilled Ribeye Fajitas.

SALADS: Luckily there’s only eight to choose from. Seriously… Grab a Farmer’s Chicken or Nicoise Salad perhaps. Hey snack on that whilst reading the rest of the Gravy Baby Menu.

HASTA LE PASTA: A mere eight options for this page… Yes EIGHT, including Spaghetti Seafood Aglio (Wifey had this – exceptional), and Truffle Mushroom Fettucinne.

PIZZA and FLATBREADS: Sixteen options to choose from, wow. These smorgasbord of flat foods includes Philly Cheese Steak (now there’s an idea…), and Smoked Duck and Peach (WOOF!!!).

CURRIES, Gravy Baby Malacca Review: There’s only eight of these (only) with Gravy baby Signature Curry and British Pub Curry (I love that).

CHICKEN: Yes, a whole page of five dishes just for chicken inclusion, with Jerk Chicken and Peri Peri Chicken.

STEAKS: With the usual T-Bone (sadly overcooked and seriously chewy), and Sirloin but also a whole 1.4-6Kg Tomas: WOOF!!!

PLATES and BOWLS: This extends over two pages and includes dishes such as Garlic Tiger Prawns, Fish n Chips and even Sunday Roast – I am liking that.

HOT DIGGIDY DOGS: Four hotdog opfferings from classic “Naked” Hot Dog, to the infamous Chilli Dog.

SUPER SOUPS: I like that play on words, haha. I also like Thai Coconut Chicken Noodles, and Italian Minestrone.

GRAZING MENU: This also extends over two pages wirth dishes like Bowl of Chilli (my next choice when we go back), Fried Mantu Buns with Peking Duck and Hoi Sin (what Amy ordered: Yummo), and even Deep-Drief Caremelised Brussel Sprouts.

And finally, FRIES: SIX types for goodness sake… Poutine 21, and Beef Chilli Cheese Chips wold bt two call-outs.

There is a dessert menu too, but my fingers are bleeding from having typed out all the above… haha.

See what I mean about the Gravy Baby Menu? It is just insanely massive, cum confusing, but from the seated pax it seems to be working. It was mobbed in here. Question buzzing through my head: how do you keep fresh ingredients to be able to fire these above every day, it’s just a massive choice. I will admit, Team Baby Gravy, for me, it is just too damned big, too much choice, but you have the most amazing business and heavimg customer throng, so will know way more than I.

FRIED 'MANTOU': Gravy Baby Menu Malacca

Fried ‘Mantou’ @ RM 24++ Peking Duck & Hoi Sin Sauce Mini Sliders, Cucumber & Spring Onion. These were sublime, and didn’t touch the sides when Amy got her hands on them. Total genius of a dish, wondr duck with that sweet Hoi Sin, hit of onion and then that deep-fried crunch and gooey of the mantou buns. Seriously good grub.

SPAGHETTI SEAFOOD AGLIO: GRAVY BABY MENU

Spaghetti Seafood Aglio: Mussels, Clams, Prawns, Squid, and Shimeji Mushrooms all wrapped in a light garlicky Aglio with chilli flakes and fresh parsley. @ RM 42++. Wifey stated this was the best she has ever had, and was all goo goo gaga (AKA silent) when eating down on this bad boy!!!

GRAVY BABY BRAISED STEAK AND ALE: Graby Baby Malacca Menu

Braised Steak and Ale: Melt-in-the-mouth steak with a splash of Guinness. @ RM 28++ for just pie and gravy. Likely one of the very best pies I have ever eaten. This was true quality, and the gravy, wow the gravy baby (see what I did there), was just exceptional. This is a die die must. try once in your life dish…

T-BONE STEAK 350G: GravyBaby Menu

T-Bone Steak 350G – @ RM 185++. One of the higher quality steaks, this cut delivers optimal tenderness and satisfying flavour. Add 2 regular sides and a sauce. Soooo disappinting after all the other amazing food. Clearly this had been left under the lamps too long, with cold chips and a way over-cooked and super-chewy steak. Very sad ending to the food this day.

Gravy Baby Review: Gravy Baby Malacca Photos

Gravy Baby Service

The service at Gravy Baby deserves a standing ovation, the Philippines rules, with our servers coming from there—attentive without hovering, knowledgeable without being pretentious, and refreshingly patient with my endless questions about ingredients and techniques.

