A sneak peek of what I opened on my birthday

Birthdays... always over in the blink of an eye, right? This year was no exception. I managed to drag celebrations out for a couple of weeks and thinking about it, this post allows me to draw things out a little longer #MilkingIt

I don't know if anyone else finds this, but as you get older, it becomes harder and harder to think of gift ideas or to ask for things in general (does anyone else find this increasingly awkward?). Which is such a contrast to the days of being knee high and writing long lists to Santa or circling ALL THE THINGS in the new Argos catalogue. Here are a few of the things I received this year.

Water bottle

Drinking water from old plastic water bottles reportedly carries health risks due to the sun reacting with the plastic and reportedly chemicals in plastic may be linked to causing cancer. I've known this but for whatever reason it still hadn't given me the kick up the arse I needed to bin said plastic bottle and replace with a non plastic offering. My sister gave me this pretty floral Chilly's bottle which is much nicer to look at than my manky old plastic bottle I've had since god knows when. Now I have no excuse!

Interiors magazines

My other sister knows how much I love poring over interiors magazines and usually treats me to an assortment of titles that I'm not able to afford on a regular basis. This year she found the prettiest Joules gift box and magazines focusing on kitchens and extensions which is pretty perfect timing what with our recent renovation plans!

Money / vouchers

I always feel really boring asking for money, but it's so useful - particularly when you're in the planning stages of an extension like I am! A bit of money here and there buys me a bar stool or two - every little helps!

Pink House Living

Emily I had the pleasure of meeting last summer here and her renowned hashtag #cheatingonfashionwithfurniture is something I find myself relating to more and more these days. Don't get me wrong, I still love fashion, but I have a new found appreciation for interiors and these days I prioritise any spare cash to the house fund rather than to myself. Emily's house is a vibrant pop of colour and joy which constantly inspires me to be braver in my decorating choices. Really excited to start reading Emily's debut book!

Earrings

One of my best friends took inspiration from my recent jaunt to the Maldives and found these beautiful Matthew Calvin earrings. I love all things rose gold and how beautifully are these presented? I love the message in a bottle vibes!

Rum

One of my colleagues surprised me with a big bottle of dark rum and I also had a lovely card and the mother of chocolate cakes from work

Concert tickets 

One of my best friends got tickets for Walking on Cars (one of our favourite bands) and also surprised me with a tee and signed CD of their latest album. I'm sure you'll have seen plenty of videos on IG by now. By the end of the night my back and legs ached (that's 4 hours of standing for you!) and my voice was husky and not all there from singing along, but I wouldn't swap it for anything in the world. An amazing night

So a pretty colourful assortment this year! 

What are your favourite items?

Father's Day gift inspiration with I Just Love It

* Product received for review purposes but as ever, all opinions are my own!

My Dad has had a bit of a time of it lately, bless him. Last year he wasn't in the best of health and had two operations, and then only went and bloody got pneumonia after his second op, didn't he? Then fast forward to the other week where he went in for a third op. When I Just Love It got in touch offering to treat my Dad for Father's Day, I couldn't think of a better person to receive a gift!

I Just Love It is an online gift company who specialise in personalised gifts, making items that extra little bit special. Items range from BBQ tools, photo frames, tool boxes, beer caddies and DIY tools, most of which have personalisation options. They also have an extensive range of alcohol gift sets so no matter whether you're into wine, cider, prosecco or whisky, there's something for everybody.

Under normal circumstances I would have gone down the alcohol route as my Dad loves beer or a good bottle of red wine, however given his recent op, he needs to play it safe. Which is when Plan B came in.

My Dad is seriously into football and more specifically Spurs (North London and proud!) I Just Love It have an amazing range of personalised football books and guides for a wide variety of football teams, and also have bottles of cider, wine and champagne specific to your favourite team. The problem with buying the ultimate football fan a football related book is the age old question: "does he already have this one?!"

As luck may have it, I found a book very similar to my favourite One Line A Day book that I use, which instead would allow him to look back at past proud memories and achievements of his favourite team.

