Category: Town Houses

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Muse Restaurant Belgravia London + Six Course Tasting Menu

We Are Amused

SupperClub Middle East is the world’s premium culinary and lifestyle concierge as seen on Travel Markets, UA News 247, Business News, Gulf News etcetera. Established in UAE in 2020, three years later SupperClub expanded into Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey all then came on board. In 2026, the company now has a strong presence in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, USA and UK. Global expansion continues at pace.

How does it work? Members access the SupperClub app and view offers in their region of choice, place a booking request, the selected venue receives an email, and the members pay at the venue with discount automatically deducted. The WhatsApp concierge is on it like a Bentley bonnet. We’re constantly amazed at the millisecond response rate. It’s such a discreet and seamless service. This is really all about luxury positioning for us higher disposable income individuals. They’ve got it sorted.There are three tiers of membership: Gold, Diamond and Platinum. Booking credit varies while all have unlimited reservations and guests as well as that beloved dedicated WhatsApp concierge. Diamond and Platinum have 12 months access to offers; Gold has six months. Platinum includes a generous restaurant spend. Exclusive offers cover food and beverage; spa and health club access; fitness and wellness packages; and crafted coffee. SupperClub’s growth involves ultra high profile partnerships with Adnoc, Emirates Skywards, HSBC, MasterCard, Samsung and Virgin.

“We’re already in Singapore, we’re already in Thailand, we’re looking at Japan,” co founder Muna Mustafa tells us (her business partner is Mehreen Omar). “The expansion is ongoing! SupperClub is also marketed through the Visa Airport Companion app which just recently launched. So this is really exciting because for the first time with Visa, restaurants are going to get visibility direct to consumers on the app. This ability to communicate directly with guests is another boost of visibility for our restaurants and it’s all about location based marketing.” No codes; real benefits.

As a successful entrepreneur, Muna is willing to share lessons learned. Her key guidelines include leveraging industry insights and market experience. “Our understanding of the hospitality industry, consumers, sector insights and customer pain points was a huge advantage in a crowded marketplace.” She also advocates taking a hands on approach from day one and creating the first proof of concept. “We built a hollow minimum viable product to sell our concept and get business of the ground. Focus on progress not perfection.” Pivoting in response to market dynamics and having a strong hold on performance metrics are two more of Muna’s key guidelines.

Many of the restaurants available through SupperClub are Michelin starred. We discuss the merits of the French grading system with Muna. “I love it!” she confides. “My favourite thing is please tell me in what order I should eat the food so that I don’t have to think of that! It never gets old.” Exactly a century ago the first Michelin Star was awarded (Georges Blanc, Vonnas). But it wasn’t until 1974 that Michelin came to Britain. Meals are judged on five criteria: quality of ingredients; mastery of gastronomic techniques; harmony of flavours; personality and emotion conveyed by the chef in the food; and consistency across both the menu and various visits.

One Michelin star is for a very good restaurant in its own category and worth a stop. Two stars is for excellent cooking and worth a detour. Three stars is for exceptional cuisine and worth a special journey. Musing where to go for Saturday lunch doesn’t take long when we realise Muse is on the SupperClub menu. Tom Aikens’ intimate fine dining experience in an exquisite Belgravia mews was barely open before it snapped up a Michelin star. The Chef has form: at 26 he was the youngest ever British chef to be awarded two Michelin stars (Pied-à-Terre, Fitzrovia).

Interior designer Rebecca Körner’s lively hallmarks – abundance of colour, use of eclecticism and fluidity of shape – are evident in fuchsia walls, contemporary design in a period building, and lagoon shaped mirrors. The same hallmarks could be applied to the most marvellous six course tasting menu – pinkish reddish rhubarb, fusing the best of British and finest of French cuisine ideas, and the curves and curls of Tom’s culinary art. “Ever since childhood I’ve been drawn to the unknown,” says Tom, “the thrill of a surprise, the joy of a guessing game, the kind of moment that leaves you speechless. This menu is shaped by that same spirit. You’ll find hints, clues and personal anecdotes woven throughout, each one echoing a chapter from my life and career.”

Are you ready? Tom gives the lowdown on each course. Forever Picking, “Snacks inspired by the seasons. This stems from my recollections of being in the garden with my mother and picking anything that was edible.” Custard, mullet and Montgomery cheese grand amuse bouches are sprinkled with edible flowers from Nurtured in Norfolk. Making and Breaking, “The comfort and satisfaction I get from bread comes from many memories along the way. To me, it means comfort, satisfaction, sharing, connection, love and of course the joy you receive from the actual making and eating of bread.” Leek, marmite and fermented butters accompany treacle flavoured bread. Just Down the Road: ricotta, blood orange, bitter leaves, “Many miles have been travelled and countless hours have been spent during my ongoing quest to find the very best of British producers to supply Muse with ingredients. We celebrate Old Hall Farm as one of them because it’s just down the road from where I grew up in Norfolk.” Three down three to go.

Never Ending Time: cuttlefish, turnip, shiso, “However simple a dish may look, the time it takes to prepare it can go unnoticed. I would always say savour, don’t devour. Many hours disappear in the preparing, cooking and perfecting of the cuttlefish.” The Love Affair: pigeon, bourguignon, wild garlic, “France is very close to my heart. I have spent years in the middle of France as well as the wine regions of the south and the Capital, slowly but surely developing my love affair with food and France. This continued working alongside a few great French chefs. This is my ode to France.” We swap this for an intriguing pescatarian option. Far Too Tempting: rhubarb, custard, ginger, “A love for sweet and sour stems from some of my favourite childhood treats including old fashioned fruit salad chew sweets, moon dust and sticks of rhubarb picked from my mother’s garden and dipped in sugar. This is nostalgic tastes from the past turned into something deliciously refreshing.” Six of the best. Make that six and a half: chocolate and honeycomb canapés end the lunch with aplomb.

Our inner oenophiles are more than satisfied: as SupperClub guests we’re treated to William Saintot Champagne. The well informed sommelier successfully tempts us with Ktima Gerovassiliou 2024, Greek rather than our usual French Viognier. She explains, “It’s rounder, less aromatic.” Our waitress has done her homework and discusses a mutual interest of architecture and travel. “Malaysia is a must,” she advocates, “you have to visit the scenic Tioman Island and the traditional stone buildings of Sarawak in northwest Borneo.”

