In mid-April 2025, we spent delightful five days with Nick, Renu & Seren at their London home.

We drove to London on Thursday. The journey on the M1 from Harrogate took six hours with a short stop for lunch. We drank Argentinian Malbec and ate excellent home cooked steak with mushroom sauce that evening.

Friday was a bright and sunny day and we travelled by train & taxi from Waterloo to Hambledon Vineyards in Hambledon. A guided tour of the vineyard and winery was followed by a tutored tasting of the estate’s wines and an excellent lunch.

(See blog post Tasting At Hambledon Vineyard)

At Hambledon

On Saturday we celebrated Dilu’s birthday, first with a traditional ‘Kiribath” breakfast, champagne at his house on Axminster Road and dinner at The Great Indian.

Drinks At 80, Axminster Road

Dinner At The Great Indian

The birthday celebrations continued on Sunday with a sumptuous BQ lunch. We drank Geoffroy Expressions champagne, Querciabella Chianti Classico 2021 and South African Tinto Barroca and ate various salads, grilled halloumi and lamb with roast potatoes.

On Monday we drove to Epping Forest for a leisurely walk and a light lunch at a pub. After a few drinks that evening at the local pub The Salisbury, dinner was at the Turkish restaurant Umut.

Drinks At The Salisbury

Dinner At Umut

We drove back to Harrogate on Tuesday with a short break on the A1 for a picnic lunch of smoked salmon sandwiches coffee. It rained all the way to Harrogate.