Personalised Spurs On This Day book *

Sized at 12 x 19cm and embossed with gold lettering, this is a football book with a difference. They do stipulate on the website that the cover colour may be subject to change (it's white on the listing here) and to be completely honest, I was a little disappointed with the colour that I received. It's just my opinion, but I think the white and gold combination looks a lot more expensive and special. Whilst I have nothing against the colour blue, I just don't feel like the blue used is very 'Spurs' and it makes the product look quite cheap (it photographs better than it looks in person). I feel that a darker blue like a navy would look more striking against the gold lettering (but that's just my opinion). Saying that, my Dad likes ALL types of blue and will love it (and that's the most important thing!).

The phrase "never judge a book by its cover" has never been so apt. Once you get past the cover, it's a great little read. I can't possibly comment on the content as I know next to nothing about football(!), however the text is a good size and looks very readable (something very important to me whenever I choose out a new book!)

The personalisation aspect of the gift was what won me over the most. I often give my Dad books, but never before has he received a book with his name embossed on the front in big gold letters (note: I have given my Dad anonymity here)

I'm seeing my Dad next weekend and am really excited to present this book to him and see his reaction! I just know that it will be something he will treasure forever. If you need a last minute Father's Day gift, do check out I Just Love It's extensive Father's Day range here.

The bargain marble fireplace that only cost £10 / $13

I love a fireplace, me. When house hunting, high on my wish list was a fireplace to cosy up to of an evening. However in the end, the perfect property (sans living room fireplace) prevailed. The character properties we viewed with fireplaces and high ceilings were narrow and needed A LOT of work. The house we put an offer on (and won - hooray!) had a generous foot print with good sized rooms but lacked character features (a fair enough compromise). There was a chimney breast, but it was in the back of the property (well, the kitchen) with no fireplace to speak of at the front of the house. Without a fireplace, our living room lacked a focal point. Which is when I broached the subject with the man of the house.

Mr Curiouser & Curiouser: "Why do we need a fireplace?"

Don't try and talk to men about focal points and how the TV shouldn't be THE focus of the room. Because men love their TVs and you uttering these words is blasphemous.

And men certainly don't understand the joy of decorating a mantel piece with foliage at Christmas, or the joy of having a stone hearth so you can actually display your sizable candle collection and burn them safely rather than precariously balancing them on a fabric ottoman, trying not to set the house alight.

 

Mr C & C: "You do realise it wouldn't be functional, don't you? And that we don't actually have a chimney breast there?"

Well yeah. 

Mr C & C: "where will the TV go?" (again with the precious TV)

Me: "maybe in the corner?" (we have a completely empty other side of the room which gets zero use and is wasted space)

Mr C & C: "isn't that a bit far away?"

Me: "what about by the window?"

Mr C & C: "it's too bright by the window"

Me: "your parents have their TV by a window"

Mr C & C: "it's still bright"

Me: "well, wall mounted above the fireplace then?"

Mr C & C: "isn't that a bit high up? Won't we be craning our necks?"

THE MORAL OF THE STORY?

Men don't get fireplaces. More so in this case, because it wouldn't be a functional fireplace. Instead it would be imitating the look of one.

Another challenge I had with trying to convince Mr Curiouser and Curiouser is down to the fact that fireplaces are bloody expensive. Brand new these can range from hundreds to thousands of pounds. Even when refining the search to just fireplace surrounds (the main frame and not the stone insert or hearth). Even when refining the search to used and unwanted models that have been ripped out of people's homes. 

THE DISCOVERY

Imagine my joy when one day I found the fireplace surround of dreams on eBay. It had a white surround (a must on my wishlist) with a soft grey marble hearth and wraparound which would match perfectly with my recent marble table DIY project

Expecting the worse, I clicked into the listing and found it was being listed for the surprising sum of £10 (approximately $13 with the current exchange rate). It was for collection only but the seller did have a van and said they would deliver for an additional fee. But even with said delivery fee, this was still peanuts. Excitedly I contacted Mr Curiouser and Curiouser with a link and all the details. Expecting a "not this bollocks again" type of response, he actually came back with the following: "Let's measure up later". SUCCESS.

PLAYING THE WAITING GAME

The fireplace listing had 5 days remaining and no watchers. I refrained from watching the item myself as I didn't want to draw attention to it or ramp up the price. I honestly expected it to rocket in price but when the big day came and it was still listed at £10, I couldn't get too excited, expecting a last minute bidding war.