Ding-a-ling. Greeted by name at the front door we were whisked up the stairs to sit at the bar opposite five chefs at work. This is intimate dining: six bar stools, two snugs and three two seater tables in a space five metres wide by four metres deep. The downstairs lounge and bar with its impressive lime green Brionvega Radiofonografo (an industrial style music system designed in 1965 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni) have the same footprint. The top floor of this cute corner mews house contains the restaurant office. A Bibendum maquette takes pride of place on the first floor bar.

“I am a muse, not a mistress,” sings Marianne Faithfull, no mere bauble, in Sliding Through Life on Charm on her masterpiece album Kissin’ Time (2000). “I wonder why the schools don’t teach anything useful nowadays?” she ponders. “Like how to fall from grace and slide with elegance from a pedestal.” Tom Aikens doesn’t need to worry – he continues to slide through life on charm. And running a very good restaurant in its own category which is worth a stop. In our experienced view, Muse is worth a detour. Or even a special journey.

And now for another Borneo. We are delighted that the British Government’s Office for Place has chosen us as one of the main sources for its publication International Design Codes (2024). This guide for local authorities and property developers uses case studies to provide lessons for new schemes and districts. One of the case studies is square kilometres ahead of the rest: our Amsterdam favourite, Borneo Sporenburg.

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Architecture Design Developers Luxury Restaurants Town Houses

Sachi Restaurant + Hibiki Winter Rooftop + Pentechnicon Belgravia London

The King and Us

To Motcomb Street, Belgravia, the ultimate 15 second neighbourhood in west London. All worldly needs are catered for along this 150 metre stretch of stuccoland. Le Café Nac for a cappuccino. The Alfred Tennyson for a pint. Osborne Studio Gallery for highbrow art. Blink Brow Bar for high brows. Carolina Bucci for jewels. Stewart Palvin for dresses. Mayhew Newsagents for every magazine on the planet. And a triple whammy of restaurants: Amélie (French), Luum (Mexican) and Sachi (Japanese Pan Asian). Jessica Mitford’s hilarious 1960 autobiography Hons and Rebels is always ripe for quotes, from relevant to tenuous to abstract. “The very rich and fashionable lived in Mayfair, Belgravia, Park Lane.”

A short walk away is embassy filled Belgrave Square: Austria, Brunei, Germany, Portugal and Spain all have ambassadors housed on the west side alone. A not quite as short a walk away is The Plumbers Arms where a certain Lady Lucan ran into in 1974 covered in blood. Her husband has been missing ever since. The absent apostrophe begs the question was the pub named after one or multiple plumbers? A single male mask above the top floor window suggests the former.

The southwestern half of Motcomb Street is dominated by an impressive neo Grecian façade. Doric columns attached to the elevation support a matching cornice surmounted by a blind attic with the word Pantechnicon looming large in upper case letters. Not to be mixed up with pantheon or pentagon, and probably not panopticon, although possibly panacea, Pantechnicon is a portmanteau invented by the property developer Seth Smith. Looking to the Continent, he linked the Greek word ‘pan’ (all) to ‘techne’ (art). “Travel makes time stand still, like a dream which takes one through a long series of adventures while actually only lasting a few moments.”

He built Pantechnicon in 1831 as a mixed use development with an art gallery, carriages salesroom,  furniture shop and storage all under one roof. The interior was destroyed in a fire 43 years later but the front elevation survived. The furniture storage and an accompanying removal company continued to trade for another century. These days, an archway in the eighth bay leads through to a courtyard garden; an arched entrance in the second bay opens into restaurant spaces over six levels developed by Cubitt House in 2015 on a long lease from Grosvenor Estates.

A lift up to the penthouse level opens into Sachi, a restaurant amidst the rooftops of Belgravia. One side opens onto a long terrace accessed through rows of French doors. The other side has windows framing a Gurskyesque mansion block. A glazed roof floods the interior with natural light. Bouncy piped music adds to a party atmosphere. This slice of paradise is decorated in earthy tones. “Paper napkins would, of course, have been unthinkable, and individual napkin rings too disgusting for words.”

Talking of partying … “I love your fashion – I’m really liking it!” greets the sommelier. He explains, “This season we have partnered with The House of Suntory, Japan’s most iconic whisky house. I’ve mixed special cocktails for you inspired by the colour of your shirts. They are made of Suntory Hibiki, a blended whisky; sparkling wine; French liqueur; cranberry to balance the citric acid of the gin; crème de pêche and rose petals garnish.” The House of Suntory cocktail list starts at £19 and ends at £20. “Blowouts at good restaurants.”

A £60 bottle of Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône Resérve Blanc 2022 keeps the party going strong. Rehydrating Elra sparkling water is £7. Skipping mains, Head Chef Joonsu Park and Executive Chef Kyung-Soo Moon’s starters are the perfect partying accompaniment priced £11 to £18. Rock Shrimp Tempura (yuzu mayo, lime), Squid Karaage (garlic chilli mayo, lime), Sweetcorn Taco (sweetcorn, avocado, yuzu, red onion, coriander) and Yellowtail Crudo (sesame yuzu dressing, enoki mushroom) put the Pan into Pantechnicon. Matcha Tiramisu (vanilla mascarpone cream, matcha, Savoiardi biscuit) is a £10 box even Pandora would enjoy. “Lunches, teas, the newly imported cocktail parties, dinners, dances.”

Sachi is one of the exclusive London venues discounted for SupperClub Middle East members, the world’s leading personalised concierge service. As winter starts to fade, spring is in the air and so is the allure of travel. SupperClub temptations further afield include lunching in Paak Dang on the Ping Rover in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Dining in Marco Polo, downtown Lahore, Pakistan. Sleeping in Dimore di Mare in the northern Italian seaside town of Arenzano. “The future a great canvas on which anything might appear.”

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Architects Architecture Design Developers Hotels Luxury People Restaurants Town Houses

Grand Central Hotel + Grand Central Hotel Belfast

With Th’Angelic Host

How to Get from Belfast to Heaven written by Lisa McGee of Derry Girls fame and directed by Michael Lennox of dynastic renown is a great tourism advert for Ireland and the Six Counties in particular. This Netflix comedic thriller is also worth watching to play spot the filming location. Buildings of South County Down by Philip Smith (2019) contains two: the 1830s St John’s House (a singular shade of grey) in Killough and the nearby 1840s St John’s Point Lighthouse (black and yellow wasp stripes). One of the early scenes is shot in The Seahorse Restaurant of Grand Central Hotel on Bedford Street, south of Belfast City Hall.

