That time of the month came round, and October 20th saw the Ladies Wot Brunch congregate together again and brace themselves for an evening of fun, games and lots of laughter. Our VVR host Bola or as we lovingly call her “Bosh” chose an awesome venue – Amerigo Vespucci, a beautiful Italian restaurant in Canary Wharf as our go-to spot.
Booking
As is the case with these fabulous VVR ladies, booking seems to be getting smoother and smoother (or maybe they’re just not telling me the full story!). On confirming the number of attendees and selecting the venue, the restaurant worked collaboratively with Bosh to set the menu, send out prices and organise a private corner to accommodate us. I should also highlight that as with many of our rendezvous, advance payment was made to ensure a smooth, cashless dining experience. This is obviously favourable for the restaurant as well as us making it’s a win-win strategy!
Gist
OK. So I’m getting quite a lot of feedback on this section. Apparently you laaav it! So I’ll continue to indulge your inquisitive minds and let you in on the hottest topics that were discussed and shouted *ahem*. And the evening did not disappoint!
Love across the ocean… Alas, this is something that is close to my heart. Many of the ladies in the group can identify with this subject and we heard stories about lovers having to travel every few months to see and spend time with their boos. One lady said she’d travelled to the USA 3 times in the last 5 months! And another shared her relationship timetable with us, which assured her and her other half saw each other at least once every quarter. It’s a stark contrast to the ladies who have lovers in-situ, who they see almost on a daily basis. So how does this love across the ocean thing work? Is it realistic? Can a relationship with someone who you can’t see or touch on a daily basis really last? The optimistic answer is yes, but I guess only time will tell… But in the meantime, thank God for the Ladies Wot Brunch, who happily fill the gap for each other. And before you guys with imaginative minds start gassing(!) I’m talking about the brunch, lunch, dinner and holiday dates that we take each other on. Yay!
Agaracha! Darlings, you will hear this word a lot. Meaning? Well… technically it means promiscuous woman in igbo, a Nigerian dialect. But we use it as a term of endearment. So if you hear the word being bandied about, or if you are branded an agaracha(!) take it with love… 🙂
Yummy Mummies and maternity bras – Our resident yummy mummy shared some information about how to keep it hot and sexxxay during the pre-motherhood phase. Now the perception of maternity bras isn’t very favourable at all. They’re usually perceived as frumpy, stuffy things. However, having seen our yummy mummy, we could not deny the fact that her maternity undersupport was doing an Ultimo Wonderbra-ful job and keeping those babies looking gooooood! I’ve done some research and have found Hot Milk Lingerie, a company that specially designs maternity underwear. Even the name is attractive! So to all you mum’s to-be and nursing mamas out there, do not be dismayed! You can keep your sexy oooooooon!
Loveless Marriage – Many of us have read the bestselling book The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin. Without giving the story away, one of the major themes addressed in the book is marriage without the presence of love. So how does this work? Is attraction and respect in isolation of physical love enough? The general consensus among the ladies on the evening was a resounding NO! It cannot go anywhere my friend! Because if love is lacking, it cannot be shown. If love is not shown, the members of the relationship are not connected. And if there isn’t a connection, What the -eff are you doing wasting your time?!?! It maketh no sense! We shared stories of friendships we’d seen, dates we’d embarked and courtships we’d endured without the presence of love or even attraction which ultimately ended up being fruitless. I personally don’t understand how people can suffer themselves and try to conjour up a feeling or successful relationship without the vital, amorous ingredient. It is impossible!
Can you date a man over 35…? The conclusive answer is yes. But we didn’t get there without a vigourous debate. On one side of the spectrum, we argued that there would be quite a significant difference in beliefs, timescales for things we wanted to achieve (older men were likely to adopt a been there, done that attitude) and how to have fun (the term fuddy duddy comes to mind!). However, it was counterbalanced with the fact that older men know exactly what they want and thus are less likely to waste time, are more likely to be financially stable and generally know how to make a woman feel goooooooood! The point that tipped the scale was that several of our ladies are successfully courting and married to men aged 35 and above illustrating that it can and it does work!
Food
The food on this evening was awesome! I had bits and bobs of almost every meal and I was so impressed! My favourites would have to be the mussels which were prepared perfectly! The broth and tenderness of the mussel flesh was impeccable and not too heavy. The fact that the portion was generous enough to feed three (ladies who picked my food with me, you know yourselves!) was an added bonus. For mains, it had to be between the sea bass and salmon pasta, which was also cooked to perfection and under specific instruction (yes our hot AND spicy request was made again!) Melt in the mouth fish, perfectly spiced pasta, served with beautiful veggies and roast potatoes and all at the correct temperature made the meal bellissimo! The desserts were all equally fantastic and although there was hardly anything in it, if I had to recommend one it would have to be the tiramisu. Ironic right? An Italian restaurant making a bad ass tiramisu – what are the chances eh? Tee hee hee…
Service
Considering how raucous we were (what’s new?) the restaurant were superb. We had a team of zealous waiters and waitresses (again, what’s new?) who were at our beck and call, bringing drinks and topping up wine glasses consistently. The fact that we had a private corner in the restaurant probably enhanced our experience; it almost felt like we were in our very own Italian cove, with loved and loud ones!
Overall
I cannot fault the restaurant, and despite my original reservations about eating in one of London’s prime business arenas on the weekend, the restaurant surpassed all my expectations and was fun and lively. It is an awesome place to eat, any day of the week but of course it’s the company that makes the difference 😉
A huge thank you goes to our darling Bosh for organising what was a fabulous evening. We love and appreciate you mama… Mwah! A big shout out also goes to Sope “Sopelols” who shot some of the gorgeous photos you will see in the slide show. Watch this space, this young lady is a photography star in the making… Fantastico!
For Ladies Wot Brunch 