SO WHAT HAPPENED?

It was not meant to be. A last minute bidder got in there first (much to Mr Curiouser and Curiouser's relief). So the search for a fireplace continues.

If anyone knows of any secondhand or otherwise affordable fireplaces and fire surrounds that are willing to deliver, holler at your girl. Until then, you'll find me ogling pictures of enviable fireplaces:

Recent research has got me thinking that maybe I could mock up my perfect fireplace surround. That instead of investing in an actual fireplace, I try and DIY my own using a piece of wood for the mantle and then wooden boards for the sides and hearth, covering these in tiles / tile stencils / tile stickers to make the fireplace more of a focal point in the room.

Please tell me that epic fireplaces excite you as much as they do me???!

All images Pinterest (original source unknown). If any of these images are yours, please reach out to me so I can fully credit you!

How to style an oversized blazer

* I received a complimentary item for review purposes but opinions and love of blazers all my own!

There's something about a blazer that always makes you feel a little more put together, don't you think? I can wear a simple white tee with black skinny jeans and look all plain Jane, but add a blazer and you feel like you can conquer the world.

And what's better than a blazer? A military style blazer (gold buttons really satisfy my magpie tendencies!)

White military blazer* (currently in the sale!)

As much as I love an oversized blazer, it does require careful styling so that it looks less scientist's lab coat, more borrowed from your boyfriend / fiancé / husband (hence why you may sometimes hear it fondly referred to as a boyfriend blazer!)

The key to styling an oversized blazer is to keep your body as slimline as possible to provide that contrast between a loose-fitting top layer and more closely fitting under layers.

AVOID

• baggy culottes
• wearing the same colour on your lower half
• big knitted jumpers
• wearing too many layers

The moral of the story? If you go for shapeless items under a less structured jacket, you are just adding bulk.

OPT FOR

• Slim fit trousers / jeans / leggings to balance the weight of the top of your frame (i.e the blazer)
• A little skirt / shorts would also do the trick here
• Draw attention to your waist with high waited trousers, paper bag waist styles and / or a waist belt to highlight your slimmest point.
• Lace and girly details -  counterbalance a masculine fit jacket with feminine details underneath (think lacy camisoles)
• Bare legs for a contrast between nakedness and non nakedness. Tread with caution as very oversized styles can make you look naked underneath!

In my case, I styled my blazer with high waisted military style shorts which ticked the following boxes:

• High waisted to draw attention to my waist
• Colour contrast between the jacket and shorts so it doesn't look too samey
• Contrast of showing some skin on my lower half and being covered up on my top half
• Matching a miltary style jacket with miltary style shorts
• A strapless bandeau top underneath gives the look a little more femininity than a regular tee
• The fitted strapless top and shorts combo resembles a playsuit and creates a slimline silhouette

Do you like a good blazer?

A huge thank you to Fashion World for providing me with the blazer of dreams!

The saffron skirt that radiates sunshine even when the sun isn't out

* I received a complimentary item for review purposes but opinions and love of pleated skirts are all my own!

"Lucy, do you need another black top?" one of my best friends asks despairingly.

Later that day I rummage through my wardrobe - which admittedly is filled with whites, blacks and greys - and I start to see her point.

It's not that I hate colour. On the contrary. It's just that I have never felt confident enough to wear bold colours. Black has always been fail proof for me in that it's classic, flattering and works for all occasions. As are whites and greys. Hence the predominantly black, white and grey wardrobe that I have accumulated over the years.

But times are a-changing people.

Ignoring the fact that I painted my bedroom grey (let's let that one slide), I am being much braver with colour around the house. I painted my lounge a beautiful deep teal colour (a far cry from its previous magnolia state), and have picked out a beautifully rich shade of aubergine for the home office. Not only that, but my wardrobe is coming along leaps and bounds too.

Introducing the saffron pleated maxi skirt of dreams.

