How to spend a weekend break in London. As usual Julie-Anne of Oasis Travel organised everything in her inimitable manner including a “surprise” hotel which turned out to be the Cavendish in Jermyn Street and you don’t get much more central than that.
We went directly from Gatwick to the BETT exhibition in Olympia. This grandstands educational technology which is an important aspect of my business. It is amazing to see what is available to the modern teacher and the enthusiasm with which many of them enter into the spirit of it.
Anyway, having completed my imperatives and had a general swan abound the stands we headed off to the hotel to prepare for an evening out with my old (by way of length of time) friends Les and Dot Jones.
The hotel is excellent, positioned directly opposite the rear entrance to Fortnum & Mason, and the service could not be faulted, with one exception which I will mention later.
We decided to walk down to St. Martin in the Fields where we had arranged to meet up in the Chandos Bar a well known hostelry which does a nice line in John Smiths for £2.00 a pint. This is amazing if you are used to Belfast bar prices!
Great place for a chat and a bit of craic with other clientèle.
A couple of pints later we headed off to Regent Street and the Veeraswamy Indian restaurant, the oldest in the UK having been in the same location since 1926.
For a more detailed account of our visit try this link.
From here we wandered up towards Picadilly for a nightcap before parting from our friends.
Of course we stopped in the Cavendish lobby bar for a couple before retiring. Their prices are what one would expect in a hotel anywhere, but, to give them their due, the spirit measures were better than the usual English offering!.
Breakfast the next morning was somewhat of a revelation and our one issue with the service. One leaves ones name with the maître d’ and sits and reads the paper, Daily Telegraph is free to all, until there is a table free. This can take up to half an hour. I had a chat with the said maître and he told me that the only way to miss the “rush” was to be down before 8.30 (or after 11.00 – they serve until noon) or use room service. The choice is excellent and the quality unbeatable, however, they ran out of scrambled egg and it took nearly 15 minutes before a refill arrived. Of course all eggs are free range they were worth the wait.
From breakfast we headed out to Forntum’s for a quick look round their sale. Suckered into buying an apple cake and Christmas sweets (will be in date for next year) and a jar of cognac cream (which was confiscated at Gatwick).
From there we walked up Picadilly to Liberty’s, my favourite London shop, beats Harrods into a cocked hat. I acquired three new Liberty Print bow ties at a saving of £120 from the retail, happy days indeed. Unfortunately the shirts I liked only came in slim fit and, as those of you who know me will vouchsafe, that is not a fitting to which I could aspire.
All this shopping gave us a bit of a thirst so we walked round the corner into Kingly Street and were confronted by the Clachan Bar a Victorian Pub with a huge array of real ale and a very appetizing Great British Lunch menu which, but for our late breakfast, we may well have partaken.
Refreshed we wandered on and Josephine found a nice pair of boots in Canvas and I invested the money I had saved in Liberty’s plus a heap more in a pair of Russell and Bromleys casuals.
We found ourselves back in the Nash Arch and outside the Caffé Concerto. One cannot pass this patisserie; it has a magnetic force. So that was a millefeuille and juice for Josephine and the soup of the day and a Pinot Grigio for me.
We retired to the hotel and had wash and brush up and a couple of hours rest before heading off once again. This time for dinner at the Café des Amis in Hanover Square which is the subject of a separate post.
From here we walked the short distance to the Lyceum Theatre to see the Lion King. I am not a musical fanatic but this was spectacular, if not for the music then for the technical brilliance. There was a row of kids behind us who were up and down like Jacks-in-a-box until the curtain went up – then mesmerised into silence. In my book well worth the money. Pretty good reviews all round.
We walked back up to the hotel and nipped into the bar where we got into conversation with some other guests so a pleasant end to a busy day.
Unfortunately the fire alarm went off at about 7am so we were all evacuated into the courtyard. Long way down the stairs from the 9th floor. Apparently it was triggered in a room on the 10th. Finally got back in after 20 minutes waiting for the fire brigade to clear the building. Could have been worse.
Due to the usual breakfast debacle we had to leave to catch our flight without food but made up for it at the Armadillo in Gatwick.
Flight home on time concluding a very enjoyable weekend.