The first of those destinations was Chelsea Physic Garden, created in the mid seventeenth century. It’s the oldest botanic garden in London and is recognised as the second oldest apothecary garden in the UK. It’s also currently hosting the exhibition, ‘The Elixir of Letters’, with inscriptions and sculptures created by some of the UK’s foremost letter carvers.
The garden is situated close to the river in Chelsea. You’re surrounded by lots of buildings and hustle & bustle… yet on stepping through an unassuming gate on Swan Walk, you enter a place of beauty, calm & tranquillity. It’s almost like entering a secret world.
It was a place of collection, display, education and learning… as it still remains today. It houses about five thousand medicinal, herbal, edible and useful plants.
The quadrant layout would have been familiar to visitors hundreds of years ago…
…and Sir Hans Sloane still casts an eye out over the grounds!
We started our visit with a short guided tour, then had as much time as we wanted to explore ourselves.
We drifted through the garden, looking at the plants and tree specimens – along paths and through glasshouses. It’s such a lovely place to spend time.
Even on a seriously hot day there are lots of cool corners to sit down, rest or have a snack.
There’s also a lovely open, airy restaurant café to have drinks or lunch – and a small shop too.
We can thoroughly recommend the garden, both as a place of horticultural interest – and as a refuge from the busy city beyond the walls.
Our visit lasted about 3 hours. We had another ticket booked across town…otherwise we could have stayed all day!
I grew up in Trinidad & Tobago, so feel well-qualified to offer some tips and recommendations for stays in Tobago. Justin and I have also holidayed there together, which we thoroughly enjoyed, and reminisce about often. It offers endless options, whether you like lounging on the beach with a book or prefer doing something more active. We did a combination of both.
Get back to nature
Glass bottom boat
Tobago is a nature-lover’s Nirvana – the sea, the air and the earth are teeming with wildlife – get your cameras at the ready to snap away at all the gorgeous, exotic creatures you’ll encounter.
Glass bottom boat trips – A visit to Buccoo Reef and the Nylon Pool is an essential. Gaze down at the shoals of colourful fish and coral without even getting your feet wet!
World’s largest brain coral, Kelleston Drain, Tobago credit
Diving – Scuba dive or snorkel at Kelleston Drain off the island of Little Tobago, where you’ll find world’s largest brain coral colony. You may even come across a manta ray or two!
Turtle watching – Leatherbacks, Hawksbills and Green turtles visit Tobago to lay their eggs. All three of these species are endangered and protected. Leatherbacks are the largest surviving turtle species on earth. Their nesting season lasts from April to July when they lay eggs on the beach – usually the same beach where they themselves were born. There are specialist guided tours available to experience this wonder of nature.
Clockwise from top left: white-tailed sabrewing, white-naped jacobin, blue-backed manakin, tropical kingbird credit
Nature tours – Tobago boasts the oldest, legally protected rainforest in the world – the Main Ridge Forest Reserve. Here you’ll find (if you’re lucky to spot one) the Ocellated Gecko, Gonatodes Ocellatus, which isn’t found anywhere else in the world. For such a tiny island, there’s an abundance of rare species of birds and butterflies. Local people hang feeders containing sugar syrup in their gardens to attract the hummingbirds.
You’re spoilt for choice with pristine, white sandy beaches and calm, turquoise sea in Tobago. Visit Pigeon Point to sit on the edge of the jetty with your legs dangling over the edge and experience the sunset. It’s one of the prettiest and most popular beaches on the island. Saying that, it’s surprisingly never crowded.
Enjoy the culture & nightlife
No matter what time of year you visit, there’s usually something lively going on. Amongst other events, Tobago Jazz Experience (April), the Heritage Festival (July) and the Great Fête Weekend – (actually 5 nights) live music on Pigeon Point beach (also July).
Local dishes – There’s a plethora of restaurants and street food on the island serving delicious T&T specialities. Trinidad & Tobago is a food-obsessed, multi-cultural nation and its cuisine reflects this enthusiasm and diversity. Dishes such as pelau, goat curry, crab & dumplings and crab & callaloo are hugely popular. Some of my favourites include buss-up-shut, doubles, pholourie, fried bake, boiled corn-on-the-cob and macaroni pie.
Seafood – Being a small island, all the hotels & restaurants all serve freshly-caught seafood & shellfish such as lobster, crab, shrimps, conch, red snapper and tuna. If you’re self-catering, you can buy it from the fishermen, straight off the boats!
Fruit & veg – If you’re vegetarian, there’s the widest, freshest selection of tropical fruit from which to choose. Coconuts, bananas, watermelon, pineapples, mangos, citrus, papaya (called paw-paw). Fresh vegetables and salad are also, unsurprisingly, in abundance (yes, some of these are actually fruits!); avocados (called zaboca), breadfruit, tomatoes, plantain, pumpkin, aubergine (called melongene), okra (called ochro) and fiery chilli peppers!
Alcohol & soft drinks – Nothing quenches the thirst on a hot day more than a cold bottle of one of the local beers – Stag or Carib. There’s also Trinidad-produced rum – mix it with cola, ginger ale or coconut water or make a fruity rum punch. For non-alcoholic options try coconut water, sorrel (if you’re there around Christmas), mauby, soursop, peanut punch and the cocktail, Bentley.