And just some of the 1,456,745 reasons why I am loving this skirt:

• It radiates sunshine even when the sun isn't out (which is like, 90% of the time here in the UK)
• It's also a great autumnal colour - meaning it will still get plenty of wear post spring / summer
• It has a elasticated waistband - rendering it perfect for the sheer amount I eat
• It doesn't give you a bulbous waist / hips like some pleated skirts do 
• It's velvet and silky smooth - not that scratchy horrible feeling kind
• It's lightweight and has been the perfect thickness for the hot snap we've had here in the UK lately

I know what you're thinking. It's from that notoriously sought after online fashion brand where all the swoon worthy pleated skirts seem to come from. WRONG.

Introducing Fashion World. An online fashion retailer (a trading style of JD Williams) which stocks UK sizes 10-32, meaning there really is something for everyone. I have always had the greatest respect for fashion retailers who refuse to put a label / size limit on fashion, and who make fashion accessible to all.

I have had so many compliments on this skirt and people naturally (and wrongly!) assume that it is from that renowned online fashion brand that I alluded to earlier. Which is the greatest compliment to Fashion World as the skirt both looks and feels a lot more expensive than its £30 asking price.

Saffron pleated skirt* 

And know this: this skirt comes in two colours. 

And I opted for the saffron over the black.

My friend would be so proud.

Can a silk pillow case really make a difference to your hair and skin?

* I received a complimentary item for review purposes but opinions and love of silky soft pillow cases are all my own!

Silk. The epitome of luxury. But when the silk in question is Mulberry silk, it sounds all the more luxurious don't you think? No, nothing to do with that renowned brand you're thinking of (which admittedly is a relief which it comes to cost, because the Mulberry I'm talking about is much more affordable than its branded counterpart). What makes it Mulberry silk? Did you know that silk comes from silkworms? The main difference with Mulberry silk is what the silkworms are fed with (mulberry leaves no less!).

I'd heard about the numerous benefits of silk before now and have always been intrigued. Could a simple change in pillow case really make a difference to my hair and skin? When Calidad Home got in touch it couldn't have come at a better time. But what are these so called benefits of switching to a silk pillow case?

THE BENEFITS

1) Silk is hypoallergenic and all-natural - meaning it is far kinder on your skin than cotton and great for those with sensitive skin and / or particular skin conditions.

2) Sleeping on silk results in less of your skin's natural oils - and moisture - being lost at night. This means that your skin doesn’t go into overdrive trying to replace what it has lost overnight. With this in mind, sleeping on silk can help to prevent blocked pores and in turn, help to prevent acne. This is also great news if you are an eczema or psoriasis sufferer, as reducing the amount of moisture lost at night can help prevent dry, red, scaly patches of skin.

4) Silk pillow cases are said to not create those annoying pillow marks on your face after a night's sleep and subsequently is meant to be a good material for protecting your skin against wrinkles and the signs of ageing.

5) The charmeuse weave used (even that sounds fancy) creates a smoother finish and less friction than with cheaper, coarser silk products - meaning less chance of frizzy locks and a smoother, shiner finish.

THOUGHTS

Sounds too good to be true,  right?

Suffering from a lot of the above, I was intrigued if I would see a noticeable difference after using the silk pillow case. I have naturally wavy hair but it's not in the best condition and is prone to fly-aways and frizz (I go through hair mousse and oils and serums like it's going out of fashion!). I had quite oily skin as a teen, but now I've hit adulthood, it seems to have gone the other way and has become all kinds of dry (sods law). I do suffer from eczema and psoriasis and it can be especially bad when sat in a London office where the air con does a number on me. Would dry skin be a thing of the past? Would I no longer need to spend half a month's salary on anti-frizz products?

THE RESULT

Do you know what? I was pleasantly surprised. I have never slept on silk before, but it was a lot smoother and much nicer feeling on the skin.

Did I notice any difference to my hair? I'm not sure to be honest. I did have my hair cut fairly recently so I can't really comment on if the reduced frizz is down to the pillow case or having my split ends removed. It's something I feel I would notice after a longer period of sleeping on silk. However I do find that whenever I have straight hair, my hair keeps its shape better and requires less 'topping up' (read: re-straightening) the next day.

One thing I did notice with certainty was how much smoother the skin on my face has been each morning, with a noticeable reduction in the patches of eczema and psoriasis that were there previously. And seeing as I haven't changed up my diet, lifestyle or skincare routine, I do feel like the silk is having a positive effect already.

