Wonderful Westfield

Since it opened a few months ago, Westfield Stratford City has been continually overflowing with hoards of shoppers. This influx of people was not surprising, and I decided to bide my time before taking my first steps into East London's newest consumer paradise.

I must admit, on my initial visit, I was slightly underwhelmed. Being very familiar with Stratford's sister mall located in White City, I had certain expectations. I was expecting this Westfield to be like a mirror replica of the other. But in reality it is very different, not just in the design of the space but also the atmosphere.

However, after numerous visits (I have been good and kept my purse firmly in my bag the majority of the time), Westfield Stratford City has really grown on me. During the Christmas season, it is especially festive. Jolly seasonal jingles ring out over the PA system inside the walls, and outside hundreds of lights twinkle around a buzzing ice rink. A little bit of Winter Wonderland of Stratford.

Water skating

Every winter, ice rinks begin to pop up in various locations all over London. For the past couple of years, I have attended in the hope that this time, I will be a better skater. Unfortunately, that is never the case and I am just as rubbish on the ice as I remembered.

I've been to the rinks at Kew Gardens and Somerset House, both of which are situated in absolutely beautiful settings. This year, for something a little different, I decided to book tickets to skate outside the iconic Natural History Museum.

The museum building is always a stunner, and when lit up at night with literally thousands of Christmas fairy lights, it looks magical. The weeping trees drooping over the large square of ice were covered in little white lights and twinkling in the wind. It would have been a wonderful place to skate.

However, when booking the tickets there was something I didn't quite prepare for: the December weather. Just an hour before our time slot, the heavens opened and it poured. When we arrived at the Natural History Museum we were already soaked, and there was a puddle of water an inch deep in the center of the rink. The skaters from the slot before us (and there weren't many) were making their way around the rink with extra care, with their hoods up and a miserable look on their face.

Unsurprisingly, we decided against the water skating. I am prone to falling over, and falling over in a pool of dirty water is certainly not my idea of fun. As disappointing as this all was, I think I would've been more upset to ruin my beloved camel coat (a bad idea in itself). Hopefully we'll go again before the season ends, and it'll be a lot drier and icier.

Santa pub crawl

This year my friends and I decided to dive head first into the Christmas spirit and attend the 2011 Santa Pub Crawl. We donned our finest festive outfits to march from pub to pub (with a G&T in hand), all in the name of charity fund raising.

Finding a suitable Santa outfit was a daunting task. I had been told Ann Summers had a nice costume, but there was absolutely no way in hell that I would be venturing outside wearing something predominately intended for the bedroom. However, after some frantic Googling, I managed to uncover a sizable collection of different Christmas fancy dress costumes on Amazon. Again, the majority of those on offer were a little too slutty for pub-wear, but there was one I found that I believed I could actually get away with.

The festivities began at The George pub opposite Borough Market. Upon arrival at London Bridge station, it was easy to know which way to go when we spotted a gathering of appropriately dressed Santas. During the walk to our starting point, we unsurprising received more than a few funny looks from passers by (I blame the candy cane striped stockings worn by my fellow Miss Santas!).

The pub crawl itself was what I expected. Too many people getting suitably pissed in grotty pubs which were too small to accommodate this number of Santas. The event organisers (or Senior Santas to us mere peasants) had to split up the crowd in order to deal with the sheer volume attempting to enter the cosy but tiny drinking establishments.

After we had arrived at pub number 3 (out of 6), we all decided that it was just too busy and so marched off to the Pizza Express we passed on the way there. After a yummy Padana pizza and bottle of fizzy rosé, we were too full to rejoin the masses, and instead made our way home (complete with the obligatory funny looks).

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland in London's Hyde Park is a popular festive family treat. But a word of warning: never ever visit the attraction on a Saturday lunch time. It is unbearable. Hyde Park Corner underground station is beyond it's capacity, the pathways are so crowded that it takes an hour to walk from one end to the other, and you have to queue to do any activity.

But aside from the blanket of people covering this corner of London's biggest park, the seasonal festivities on offer are pretty spectacular. The ice-skating is particularly popular, with barely any room on the rink to move. There are theme park-style rides ranging in size from the slow but beautiful traditional carousel to the plunging drop of the Power Tower. There are also many fairground games offering gullible visitors the chance to win a naff cuddly toy! (Generation Game, anyone?).

