Legend holds that on leap year days (some say the entire leap year – but I am sticking with today), it is socially acceptable for women to propose marriage to men; any other time of the year, etiquette and custom dictated that only men were allowed to propose marriage.

This may be seen as rather an outdated notion, but with a little more digging, there is a great deal of evidence about the tradition of Leap Year parties. Throughout the 19th century, the 29th February was the day women invited the men to be their dates and dance partners, whilst being in charge of the festivities. Today is clearly therefore the day of unexpected courtship; whether it be for coffee, dinner or a weekend away, the ball is in your court…

If all else fails, I would suggest referring to The Savoy Cocktail Book that insists it has created a leap year cocktail that has been “responsible for more proposals than any other cocktail that has ever been mixed.” The success of the resultant marriage may be questionable, but at least you’ll of had fun along the way!

… when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I’m thirsty. - Madame Lilly Bollinger.

I recently embarked on one of the most spontaneous weekends away I have ever taken, and, after initial scepticism, and writing to share my pearls of wisdom…

Relying on my friend’s ability to be late to everything, I snoozed through my alarm, and was shocked to be dragged from my flat in a mixture of panic and excitement only 20 minutes later! My eagerness to escape the autumn drizzle of London was more than enough motivation, and despite having little idea of where we were heading or how long we would be gone, I packed efficiently; bringing the essential passport, corkscrew and credit card!

As we purred through the city I was thrust a map, and told to navigate south! With surprising ease (ignoring the punctured tyre!) we arrived in Dover in little under 3 hours, and jumped straight onto the ferry! No five hour pre-departure check in here! Whilst avoiding the questionable refreshments, a quick and brisk walk around the deck saw the white cliffs of Dover disappear and before long the welcomed site of the Northern French coast arrive.

Dunkirk is often second due to the Calais ‘booze cruise’ culture, but within 20 minutes of docking we were cruising through the beautiful French countryside on our way to the Champagne region. I know few people who would critise the French highways, and I can confirm the scenery was breathtaking. Rolling farmlands and French châteaux lit up by the gradually setting sun - a million miles from London!

With “Alistair Sawday’s - Special places to stay in France” as our guide (which I would highly recommend, as it features only French owned accommodation) we found ourselves in Fisme in the heart of the Champagne region. After an incredibly good nights sleep, a beautifully presented French breakfast, we set off to explore the region. On our travels we met a host of welcoming local farmers, tried a variety of Champagnes, and even learnt a few things along the way! How do you find artisanal champagne? Look for a bottle marked “R.M.” (Recoltant-Manipulant) or “S.R.” (Societé-Manipulant). Those initials signify that the grower vinifies, bottles, and markets Champagne from grapes he grows.

After parking back at the B&B and really enjoying our recent purchases, we enjoyed an incredible home cooked three course meal for less than £10! The following day continued in a similar vein, but this time we headed into the city of Reims where we visited the Taittinger caves, and learnt about the process of producing Champagne! And yes, I admit, leaving the 4km of caves filled with the finest bubbles was almost heartbreaking!

Then we poodled back to the ferry, and made it back into central London in six hours from vineyard to bed.

I would whole heartedly recommend such an adventure to anyone who fancies getting out of the big smoke, enjoys beautiful food, or enjoys a few glasses of bubbles from time to time… I will be retuning!

In early Spring I sat with the directors and discussed the need to produce “a modern and engaging web site, that accurately reflects the company’s position and capabilities, whilst satisfying all user requirements”.

And that was the brief!

Three months on, with the launch of our site under our belts, I thought I’d write a quick insight into how we have got here.

Having briefed in our creative and digital team, we began with a ‘brain-dump’ of everything we wanted for and from the new site. Whilst our history and foundations remained important, the requirement to showcase our current and future capabilities soon became paramount. Having thought long and hard about our audiences and their user journeys, the wireframes and site map were agreed. Each of our studio members then set about creating the ‘look and feel’ of the site.

The colourful and immersive nature of the site soon materialised as favourite, and it was then the (sometimes painful!) refinement of the individual components that really let the site come to life. The use of flash animation and video streaming in addition to the worthy inclusion of our blog has really added personality and insight, without adversely affecting our search engine optimisation.

Many people warned me that internal projects were more stressful than any client engagement. Whilst I wouldn’t entirely dispute that, as the champagne corks popped to toast this milestone in our growth, you can couter-balance it with the fuzzy glow you get from a wholehearted team effort!

Starting simply, with a classic chicken dish (serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 skinless chicken breast fillets
8 tablespoons lemon juice
2 rounded teaspoons paprika
1 large garlic clove crushed
1 tablespoon fresh taragon
50g (2oz) unsalted butter
12-14 sun-dried tomatoes (in oil)
1/2 pint double cream
salt
chilli powder

Instructions

1) Score chicken and place in a bowl with lemon juice, paprika, garlic & tarragon - stir and leave 30 mins (or longer if you have time….)
2) Melt butter in deep frying pan on low heat
3) Add chicken (and marinade) - cook gently until cooked through (10-15 mins)
4) Remove chicken, bubble juices fiercely to reduce
5) Add cream
6) Bring back to boil for 2-3 mins until thicker
7) Season with salt and chilli powder
8) Return cooked chicken to the plan & add cut sun-dried tomatoes - stir over heat

Best served with rice and crisp salad!