Category: Miscellany
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Pencils
Do people still use pencils? Well I certainly do, and the best, my favourite, the cream of the crop, is the wonderful Mitsubishi Hi-Uni Pencil. It is available in at least 15 different lead grades, is solid and reliable. I was introduced to it by a most wonderful friend of mine, the late architect, artist and professor Cyrus Jhabvala.…
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Wash Your Face
Our grandparents may have washed their faces with soap and water for seventy years and had great skin, but theirs were simpler times (or so we think). Despite pea-soupers, they did not have to deal with as much pollution (or advertising) as their grandchildren contend with. And many of us use something more fussy than soap to wash away the…
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Wedding Dress
I had my wedding dress made by Elise Rodolphe on Boulevard Raspail in Paris. Her shop is called Au Fil D’Elise. Elise is lovely, as is her dressmaker Ander. Before starting her couture line, Elise collected and sold vintage clothes and fabrics, so there’s a real sense of history about her designs. My dress was…
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Tea
Shall I write a hymn to Postcard Teas? I would if I had a poetic bone in my body. Instead I’ll just say that this calm little shop on Dering Street is a delight. And as long as I can afford it, I will devote myself to their Earl Grey and Bold Breakfast teas. I’m…
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Hot Chocolate
There are a lot of nonsensical products out there, that promise a good hot chocolate. Don’t do it. And I’m not going to recommend taking out a mortgage so you can buy Valrhona or unicorn tears. Instead, I’m just going to recommend that you use Green and Black’s Cocoa powder (no sugar added). I’ve used…
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Diaries
Shepherds (who have branches on Gillingham Street and Curzon Street as well as Rochester Row) make the most attractive and best value diaries on the market in London. They come in two sizes and each diary is covered in lovely hand made chiyogami paper and hand bound. At £24 and £30 a go, I think…
Nasheed Qamar Faruqi 