PRESENTATION

My order arrived in the cutest pastel purple parcel and the pillow case itself was wrapped in paper every bit as luxurious looking as the silk itself.

DOESN'T SILK NEED DRY CLEANING?

I was cynical about how easily washable the pillow case would be and had visions of it being really fragile and needing dry cleaning or something. What I've come to learn is that silk is a very durable fabric and is machine washable (hooray) so no expensive dry cleaning bills necessary. I admittedly did find it quite difficult to iron when it was 'box fresh' and had folds on it from being in the post. Silk can be ironed but must be done so on a low heat. My advice? Hang the pillow case to dry flat post wash to reduce the need for ironing.

CHECK THE MOMME COUNT

If you are considering "going silk", tread with care, because the type of silk you sleep on matters. There are so many different grades of it of varying quality levels. Mulberry silk is supposedly the very best silk available and a 22 momme count (the silk equivalent of thread count!) exceeds the benchmark that is considered "good" (which is 13-19 for the record). Where possible opt for a 13-19 momme count or higher.

If you fancy giving a Mulberry silk a go, Calidad Home currently have 40% off their silk pillow cases here. The pillow case I have pictured is in white, but these also come in ivory, taupe, teal, black, chocolate and purple. As for me, I've been well and truly bitten by the travel silk bug and am already eyeing up silk bed sheets which would be all kinds of luxurious, don't you think?

On an unrelated note, my cats absolutely love this pillow case. Which doesn't sound like a big deal, but for my cats, it is. I'm talking cats who are usually fearsome of pillow cases and actively jump clear of them to reach the headboard (weird creatures). But for whatever reason, they absolutely adore my new pillow case and love catching forty winks on it. Silk for the win!

Have you ever slept on silk before?

Flying to the Maldives direct with British Airways // a guide to the REAL difference between economy, premium economy and first class

No, this is not a fancy collaboration where British Airways took me on all expenses paid trip to the Maldives (a girl can dream!). Nor is this is a sponsored post or being compensated for in any shape or form. This written piece came about when I was booking flights to the Maldives and literally at my wits end about which airline to go with and whether to book economy seats or to spend more. There is such a vast difference in cost for the different pricing bands and when you've never flown to said destination before or experienced the plane or the layout, it's overwhelming. For long haul flights like these you want to be in comfort, but at the same time is spending more worth the extra money? 

When flying to the Maldives from further afield, you have two options:

1. fly there direct (to my knowledge, British Airways is the only airline that offer this currently)
2. have a punctuated journey (usually a stopover in Dubai) which a lot of the other airlines offer

It's a double edged sword. The direct flights are obviously more expensive, but then you pay extra for convenience. It enables you to spend less time travelling (for me, 11 hours was more than enough!) but they only fly on particular days of the week at particular times. Flying with other airlines like Virgin, Qatar and Emirates offers some degree of flexibility as when I searched I found more flights / times / options to play around with and also cheaper flights. 

TAKE EXTRA SEAT BOOKING COSTS INTO ACCOUNT

I kid you not. Say you wanted to splash out and treat yourselves to premium economy or first class, paying thousands on plane tickets won't stop there. In order to secure a seat, you will need to pay from £50-60 per person each way. This really took me aback as I hadn't flown long haul in years and hadn't experienced this before. And note that this is from £50-60 per person each way. The £50 seats were literally the cheapest ones at the back of the plane. If you want to be on or around the wing to avoid the worst of the turbulence and / or aircraft noise, this then jumped in price. I complained to my travel provider about this (as this is never highlighted during the booking process) and they reimbursed some of my travel costs so I could put the money towards pre-booking my seats. So definitely worth making a noise about this if this happens to you too.

Alternatively you can save spending the extra money on seats if you are happy to chance it on the day (BA will place you in whatever spare seat they can find). However with this you risk not being sat with your family / significant other (something I was not willing to do!).