The original Grand Central Hotel opened in 1893 on Royal Avenue, north of City Hall. Erected as the 19th century came to a close, it was a five storey plus attics 200 bedroom hotel with a corner copper dome over an octagonal turret. The elaborate Italianate red brick elevations were dressed with stone ornamentation. Sir Charles Lanyon’s son John was the architect. Octogenarians recall it being the venue for important job interviews, special occasion dinners and high society events. The Grand Central was Belfast’s top hotel until it closed in the late 1960s as The Troubles turned the city centre into a no go zone. Castlecourt shopping centre replaced the hotel in the 1980s.

The London equivalents of the original Grand Central are, or in some cases, were: The Grand, Trafalgar Square (1881, Frederick Francis, Henry Francis and James Ebenezer Saunders, interior scooped out to insert offices and façade thinly reinstated in the late 20th century); The Langham, top of Oxford Street (1865, John Giles and James Murray, extended in the late 20th century); The Ritz, Green Park (1906, Charles Mèwes and Arthur Davis, correctly extended 2026); The Savoy, The Strand (1889, Thomas Colcutt, revamped in the 1920s); and The Strand Palace, The Strand (1909, Sir Henry Tanner, rebuilt two decades later, still there today).

In recent years, Hastings Hotels has flown the flag of high end hospitality in Northern Ireland. The collection includes Ballygally Castle (Ballygally, County Antrim), Culloden (Cultra, County Down), Everglades (Derry City, County Londonderry), Stormont (outer Belfast), Europa (inner Belfast) and since 2018, Grand Central (inner Belfast). Europa and Grand Central hold a similar record: the former as the world’s most bombed hotel and the latter as the world’s most bombed office block. Hastings Hotels also has a 50 percent share of The Merrion, one of Dublin’s finest establishments.

Ballygally Castle, Culloden and Stormont all started life as country houses. The Merrion was once a row of townhouses. Europa is the only purpose built hotel in the collection. Grand Central used to be Windsor House. Marcus Patton describes the building in Central Belfast An Historical Gazetteer, 1993, “Tall office block of 24 storeys including two storey black marble podium and attic level, the upper levels being clad in white mosaic panels; with a narrow frontage to Bedford Street but extending back considerably. At 270 feet, this is the tallest building in Northern Ireland. In 1852 a new stone warehouse had been built on this site for Robert and John Workman, linen and muslin manufacturers, by Sir Charles Lanyon. One of the first developments in the street, this was four storeys high with channelled ground and first floors, central first floor balcony, arched tops to third floor windows, outer bays set slightly forward, and chimneys rising above deep eaves.”

Taggarts architects retained Dennis McIntyre and Devon’s 1970s concrete frame and faced the structure with dark cladding giving it a contemporary £53 million facelift. Above the 300 bedrooms (50 percent more guest accommodation than its namesake) is the penthouse level Observatory Bar and Restaurant with its 360 degree panorama of this small city. Cave Hill looms to the north. Harbour and Laganside to the east under the embrace of the Holywood Hills. Twin peaks of St Peter’s Catholic Cathedral to the west. And surprisingly, the view to the south stretches over the city and on to the Mourne Mountains. The view inside is of the beautiful people.

The Protestant United Irishman freedom fighter Wolfe Tone made this entry in his June 1795 diary: “I remember two days we spent on the Cave Hill. On the first Russell, Neilson, Simms, McCracken and one of two more of us on the summit of MacArt’s Fort took a solemn obligation which I think I may say I have on my part endeavoured to fulfil – never to desist in our efforts until we had subverted the authority of England over our country and asserted our independence.” In his 1955 memoir, the great writer Clive Staples Lewis recalled, “County Down in the holidays and Surrey in the term – it was an excellent contrast.” He saw the Holywood Hills as “an irregular polygon” and the Mournes were famously his inspiration for the land of Narnia.

Grand Central Hotel is linked to the past and not just in name. Its seahorse motif symbolises Belfast’s maritime heritage. Curtain fabric pattern is inspired by the flax flower of Ulster’s linen history. The building has not been restored to its former glory – a depressing Civil Service office block. Instead, it has been reimagined as a symbol of the revification of Belfast as a tourist destination. The interior is filled with literary and artistic references. A framed extract from local poet Paul Muldoon’s composition Belfast Hymn (2018) is on a stairwell: “Known too, the best days begin and end at the Grand Central where we counter the cold and damp with oatmeal, ancient grains, entrecôte aux champignons, champ, a flute of gold Champagne.”

Another extract is engraved on the glass wall of the lift: “The flute on which James Galway soared was really made of gold. Some dwell in the House of the Lord and some on the threshold of hotels like the Maritime. Van Morrison and Team summoning from our glow and grime meticulous mayhem.” Paul explains, “I was tempted by the idea of trying to write a new poem about Belfast for several reasons. The first is that, despite my not having lived here since 1986, I still feel very connected to the city. I came here first as a child in the 1950s, usually traveling by train via Portadown … In 1969, I came to Queen’s University as a student, just as things were hotting up on the streets. On July 21, 1972, a date that would become known as Bloody Friday, Smithfield Bus Station was bombed. Smithfield Market was destroyed by incendiary bombs in 1974. By that stage I was at the BBC, where I worked as a radio and television producer between 1973 and 1986. I spent several of those years in an office in Windsor House. Having long been an admirer of the Hastings family and their profound sense of civic responsibility, I am delighted to offer this poem in the spirit of hope and the idea of home they so wonderfully embody.”

A gigantic artwork Still Life Consommé Cup dominates The Seahorse Bar. Born in Lancashire, artist Neil Shawcross spent his working life teaching at Belfast College of Art. His painting – not dissimilar to Chi Peng’s two cups and saucers Scattered Aesthetic and Concrete Depth in the foyer of Waldorf Astoria Beijing – symbolises the return of dining elegance. A mural by Tandem Design hangs over The Seahorse Restaurant. The illustrated mythology represents Sir Arthur Chichester (who established the city in 1611) as a wolf. A seahorse makes an appearance in the mural. Even the staircase has a life size seahorse wrapped round its newel post.

