The month that was: July 2019

What happened:
A busy month! I visited the Ambassador's Theatre to see The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Age 13 3/4 The Musical (super good fun, but I'd highly recommend being familiar with the books), headed to Queens for bowling and burgers with friends, and went to Zoo Nights with Olly (previous posts here and here - the weather was pretty miserable and rainy, and the Africa section was closed, so no giraffes, but I was glad to continue our tradition of going).

We visited the Warner Bros Studio Tour London, aka the Harry Potter Studios tour. I last went in 2012 (posts here and here), and I will do a new post soon as a lot has changed since then. It's expensive - more so if you fall down the rabbit hole of the gift shops and buy food and drinks, which we didn't - but it is super fun and an impressive tour, even if you've experienced the splendour of Harry Potter at Universal.

Olly completed the London Triathlon in an excellent time - his first Olympic-length triathlon - before we dashed to Kent to surprise his mum for her birthday. It was our second to visit in Kent in July - we also headed there earlier in the month to celebrate a first birthday!

Finally, I headed to Nuffield Health for a 360 Health Assessment and had my first ever blood test. Yes, you read that right - and everyone at Nuffield was amazed by that! I'm pleased to say I'm in excellent health, though I do need to work on my flexibility and core strength as my posture score wasn't the best. Uh-oh! (I knew it wouldn't be.)

What I ate:
Special shout-outs this month go to Guasacaca (amazing Venezuelan food) and Finest Fayre (epic chorizo scotch eggs) at Zoo Nights, Dishoom for brunch (always), and a full English at Polo Bar (your classic English fry up; perfect if you're in the Liverpool Street/Spitalfields area).

I also enjoyed dinners out with various friends at Meatliquor, Poor Boys, Wagamama, Toyko Diner, German Gymnasium, plus shared a decadent bottle of champagne at St Pancras by Searcys to kill some time between brunch and heading to the Harry Potter Studios tour!

What I watched:
TV-wise, we watched the third season of Designated Survivor, continued watching Parks and Recreations, watched more episodes of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, and started watching Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Films watched: Night School, The Bucket List, Apollo 13 and Avengers: Endgame. At the cinema: Spider-Man: Far From Home (fun but not as awesome as Homecoming), Yesterday (average romcom), Apollo 11 (incredible), The Lion King (stunning, loved Timon and Pumba, but the original is the best), plus the 20 year re-release of The Matrix in 4DX.

What I read:
In July I read 13 books - I really enjoyed The Thousandth Floor series by Katharine McGee (read the first two in July; still reading the last one now), The Accidental Life of Greg Millar by Alexander Aimee, A Merciful Fate by Kendra Elliot, the DS Karen Hart series by D.S. Butler and Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve.

How was your month? x