It's a London Life

Gor blimey, an old boozer, with great food, in the middle of Mayfair? You wouldn't Adam an' Eve it, guv'nor! I needed somewhere in town to have a smallish (10-12 people) surprise birthday dinner where there was good food, good atmosphere, but no poncey pretensiousness (so any Gordon Ramsey place was out for this evening), and just a frisson of celebrity endorsement for desert. And somewhere we hadn't been to before ... So I spoke to a couple of geezers, got on the blower, and rang 'The Punchbowl', in Farm Street, in London's Mayfair. And got their biggest table straightaway. Sorted! And how was it? Well, you find it down a backpassage (oo-er), through the ubiquitous smokers outside, and enter via a small, packed (always I Imagine?) bar, hoping correctly that the space at the back is the dining room. It's reasonably dark in that old dark-wood, yellow-tinged-walled pub fashion, that seems to have gone out of fashion, but is still warm & friendly, whi...

A cold Monday night in October normally means a night in front of the box hoping to find something watcheable, but not this Monday (20th October 08). Oh no, tonight means that the angular, concrete environs of the National Theatre on the Southbank beckon. And may I say how good that concrete looks now. Lit by bluish uplighters it really seems to have come into it's own. A concrete monstrosity no longer ... At the bar I ask the barman if I can order drinks for the interval. The barman replies affirmatively but adds that it's not necessary as tonights show is only 65 minutes long. Result! Better one good hour, than 3 hours of badly edited tosh* . A positive omen indeed. The soft-furnished seats of the the Lyttleton are another positive, and the site of numerous blubber-mountains trying to squeeze into them adds a wry piquancy. Is that 'Oedipus' (Ralph Fiennes) two rows in front? By jove we're are indeed bless-ed. And so to the theatrical/dance performance of In-I , st...

Sticking with the rose tip ... here's a fantastic grand cru rose champagne from Richard Fliniaux website: http://richard.fliniaux.monsite.wanadoo.fr/page6.html It's so good, we went to calais, collected 100 bottles from the back of the vineyard van and then took it all the way to the Devi Gar palace in Rajasthan. Serve very chilled. Cheers!

Modern lore would have it that the sound of the British Summer is the reverberation of leather on willow on the vilage green (cricket), or the thwack of ball on raquet tennis. But surely 'tis the sound of bottles of Rose being uncorked in Britain's park land? Now, I've never been a fan of Rose, thinking it as alcoholic fruit juice for the masses thinly tasting of strawberries, but a recent trip to Nicolas on Regent's Park road has changed that. Whilst perusing the range of Rose on display I was edging toward buying a mid-range (£10) bottle when Stephan, the manager, said "Excusez moi, Monsieur, have you tried this one?". And in a split second my wine drinking changed forever. The Culprit? A bottle of "Les Ormes De Cambras CINSAULT 2007 Cuvee reserve 2007". Having road tested this wine on three consecutive sunny Tuesday evenings on Primrose Hill (June/Jule 08) I can only say that this bottle of sub-£5 (£4.90) wine has become the only choice of Rose f...

The sun has got his hat on, it's lunchtime on the Southbank so where better to while away an hour but on London Beach? Clean water, white sand, and not another human being in site. Pure bliss. Watch out for the wash from that passing cruiser! Nevermind that helicopter overhead. My, my, the millenium bridge from St. Paul's to Tate Modern is busy today. And look at those examples of street art that adorn the Tate Modern. Eat rubbish? I should coco. London beach ... what other European capital has so much to offer ...