When I asked about the inspiration behind the restaurant concept, our server brought out the owners, a delightful couple—he Malaysian, she British—who explained that Gravy Baby was born from their cross-cultural dinner parties where fusion food became their love language: so let’s wheel in a British Chef... Loving that!!!

GravyBaby Malacca: Voice of the Restaurant

FAMOUS FOR COCKTAILS & PIES.

“While the unique setting of GravyBaby is inviting, the main reason to visit is the sumptuous food. Our British renowned chef has produced a classic, a la carte menu of the highest quality which includes some tried and tested Cocktails and Pies. The GravyBaby a la carte menu will change seasonally so you can enjoy a new gastronomic experience throughout the year.”Voice of the Customers: Gravy Baby Restaurant Review

Online reviews for Gravy Baby are overwhelmingly positive, with the restaurant boasting an impressive 4.7/5 on Google from over 900 ratings. “The most innovative food in Malacca without being gimmicky,” declares one local reviewer, while another writes, “Worth the 2-hour drive from KL. That Laksa Pie haunts my dreams.” One particularly enthusiastic Australian raved, “I’ve eaten here four times in three days. The staff now know my name and dietary requirements. No regrets.” My personal favourite was from a British expat who simply wrote, “Finally, a place that understands both proper gravy AND sambal. My Malaysian wife and I have stopped arguing about dinner plans.”

Gravy Baby Malacca Review: Final Thoughts

As I reluctantly waddled out of Gravy Baby after my most amazing meal ( for this trip, anyway), I couldn’t help but feel I’d experienced something truly special. In a historic city filled with traditional eateries and tourist traps, Gravy Baby offers something genuinely innovative without sacrificing authenticity or flavour. It’s the culinary equivalent of a beautiful friendship between two food cultures, each bringing out the best in the other while creating something entirely new.

And so, my darlings, should you find yourself in Malacca with rumbling tummies and a sense of adventure, do pop into Gravy Baby. Just don’t blame me when you end up extending your stay just to work your way through their menu. I’m already planning my return trip, with a small cool box dedicated entirely to smuggling home some of those magnificent braised beef and ale pies. Malaysian customs might have questions, but some treasures are worth the interrogation!

[blueorchidhotels]

London Calling, Best Hotels Near Liverpool Street Station You’ll Love

If you’re heading to London and want to stay close to everything — whether it's Shoreditch street art, Tower Bridge sunsets, or the hustle of the financial district — this is for you. Here’s why Tower Suites by Blue Orchid is the go-to stay near Liverpool Street Station 🚆

📍 Location Goals

Located just a 15-minute walk from Liverpool Street Station (Google Map: Tower Suites → Liverpool Street Station), Tower Suites puts you right between East London cool and historic London charm. Walkable? Absolutely. Instagrammable? 100%.

🛌 Cozy Meets Luxe

From stylish studios to sweeping suites, every space is designed to chill, work, or just vibe. Comfy beds, epic city views, workstations (for remote life), and free WiFi? ✔️✔️✔️

🍝 Foodies, You’re Covered

Feeling fancy or just hungry after a long day? You’ve got:

Cento Restaurant – Italian dreams 🍝

Tiffin Tree – Spicy Indian indulgence 🌶

Simply Fresh To Go – Healthy & quick 🍏

Sapphire Bar + The Skyline Rooftop – For late-night drinks & London views 🍸🌆

💆‍♀️ Unwind in Style

After a city stroll or Zoom marathon, hit up the Adamo Spa & Gym. A little wellness goes a long way in the heart of London.

🎡 Close to the Cool Stuff

Stay near:

🏰 Tower of London

🌉 Tower Bridge

🍽 St. Katharine Docks

🌿 Sky Garden

🚤 Tower Pier (perfect for boat rides to Westminster or Greenwich)

TL;DR

Tower Suites by Blue Orchid = comfort + location + vibes. Perfect for: tourists 🧳, business nomads 💻, couples 💕, and weekenders 🌆 Bonus: You’re near Liverpool Street without the chaos.

📍 Quick Directions: Tower Suites → Liverpool Street Station (Google Maps)

[webdesignanddevelopmentontario]

Restaurant Web Design in London, Ontario: A Recipe for Digital Success!

