LBS Summer Ball 2006

Always looking for excuses to dress up and behave badly, I was delighted when the London Business School Summer Ball rolled around again! This years theme was Venetian Masked Ball. Jon and I went along with David and a good time was had by all. It wasn't quite as good a crowd as we'd have liked this year but we had a...ball!

Where am I?... In the village!

Okay, those of you who can proudly say they have little knowledge of obscure cult TV will probably not get that reference at all. But the geeks among you will! It refers to the 60s cult show The Prisoner. Who has ever heard of Portmeirion Village? Probably only the same people who have heard of the show, which is a damn shame as it is an amazing place.

That is where Jon and I spent his birthday this year. It's right by Snowdonia National Park and is an 80 year old site developed by a conservationist who bought this piece of land which at the time was wilderness, and built the village from old rescued buildings. The style is somewhat eclectic and unique but the whole place is just beautiful. http://www.portmeirion-village.com/en/index.php

Being a fan of The Prisoner, Jon had been wanting to go there for some time. It was my birthday gift to him and I was of course pandering to the cult TV geek in him but was more than pleasantly surprised, it was a really lovely place that's definitely a hidden treasure and well worth visiting. It was a long long drive into deepest Wales but worth it. We had a fun weekend exploring and relaxing there. The village itself is very charming but there is also something of a beach, lots of woodland trails and lovely hotels.
We had to move rooms during our stay but were given a very nice suite in the castell (that's the Welsh, and not just a shocking mis-spelling, I'll have you know!) where we languished in luxury for our last night.




Again, only Prisoner fans will get this picture. Those of you who have no idea what this is about and may be concerned, please don't worry. Jon made it home safely and was not really consumed by a giant balloon!