A friend of mine, the lovely Anna Sibley, has recently launched a line of luxury, handmade Italian scarves – A. BARCLAY.

What sets her line apart from the others is the charitable angle that drives the ethos of the company. With a background in fundraising, Anna felt it was time to combine her passion for design with something that would help others in the process.

For every scarf that is purchased, A.BARCLAY buys an item of need from a Tanzanian for a Tanzanian, supplying multiple orphanages in the country with day to day necessities and stimulating local markets.

Beyond the obvious perk of helping another in need, you will be purchasing an amazing accessory that you will use over and over again. Plus, you can buy the quirky printed scarves online. Hello convenience.

Let’s not forget to mention the zebra logo she has chosen for the company. And how awesome it is.

The Blue Mosque is one of Istanbul’s most iconic landmarks – and understandably so. The eight domes and six minarets are impressive from the outside, but it’s not until one goes inside that the sheer splendour of the structure hits. The tiles covering the interior are – as the mosque’s name suggests – mostly blue, but intricately designed. Countless patterns are paired together to form a chaotic harmony that forces the viewer’s eyes to crawl across every tiled wall and surface.

Fresh Fish at Mira

Although we did not dine at Mira, one of the several fish restaurants situated below the apartment in which we stayed, I couldn’t help but take a photograph of their underwater offerings…

Morning Regatta in Istanbul

A few weeks ago I was the lucky guest of a friend with an amazing apartment in Istanbul. As we drove along the Bosphorus toward the lovely neighbourhood of Arnakutvöy, I was surprised at the varied architectural influences of the area and was ultimately delighted with her incredible bay windows overlooking the water. We woke up our first morning to a flurry of sails cruising along the waterway – a nice view with our morning intake of fresh fruit.

There’s nothing better than a wander up the King’s Road (or, a cycle, if I feel like taking my life in my handlebars) on a sunny Saturday morning. It helps when there’s an epicurian final destination. In this case, it’s the Duke of York square farmer’s market. In addition to the incredible wild boar tortelloni made by La Tua, there’s a splendid array of sweet palate pleasers. The above cake, with its rosemary infusion, was a nice change of pace from the standard lemon cake we’ve all tried before.

View from my window seat – stay tuned for pictures and updates from Turkey…

A view of the Atlas Mountains at sunset in Morocco – a nice something to look at on a rainy Friday afternoon…weekend only a few hours away.

The tiny stage - I was seated front and centre

Last weekend, upon deciding to have a quiet night with a few friends, I went to see the Newsrevue up in Little Venice, London.

Touted as the ‘world’s longest running live comedy show’ the Newsrevue is a super fast paced sketch show based on the media’s headlines of the week. The act takes place in the tiny Canal Cafe Theatre, located along the canals just north of Notting Hill.

Not knowing quite what to expect, we purchased a few bottles of wine and went to our table. Almost immediately (we were running late), the lights dropped and the show started with a musical number poking fun at some of London’s headlines. Two men and two women owned the stage, with the support of one pianist in the background.

The show was great – the fast pace meant that just as the audience was recovering from laughter of one joke or skit, the lights would drop and almost instantaneously come up again with another skit ready to break into action. The humour was profane and they definitely weren’t trying to remain politically correct, with religious and political jabs framing much of the content. In this age of PC obsessiveness, it was refreshing to hear some frank and brutally honest material.

If you’re looking for a quirky way to spend a weekend evening, definitely check out this place. The Newsrevue changes every week, allowing audiences to return over and over again. And I definitely will.

The small audience pit

Taking a cue from my lovely sister, who has always been great at digging up and editing old photographs, I have started to dig up old pictures from travels during my university days.

Here is a picture of Salzburg, Austria – home to The Sound of Music.

Yes, our hotel played the film on repeat, 24 hours a day. In case you were wondering.