But by far, the best of all is the Christmas Market. Styled in a similar manner to the well-known and much loved German Christmas markets, there is a wonderful array of delights on offer. And this seasonal food and drink is more than just some roasted chestnuts. There is the Bavarian Village with its bratwurst and beer, fairground staples such as donuts and chips, and of course, what Christmas fayre is complete without our favourite, mulled wine.

Leonardo da Vinci

The Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at The National Gallery has been phenomenally popular. So much so, that the three-month showcase featuring some of the finest works of the Renaissance master together in one place has been a sell out. Luckily, I was on the ball and booked tickets well in advance (July, to be precise).

Even with the months of hype and critical acclaim surrounding the exhibition, it definitely didn't disappoint. Seven rooms had been dedicated to one of the most well known men of all time, each covering a different area of his work.

Of course, the paintings and drawings were the most impressive of all. Da Vinci's incorporation of delicate features and careful consideration of light and shade is unique and inspiring. The recently discovered 'Christ Mundi' was a favourite of mine, with the style and aura bearing a strong resemblance to Da Vinci's most famous work: The Mona Lisa (which, unsurprisingly, was not among the works on display here - I don't think The Lourve would ever let it out of its sight).

But for me, I was especially taken with the drawings of the human anatomy, accompanied by Da Vinci's distinctive left-hand mirror script. It is absolutely beautiful, and just as mesmerising as the art.

H&M and Versace

For all the hype over the H&M and Versace collaboration, ultimately I was disappointed. I'm not old enough to remember the fashion house's iconic prints of the 90's, but I can confidently say that if this recent collection is anything to go by, I wouldn't have liked it. The colours are garish. The digital prints are messy. And the styles are unflattering.

I have my doubts that those crazy people queuing over night at H&M's London flagship store, were actually there because they liked the fashion. Most, I bet, were there to get a designer item for a tenth of the price of a full Versace piece. And some of those were, no doubt, just there to nab some sought-after items to put on eBay and earn a quick buck.

The moral of this tale? I guess it doesn't matter what a dress or jacket might look like, as long as it is Versace. Fortunately for myself and my bank balance, I don't live by this rule.

Liberty Christmas

Liberty of London is a unique place. Yes, it's a department store, but it's so much more than that. Especially at Christmas. When approaching the imposing mock-Tudor building, with its beams galore, you cannot fail to be impressed by the grandeur. And when wandering around the outside, you are instantly captured by the imagination on display in the Christmas window visuals.

Inside is equally magnificent, with beautiful products in abundance. On my way around each perfectly arranged floor, I saw Mulberry, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and vintage Dior and Chanel. An Aladdin's cave of designer beauties. Four floors up is the Christmas Shop, a magical area filled with the sparkly spirit of Christmas. So mesmerising in fact, that I couldn't help but treat myself to a Liberty bauble for my Christmas tree.

FU TFL

Part of me finds the mere existence of the London Underground amazing. The extensive network of tunnels deep below our capital city is, without doubt, an incredible feat of engineering. To be able to make my way from deepest, darkest Essex to the riches of West London in less than an hour is marvelous. And we must not take it for granted.

However, Transport for London is starting to, as Peter Griffin would say, grind my gears. Over-crowding. Delayed trains. Suspended services. Signal failures. And last week, four passenger emergency alarms on one Central line journey (granted, that's not particularly TfL's fault, but it still annoyed me enough to get a mention here).

The most irritating of all, however, is the ridiculous pricing of Oyster card fares. And in particular, the extortionate amount charged when someone like me, accidentally doesn't swipe in and out properly. Now, if this error was completely my fault, I would hold my hands up and not complain (as much). But this was solely the doing of London Underground and their stupid Oyster system.

On a stressful journey from Bank to Wimbledon via Waterloo, somewhere along the line my Oyster did not register correctly. What resulted was a journey, which should have been £4.60, ending up costing me £10. When Googling whether or not I could claim a refund (apparently I can't), I found that Waterloo is #1 in the list of stations over-charging passengers.

This did not surprise me. Waterloo is just a complete shambles, with barriers here, there and everywhere, and instructions to swipe in, out and in again. But for the amount of money TfL must bring in from passengers, you would think they could organise a proper Oyster system at one of their busiest commuter-hub stations. Although, thinking about it, their system seems to be a nice little earner for them. I don't see them changing it anytime soon.