TAKE SEATING PLANS WITH A PINCH OF SALT

When choosing my seat, I found it very hard to find a seating plan online for my British Airways flight. The seating plan they had on the seat booking portal implied there were seats available in the very first row of economy which I snapped up immediately and paid extra for. When on the flight, I discovered these were in fact NOT front row seats. The front row in economy turned out to be the very last row of premium economy which had been smooshed into economy for whatever reason. And not only that, but this front row was specially tailored to families with babies and had a fold down shelf where a baby carrier / bed could be installed. Paying extra money to pre-book my seats (as per previous section) and then find out that I wasn't where I thought I would be, and to have a crying baby in front of me for the whole overnight flight... wow.

Not only that, but the British Airways seat booking portal also shows a few seats without access to a window. As it was a special occasion (and trust me, I'm not going to be flying to the Maldives that often!), I wanted to ensure that we had a window seat and could see the islands when landing. I spoke to British Airways customer service both online via contact forms, social media AND on the phone, who all assured me that the seats I had my eye on were by a window. Guess what? THEY WERE NOT (the above pic is from the seaplane and has no relation to my BA flight). Which left me regretting my decision to pre-book my seats, because what is the point if you are not sitting where you have paid to sit?

DREAM ON ABOUT UPGRADES

If you are departing from London, direct flights to the Maldives with British Airways depart from London Gatwick airport. I booked economy as when it comes to booking a trip away, I'd rather spend more of my budget on the hotel as this is ideally where I am spending the longest period of time.

I had this fantasy that we'd check in and be surprised with a complimentary upgrade because the flight was empty. However there are zero BA check in desks now in use at London Gatwick. It's now a case (no pun intended) of you having to lift your own cases onto the conveyor belt, weigh them and apply the tag thingy yourself. Staff cuts and all that. Some of these conveyor belts had someone to help you lift and process your case, but no one to physically to check you in. Check in can be done online 24 hours in advance or you check in yourself at the airport on machines.

So other than being waved over to a conveyor belt that snatched our cases off of us, we didn't really have all that much human interaction. The overall process was very "do it yourself". On the way back the flight was completely full (apparently it was the last direct flight of the season) so zero chance of an upgrade. Don't rely on an upgrade. You won't get one.

THE COST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ECONOMY, PREMIUM ECONOMY AND FIRST CLASS 

I understand some people may be tempted by first class for a special occasion like an anniversary or honeymoon but in all honesty, on the BA direct flight to the Maldives, there wasn't a huge difference in space / experience between the three. In fact I would have been seriously miffed if I'd paid for first class or premium economy. I was glad I stuck to my guns and opted for economy and to spend more on the holiday itself. To explain quite how much the price differs, here are the average costs in relation to economy:

• Premium economy - typically £300-500 more than economy
• First class - £3,000+ more than economy (typically just shy of £5k per adult!)

Some first class seats were backwards (something that would really piss me off if I'd paid all that extra money). You are sat in individual pods but they are not all that private or spread out. In fact people in economy and premium economy walk through first class to get to their seats. It felt very claustrophobic and I think I would have felt really cheated if I'd paid all that extra money to be sat in first class. I feel like other airlines do first class so much better.

What were the main differences?

Pillows - Economy doesn't even have a pillow case - it's essentially just cushion filling. Premium economy allows you the luxury of actually having a pillow case for your pillow. And then first class... a far nicer pillow case.

Blanket - Economy had a really thin, basic, scratchy blanket. We had an overnight flight and I was FREEZING. Premium economy had a much thicker blanket which was quilted (oooo) and first class probably had a full on duvet (I can't recall).

For the sake of a thicker blanket, nicer cushion and a TINY bit of extra leg room, paying extra for premium economy or first class just didn't seem worth it or good value for money (but hey, that's just me).  I have been on other long haul flights where first class has been generously spread out, had a bar area and been a lot more private (not that I've ever flown first class!). The layout for first class, premium economy and economy on the BA direct flight is one long room with no sense of privacy. Once the plane takes off, they draw the (thin) curtain but this doesn't stop sound. Which leads me onto my next point nicely.

FIRST CLASS WON'T PROTECT YOU 

If you've ever seen BBC drama The Cry (or read The Cry by author Helen FitzGerald) you will know all about the joy of a baby crying during a long haul flight. On our overnight flight a newborn screamed for 9 out of the 11 hours so we only managed about 2 hours sleep. All classes heard it. You can sit in your private pod sipping champagne, but trust me, that curtain didn't stop anything. If I'd paid almost £5,000 for a seat and experienced all that noise during an over-nighter and not been able to sleep / work, I would have been grouchy as.

