Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Chocolate cake at Kensington Palace Café

I have to report that the Chocolate Chip Muffins on offer at the Kensington Palace Café are the best chocolate muffins in London! Hugely chocolatey, with chunkie chips of chocolate on top and moist and runny in the middle.

I know you think this is a sketchbook blog - however I do entertain serious aspirations to being asked to sketch meals anywhere you care to mention! (see Foodie Drawings and my sketches of  Interior Landscapes on my portfolio website)

Chocolate Brownie and Chocolate Chip Muffin at the Kensington Palace Café
8" x 10", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell
We visited Kensington Palace today - following its reopening earlier this year after a major refurbishment.  It's well worth a visit if you come to London.

We did the Kings State Apartments in the morning and the Queens State Apartments and Victoria Revealed in the afternoon.  My only real criticism is that the method of telling you what you're looking at is very much geared up to those with good eye-sight which I found disappointing.  Methinks Lucy Worsley needs a rethink on this one! However the Palace makes up for this by having some excellent room guides.  If you'rte not familiar with the background to the Kensington Palace and which members of the Royal Family have lived at the Palace, this is


After our visit to Hampton Court Palace, where the cafe was seriously below par, we weren't too hopeful about lunch today.  However the new Cafe is really excellent - great furniture, lovely food and well lit.  Plus the food is great!  We had lunch - and "he who must not be bored while I sketch" had to wait until I'd sketched his muffin before he could eat!.  Then having found out great the muffin was we had a tea break in the afternoon - and I seriously over indulged by trying out the Chocolate Chip Muffin as well - and I have to say it's by far the best chocolate muffin I've ever eaten in London!

Next summer a new part of the Palace will open to the public.  This will tell the story of the Modern Royals - Princess Margaret, Diana Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.


Sunday, November 11, 2012

The East Lake in Autumn

I'm a complete sucker for drawing trees in Autumn next to water - I just can't get enough of the reflection of the colours. However having been a bit spoilt by Sheffield Park landscape garden, I now wish we had a few more trees planted in parks which provide a really colourful deep red and deep copper display.  Maybe a few more acers?

East Lake, Victoria Park in Autumn
8" x 10", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Links to other autumn colour: