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Chinese New Year celebrations
If you’re going on a date later, how about joining in London’s fantastic, free Chinese New Year celebrations to welcome the Year of the Snake? The fun begins at 10am with a colourful parade of floats and Chinese mythological creatures parading through the streets from Trafalgar Square to Chinatown. After that, the entertainment continues from noon until 6pm. Highlights include a traditional eye-dotting ceremony, acrobatics, martial arts, magic and much more. Plus the streets of Chinatown will be lined with colourful food and cultural stalls.
Valentine events in East London
There are a couple of loved-up happenings today in the heart of East London, well worth a visit. Over at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, you can pick up vintage finds and one-off, handmade gifts from talented designer/makers at the Valentine’s LOVE-A-FAYRE market. Plus, if you head over to the pop-up mall at BOXPARK Shoreditch, you can buy beautiful macaroons from Ganache Macaron for your dearest heart. Or you could book a place on their macaroon-making workshop and learn how to make your own.
Orchids at Kew Gardens
Can’t wait for spring? Take your date to Kew Gardens to see a dazzling orchid display bursting with vibrant colour, guaranteed to brighten up the end of winter. Orchids at Kew Gardens will give you the perfect excuse to walk hand-in-hand through archways of ornate flowers and towering pillars of stunning floral displays, topped off by a dramatic water-borne centrepiece. Very romantic!
Vintage Fairs
If you like nothing better than pottering around a Vintage Fair on a lazy Sunday afternoon, here are two fabulous ones. First off, there’s the Vintage Village Valentino Fair at Stockport Market Hall, where you can pick up gorgeous vintage treasures and trinkets. Plus, you can watch a movie matinée double bill, where 1920s’ mega heart throb, Rudolph Valentino will captivate you on the silver screen. Then, over at The Vintage Fair in the Corn Exchange in Brighton, you’ll find everything you need for a happy day out – with 60 stalls of retro-chic style for ladies and gents, plus a vintage tea party and vintage beauty parlour.
Valentine’s Day menus
Fancy spoiling your loved one with a stay-at-home, dinner for two? You’ll find a wonderful choice of Valentine menus on the BBC website to suit the mood. For example, there’s one for a movie night, a romantic meal or a steak supper. And if you want a really special aperitif to wow your partner, try Sophie Dahl’s delicately fragrant, Rose Prosecco Cocktail from The Delicious Miss Dahl. Cheers!
Happy Sunday!
Jo x
Picture credits: © Top banner image from wallpaperfreehd.com via wallsave.com; © Chinese New Year image from:http://www.thelondonchinatown.org.uk/; © Poster for LOVE-A-FAYRE Market at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club from www.workersplaytime.net; © Image of orchid from Kew Garden’s website, www.kew.org; © Advert for The Vintage Fair, Brighton from www.thevintagefair.com; © Sophie Dahl’s Rose Prosecco cocktail from The Delicious Miss Dahl via the BBC Food website.
