Bombarded with Love...

A life... Full and Filled!
Filled with Lovely people and knowing everything is as it ought to be.  

The weeks are passing by fast, and there has yet to be any kind of property deal, which is what I am seeking at present. But I finally came to realise that I should stop worrying. Think of solutions and realise everything will happen at the right time, in the right direction. It is fine except for the ones we create for ourselves.  

On that note, I worked hard all week and partied even harder all weekend!  
Going around Chelsea Harbour and re-visiting the interior design shops has been fun, bringing back great memories of my working days. The weather in London has been most desirable; as it is hot and mainly sunny, which makes me not go away for now, it is pure bliss. The streets are empty as everyone has disappeared to their summer retreats of packed beaches. Driving around the city with the roof down and excellent music playing is nothing less than a joyous summer. There is nowhere else I would rather be now. Nitya's garden party by the pool on a mild Friday evening, mixed with an international crowd of jet setters, making new friends and seeing familiar faces while the rosé champagne flowed around, was another evening not to be forgotten.

On Saturday, the 13th of July, my plan to stay in and save my energy for the following birthday weekend could have gone better! What a surprise again. At about 1:00am, I got ready and drove to Fabric; no wonder they call it my second home. Spent most of my time either dancing in the DJ booth or getting more familiar with faces whose paths we had crossed before. The decision to leave at 5:00am did not happen, so after more dancing and following Judes from room to room in the club, I finally managed to go at a decent hour of 9:30am, had breakfast alone at Paul's and then drove back in full sunshine with the roof down again. The sun energised me, and I didn't want to sleep, so I texted Aisha, who had woken up and asked me to join her for Turkish coffee on her balcony with Kristel. Soon after, Risha arrived. Lazing in the heat and enjoying each other's company left us hungry by 2:30pm, so we headed to Thomas Cubitt pub for a gastro meal, which nourished every taste bud, and finally, by 6:00pm, I was ready to hit the pillow.

So many often ask me:
"Haldita, where do you get your energy?"
Energy must be a state of the mind; when you let go of troublesome thoughts and make peace with yourself, you have peace with the world and everything around you. Conquering unnecessary imaginations of anything negative and replacing them with good deeds and constructive ideas everyone can benefit from is authentic living. When remarks have headed my way as:
"Haldita, some of us have to live in the real world."
Well, my world is as accurate as I make it out to be, and I choose to see the bright side of it all, the good rather than the bad and the beauty rather than anything unpleasant.  

Another highlight of last week was an engagement party at Notting Hill with Jane and Russ. Unlike the 8:00pm start of the party, I managed to get there before 23:00 hour, fashionably late as usual! Great to see Donna there and catch up with the news while we sat outside the open space and then to get into a deep conversation with Gloria, who sang beautifully at one of my parties and hear her latest spiritual development, not dissimilar to mine, each in their own way magical. She agreed to join my house party the following evening.

What happened on the following Saturday was my birthday. The day began at lunch with my girl and boy, who had invited me to a gastro meal in Mayfair; I could not have been more proud of God's special blessings. Afterwards, we drove around London, and after dropping them to their destinations, I got home to answer the many sweet messages of great wishes. The wicked had no rest as I got my flat ready for the night party at 22:00 hour. Kim came over to give me a hand with the preparations, and it all kicked off as the guests flew in through the door with music and laughter. The plan was for those who wanted to join Fabric later to either attend the party at my place or meet at Fabric later at 1:30/2:00am. There was such a high energy of loveliness floating in the air that it did not allow me to sit down for a minute but mingle with the adoring friends who had turned up. Somehow, the living room always gets filled up, and I need to find out exactly who will come and who won't.  

By 1:00am, many had already backed off from the idea of clubbing and went their way as the seven of us made it to Fabric at my favourite table, and others followed suit from other destinations. DJ Dan Ghenacia ended the night, or the morning, with a big bang. We danced our feet off till the closing time of 8:00am, then went on to drive with Kim and Troy to have breakfast at 9am in Aubaine. Shame they did not serve champagne! All I recall is having love all around me and great music. A genuinely mind-blowing night.  

Bedtime was before midday as Kalina had fallen asleep and missed the party; she texted to organise a meeting at 3:00pm at my place to drive to the Lovebox festival in Hackney. We had not seen each other since January, so spending a whole afternoon with more fabulous music in a sunny London park was best for us to spend together. The VIP tickets were courtesy of Labella, who had couriered them to me on Friday. Judes happened to be there too, and we managed to find each other at the vast Red Bull tent where DJ Harvey was playing in London after ten years of immigrating to the US. Wow!