A trawl through the Public Records Office Northern Ireland reveals highly sensitive documents dating from around the War of Independence era. A memo stamped “Secret” dated 2 June 1922 states, “Owing to the recent activities in the city it appears to be very important that the Night Watchmen be armed, and it is therefore hoped that this matter may be treated as urgent … The matter has been discussed with Mr Harrison and Colonel Goodwin, and it is understood that if no regular constables are available, there would be no difficulty in engaging Special Constables for this work. The Minister of Finance has arranged for the building to be closed to the general public from 5.00pm to 8.45am Monday to Friday, and from 1230pm Saturday to 8.54am Monday, and I am directed to request that suitable protection be afforded, and that, if necessary, additional Special Constables be engaged. A plan of the thrid floor of the building is attached. The remaining floors are almost identical.” John Robinson, Establishment Division, Ministry of Finance.

A Minute Sheet dated 2 June 1922 from the Secretary of Ministry of Finance, to the Secretary of Home Affairs is titled Protection of Grand Central Hotel. It records: “I am directed by the Minster of Finance to state that the question of police protection of the Grand Central Hotel has been under consideration, arising out of a request received from the Ministry of Pensions. The building consists of six floors and has two entrances. It is, however, proposed to close all entrances except the main entrance, and convert the rear and side entrances to emergency exits. The protection of this building was recently considered together with all other Government buildings, and doubt was expressed as to whether effective protection could be afforded.”

It wasn’t just members of the public staying eating and sleeping in the hotel. “As you are no doubt aware, a considerable number of people visit the building daily to attend the undermentioned offices: Ministry of Pensions, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Finance (Works and Valuation), Inland Revenue Inspector of Taxes and Post Offices Engineer, and it is not possible to institute a system of passes or interview forms. The provision in the building of sleeping quarters for men offering themselves for recruits for His Majesty’s Forces is a very undesirable feature, and the military authorities are being asked to accommodate these men elsewhere.”

Protection for Grand Central Hotel was estimated at £6,000 per annum. “It is considered that the building is most liable to attack between 6.30am and 8.45am during the time the cleaning staff is on duty, from 12.00 noon to 2.15pm when the staff is depleted during the luncheon interval, and from 5.00pm to 8.00pm when the building is almost deserted except for casual attenders at the Ministry of Pensions Clinics and Inland Revenue Office. An armed Night Watchman is on duty from 9.00pm to 7.00am and a caretaker sleeps on the premises. The technical staff has arranged for alarm bells to be installed and a wire screen to be affixed insider the main entrance, and they are of opinion that the two Constables patrolling each corridor from 6.30am to 9.00pm would provide suitable protection. The matter is, however, submitted for the consideration of the police authorities for their opinion, which will be accepted.”

On a brighter note, the Public Records Office Northern Ireland holds a very meaty menu for Christmas Luncheon in the Grant Central Hotel on Friday 25 December 1964 (25 shillings a head). Honeydew Melon, Pâté Maison, Soused Herring. Rich Brown Game Soup, Scotch Broth. Salmon Mayonnaise, Fried Fillet of Sole Tartare Sauce. Roast Irish Turkey Gammon Cranberry Sauce, Roast Leg of Pork Apple Sauce, Roast Sirloin of Beef Horseradish Sauce. Roast Irish Chicken Bacon Bread Sauce. Cold Buffet: Irish Ham, Assorted Meats, Roast Turkey, Brussels Sprouts, Green Peas, Seasonal Salad, Creamed Roast Potatoes. Fresh Jellies, Plum Pudding, Sherry Trifle, Fruit Salad, Dairy Cream, Mince Pie. Assorted English Cheeses and Biscuits. Tea or Coffee. It’s enough to turn the most dedicated carnivore vegetarian.

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Architects Architecture Design Developers Luxury People Restaurants Town Houses

The River Café + The River Café Café Hammersmith London

The Intangible Asset

Last summer Sir John Soane’s Museum in Holborn played host to the first retrospective in Britain of the renowned architect Sir Richard Rogers’ work. South of the River Thames, his widow Lady Rogers continues to run London’s most celebrated Italian restaurant. New York born Ruthie opened The River Café with fellow chef Rose Gray in 1987. A decade later it earned a Michelin Star. Not bad for what started out as a work canteen for the architectural practice. Rose died in 2010; Richard, 2021.

The restaurant is on the ground floor of a repurposed storage warehouse called Thames Wharf Studios which is located on one of the many bends in the Thames. Nothing too fancy, nothing too flash. Understated reddish brick architecture backing onto a quiet residential street south of the leafy Frank Banfield Park yet a short walk from the transport hub of Hammersmith.

A reconnaissance is obligatory for lunch so the first visit is to The River Café Café for a £4 morning Americano and £6 pistachio cake. The little sister is on the ground floor of the neighbouring building and shares the same décor: more to come on that. Guests can create their own River Café Café café experience at home: cookbooks and kitchen items are for sale.

Last year Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners moved to The Leadenhall Building in Bank, better known as The Cheesegrater. That skyscraper was of course designed by Lord Rogers. Thames Wharf Studios are due to be redeveloped but the owners, London and Regional and Marco Goldschmied (a former business partner of Richard Rogers), are keen for the restaurant to stay on site. So for now The River Café is still close, but not too close, to the blue ribbon heart of the city.

The food stands out on distraction free white paper covers laid on linen tablecloths. Skipping antipasti it’s straight to primi for Capesante in Padella: seared Scottish scallops with grilled pepperoncino, Chianti vinegar and smashed Delica pumpkin. Secondi is Sogliola al Forno: whole Dover sole wood roasted with cedro lemon, marjoram and a forest of Violetta artichokes. The Dover sole is filleted of course – lunch shouldn’t be hard work. An Amalfi Coast of freshness, Rimini ripeness, very Vernazza. There’s always the excitement of pudding and dolci doesn’t disappoint. Lemon Peel Tart is a slice of Sorrento on a plate.

The restaurant is a rectangular space. On one of the long sides, the zinc bar fronted open kitchen faces towards the road. On the other long side, French doors open onto a terrace which backs onto a public walkway abutting … the river. The pattern free interior decoration matches the tablecloths and vice versa. Two white walls; two green walls; blue carpet; silver seats; and a pink wood fired oven. Not just any pink – Hot Pink, Zandra Rhodes’ Hair Pink, Rogers Pink.

