Fabbers from around the globe gathered to meet Fabbers in London last week, and had a ball. Diane, one of the British locals from Birmingham, very kindly made our breakfast and lunch arrangements of which our elegant fashion lunch was definitely a highlight of the day.
Greg and I travelled through from New Malden by train that morning, and although we were on time, most of the group was already at the Richoux Picadilly. There was UK Sue and Ruth who travelled from Guilford and Epsom. Diane and Inge who travelled from Birmingham and Antwerp. Isabelle who took the Eurostar from Paris that morning, and Jaime who flew in from Tel Aviv the day before. We were soon joined by Liz who took the ferry from Amsterdam and Mander who came a much shorter distance from within London. WOW. With us coming from Seattle, this was truly an international group.
After a rush hour train ride and brisk 30 minute stroll to Picadilly, I was immediately struck by how cool, calm and collected the group was when I first greeted them. Not to mention well put together and fashionable. The wonderfully soothing effect of the ladies was most welcome, and it set the tone for a lovely day.
We spent the day walking the busy streets of London looking at everything from pricey cutting-edge designer wear to affordable chain store stuff. In true YLF gathering fashion, the banter and excitement did not stop. I asked birthday girl Jaime whether there was anything in particular that she wanted to do. Her request was to find a fun shade of lipstick, so off we went to the Laura Mercier counter to get some Stickgloss.
Getting to know each other better was the order of the day and we chatted more than we shopped. That said, I found a wonderful cocoon shaped tomato red shirtdress at COS and Inge bought a funky orange and navy necklace. Diane got some great olive fabric at a cloth store, and UK Sue found a pretty scarf at Whistles. We finished off the day celebrating Jaime’s birthday at a French brasserie in Covent Garden. We could scarcely believe that we spent almost 12 hours together. Time flies when you’re having fun.
Greg joined us for breakfast and then went off on his own to meet up with some childhood friends. Later he also went by the National Portrait Gallery, where he saw this sculpture of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. Without the web, a site like YLF wouldn’t exist and this gathering in London would never have happened. Thank you Sir Tim.
After dinner we all went our separate ways. On the way back to Waterloo Station Greg and I crossed the Hungerford Bridge at just the right time to get a wonderful view of the Thames and just a small part of the glorious London skyline.
For the gathering I wore outfit 12 in the series on my travel capsule for a 4 week trip.
- 1 Wayfarers
- 2 Apple Green Specs
- 3 'Catherine' Boyfriend Jeans (White) (Regular & Petite) — $79.50
- 4 Boatneck Sweater
- 5 Piqué Blazer
- 6 Halogen 'Neo Strokes' Scarf — $39.00
- 7 'Vince' Flat — $299.00
- 8 Michael Kors 'Bradshaw' Chronograph Bracelet Watch — $275.00
- 9 Turquoise Dome Satchel
