Author Archives: fortewinks

About fortewinks

A PA at 19 and self employed PR at 26, Giovanna is now a British healthcare entrepreneur and public speaker. She is also a bon vivant, mother of two accomplished daughters, Nonna to a gorgeous grandson and wife to Handsome Husband (HH). FirstBorn has travelled extensively teaching street children in Mexico City, working with the unwell in a Myanmar Monastery and living live to the full. She is now a teacher of History in East London and a Certified Massage Therapist. Youngest-of-All is a Melbourne Top 30 under 30 Chef, founder of the city's finest destination for pastries and soft-serve and this year listed in the top 3,000 bakeries in the world: monforteviennoiserie.com @monforteviennoiserie

Paddington Station, 3pm, Thursday. Bank Holiday Weekend began on a train destined for Bristol where my friend would meet and greet me. The journey was spent trapped between the window and a wall of strangely amplified sound: burger and fries … Continue reading →

Posted on April 9, 2012 by fortewinks | 5 Comments

London taxis and the art of Cabversation

Posted on March 13, 2012 by fortewinks

I am a Black Cab Queen. I love the London taxi and the driver behind the wheel. I adore the lucky dip quality implicit in climbing aboard; will I find optimism or gloom within? Cynicism or hope? Soulful entertainment or … Continue reading →

Posted in Friends, Life and romance, London, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged bethanl green, black cab, death, divorce, grandchildren, hackney road, krays, marriage, Monument, parenthood, philpot lane mice, puerto banus, sex change, stepchildren | 6 Comments

The G-Plan Diet: lazy and tasty

Posted on March 4, 2012 by fortewinks

The most important words between people are often exchanged over the table. Food is currency. Food is glue. Food is the stuff that brokers and builds friendships and relationships of any hue; and if they need celebrating – or even … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertaining, Family, Food and wine, Friends, Life and romance, Uncategorized | Tagged anchovies, chicken, Chili pepper, Cook, cooking, eggs, family, Food, friends, Garlic, ginger, green beans, Niçoise salad, Olive oil, pancetta, Potato, recipes | 3 Comments

Dial 007 for Urologist: the EAU Congress, Paris

Posted on February 26, 2012 by fortewinks

Last week I had an overwhelming sense that my career path and health were inextricably linked, for I suffered my first UTI in over ten years. Not just ouch … super-double-and-treble ouch. I won’t bore you with the details, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Health, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged Consultant Urologist, HCA Healthcare, Julian Shah, La Marine, NHS Supply Chain, Paris, Peezy, St Emilion | 2 Comments

Spicy rum, wayward cherubs and the artist unzipped

Posted on January 28, 2012 by fortewinks

Once upon a time I must have known how to spell ‘prompt’. These days its meaning seems to escape me, and so with more metaphorical Lycra than was decent for “fashionably late”, I landed in the midst of Zyg’s Private … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Friends, Life and romance, Shopping, Uncategorized | Tagged Alan Phillip, Alan Phillips Architecture, Art, Brighton, Jarzembowski, Kraken, Lamps, Leap of Faith, Marblehead Brands, Modelmaking, Party, Putto, Toy, Vintage, Zyg, Zyg Jarzembowski | Leave a comment

Mexico: mariachi, mountains, merriment … and my Girls

Posted on January 15, 2012 by fortewinks

Bethnal Green is where we usually congregate with family and friends to spend Christmas, exchange gifts and enjoy hearty food. But this year, we abandoned our home in East London to gather in Mexico, for what transpired to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Food and wine, Friends, Life and romance, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged Christmas, Expedia, La Villada Inn, Lady of the Assumption Oaxaca, Mariachi, Mexican rugs, Mexico, Mexico City, Mezcal, Oaxaca, Plaza Garibaldi, Pyramids, Salsa, Teotihuuacan, Teotitlan | 1 Comment

East London: a culinary playground

Posted on November 20, 2011 by fortewinks

East London: a place of many textures and many tastes is now inextricably linked – for me – to the sating of a raging appetite for good food and great wine, at friendly places. But how times have changed. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and wine, London | Tagged East London, Farringdon Road, Hoxton Square, Italian cuisine, Leonard Street, London, Rivington Street, Shoreditch, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Twenty clever women (and two men in the kitchen)

Posted on November 12, 2011 by fortewinks

In May this year, I realised that I did not see enough of my female friends. Whilst the Boys are pretty easy to find barside, the Girls are more difficult to pin down. My girl friends are a fabulous lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertaining, Feminism, Food and wine, Friends, Life and romance | Tagged Alessandra Scherillo, Amelia Troubridge, Clever women, Dinner, Entertaining, Entrepreneur, Gladstone Gardens, Laura Quick, Man-About-Town, Michela Gisotti, Philippa Stockley, Satwinder Sehmi, Street Children Photography, Surface to Air Architects, The Nelson's Head, Trayler and Trayler, Trolley Books, Urban Species, Urban Stories, Women | 4 Comments

London: the opening credits

Posted on October 23, 2011 by fortewinks

Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly, Soho: my route to work on the number 14 bus in 1982. New to London, embarking on an inglorious secretarial career, I climbed to the top deck daily, and gazed in wonderment as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Life and romance, London, Travel | Tagged Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Brighton romances revisited: make mine a ’99

Posted on August 14, 2011 by fortewinks

Brighton station appears earlier than expected. No matter; it’s a balmy, sunny, seaside day and a cycling jaunt through the delicious salty air is a welcome and unexpected pleasure, after the stuffy train journey. I set off down Queens Road, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life and romance, Travel | Tagged Brighton, Elvis Costello, First kiss, Fortes, Ice cream, Queens Road, Romance, Uncategorized | 7 Comments