Lovebox Festival - Hackney

DJ Harvey

I have learned that life is truly an illusion of our mind.
Nothing is quite what it seems to be.
There are twists and turns to every story. It is always complex.
People will judge you according to what they feel inside. It is not your problem.
Positive thinking brings joy into life; we deserve to be happy.
Spread the love around, smile and show the world you are content and no one can touch you.
Meditation has been the best discovery of self and how the universe can work my way.
Embarrass those who are unkind with your goodness.
You will never know who may rescue you at different stages of life, so be kind to everyone who passes your path and let go of those who do not appreciate you.
Only I am responsible for my actions and how I feel.
The secret of looking young is feeling young. Never lose touch with the child in you.

And now, I'm 54, and boy, I want more!
Wishing you ALL Love and Peace.

We Live What We Believe!

Do you know why my life will always be wild... Or mad?
Coz it's got me in it! Haha

Last night was an inspiring dinner of words and an orgasmic sense of the pallet with Donna at the new Five Fields' Chelsea restaurant. A calming decor of earthy colours, charming waiters at hand and the luxurious indulgence in gastronomy make this restaurant one of my top favourites. After a gratifying eight-course meal, I can safely say: "I felt like a stuffed Turkey!"  Over the three-hour dinner, Donna and I returned to discussing the latest spiritual developments in our lives. If you are wondering what this could imply, it is about the messages we receive through words that come to mind. It is a matter of recognising between good and bad thoughts, separating them and understanding when inspiring thoughts and deeds arise to fulfil our lives. When the higher voices speak, the chitter chatter of nonsense leaves the way for the good to appear in our minds, followed by the need for action. Life has a new meaning, and fear slowly disappears in the background. There are moments of downs in all our lives, but is positive thinking and being a part of our genes? This only came to mind when a lovely lady, who may seem 'a hard woman' to some, was once again complaining of her depression, mentioning that this was in her genes and that her family are all manic depressives!  
"Really?!" I thought.
It then made me think of my therapist, François, who had taught me about ancestral patterns and how important it was to recognise them and make the necessary changes. After all, our life is in our own hands. We can make it, we can break it. It is all about the choices we make. To some, and even to myself, at times, I live in a bubble of happiness which no needle or even screw could possibly burst.  

The reason I have not been writing my blog regularly is all the time I spend daily on the computer flat hunting and then calling the various estate agents to view them. One day, I returned home exhausted mentally and somewhat physically, feeling down and unloved! That was on Friday after looking at more flats that did not fit my criteria of the image I had created in mind of my new place.  
An apartment that had taken my fancy was next to development in Earl's Court's demolition of the vast exhibition centre, close to the underground, which apparently ran under the flat. It was somewhat disappointing, but one day, feeling a little down is only natural and will make the good to follow so much more appreciative. By Saturday, everything had returned to normal, full of beautiful surprises.

Saturday began with breakfast at Aubaine's Kensington branch with Sophie (one of my oldest friends) and a proper catch-up of the past months. It reminded me how one got trapped into creating gossip merely out of discussing someone else's life, in my eyes, quite harmlessly. All the years have passed, and now, our exchanges have taken on a more fulfilling turn, not about talking of anyone but journeys of enlightenment and forever trying to find happiness within. The two hours passed as fast as twenty minutes, and it was time to move on to our next rendezvous. Mine was a meeting with Gina for a drive, deep house music blasting through the breeze out of the open roof towards the private Shoreditch House in the East End. We had one and a half hours to kill before our 3:00 pm lunch with Nitya at the club, so walking around Brick Lane, struck by a mild smell of curry which rose from the Indian restaurants, was the best alternative! The sun shone in full force with a gentle breeze, and I even managed a little shopping for a loose white top and a funky tracksuit bottom. Phew! Gina explained how she once walked around the area checking out the street art. 

Brazilian artist

Brick Lane

Time had flown by again, and we made our way to Shoreditch House, where we met up with Nitya, whom I knew from various meetings at parties and clubs but only got to properly chat after. The pleasant lunch on the rooftop, watching the GG crowd of gays and girls covering every inch of the poolside in swimwear, was fun. 