Lunch at The River Café isn’t cheap. Even with a bottle of entry level wine (Chianti Roufina Vendemmia 2023) it’s just over £200 a head for three courses. Special occasion pricing or at least an expensive toast to a random Saturday afternoon in January. But that’s the price to be seen at London’s buzziest restaurant. Everyone is dressed to thrill – or at least almost everyone. A customer in jeans winding his way through the tight clustering of circular tables looks distinctly underdressed. Even if they are Versace jeans.

Television producer and screenwriter Jemima Khan is sitting at the next table with a male companion. She’s just celebrated her 52nd birthday and is looking youthfully suave in a monochromatic Chanel suit and Gucci shades. Fellow guests appear vaguely familiar in that café society last spotted at Annabel’s nightclub way.

An architecture model at reception is a reminder of the restaurant’s provenance.

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Forbidden City Bejing + Lavender’s Blue

You Look Like a Beautiful Shaolin Kung Fu Monk

To start an article with a diction caution is rare but before imprecision and overuse dulled its impact there was iconic. And if anywhere owns that adjective it’s the Forbidden City, the world’s largest collection of ancient timber buildings. There are no fears of syntax slips with the highly audible and highly knowledgeable Mandy Wong, China’s leading travel expert, who’s about to condense several millennia of history into a four hour exclusive private tour.

But before a shallow dive into history, some governmental context. Purposeful sweeping change is no accident under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. While many factors have fuelled China’s economic success, his long term planning and a governance model combining strategic five year development plans with flexible adjustments remain among the key drivers, allowing policymakers to efficiently respond to emerging challenges. Western leaders take heed. Steady transformation is closely linked to the authoritative philosophy of President Xi’s The Governance of China. First published in 2014, the latest iteration is Volume V which has been translated into 40 languages.

The publication is a major theoretical innovation integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s national and cultural needs. Volume V is a compilation of 91 of President Xi’s spoken and written works from 27 May 2022 to 20 December 2024. The President delivered a parliamentary speech on 16 May 2024 on The Promotion of High Quality and Sustainable Tourism. He opened by noting since the launch of reform and opening up of the country in 1978 and especially following the 18th National Congress of 2012, China’s tourism sector has enjoyed burgeoning development.

“We should pursue innovation while leveraging the traditional role of tourism, improve the quality and efficiency of the industry, and integrate its development with that of other sectors,” he stated. “Efforts should be made to improve and modernise the industry and strengthen the sector so that it can raise the quality of life, boost our economy, develop our spiritual home, better present the national image, and facilitate mutual learning among civilisation.” President Xi urged central departments and provincial authorities to strengthen their commitment and dedication to fostering high quality sustainable tourism through intensive collaboration for tangible results.

On 28 October 2024, the President made a parliamentary speech on how to Build China Into a Cultural Powerhouse. “Cultural heritage is a compelling witness to the splendid Chinese civilisation and also a precious treasure bequeathed to us by our ancestors,” he explained. “We should have a profound respect for history and love for our culture. We will undertake the systematic protection of cultural heritage under unified supervision and prioritise protection, sound utilisation, and minimal interference.”

Nowhere embodies that diktat requiring unification of supervision, prioritisation of protection, sound utilisation and minimal interference in relation to a historic asset than the Forbidden City. In 1994 the Chinese Government gave workers a second day off each week and so the weekend began. There are 1.3 billion or so people in the Middle Kingdom and today, Saturday, it feels like they have all descended on the ancient heart of the Capital. “Aubergine”! Chinese people say “qiézi” when posing for a photograph. It’s easy to end up saying enough aubergines to fill a field such is the exchange of capturing captivating beauty. But with 74 hectares and close to 1,000 rooms, there’s space for everyone.

President Xi gave a speech on 17 July 2023 at the National Conference on Eco Environmental Protection as recorded in The Governance of China Volume V, confirming, “The blue skies initiative is a top priority in the battle against pollution.” Yesterday and today and the day after were and are and will be blue skyed. “I don’t like the greyness of London in winter. Beijing is like Spain in January!” says Mandy. Except for the minus degrees temperature.

“There were 24 generations in total of the Ming and Qing Dynasties!” she declares at the entrance to the Outer Courtyard. “This really is the forbidden place. Only royals and staff were allowed to enter: everyone else was kept out. The moat is frozen now but in summertime you will see people boating on it. In 1367 the first King built a Forbidden City in Nanjing but he was scared of losing Mongolia so started building the Beijing Forbidden City in 1406. It was very fast building. The whole place was completed 14 years later in 1420. The following year Beijing became the Capital of the Ming dynasty. 14 Ming 10 Qing!”

Mandy blazes through the Outer Court into the Inner Court. “The Imperial colours are red and yellow. Red is lucky; yellow is supreme power. Green is earth; blue is heaven. Symmetry is so important in Chinese culture. Man and woman. Light and darkness. Even the stone animals. We always like balance. There are no trees in the Outer and Inner Courts to make them super safe. Kung Fu fighters could jump very high or hide behind trees. There are 18 layers of bricks under the paving so no tunnelling. Look! There are baby dragons on the roof.”

“Look!” demands Mandy again. “There are also pixiu on the roof. The pixiu is a powerful Chinese mythical creature resembling a winged lion. This creature is revered in Feng Shui as a potent guardian of wealth. It has a big open mouth and a big belly but no bottom: it eats a lot but there is nowhere for the food to go. That represents money not being wasted. The dragon is man; the phoenix is woman. There are no phoenixes and there were no women in the Outer Court.”

A sign along a stone terrace states: “Usually filled with water, these bronze and iron vats were used to protect the Imperial Palace from fire. Between Xiaoxue (Light Snow) and Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects) in solar terms, the vats were wrapped in cotton cloth and covered with a lid. When necessary, charcoal would also be burnt underneath to prevent the water from freezing. The earliest vat now preserved in the Forbidden City was cast during the Hongzhi reign (1488 to 1505) in the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644). Ming vats are simple yet elegant, with plain iron rings on the sides and a wider upper body with a tapered base. Qing dynasty (1644 to 1911) vats feature rings held by side knobs with the faces of beasts, a large belly and a smaller mouth. At present there are over 200 bronze and iron vats in the Palace Museum, including 22 gilt bronze vats flanking the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe dian), the Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohe dian), the Gate of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing men) and the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing gong).”