HOW DOES LEG ROOM COMPARE?

It goes without saying, premium economy has more leg room than economy. But not by much. First class also has more leg room but isn't as spaced out and private as you would hope for the cost. But to me, the extra leg room didn't warrant spending hundreds of pounds (premium economy) or thousands of pounds (first class) extra on seats.

AIRLINE FOOD SUCKS RIGHT?

I can't comment on what premium economy received, but I imagine that first class would have had nicer food options (and probably champagne as standard). Saying that, economy was perfectly fine and did the job. I don't have a huge appetite when I'm travelling anyway. On the way there, economy had a choice of mac and cheese (vegetarian meal) or chicken with winter vegetables. I had the chicken and it came in a really lovely sauce with cheese and chive mashed potato. It also came with a lemon and mint edamame and rice salad, a bottle of water, cheese and crackers, a bread roll and a mango and passion fruit posset.

Breakfast the next morning was not so good. I requested the Traditional English Fry Up and got given the vegetarian option(!) This comprised of an mushroom omelette (not my favourite), a creamy sauce (something I can never face on a long flight) and crispy potatoes. It was all a bit slooshy for a overnight flight, so I picked out the solids (mushrooms and potatoes). It also came with a fruit bag, orange juice and a blueberry muffin (I can't get behind muffins that aren't chocolate). A few mushrooms, potatoes and pieces of fruit weren't really enough to set me up for a long day.

On the return flight, I had chicken, vegetables and potato wedges, a bread roll, cheese and crackers, a pasta salad and a KitKat. The veggie option in economy was pasta - which seemed like a poor choice given that the accompaniment was... a pasta salad. No pictures of this I'm afraid.

I'd be interested to know what they serve in first class. But is it worth spending £3,000+ more? Unless my food comes out topped with gold and diamonds, I reckon not.

DO THE BA DIRECT FLIGHTS HAVE FILMS AND ENTERTAINMENT?

Yes they do. Everyone has their own individual screen in the back of the seat of front of them. The screen size was tiny and not great quality. It was enough to keep you distracted during a a long haul flight, but for films that rely on special effects and great sound, it wasn't a great medium to watch them on. BA supplies in-ear headphones but I recommend bringing your own. If you get terrible ear ache and turbulence on flights like I do, over-the-ear headphones do the job nicely. Noise cancelling headphones are the ticket and block out the noisiest aspects of the aircraft in flight.

It was amusing how people sat in the front row went from being smug about having all the extra leg room and then discovering that they didn't have a screen to watch films on. If you are front row, the screen will not be in the back of the seat in front of you. Because there is no seat in front of you to speak of. Fiddle around your arm rest vicinity and hey presto, your screen will swivel out precariously on a flexible arm type fixture. Fear not, you won't be without films and TV for 11 hours!

Film choice was good. I was able to watch some of the latest film offerings of the time. Some of these being Bohemian Rhapsody, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Crazy Rich Asians and Smallfoot. Episode choice ranged from current (ish) titles to older offerings. I loved re-watching old episodes of Fawlty Towers and documentaries like Joanna's Lumley's Silk Road Adventure (I could listen to her voice all day long!).

THE BRITISH AIRWAYS WEBSITE IS OLD SCHOOL

I booked my holiday through Virgin Holidays but booked British Airways flights. The Virgin site was a joy to use, but whenever I had to transfer through to British Airways for the flights aspect of my booking, it was clunky, slow and felt dated. The British Airways site could really do with a refresh so it's a little more user intuitive and user friendly.

IF YOU LIKE GIN, GET IN THERE QUICKLY

I'm not kidding, but gin ran out on the flight fast. Cue lots of grouchy people facing the majority of an 11 hour flight without their poison of choice to mellow them. If gin is your tipple of choice, get in there quickly.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Hope this travel guide is a useful read! I personally would have loved to find / read something like this before booking my flights as it would have confirmed to me that there isn't really any value to spending more on premium economy or first class (at least that's my opinion!). If you have any other questions about British Airways flights to the Maldives, hit me up in the comments below and I'll be more than happy to answer your questions!