Foodie events – 2018 is the 20th anniversary of the Blue Food Festival. It’s held in October on the north east coast of the island in Bloody Bay, L’Anse Fourmi, and Parlatuvier. The festival gets its name from dasheen, a root vegetable or ‘ground provision’ whose flesh takes on a blue hue when cooked.
Racing – No, not horses or dogs – but goats and crabs! Goat and crab racing happens at Easter in the villages of Buccoo and Mount Pleasant. Get your bets on!
Golf – Mt Irvine golf course is a top quality, well maintained course which has hosted many high profile tournaments. Justin had a very memorable day here, enjoying playing golf amongst the palm trees, then relaxing after his round with a cold beer, looking out over a sparkling blue sea.
The Great Race – An annual 84-mile power boat race from the Yacht Club in Trinidad to Store Bay in Tobago.
Skating has long been a great way for people to exercise and have fun at the same time. It goes without saying, the better the skateboard, the more fun the experience… and nowadays, people often want to have fun in the most convenient way possible too. You can buy the best e-skateboards so that you can easily and conveniently enjoy skating as a sport, for getting to work – or simply having fun.
These futuristic electric skating boards are the latest addition to the skating world. You don’t have to use lots of energy to push the skating board around! You can save all that energy for the skills required to manoeuvre the board. They have many features that make it easy for both hobbyists and skating professionals to enjoy their sport. Sometimes, you just want to get from A to B without a physical work out. The electric skating boards allow this – they’re fun to own and use.
One of the many plus points of electric skating boards is that they’re eco-friendly. They run on rechargeable batteries. As such, skating boards don’t emit any pollutants or emissions. When you buy and use these skating boards, you’re assured that you’re being friendly to the environment. If your journey to work or the shops is a suitable distance it’s a much greener option than driving your car – and perhaps less hassle than public transport.
With electric skateboards, you can achieve higher speeds compared to manual skating boards. On flat ground, the motors on these boards can accelerate up to 25 miles an hour. This will provide for a fun and exhilarating ride. Of course, it’s advisable to always wear suitable clothing, protective pads and a helmet.
Many electric skating boards are controlled wirelessly via Bluetooth and wi-fi. These types of e-skateboard have sensors and remote controls that makes it easy to regulate the speed. You can accelerate and slow down at will, simply through the touch of a button.
Suitable for your short commutes
It’s easy to navigate town and city streets with an electric skateboard. It’s the perfect travel method if you have a short commute of a mile or two. Perhaps you even have a nice park with lovely scenery en route – what a perfect way to start the day! An e-skateboard can cover over thirty kilometres on a single charge, thus making it a better option than diesel and petrol-engined vehicles such as cars, motorbikes and scooters. If your commute is longer, you can always carry your board with you on the bus or train, riding it to and from the station or stop. In addition, there are none of the associated hassles of parking; driving around in circles to find a space, car parking charges or worse yet – parking tickets!
With car ownership ever-increasing, automobile accidents are unsurprisingly very common on our roads. Cars have become a necessity for most people; they’re used for the work commute, take family members to and from school and are used to go on holiday. Driving a vehicle brings multiple challenges and requires concentration; it’s not an opportunity for multi-tasking. Hence, texting, making phone calls and other distractions whilst driving cause a lot of unnecessary accidents. No matter how careful someone is, they can still be caught up in an incident because of other road users. Below are some steps individuals should take whenever they’ve been involved in an auto accident.
Ensure everyone’s safety
The most important thing to do following a car crash is to find out if everyone involved is alright and unharmed. A lot of things can happen during an auto accident, including passengers being thrown from the vehicle. It’s essential to do a head count to ensure that everyone is accounted for. Once this is done, the next step should be attending to the ones deemed most in need of help. In the case of someone being seriously injured, first aid should be administered whilst waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
Contact a credible rescue team
It’s always important to alert the necessary authorities as quickly as possible. Depending on where the accident happened and how serious it was, the police, highways and traffic agencies may need to be notified. The ambulance and/or fire service may also need to be requested. If a car is no longer drivable, a service such as the AA or RAC will need to be called to tow it away. Following auto accidents, lawyers also come in handy in case you think you’re in the wrong or if you need to seek compensation from someone else who has caused the accident.
Report
Properly reporting a serious accident is vital; especially if is a legal case is launched. You should tell the police precisely what happened, to the best of your recollection. The exact time should be stated, including the weather conditions as well as the vehicles, their registrations and the drivers involved. The damage to should also be noted down and the location established. You can add a diagram if it is necessary. Ensure that receive a copy of the report that you’ve given to the police, in case you need it in the future.
Medical treatment
Whether you feel fine or not, medical treatment and follow-ups are always advisable. If the car is in good enough condition to drive, you should get all the passengers to the nearest emergency medical care available. Some injuries go undetected but can end up being fatal.
Contact your insurance company
Most policies require immediate contact in case there are any accidents. Failure to adhere to this can end up with the financial damages being transferred to you. When contacting the company, make sure that you inform them of all the things that have occurred, including the crucial information about the other car and driver involved.
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Glass bottom boat
Nylon Pool 
World’s largest brain coral, Kelleston Drain, Tobago 
Clockwise from top left: white-tailed sabrewing, white-naped jacobin, blue-backed manakin, tropical kingbird 
Pigeon Point, Tobago 
Food stalls at Store Bay 
Red snapper 
Buccoo Goat Race 
Mount Irvine Bay Golf Course 