She relates, “The Emperor had one official wife and hundreds of concubines. He would take a private tour around Shanghai and south China looking for beautiful versatile young ladies who were talented at calligraphy and music and bring them to live in the Imperial Palace. The East Palace in the Forbidden City was where the concubines all lived.” Beyond the red roofs the 21st century raises its head on the skyline. Citic Tower designed by New York practice Kohn Pederson Fox and London practice Farrells in collaboration with the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design is just over half a kilometre in height making it the tallest building in the Capital. There’s a historic link: its gently curving shape increasing in area to the base and top is based on a zun, an ancient Chinese wine holder.

A sign inside one of the pavilions states: “Hetian jade is the central pillar of Chinese jade culture. It comes from the vast and geologically complex terrain of Xinjiang, where archaeological evidence shows that jade has been used for over 4,000 years. Its earliest known use was in artefacts such as jade axes unearthed at the ancient Loulan site in Ruoqiang County, marking the initial phase of jade culture in the region. After the mid western Han dynasty, jade from Hetian began flowing into central China. It would dominate jade craftmanship for the next 2,000 years. From the 26th year of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign (1761) onward, Hetian jade began entering the Qing court as yearly tributes in both spring and autumn, and became the main source of jade in the Imperial Palace. The production and use of Hetian jade wares made an unparalleled advance, sparking another development boom in Chinese jade culture. The collection of the Palace Museum bears witness to over 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation and stands as a testament to centuries of cultural exchange and integration. In celebration of the Museum’s centennial, this exhibition selects representative pieces of Imperial Hetian jade wares of the Qing dynasty (1644 to 1911) from the Museum’s collection. Divided into five sections – Origins of Jade, Ritual Jade, Elegance of Jade, Ingeniously Crafted Jade, and Jade Ornaments and Dining Wares – the exhibition aims to illustrate the rich jade culture of the Qing dynasty, while highlighting historical interactions, exchanges and integration among China’s diverse ethnic groups, strengthening awareness of their shared national identity.”

“That red door has 81 knobs on it,” observes Mandy. “Nine knobs across by nine knobs down. Nine is for longevity in Chinese culture. Nine by nine is 81 is eight plus one is nine. We like the number eight: it means food fortune; you’re gonna get a lot of money. The number six means your life will flow easily like water.” Beyond the Outer and Inner Courts lies a tranquil garden. “This is an outdoor museum not a park,” she corrects. “That’s a young boy talking to a bird using bird noises. It’s a Red Flanked Bluetail – that’s a lucky bird. That brings luck! This is a very special occasion. You’re very lucky!”

Chinese cultural official and scholar Xheng Xinmiao served as the Director of the Palace Museum (as the Forbidden City is now formally called) from 2003 to 2012, shaping the preservation and display of the architecture and collection for future generations. In 2005 he said, “The collection of the Palace Museum primarily consisting of artefacts from the Qing Imperial Palace is both a historical testament to the ancient civilisation of China and a shared treasure of humanity. From 1945 to February 2005, a total of 682 donors contributed more than 33,400 items from their personal collections to the Palace Museum. Their generosity reflects their deep love for this land and exemplifies the noble virtue of serving the public. Among these donations are national treasures that have significantly enriched the Palace Museum’s collection, making its range of artefacts more systematic and complete. On the occasion of the Palace Museum’s 80th anniversary, the Jingren (Great Benevolence) Honour Roll of Donors was established in the Palace of Great Benevolence (Jingren gong) to engrave the names of these donors to display their finest contributions, highlighting their deeds and promoting their spirit. May this tradition of generosity endure as a profound blessing for the Chinese nation.”

On 19 January 2026 seven Chinese Government Departments including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released a national plan to systematically promote the country’s cultural and linguistic heritage, setting clear targets for 2030 and 2035. Local governments, schools and institutions are encouraged to incorporate language and cultural development into regional planning, urban management and campus activities. Universities are urged to offer public cultural courses such as in Chinese calligraphy. The exquisite hand painted signs over the entrances to the buildings in the iconic Forbidden City are the ultimate symbol of China’s cultural and linguistic heritage.

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Siheyuans + Hutongs Beijing

Earth Angel

Walking along hutongs is one of the great cultural experiences of Beijing. They are narrow lanes or alleys winding between grouped single storey courtyard houses called siheyuans that allow tantalising glimpses into the residential quarters of locals. The paraphernalia of daily living lines hutongs: laundry, lanterns, flowerpots, chairs, bicycles and the ubiquitous mopeds. A blurring of public, private and shared space adds to their unique charm. Some hutongs include cafés, shops and public conveniences abutting the houses.

The history of hutongs dates from the Yuan dynasty (1271 to 1368) and they remained popular throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 to 1911). In 1949 records suggest there were around 3,250 hutongs in Beijing, many of them concentrated around the Forbidden City in the Dongcheng and Xicheng Districts. In 2003 only circa 1,500 and that has reduced to about 1,000 such is the demand for development land for multistorey apartment and office blocks. Finally, the Chinese Government has realised their architectural, cultural and tourism significance and hutongs are now protected.

There never were hutongs beyond the Second Ring Road, a highway which traces the line of the city walls demolished by Chairman Mao Zadong in the 1950s. Beijing was a low rise walled city for centuries, the single storey network of siheyuans along hutongs. The flat skyline was only interrupted by landmark barbicans, pagodas and temples.

The courtyard layout of siheyuans, many with cloistered loggias, provides shelter from sweltering summers and icy winter. Grey walls and grey tiled roofs give these inward looking houses an enigmatic appearance. The charcoal colour of the walls comes from the firing technique of spraying water on bricks in a closed kiln. The angularity of the ground floor massing contrasts with the distinctive sloping roofs. Flying corner eaves are not just visually attractive: they are effective for drainage as well.

Plain grey walls are relieved by colourful ornate entrances to grander siheyuans. Chinese architecture is as much about symbolism as beauty and functionality, and entrances are no exception. Shi shi (a pair of stone lions) often guard front doors. The male lion on the right will have his right paw resting on a ball which is for protection and wisdom. The female lion on the left will have her left paw resting on a cub which is for guardianship and compassion. A screen wall just inside the entrance is to block the direct flow of negative energy and provide privacy.