In the digital world, today's restaurant site is more than a simple digital menu to display the opening hours and the first impression that many customers have of your brand. For restaurants in London, Ontario, creating professional websites involves responding with a beautiful design between an empty dining room and a flourishing restaurant. Either run a comfortable bar in the old east or handle a gastro pub in the city center, your presence in line accounts. Online restaurant design in London, Ontario, is essential, and the right website may increase your hotel business. Because the restaurant's online design is important

London, in the UK, has a dynamic scene and cooking papers. Traditional dishes, traditional hunts, and international cooking, restaurants compete with fragrance and visibility. In a market where guests try to Google before leaving, Web design London Ontario is a key in making customer decisions. According to industry reports, over 70% of people consult a restaurant's website before deciding on dinner. Functionality, user experience, and performance are just necessary.

Key Features of an Effective Restaurant Web Design

More than 60% of the local search is on mobile devices. You can lose customers immediately if your website doesn't look good on phones or tablets. A reactive design ensures your site looks great and works well on all screen sizes. Your menu is often the most visited site. You have to a place that is finding, soon to charge and friendly. Restaurant Web Design uses an HTML-formatted menu that can be seen and easily updated. Despite the third integration as an open reservation system or together, providing online reservations stimulates your customers.

Transparency in in-line orders is essential for restaurants that offer takeout or delivery. Your phone number, address (connecting to Google Maps), operational hours, and social media profiles should not be visible and clickable. Customers should not dig into this information. High-quality images of your dishes, lunchroom, and staff can turn your site. The visual story is powerful - make your food irresistible even before the customer passes the door.

The Role of Professional Website Design in London, Ontario

This includes optimizing beautiful words, on-page descriptions, and specific content placement. If money and elegance, or money and lyric family, design, colors, and letters should communicate your brand's identity. At the same time, a website design can be essential to Budget's owners, working with a professional website designer in London is better. Adapt the model and functionality to your correct needs. Website design London Ontario is optimized for fast loading, essential for the experience and the user's reference. Continuous technical support means you are never left alone when things go wrong.

Professional websites can provide transparent integration using these Systems as a marketing platform. A London-withered stylist can best understand the market, the competition, and customer expectations than a distant freelancer, whether it's a new restaurant or refreshing your digital, a professional website may pay for cultivated reservations, best retention of the customer, and high profits. The web is still evolving, and the updated attitude is essential. That's about 2025 Tendencies of Dog in line that restaurant owners in London. One of the best agencies like Customer Contact Solutions - London, Ontario Canada is often the best fit because they offer local support, include the market, and provide measurements.

Conclusion

A well-crafted website is not just a luxury for restaurants in London, Ontario; it's a need. This helps go out of a cruise, disliked market visitors in loyal customer visitors and tell about your unique story in a digital format. From a removable reaction in online order and complete pattern, each item must work together to create a transparent experience for your customers. In town with the city and culture, experienced customers do not allow an outdated or inefficient website to keep your restaurant.

[mmelectrical]

Trusted & Certified Electricians in London UK – MM Electrical London

When it comes to hiring reliable and professional electricians in London UK, choosing the right company makes all the difference. With years of experience, a strong reputation, and a commitment to quality service, MM Electrical London is your go-to provider for comprehensive and trustworthy Electrical Services London.

Why Choose MM Electrical London?

MM Electrical London is not just another name among the numerous Electrical Companies London. What sets us apart is our focus on delivering safe, cost-effective, and customer-focused services across domestic, commercial, and industrial sectors. Whether you need a simple socket repair or a full electrical installation, our team of fully qualified and insured Electricians in London UK is here to help.

Our Extensive Range of Electrical Services London

We offer a wide array of Electrical Services London tailored to meet the diverse needs of our clients. These include:

Full and partial rewiring

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All services provided by MM Electrical London meet British Standards (BS 7671) and are carried out with the utmost professionalism and attention to detail.

Residential Electrical Solutions

Whether you're renovating your home or dealing with faulty wiring, MM Electrical London is the name homeowners trust. Our residential Electrician In London services cover everything from modern lighting upgrades to complete rewiring projects. We provide clear pricing, fast response times, and work that’s done right the first time.

Commercial and Industrial Electrical Experts

Businesses across the capital rely on MM Electrical London for professional-grade electrical solutions that ensure efficiency and safety. Our commercial and industrial services are designed to minimize downtime and meet strict compliance standards. As one of the most dependable Electrical Companies London, we serve offices, retail units, warehouses, restaurants, and more.

