emma cossey's Qype profile

As far as McDonalds go, this is a fairly high tech, attractive one. It’s situated next to a pretty lake, with plenty of parking, and has a handy drive thru that’s easy to order from. During busy times, they often have another employee outside taking orders from waiting cars to speed things up. Useful.

When I was growing up, Coppid Beech used to be the place to go for ‘Fancy Family Dinner Celebrations’. The food is divine, there’s sometimes a pianist and the service is brilliant.

But then we went back there for afternoon tea this weekend. I’d checked the website and they did offer scones and tea…but when we checked at reception she said they didn’t. However. the lounge menu offered several options for a spot of afternoon tea.

We sat down, and a waitress came over and asked what we’d like to order straight away. We asked if she could come back in a minute after we looked at the menus…but we didn’t really expect her to take that literally, arriving back at the table 60 seconds later. She was a little…abrupt.

Our food arrived about 15 minutes later, with the bill hastily shoved in front of us. It was nice enough, nothing particularly special. We did have to get up and ask for sugar though.

Overall, I would recommend the Coppid Beech for food in the evening, and the hotel itself is beautiful. Maybe skip afternoon tea though!

Taylor Taylor does magical things. I have high maintenance hair that constantly demands attention from my GHDs and hairdryer. Going au naturel and letting my hair dry without the aid of hair tools? Au no!

But then I went to Taylor Taylor. And my hairdresser told me off for using GHDs (and for avoiding getting my hair cut for six months), then cut my hair in such a way that I now CAN let it dry naturally if I want. I left the salon with bouncy waves, and a massive grin.

Best haircut ever.

We went to the Downshire Arms around 4.30pm on a Sunday afternoon and it was really busy (thankfully we booked ahead). Our first server was a little grumpy and abrupt, but she left half way through our meal and a lovely lady replaced her. The food was slow to arrive, but delicious (the breadsticks with dipping oils are particularly good). Nice enough, but I might try out the other Beefeater next time. Three hours for a two course meal is a little too long when you’re starving!

I heart M&S. There, I said it. I like the food, I like the shoes and I have swooned many a time in the home department. Also, the staff are generally fabulous.

My recent move means I’m only 15 minutes from the massive M&S in The Meadows, an out-of-town shopping area near Camberley. The Meadows has plenty of parking, a huge Tesco and a huge M&S.

It’s one of the biggest M&S shops, and has plenty of space for all their main departments. Their home department is, as previously mentioned, swoonworthy, and their food department is massive. There’s also plenty of tills throughout the floor so you don’t have to queue for long.

Do your luxury shop here…then pop next door for the rest of your food shop from Tesco.

We booked a table at Fire and Stone for a lunch at a hen do in London. Having been there before on a theatre and dinner deal, I had fond memories of the peking duck pizza.

The restaurant itself was great, with plenty of menu choice, friendly staff and fast service. The meal was pretty good too. The deep fried mozzarella balls were a little too juicy for my liking, but my pizza was lovely. Everyone struggled to eat both their starters and pizzas, so it might be worth sticking to just a main meal unless you’re really hungry.

A nice alternative to all the Pizza Express and Pizza Hut chains.

During a hen do at the weekend, I sent a tweet out to see where people would recommend for a cocktail in Covent Garden. The overwhelming response was Dirty Martini.

We descended on the bar, just on the outskirts of the Covent Garden Square, at around 4.45pm, but had to wait for it to open at 5pm. It was chilly outside, but the wait was worth it though.

We managed to grab a booth, and one of the bar staff cheerfully served out table, in super-quick time. We all had our cocktails within five minutes of sitting down – impressive.

I went for the chocolate martini, and it was gorgeous. Like a boozy chocolate milkshake. Several of my friends went safe with a peach bellini, but a couple tried a chilli cocktail that gave an amazing kick.

We went at Happy Hour, so the prices were fairly good (around £4 a cocktail), and the atmosphere was buzzy and friendly. Slightly pretentious, but then I tend to find that in most cocktail bars. I’d happily go there again.

Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. It’s expensive to eat, drink and go on the rides. It’s full of the same stalls throughout the park, and it’s manic in the weekends.

But you know what? It’s damn fun. It smells of mulled wine, spiced cider, hot chocolate, toasty German pastries and hot roasts. I may have drooled slightly. There are plenty of rides for the kids and adults, and lots of photo opportunities, making it great for a family day out. There’s also a decent sized ice rink (which you’ll need to pre-book, it was sold out when we arrived). A group of us went there after a hen do, and it was the perfect place to recover from a hangover.

If you like food, decorations and festive cheer, you’ll love this place. Hell, a little overspending and overeating is exactly what Christmas is about, right?

Great takeaway, with a wide range of chinese food (and a few options for dim sum too). Delivery times vary – the first time I ordered it took ten minutes, the second time took 40 minutes, but the food is always hot and tasty.

Popped in here to have a look at their furnishings -and quickly left. The store was pretty untidy, most of the furniture was marked or scratched and some of the items didn’t have a price tag. Sadly, like their normal stores, it feels like Laura Ashley has refused to get with the times.