Air conditioners clinging to elevations, some in decorative metal boxes, are the most visible concession to modern comfort. These days siheyuans on hutongs are hot property with a cool cache. On a cold winter’s morning, a group of men are sitting on the pavement outside a siheyuan seemingly oblivious to the minus degrees temperature.

On 27 May 2002, President Xi Jinping addressed the 39th group session of the 19th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee: “China’s long, extensive and profound civilisation is one of the distinctive qualities of the Chinese nation. It underpins contemporary culture and creates a spiritual bond among all people of Chinese descent across the globe. It provides valuable resources and inspiration for China’s cultural innovation.” Beijing’s hutongs vividly illustrate that distinctiveness while their continued use and, in places reinvention, is a marker of cultural innovation.

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Lavender’s Blue + Beijing

Like You Never Went Away 

You’re everywhere. Empirically attractive, imperially gorgeous. Positively pulsating with pulchritude. And as for this current megalopolis: it’s the acme of urban aspiration and cultural inspiration. Amongst the jade and jardines and jacquard silks; amidst the mist shawled vales and curlicued dragons and parasol clutching mandarins; centrist centring on the premier international consumption hub to the east of the world’s longest central axis, we’re doing our germane best for Sino Anglo Irish relations. Recalling the sinistral Ming and Qing dynasties; admiring the syncretic Xi Jinping era. Our very own white lotus revolutionary revelation has begun. Focusing on the glimmers. Hypnogogic mesmerisation; pedagogic realisation. We’ll always remember you dancing under city lights.

In years to come, looking back over Lavender’s Blue, reflecting on its modest commission to simply brighten the reader’s day, this record of a midwinter’s visit to Beijing – pics and prose capturing the paradigm of a paradisal time – will surely be seen to have delivered that meek mission. Although the ending of Marcel Proust’s 1913 The Way by Swann’s does caution, “The places we have known do not belong solely to the world of space in which we situate them for our greater convenience. They were only a thin slice of contiguous impressions that formed our life at that time; the memory of a certain image is only regret for a certain time; and houses, roads, avenues are as fleeting, alas, as the years.”

Wherever there’s the high life there’s Lavender’s Blue. Especially on days ending with a Y. Perhaps it really is then an infrangible storehouse of exquisite epiphanies with a strong dose of chimerical aestheticism. A finely hewn form of winsome writing and formidable photography. Savour each missive from our Champagne fuelled truffle laden foam light caviar heavy production line of epigrams and epiphanic imagery. Dithyrambic ramblings are us. Think Felicità. Like very fine wine, Lavender’s Blue is an acquired taste. But – health warning – those who remain intellectually alert enough to sup at this fountain will end up addicted. We’re talking opium level.

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Charlton House Charlton London +

Red Not Dead

The mid 20th century County Down housebuilder Joseph Gribben always advocated building in brick, especially the rustic textured variety, and recommended constructing tall chimneys that would allow smoke to blow above the roof ridge. He would appreciate Charlton in south London. High on a hill, the principal buildings circling the summit are all red brick and there are plenty of tall chimneys. Bridget Cherry and Nicholas Pevsner record in their Guide to South London Buildings (1983), “The old centre of the meeting of Charlton Road and Charlton Church Lane is small, and still has some village character, although it is surrounded by later 19th century and 20th century housing on all sides. Apart from the 17th century Church of St Luke, and Charlton House and its outbuildings, no buildings visibly of before the 19th century remain in the village centre although the attractively stuccoed Bugle Horn Inn is of late 17th century origin.”

Ah Charlton House, a miraculous half a millennium survival. It’s even still positioned in a parkland setting. Bridget and Nicholas describe its origins: “Built by Sir Adam Newton, tutor to Henry Prince of Wales, circa 1607 to 1612. Later owners were Sir William Ducie, who made repairs in 1659, Sir William Langhorne, East India merchant, after 1680, and in the 19th century the Maryon-Wilson family, for whom Norman Shaw restored the house and made minor additions in 1877 to 1878. Acquired by the Borough in 1925. Charlton House is the only Jacobean mansion of the first order remaining in the precincts of London. The plan is E shaped with four symmetrical bay windows at the ends of the four wings and two towers in the centres of the two wings, framing the building when seen from the west of east. The building is of three storeys above capacious cellars, built of red brick with pierced open tracery. The towers have ogee roofs. It is of plain and angular, spacious but not at all luxurious, with the exception of the west frontispiece, that is, the door surround and the bay window above which suddenly breaks out into the most exuberant and undisciplined ornament – the work of a mason probably who possessed a copy of Wendel Dietterlin’s Architectura of 1593 and a rare case of close imitation.”

And then the writing duo go inside, “The most remarkable feature of the interior is the position of the Hall, just as revolutionary (though not unique in Jacobean architecture) as Inigo Jones’s at the Queen’s House. it is two storeyed, placed at right angles to the front and back, and runs right across the building. Above it on the second floor in the Saloon reached by an elaborately carved staircase, quadrangular with a square open well and the flights of stairs supported by posts which between ground floor and first floor form palm branches in cases. The sloping pilaster balusters progress through the three orders from ground floor to top landing. The plasterwork is Victorian. The saloon has an original plaster ceiling with pendants and a marble fireplace with restrained architectural ornament to the overmantel above finely carved figures of Venus and Vulcan. This is very much in the manner of Nicholas Stone. In the bay window is circa 17th century heraldic glass with the Ducie arms. on the same floor the north wing is taken up entirely by the long gallery, also with a good plaster ceiling. The original panelling has gone except for pilasters by the windows. In these, more heraldic glass with the Ducie arms. The gallery is reached from the saloon by the white drawing room whose stone fireplace with two tiers of caryatids, three dimensional strapwork, and relief scenes makes the marble one in the saloon appear very classical.”

Finally, back to the great outdoors again, “Of outbuildings the stable to the south are contemporaneous with the house, now arranged on two sides of a quadrangle. Remanagements [sic] under Sir William Langhorne are easily discernible. In front of the entrance on the lawn a solitary gateway, plastered, with Corinthian columns and an 18th century cresting. To the northwest of the house, a handsome summerhouse of circa 1630, brick, square, with Tuscan pilasters, and a concave roof. There is no documentary confirmation of the traditional attribution to Inigo Jones, but the complete absence of Jacobean frills at evidently such an early date makes it quite justifiable. Nicholas Stone would also be a possibility.” The ski slope roofed Grade I summerhouse or lodge, a pepper pot pavilion, is now a public convenience (or rather inconvenience – it’s shut).