Emergency Electrician in London

Electrical emergencies don’t wait, and neither do we. MM Electrical London offers fast-response emergency services to tackle issues such as power outages, electrical surges, or unsafe wiring. Our 24/7 Electrician In London team ensures peace of mind whenever you need urgent help.

Certified & Accredited Electricians in London UK

All work is carried out by certified NICEIC-approved electricians in London UK, ensuring your installations are safe, legal, and efficient. Our team stays up to date with the latest regulations and technologies to provide the best service possible.

Transparent Pricing, No Hidden Costs

At MM Electrical London, we believe in clear, upfront pricing. Whether you're booking routine Electrical Services London or an emergency call-out, you'll always know exactly what you’re paying for.

Areas We Cover

As one of the leading Electrical Companies London, we proudly serve all areas across Greater London, including:

Central London

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If you’re searching for a reliable and affordable Electrician In London, MM Electrical is just a call away.

Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed

Our clients choose MM Electrical London not only for our technical expertise but also for our friendly service, punctuality, and attention to detail. We take customer satisfaction seriously, and our numerous 5-star reviews speak for themselves.

Contact MM Electrical London Today

Need qualified electricians in London UK? Trust MM Electrical London for reliable, efficient, and affordable Electrical Services London. Whether it's an emergency repair or a planned upgrade, we’re here to help.

📞 Call us today or visit our website to request a free quote.

Also Visit Our Latest Post

[tameblog]