Nitya left after the meal, and Gina accompanied me on the drive home. After another fun drive, my friend went as I had to prepare for an exceptional visit by the sexy Christofer! A perfect way to ...  Not entirely end but continue on an extraordinary day already. Sipping on rosé champagne and catching up on where we had left off gave me even more energy to text Kim immediately after my lover parted at midnight. As Cinderella was on her way home, I got ready to drive and pick Kim up for a drive to Fabric. My second home, some might say!


Goodness, did we have a great time again? Seeing Judes, which is nothing short of pure pleasure, listening and dancing away to Terry Francis blasting room 3 with his tunes, mingling amongst the crowd of clubbers and seeing more familiar faces, Malik's warm hug and sweet smile, all accompanied by a dear friend was the ultimate joy anyone could possibly experience. We left the club with Kim at a decent 8:00 am to nourish our hunger with breakfast at the Chelsea branch of Aubaine.  
So, my weekend began with breakfast at Aubaine on Saturday and almost ended with the same on Sunday morning—nonstop! Time for sleep had finally arrived.
However, the men's Wimbledon tennis championship was taking place that Sunday afternoon. After a four-hour morning sleep, I woke up before 2:00 pm to watch The Brit Murray beat Djokovic in a super game with some of the best rallies in tennis. Finally, after 77 years, Britain had a winner! Fab.

Charming speech by Djokovic.
True Sportsmanship.

Andy Murray... It's all yours, Hun!

And look who we have here!

Last Wednesday, on a school night (for those who go to school), Lawrence invited me to dinner at Bob Bob Ricard's trendy Soho restaurant. It was great seeing him, as always, with his utter charm and sensibility. Afterwards, his friend Luigi, accompanied by Sobha, was introduced to me at the bar of the eatery, and we decided to join the boys for a boogie at the Room Service club, walking distance to where I had parked my car. One thing is for sure: in a gay club, the music is bound to be good, and it was that, but the tiny basement was filling up fast, and Sobha and I bid the boys farewell, and each went our separate ways. It was another midnight hour, and my car had vanished from sight as I wandered through the back streets of Soho. My shoulders were in pain; miraculously, a Chinese massage parlour appeared in front of my naked eyes! Very decent, with special leather seats showing through the glass window. At a mere £10, I walked in and had a fantastic fifteen-minute back and neck massage, easing discomfort. Walking out of the place and realising I was somewhat lost, two distinguished-looking gentlemen in black tie escorted by an elegant lady passed me by. I stopped the single male pedestrian and asked if he knew where Regent Street was. He immediately brought out his iPhone and helped me walk with me while the four of us chatted along the way. 'How civilised!'  I thought as I drove off.

This week began by hosting Ricky and his partner Tim on Monday evening for a city tour in my car in the early evening, followed by a walk around Covent Garden, where we had dinner. They requested I close the roof of the vehicle, which was such a shame on such a pleasant evening and despite their special request of one being a vegetarian and the other's dislike of anything spicy or rich, it was quite a surprise when they chose a French restaurant in the area and ended up both having a coq au vin! I thought they did not drink alcohol, either. Oh well, everybody to themselves.
Talking of visitors in town, it was such a relief and joy to have Paulina cancel our lunch on Tuesday and instead pay me a visit at home for a special mint and ginger tea. Again, our enlightening conversation was positive and left me wishing we could meet more often. Who knows? Brazil is a country I would definitely go back to one day.

And my week's créme de la créme was tonight, meeting up with an old boarding school friend, Juliana, who had travelled to London with her young son. We met last in New York some twenty-eight years ago! And here she was at my doorstep after all this time. Nothing much had changed in us except the experience of all the decades that had passed, bringing us together now on a higher understanding of friendship and love. We only recently connected through Facebook, realising how important timing is in our lives.

After a gastronomic week of all senses; food, drinks, drives in the sunshine, friends, dancing and exchanging love, not necessarily in that order, the time has come to share an intimate thought (certainly no secret) with you readers, my virtual friends ...  
Age is not simply a concept; it's a fact of life; it is all the years of experience. So far, another year has passed for me, full of adventures, meetings, and significant changes taking place as I write. Celebrating every day with gratitude is a goal I aim to achieve till my last breath, with a higher understanding of love. It does not mean being a pushover or tolerating anything that upsets me, but looking at it more broadly and letting people around me know where they stand.

This year, it was 53 and Fancy-Free.
Soon, it will be 54... And I Want Moooore!