The Sneaky Magpie

London has got some beautiful parks and gardens but one of the best green spaces has to be the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew.

Apart from having nearly every plant and tree in the world it has got some architectural gems. The Kew Palace, built in the 17th century by a Dutch merchant, Samuel Fortrey, has got a very distinct Flemish look as you might expect. The palace was inhabited by King George III and his large family until his insanity put him out of public life. Another building belonging to the royal family is Queen Charlotte’s Cottage – a small house that served her as a picnic space

A new addition is the Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop walkway. The 18 meter high track lets you study the the worlds most amazing trees from a whole new angle.

Coming through the door of Labour and Wait is like stepping back in time to 1950s England. Products are neatly displayed on tables and shelves as in an old general store blending new with vintage. Everything is made of pure materials such as wood, iron, aluminium, glass and linen. You can stock up on some old skool kitchen wears, garden tools and woolly blankets. The shop is located in the East End just off Brick Lane and to add to its quirkiness it only opens at weekends and Fridays by appointment – we had to knock before we were allowed in!

When my mother in law paid us a visit few weeks ago we took a trip there and she got some fabulous linen. A week later a package has arrived, inside I found these beautiful tea towels. As they have an online shop too, she was trying to purchase some more of the linen, unfortunately they don’t sell it over the Internet so she wrote them a letter, enclosed a cheque and popped in some brochures from the National Wool Museum in Wales. The shop owner got really excited about the whole affair as it is such a old fashioned way to do things and sent her the supplies. I have added some tape from Liberty and will impatiently wait for the goods – lovely tea towels and place mats.