WINTER WONDERLAND IN HYDE PARK LONDON!

KEE@FSWMAG.COM

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

How I missed my darling Dedione the highclass French poodle when I saw this!


IN LONDON NOW AND STAYING AT DATO NANCY YEOH'S SPIFFY FLAT AT CANARY WHARF, NOW THE NEW CENTRE OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE OF LONDON.

'WINTER WONDERLAND' IS LONDON'S GREATEST AND MOST FUN CHRISTMAS FAIR AND IT IS ALWAYS HELD AT HYDE PARK.

As I am a child at heart, I can never resist a Christmas fair, more so with all the trimmings! So Dato Nancy Yeoh and I duly took her 8 year old son Alex Quay to Winter Wonderland which is practically a mini Disneyland with all the rides, roast chestnuts booths and mulled wine bars.

Entry is free but the rides cost plenty money as we had to buy coupons at the 23 coupon booths scattered throughout the fairground. Each ride ranges from 3 to 5 coupons which is equivalent to L3 to L5 or RM 15 to RM 25!

The entire set-up must have come from Germany as most of the signages are in German and this entire fair feels very Germanic and continental rather than the traditional English fair. Even the recorded messages inside the rides are in German! However, language is not a problem as this is London and English rules supreme.

Christmas markets are huge in Europe, especially in Germany and Austria where German is spoken so I felt like I was in Europe at Winter Wonderland. We enjoyed ourselves so much we promised Alex we would return at least one more time if not twice before returning to KL.

I also met Riccardo from Italy who runs a jewellery stall and he actually gave me a jasper ring to my astonishment and to Dato Nancy's annoyance as he did not give her a ring but a discount on her ring, from L45 to L 35! We only stopped to have a look as Riccardo looked like a model as he was 183cm and handsome to a fault...like me.



Brightly lit and gaily decorated entrance


German Bradwurst is a giveaway this fair is of Germanic origin



Dato Nancy Yeoh with son Alex Quay under the Singing Moose which sang in German for God's sake!


Wooden ties, well well wooden you know it

Mulled wine is not to be missed on a wintry night!

As China will soon be the world's biggest economy, these German mushroom sellers are taking no chances with their message getting lost in translation

Santa Claus carrying a sign that says ' Gourmet Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce' in Chinese. Ecah plate costs L5 (RM 25) but tastes divine!





Fake snow is the in thing for Malaysians













This is like the song 'Hotel California'---you can always check in but never check out! But we managed to check out!




Look, she has a darling doggie in her ample bosom!

I wish I had brought my draling Dedione the highclass French poodle too! I would put him in my underwear and let him peep from my groin! Even more drama!


MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!

LONDON'S LESSER LIGHTS

KEE@FSWMAG.COM

COMPARED TO THE MAGNIFICENCE OF HARRODS' WINDOWS WHICH MUST HAVE COST AN ARM AND LEG, OTHER DEPARTMENT STORES HAVE PERHAPS GIVEN UP ALL ATTEMPTS TO CHALLENGE HARRODS' DOMINANCE AND HAVE JUST THROWN IN THE TOWEL.

HARVEY NICHOLS, CONSIDERED EITHER HARRODS' POOR COUSIN OR THE STORE FOR THE YOUNG, HIP AND HAPPENING, HAS CHOSEN A RATHER BIZARRE WINDOW THEME. INSTEAD OF THE USUAL SEASONAL PLATITUDES LIKE 'WHITE XMAS' OR 'SALUTE SANTA' OR EVEN 'COOL YULE TO U', IT IS SIMPLY ANNOUNCING A GRAB-YOU-BY-THE-JUGULAR SLOGAN OF 'UP TO 30% DISCOUNT' AS ITS THEME!

Well, no one is complaining over the discount, unromantic as it seems.

Selfridges the grand dame of Oxford Street is also rather lowkey this year and the white on white theme does little to rattle your nerves or take your breath away. Debenhams is also so-so and Forever 21, newly opened, is also straightforward. As for Primark the lowest priced department store, they appear to have abandoned Christmas altogether since sales are so good with or without Santa Claus. Mind you, Atika the Malaysian Ford Supermodel paid L1 (R 5) for 2 pairs of gloves and gave a pair to me. Alas, within 2 days a gaping hole appeared inbetween my forefinger and middle finger in the woolen glove so the cheapest is not always the longest lasting!

Even the street lights are nothing to shout about! Usually Oxford and Regent Streets boast stunning displays of street lights with special themes but this year they look pretty tired and identikit to previous years like your Xmas tree taken out from storage and reused year after year. Well, times are bad so let us not scrooge about nitty-gritties and may we all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and remember how baby Jesus was born in a manger 2,011 years ago to the blessed Virgin Mary and Father Joseph.

BELOW ARE THE LESSER LIGHTS OF LONDON!

These are Selfridges's windows;

















St Christopher's Place, off Oxford Street


Forever 21





South Molton Street


Exhausted shopper in Primark

Atika and Alex Quay in Primark


Harvey Nichols's windows seem to feature dust pans and trash bins and lowly household utensils

Not the height of glam as trash bags really lack that X factor

BUT ALL IS NOT LOST AS HARVEY NICHOLS ALSO FLAUNT SOME GLAM FASHIONS THOUGH TO ME , THEY ARE NOT IN THE SAME ILK AS HARRODS WHICH WINS HANDS DOWN. THERE ARE TONS OF FAB FASHIONS INSIDE HARVEY NICHOLS BUT STRANGELY THE ONES DISPLAYED IN THEIR WINDOWS ARE BIT HO-HUM
BUT HERE THEY ARE...













MERRY CHRISTMAS AND REMEMBER JESUS WAS BORN ON 25 DECEMBER 0000AD