This Gin & Rosemary Sparkling Lemonade, named The Ophelia, will vie with Gin & Tonic to be your favorite gin libation. It’s a cool, tart and fresh gin cocktail with the hint of lemon and rosemary; it’s a great summer sipper that works year round. I first shared this post for a Gin & Rosemary Sparkling Lemonade almost ten years ago. I had just moved, I was getting settled and also segueing from full time web developer to full time food and cocktail blogger with an emphasis on my new thing…Friday Cocktails. I remember the very first cocktail that I published on these pages was this Vootbeer. While I enjoyed making cocktails at home for friends, my blog was devoid of them so it was a first and an OMG I’m going to sound like Sally Field, ‘”They liked it, they really liked it!” Want to save this recipe? Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week! With such a resounding response, I decided to start a weekly cocktail series so each and every Friday, for years, I posted a new cocktail. I had a plethora of recipes; ones from when I first starting enjoying cocktails, like this simple Bacardi Cocktail, the Brandy Slush I started making for friends as a young married woman that is still kept on hand in in the freezer every summer, to the to ones I discovered when searching for something perfect, like this Margarita. When I first published this cocktail, it was after being contacted by a magazine staffer from Denver’s 5280 Magazine. They had recently published a ‘Best’ list that was near and dear to my cocktail loving heart, ‘The Best Bars in Denver.’ They wanted to know I would be interested in featuring one of the special cocktails that they discovered in this gargantuan effort. Of course I said yes but let’s be honest; they really should have contacted me BEFORE so that I could have helped them narrow down those decisions…don’t you think? I knew you would agree! I did have one caveat; it would have to be a cocktail that a home connoisseur could make. One that both myself and my readers could pull together without having to search far and wide for ingredients or require they make a homemade bitters. Natasha, the editor of the piece, got approval and suggested that I prepare The Ophelia Cocktail from Olivéa’s, a Gin & Rosemary Cocktail served in a restaurant and bar located in an area in Denver called Uptown; located east of Denver’s downtown area along 17th Avenue (so sad; they have since closed). Olivéa’s might be gone but this Gin & Rosemary Sparkling Lemonade remains a favorite. Rosemary is used to make a flavored simple syrup which is combined with gin and lemon juice in a glass filled with ice, before being topped with club soda. When I decided to take new photos I was lucky. I had just purchased rosemary to plant in my garden, lemons are always in the fridge, soda was in my cupboard, and I always have gin on hand. I was curious and did a search to see if anyone else had made this cocktail and I did discover a different recipe that revised it a bit and used ginger beer instead of club soda. I imagine you could do that but I wouldn’t; the club soda allows all of the other flavors to shine; sometimes ginger beer can be overpowering…if you decide to test it; use it sparingly. I had recently been gifted a bottle of Brockman’s Gin and this was a good opportunity to try it out. Distilled in London, this is no London Dry Gin. Billed as intensely smooth, what I noticed most was the light hand with the juniper and the evident presence of the blueberries and blackberries that the distillery includes in their botanicals. Also in the mix are Bulgarian coriander, Valencia orange peels, orris root, cassia bark, angelica root, almonds and lemons. I have so many friends that eschew gin because of the pine notes of the juniper so it will be interesting to see how this fares with them. Since I would be mixing a cocktail that already has the evergreen scent of rosemary, I thought this would be the perfect use and it was. Ophelia, the Good Girl Being reminded of this cocktail also brought about another memory. Ophelia the dog. A friend on Facebook, a local attorney, Trent owned a beautiful St. Bernard and her name was Ophelia. I don’t know Trent personally even though we both live in Metro Denver, he in the city, me in the burbs. I guess we are the quintessential ‘Facebook friends’ as we have some commonality and in particular I’ve enjoyed watching his hi-jinks with Ophelia…we saw her run, play, even swim at Wash Park. Ophelia the pup! Born on February 12, 2014, it was exceptionally clear how much love and trust was between them, especially as Ophelia aged (all too quick with bigger breeds) and started to develop some physical problems in her last couple of years. St. Bernard’s always conjure images for me that include traipsing through the snowy mountains to rescue an unfortunate soul; how fitting that the Greek origin of the name Ophelia means “help” or “aid.” Ophelia was not a working dog though…she was a play with her Dad dog. So when she started to suffer some medical issues; it affected everyone who loved her, from near and far. Not just the hip problems more often associated with the breed; sadly she had developed cancer in one of her legs and eventually required an amputation of a front leg to stave off having the cancer spread. Ophelia the Elder at 10 years old We followed along as Trent helped her walk, eventually bought her a huge cart to take her places and then eventually made that awful, terrible but compassionate decision that enough was enough and our dear Ophelia was gone. She was a lucky one though; she was well loved and so well taken care of; putting her to rest was just that; it was time for her to rest and no longer struggle. It’s those of us left behind that do the struggling…I still miss my sweet Abbie who has been gone eleven years now. I know I will think of her every time I make this cocktail and if you try it; give some good thoughts to Ophelia; I hope each one of us has a memory of a very good boy or girl. It’s been a few months and while Trent will never quite be over Ophelia, he did agree to foster another St. Bernard; a male found in dire straights in Mexico. Aurelius Arrives! A young and exuberant handful that we all love already…and so does Trent! Yes he is getting adopted and re-named Aurelius, Latin for “golden” or “gilded.” He is golden, he has landed with the best Dad! But now, back to this Gin & Rosemary Sparkling Lemonade. The only change I’ve made over the years from the original recipe was to add a lemon wedge and put it in the cocktail as garnish with the rosemary. Probably stemmed from me having some leftover lemons when I squeezed the juice and it just happened. Totally optional too! This is a sophisticated cocktail that I am so glad I was asked to re-create. As much as I love the plethora of pink cocktails that appear on these pages from the bounty of fruits I enjoy incorporating into drinks, I’m delighted to have a less ‘girly’ cocktail in my repertoire This is definitely a drink everyone will enjoy…so join me as we send cheers to Trent, Ophelia, and Aurelius! PIN IT! ‘Sparkling Gin & Rosemary Lemonade’ The Ophelia – Sparkling Gin & Rosemary Lemonade Cocktail Barb Sparkling Gin and Rosemary Lemonade is a cool and refreshing libation; it will vie with a Gin and Tonic to be your favorite summer cocktail. Prep Time 10 minutes minsCook Time 5 minutes minsAdditional Time 45 minutes minsTotal Time 1 hour hr Course Cocktails, Friday Cocktails, GinCuisine American Servings 2 CocktailsCalories 282 kcal For the Rosemary Simple Syrup¼ cup rosemary minced½ cup water½ cup sugarFor the Cocktail1 ½ ounces Gin¾ ounces rosemary syrup¾ ounce lemon juice about 1/2 of a lemon, squeezedclub sodaTo Garnish1 sprig of rosemary2 Lemon wedges To Make the Rosemary Simple SyrupBring the water to a boil, add the sugar and rosemary and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and steep the mixture off heat for 45 minutes.Strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a container. (Should be a light golden syrup).To Make the CocktailFill glasses with ice.Add gin, lemon and rosemary simple syrup and stir.Top with club soda, stir briefly and garnish with a rosemary sprig and lemon wedge. Nutrition FactsThe Ophelia – Sparkling Gin & Rosemary Lemonade CocktailAmount per Serving% Daily Value** Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Keyword club soda, cocktails, gin, lemon, lemonade, rosemary Source link