With what feels like 10,000+ unpublished photographs currently sitting on my phone, I thought now would be the perfect time to write a little ‘life lately’ style post and to tell you a bit more about an exciting working partnership I’m now involved in. In case you missed it (or if you’re hungry!) my first post of 2019 consisted of a Foodie Escape – Some Of The Best Places To Eat In Birmingham. But first, let’s take a moment to rewind to the first week of January, a recent hotel stay in Brum town and trip to London.
Malmaison Birmingham
On 2nd January, Josh and I celebrated 12 years of surviving each others gross habits and annoying traits. It’s real love, I tell you. Josh surprised me with a hotel getaway at Malmaison, Birmingham and on arrival we were upgraded to a more luxurious room which was a pleasant surprise. Our room was super cosy with a gigantic bed (and fur throw) and it won’t be a surprise to know that we slept very well that night. I also threw on a bit of makeup and some leopard print clothing and headed down to Tamtanga – a relaxed Indian restaurant just minutes away from the hotel. Butter Chicken all the way, thank you please.
The Athenian, Box Park London
The next morning, we jumped on the 9:15 train to Euston. Our initial thought process was to scour the city for new foodie places to dive into. I’m genuinely quite shocked at ourselves as we didn’t eat half as much as we would have liked. First on the list was The Athenian which we’ve been dying to visit for a long time. As their website tells us – “If you ask any Greek they will be sure to tell you that souvlaki is our nation’s favourite food to eat on the go.” They’re not wrong because it’s bloody delicious. The service was lovely and we’ve already been invited back next time we’re in London for a collab (woo!) The Pork Gyros is one of the best I’ve ever eaten and it was full of flavour, tender meat and golden fries which heightens that much needed ‘crunch’. Their host of London branches can be found here. I highly recommend a visit if you love all things tasty and Greek. We ate this for breakfast and a lot of people couldn’t understand why. You will if you eat one.
Boxpark Unit 54, 2-10 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6GY.
Monday – Sunday- 11.30 – 22.30
Shortly after visiting The Athenian, we walked our food bellies of gyros and bao off and headed into Shoreditch. It’s one of the places we’re always drawn back to when visiting London, purely for it’s quirky shopping culture, unique cafes and foodie markets they have on each weekend. We spotted some pretty cool houses that we hadn’t seen before and I really loved the door marked ‘Eleven and a Half.‘ When walking across the bridge Josh spotted some Black Mirror posters (play Bandersnatch on Netflix if you haven’t already done so) and I was half tempted to rip one down and take it home. So bloody cool.
All Bar One – London
After a night of steak dinners and visiting Coldwar Steve’s photo exhibition in Soho, we headed back to our London hotel for an early night. The next morning I’d organised a trip to Swingers West End near Marylebone Station for a game of crazy golf. To fuel ourselves, we dived into the nearest breakfast place ‘Be at One’. Truth be told I’m not a massive fan of their chain but the breakfast was a pleasant surprise (albeit on the pricey side). We ordered some eggs and sourdough and our tea came with pots of smarties. A bit gimmicky but I won’t say no to chocolate, ever. It was also the perfect opportunity to snap some shots for the ‘gram.
Swingers West End
Swingers West End was good fun and is, to much surprise, nothing of the strip club sort. There are 9 holes to smash through and for £13 each, it’s not too bad for the money but I still think Brum’s own Ghetto Golf is somewhat unbeatable. One of the hardest courses involves a loop d’ loop, in which my heavy-handed style saw me smacking the golf ball a bit too hard across the course. I like the fact that the venue has four street food vendors to choose from also if you get a bit peckish. If you’re looking for something a bit out of the ordinary to do while pottering around London, definitely smack some balls around here, it’s great fun.
Redknows Partnership: Creative Director
Over the last couple of months I’ve not only been pushing my own freelance digital business Emma Victoria Digital, but I’ve also gone into partnership with a wonderful Marketing Consultancy by the name of Redknows. My shiny new job badge means I’m now a ‘Creative Director‘ within the business. The work at Redknows is completely separate from my own business, and I’m excited to add another string to my bow. So far, 2019 has been off to a fantastic start and I know Team Redknows will continue to build great relationship with a variety of clients across the UK. Supporting businesses with everything from social media, marketing strategies, photography and web design – this partnership has a lot to offer. I’ve been busy doing photography for a range of clients lately – shooting an array of creative portrait and group shots to maximise their brand awareness and online coverage. If you’re looking for someone (ahem, me!) to teach you the ropes of social media or if you need a brilliant graphic designer or website revamp, please get in touch. The team would love to help. Get in touch at hredknows.co.uk.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my little round up. Will hopefully do more of these across the year!