London's First Cat Café

Last year, I heard news that a unique café was to open in London.  This café had one key selling point, that made it more exciting to me than other cafés - cats!

Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium opened in March 2014 in Shoreditch, near to Brick Lane, a place I often find myself visiting for the unusual shops, curry houses, street art and food markets.  I have to say, the café seems to stick out like a sore thumb on the street, with the pristine purple décor, next to some slightly run-down buildings.  What is particularly nice is how you can see into the café area from the street, and often there are a few cats chilling out by the window, so you can see some of the fluffy residents without actually entering the building.  This is especially good since the café is currently booked up until October!

However, being a student in London has its advantages.  For current places in the café, people have had to book months in advance, and plans always change/appointments are forgotten about, meaning there are often a few cancellations and no-shows.  This has meant that twice so far I have been able to visit the café with some of my friends, without prior booking.  When there are cancellations, they are announced on the café's twitter page, and so if you are quick you can take up the free spot.  An alternative approach is to just show up on the day, and ask very nicely if there is a free table.  During the weekdays you stand a better chance of getting in, particularly in the late evening sessions - it is in the final session that they are more open to letting in a few more people than usual.  There are normally lots of free tables, but numbers of visitors at any one time are restricted to not upset the resident cats.

Once you enter the café, you have to pay a £5.00 cover charge, which goes towards the general upkeep of the café and the cats.  You can then go through to the main café area and choose any table - there are two floors, and cats can come and go between both levels.  You are also free to move about during your time at the café, so you are not confined to the seats you choose at the start.

The menu isn't huge but let's be honest, the variety of food isn't the main reason you would visit Lady Dinah's.  They offer a nice selection of cakes which they make fresh each day, and they also offer some savoury options (I would recommend the sundried tomato and houmous bagel).  One other nice thing about the café is the consideration of people with allergies to gluten - gluten free options are available.  It is all fairly reasonably priced and you can have as much or as little as you like.

Each sitting lasts for 2 hours, which is a generous amount of time to allow you to eat/drink and meet the cats. The staff are friendly and helpful, and know the cats very well, so can advise on how to approach them. They also give some of the customers cat treats to feed the cats, which they love - once the cats know you have a cat treat, they become very playful and inquisitive!

The time that you visit the café can be quite important in terms of the liveliness of the cats.  They have an "afternoon nap" at about 3pm, and so the following session often means the cats are still quite sleepy and not overly sociable.  In the morning sessions they tend to be a little more active, and also in the evening sessions. Each cat is different though, and you will always find some cats going off to find somewhere quiet to take a nap.  This is normal cat behaviour, and so you should expect to see lots of sleeping cats when you visit!  The cats also seem to have become accustomed to lots of random visitors, and so they are not overly excited to be continually prodded and handled!  But that does not mean that the café is not an enjoyable experience - when you do bond with a cat, it is great!  There are lots of toys to play with the cats, and many really like to be brushed (and prefer it to being stroked directly by hand).  The staff again are really helpful and show where each cat likes to be stroked and brushed (behind the ears is often a good choice)!

Overall, Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium is a unique and thoroughly enjoyable experience, and your visit feels special and is nice and relaxed.  The café is quiet and this does give a feeling of exclusivity - it is definitely worth the wait to book in advance, yet this isn't always necessary if you live locally and want to try to get in without a booking.  All I can say is that the larger the group, the less likely there will be a free table for you unless you have booked!

If you visit London and are looking for unique places to go, (and if you love cats), this is definitely worth adding to your list.  Just make sure you plan in advance and book if you can, or otherwise prepare for the worst scenario in that you may not get in!  Being so close to Brick Lane, however, means there will always be lots to do and see if you aren't lucky enough to get a table in the café.

To find out more about the café and the cats, you can visit their website: ladydinahs.com

The First.

So this is my first post on what I hope will be a successful blog.  It is a daunting prospect, starting out. Especially since I currently have no followers or regular readers!

I have started this blog because, quite frankly, I want to try something new, and I want to use my free time in a semi-productive way.  This could turn out to be a decision I will later regret, but over the next few days (and maybe weeks) I aim to persevere and see how far I get with this.

I think the best way to introduce this blog is by firstly introducing myself.  If you haven't already guessed, my name is Loren, and I turned 21 in June (this doesn't mean I automatically became a mature and responsible adult, believe me I do not feel "all grown up").  I am not overly sure what theme or themes I will focus on in this blog, however there are some key things which I'm sure will crop up from time to time.  I will summarise these below (with nice images too).

1. Biochemistry

Three years ago, I decided to pursue a degree in biochemistry at Imperial College London.  I can safely say that this was the biggest (and also one of the best) decisions I have ever made, forcing myself into a new life in London, going from a small village in the English countryside.  Three years on and I have now completed my degree, with the strange feeling of wondering where the last three years have gone! 

For anyone who asks me "what is biochemistry?", I always tend to reply with a simple answer: biochemistry is the chemistry of life, looking at how life functions by studying it at the molecular and cellular level.  My course covered a diverse range of topics and areas, including cell & molecular biology, genes & genomics and proteins & enzymes, along with more specific subjects such as virology & bacteriology, cancer and synthetic biology.  

There is so much amazing work going on in the world of biochemical and biomedical research, and I hope in future posts I can talk about some of this.

2. London

Obviously whilst being a student I haven't spent every hour studying.  Living in London definitely has its perks, and there are many amazing experiences to have and places to visit if you know about them.  Once you have done all of the classic "tourist" activities, you can start to explore the more unusual parts of London, and I always love finding new quirky places to bring friends.  I think a lot of my future posts will document places I've been to and things that I've done in and around London, not only as a reminder to myself but also as suggestions to readers who are looking for something new to do in this brilliant city.

3. Food

I love food.  I may not be the most adventurous, (I am quite fussy), but I love trying out new recipes.  I also love to bake.  The rabbit cake in the photo is one that I made for my housemate's 21st birthday, which I am pretty proud of!  Where food is concerned, I am sure I will end up posting many photos of my creations (both successful and unsuccessful I imagine!), to provide instruction, inspiration and advice should anyone else like to try them out.  

4. Pets

At home, I have two pets - a cat called Ella and a dog called Samson.  They both have interesting personalities and I love them.  There are always one or two funny stories to tell or photos to show!  I may also include some more general information on owning and training a pet - I have taught Samson a few cool tricks!

5. Music

I am currently teaching myself to play the guitar (with a little help from friends).  I picked up the guitar almost a year ago, and whilst progression has been slow, I regularly pick up my guitar and teach myself a few things to play or practice what I already know.  From a beginner's point of view I plan to give some advice on learning, and also suggest some songs which I have found simple enough to learn and don't require a great amount of guitar experience.

On a more general music level, I will be sharing new music I find, from both popular to more unusual artists, along with some older stuff I already listen to and love.

6. Game of Thrones

My current obsession.  I am presently reading A Feast for Crows, and I have seen all four seasons of the HBO series.  I imagine I will be posting a few things of a Game of Thrones-related nature.  

Generally, I love films, TV series' and books, although I don't read as often as I would like.  I definitely see myself posting about films I see and books I read.

All in all, I would say I have quite a lot of things I can write about over the next few weeks.  This is just a small snippet of what may be (hopefully) to come in this blog.  I am excited to begin writing and sharing my ideas and experiences with you!

If you have managed to find your way to my blog, firstly I would like to say a huge "thank you!" and secondly, how on earth did you find me!?

Now I don't know how to end a blog, so goodbye for now!

Loren