Two weeks ago I got myself on a train to London to meet up with the UK contingent of The Bali Babes, Lisa and Boo.

The plan was to go to a very naughty panto in Charing Cross before having a wander around to see some of the Christmas lights.

My train left at 0917 which would get me into London for 1015.

Heading to London

I had treated myself to a first class reservation as I hadn’t been to London for so long and given that my leg was still causing problems, I wanted to be comfortable and ensure I had a seat.

It was pretty nice in first class, I have to say.

Comfy large leather seats, drinks and snacks…. it was a great start to what I hoped would be a great day.

I wasn’t due to meet the girls until 1230 but intended to do a little bit of shopping before meeting up with them at Charing Cross.

Starting off in St Pancras, I had a look at the Christmas Tree in the middle of the concourse; golden with a music box design.

St Pancras Christmas Tree

There was even a ballerina gracing the top.

I headed down to the ground level to have a closer look. It was very ornate and the base had seated areas which you could listen to different soundtracks.

Ballerina Music, Christmas tunes and even the sound of cogs whirring and ticking. All you had to do was press a button to choose which you wanted.

Beautiful Ballerina

It was quite magical, I have to admit.

Even better, it is in partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital, with the aim to raise money for the famous children’s hospital.

Whilst in St Pancras I had to make a stop at Laduree to get a selection of my favourite Macarons.

My Little Treat

Salted Caramel are always my favourite, however as there were a few new flavours that I decided to give a go.

Cotton Candy, Orange Blossom, and a black coloured mystery one, they all went into the box.

There were even some festive flavours including Spiced Chocolate Marshmallow, Christmas Brioche and Chestnut.

Honeydukes at Kings Cross

Luckily the assistant advised that the brioche and chestnut had alcohol in them, so I gave them a miss.

I also popped into Fortnum and Mason to have a  look at their Christmas biscuit tins and their jams. I had to be sensible though as I was going to have to carry the bags all day and didn’t want to weigh myself down.

Heading over to Kings Cross, I wanted to get a look at the Harry Potter Christmas Tree, which this year was made up of several different recognisable building from the stories.

Owl Post

Honeydukes, The Owl Post, Ollivanders, Tomes & Scrolls and even Gladrags wizard wear.

It was very beautiful and completely to the designs that you could see in the films.

I headed back to St Pancras and jumped onto the tube which necessitated a change in the middle.

Ollivanders

Arriving and Charing Cross, I was really quite early, but that didn’t bother me any. I sat down on a bench and proceeded to people watch, whilst also reading a book on my kindle.

It was absolutely fabulous when the ladies arrived; both were wearing Christmas themed jumpers and I had turned up in a lovely vintage Christmas pattered dress.

We really did look quite a treat.

Tomes and Scrolls

Wandering along to Charing Cross Theatre (which was a bit tricky to find) we entered into a lovely old style building which was to be our venue for the afternoon.

Grabbing some drinks, we headed down to the stalls where our tickets were situated.

Of course, whilst waiting for the panto to start, we had to take a couple of selfies together.

Glad Rags

The panto was absolutely hilarious; very naughty and extremely sweary. It was right up our alley.

There were a lot of double entendres and filthy songs which had everyone screaming with laughter. I can honestly say my ribs were hurting from laughing so hard.

Once the panto had finished, it was the intention to go and look at some of the Christmas lights.

Panto Time

To be honest, this was something that I really wanted to do, however I was struggling a bit with my leg and I was due to be interviewing at work for the following two days.

Boo and I were also due to be flying to Latvia the following weekend and so I needed to be sensible.

Explaining my rationale, we decided to head over to a fabulous bakery that Boo and I had tried before; Donutelier.

Selfie Time

We all chose an item to sit and eat in store, and I also ordered a couple to bring home for later.

Boo and Lisa went with the Black Forest and the St Honore donut.

I opted to eat a pastry, an apple filled croissant ring.

St Honore and Black Forest

It was absolutely bloomin’ lovely.

I chose a St Honore and a spiced apple tutu donut to take home with me, which I needed to be very careful with, given how delicate they would be.

Boo and Lisa were going to wander along to Trafalgar Square for the start of the walk and I opted to head back to the train station for my journey home.

Apple Ring Croissant

As much as I wanted to go and visit the Christmas lights, I knew that I would be really pushing my luck with my leg.

I was already suffering a little pain and it was going to be a long walk before an hour sat down on a train, and this was probably a step too far…pun intended.

Jumping back onto the tube, I headed back to St Pancras to be faced with the biggest queue ever which snaked back and forth across the whole concourse, right back to the Betjeman Arms pub.

Waiting for the train

I was extremely worried as I knew there was absolutely no way I could stand in a queue for how long it would take to get to the train itself. It would take hours to get to the front and I just wasn’t capable.

Thankfully I was able to find an assistant who asked what train I was looking at getting. I showed my first class ticket and was advised that first class ticket holders were queueing in a slightly different place.

I was escorted to a waiting area where a seat was available and I sat down to wait.

Back on my Train

It was not too long before a guard came along and advised the train was pulling into the platform and we could start making our way to the gate.

Thankfully I didn’t have far to walk as the first class carriages were at the front, so I managed to get a seat very easily.

I honestly never expected to get such a perk when booking my initial tickets, but I was so glad that I had opted to go for that little bit of luxury as it really did help me out a great deal.

Crooning……

Arriving back home, I quickly threw a different dress on as I was going to another theatre for a Christmas performance.

This time, “The Crooners at Christmas”

I have seen “The Crooners” show on a couple of occasions and so it was wonderful to see their new show, especially as it was Christmas themed.

Crooners at Christmas

Admittedly I did have to use my wheelchair as my leg was quite painful, but it allowed me to get to see the show.

All in all, it was a fantastic day, if not completely exhausting.

There was, of course, a sugary donut delight awaiting my tummy once I got home.

Christmas Delight

Fantastic indeed!

Till next time,

SPSG xxx