Young Ladies About Town

So it seems only fitting that we should celebrate the stay at home holiday, along with the great sights and adventures Britain has to offer.

Cue my trip aboard the one and only Orient Express (mass excitement pours out of me even as I type this) with VisitEngland for a day celebrating all things Britain in a quintessentially British way.

My day on the Orient Express was spent enjoying food and wine from around Britain and exploring the 10 carriages of The British Pullman which had been transformed into different locations around the country, from Sheffield, to Nottingham (complete with Robin Hood) and the English Riviera (with Poirot - pause for a moment to share my excitment!)

The wait is well and truly over. After seven years of meticulous planning, painstaking construction and only the tiniest bit of apprehension, the Olympics are finally upon us. Our fine capital is getting busier by the second.

For the most part, I love the hustle and bustle. Yesterday a young man decked out in Venezuela tracksuit asked me for directions to Chinatown and I was thrilled by the sheer globalness of it all. Sometimes, though, it is nice to escape the crowds, and what better British way to do that than nip off for a spot of afternoon tea?

Singer turned presenter turned national sweetheart Myleene Klass has added a new string to her bow – that of fashion designer.

Her first collection for Littlewoods is online now (www.littlewoods.com), and to celebrate the launch of her the range Myleene treated us to an exclusive piano performance and salon show.

At 3.30am today I was up, dressed and enroute to Stonehenge to see what promised to be a spectacular sunrise, but more importantly, Michael Johnson take the Olympic Torch on the next leg of its journey.

The 44-year-old sprinter, who still holds the record for the 400m said the event was "an incredible moment."

At the start of this year I bought a caftière. Overcome with January thriftiness, I was determined to kick my coffee shop habit and make my own filter coffee every day.

The caftière is still in its box.

In the Walt Disney classic Alice in Wonderland, Alice famously sings "You can learn a lot of things from the flowers especially in the month of June."

Well we may be two days into July but when I got a sneak preview of Hampton Court Palace's Flower Show (it opens to the public tomorrow), I found that July is just as good a time as June to learn about flowers.

Despite the fact the last time I had actually sat on a horse was as a child on a Blackpool beach family holiday, I discovered I wouldn't just be watching polo - I would be playing too!

The ground I visited was owned by Claire Milford Haven, herself a Jaeger-LeCoultre ambassador, and it was there that my adventure began...

More than 60,000 people attended Ladies Day yesterday at Royal Ascot as the new sartorial rules were put through their paces.

Left: The Lady's Katy and Fiona; Right: Karren Brady

The Lady’s Katy Pearson and Fiona Hicks joined Sir Bruce Forsyth, Katherine Jenkins and Karren Brady for a day of horses, racing and fashion.

When I was a child I truly believed that when I left the room my toys came alive. I used to creep back into my bedroom to try and catch them at their games.

So when I was invited to spend an evening at Hope and Greenwood’s Covent Garden sweetie shop – after closing – I simply had to say yes.

There is nothing like sitting down on a rainy day (of which we seem to be having many) with a hot cup of tea and some biscuits to dunk.

Build your own biscuit workshop...so many toppings, so little time

So going along to Bakehouse Factory’s The British Biscuit Festival on Friday (in the rain, of course) I was looking forward to having some tea, dunking some biscuits and taking part in some-biscuit themed tournaments.