Armed with the wealth of knowledge Pevsner Guides are so adept at summarising, a decade ago Aimée Felton, Associate at leading architectural conservation practice Donald Insall Associates, led an Irish Georgian Society tour of Charlton House. Here are the highlights. Over to Aimee, “The lodge is widely attributed to Inigo Jones. Of course it is – he did most of Greenwich! Someone once attributed the lodge to him and it stuck.” She is undertaking a conditions survey as part of a long term masterplan of the house and estate. “A variety of historic fabric is remaining. Some in my opinion was later heavily edited by the various occupants. And heavily rebuilt following bomb damage.” This is most obvious in the north wing where the original imperial red brick and whitish grey stone have been patched up with metric red brick and yellow stone. These mid 20th century repairs included placing the sundial upside down.

“It’s the best Jacobean house in London and is of pivotal importance to its era,” Aimée declares. “It displays a full modern appreciation of flow and sequence of rooms. An H plan was so innovative. There are lots of Jacobean Houses of E plan and E without a tail, but not so many H. Charlton is first in its class: to walk in through the front door and see its garden beyond. The axis though the building is what makes it so special. The Kitchen was always on the north side of Jacobean houses to cool dairy produce and meat, with bedrooms above as heat rises. But this house is laid out to take in the views to the north towards the river and to the west to the King in Greenwich. This is a really bold statement and the only Jacobean house with a north facing gallery.”

The first floor Long Gallery stretches the full length of the north elevation. Like much of the house, the Long Gallery is an architectural puzzle. Aimée highlights, “The floor and ceiling are original but the panelling isn’t. Charlton has some of the best fireplaces of the Jacobean era. The Long Gallery marble and slate one is odd but exquisite.” No architect is recorded. “There is incredibly scarce information both on the Jacobean era and Charlton. You’ll notice I say ‘attributed to’ and ‘we suspect that …’ a lot!” At least there’s a keystone dated 1607 on the main block and one dated 1877 on the wing and the staircase is engraved 1612.

Sir Spencer Maryon-Wilson sold the house to Greenwich Council and auctioned the contents in 1920. The house has been used ever since by various community bodies. A public library is now in the former ground floor Dining Room and Chapel and a café occupies the Hall. Donald Insall Associates are tasked with applying a holistic approach to its fabric and future use or uses. Furnishing rooms in the original period like a National Trust house is not an option. “There simply isn’t enough Jacobean furniture,” she says. “Even the V and A wouldn’t have enough and any pieces it has are so special they’re kept in glass cases.”

There’s plenty of pictorial evidence of how the rooms were furnished in the latter Maryon-Wilson years. Aimée smiles, “If you can’t find a decent photo of a country house look in Country Life because someone is always bragging about their home!” Charlton House is no exception. Monochromatic images of the early 1900s show the interior chockablock with traditional brown furniture and taxidermy and tapestries. This eclecticism is reflected in later plasterwork. She points out the ceiling in the Prince Henry Room which isn’t original. “The cornice is beyond wrong! As offensive as the ceiling is, it’s a nice ceiling, but one that’s just not for this house. Just because it’s not right though doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be preserved to show history. Everyone has their oddities and we just move on.” Much more in keeping with the original architecture is the 1877 extension to the south, now a wedding venue. Unsurprising as Bridget and Nicholas record it was designed by that great historically aware Arts and Crafts architect Norman Shaw. Aimée sums up the extension as, “Jacobean with a Shaw twist.”

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The Secret Garden + The Witchery by the Castle Edinburgh

Know Your Stuff

March 2016. Getting stuffed. Maundy Thursday, quail’s eggs on a watercress stuffing nest at Mayfair regular Hush. Resurrection Sunday, fried duck eggs at Holborn favourite The Delaunay. And so a procession of lunisolar led lunches, moveable feasts, begins. An extended Easter Triduum. When a man is tired of London, there’s always Edinburgh. Easter Wednesday, squared hen’s eggs on board Virgin. York, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed … everywhere looks better when viewed from the 1st Class carriage. Rows of distant gambrel roofs punctuated by chamfered dormers announce to the visually aware the proximity of the Border.

“Oh yes I stayed in The Witchery by the Castle years ago,” a brave journalist whispered to us during the recent Making Africa press briefing in the Guggenheim Bilbao. Admittedly an unlikely moment for such a muted conversation. It was undoubtedly a memorable stay. “I woke up in the middle of the night in the most frightful sweat! It was like the bed was on fire! I was boiling alive!” She got an uninvited roasting, so to speak. The next day at breakfast the journalist voiced her concern to a waitress. “That’ll be the witches,” came the nonchalant reply. “They used to burn them at the stake on Castlehill right outside.” Presumably it wasn’t the effects of a wee dram nightcap.

Our Easter Thursday lunch in the restaurant turns out to be slightly less steamy but still hot stuff. Dr Samuel Johnson and his biographer James Boswell used to eat here. Well if it’s good enough for Sam and Jamie, both made of stern stuff … The schlep up the Royal 1.6 Kilometres past winding wynds and claustrophobic closes to the foot of Castle Rock is so worth it. We’ve arrived. Physically and metaphorically. Bewitchingly charming certainly; hauntingly beautiful definitely; ghoul free hopefully. Think Hunderby (Julia Davis’s pricelessly hysterical period comedy) without Dorothy. Or Northanger Abbey’s Catherine goes to town.

Owner James Thomson, Scotland’s best (known) hotelier and restaurateur, is evidently a follower of the Donatella Versace school of thought: “Less isn’t more. Less is just less.” An eclectic dose of ecclesiastical remnants, Gothic salvage and Jacobean antiques is healthily apropos for this 16th century building. Candlesticks galore flicker flattering light across The Secret Garden, a space even with its panelled walls and trio of fanlighted French doors and timber beamed ceiling would still induce the envy of Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The interior may flurry with wild abandon but thankfully the service and place setting don’t. Our Milanese waiter makes sure of the former. Tradition takes care of the latter. Linen tablecloths, phew. China plates (slates are for roofs), double phew. Unheated pudding (always a dish best served cold), triple phew. After a bubbly reception, the feast unfolds. Palate seducing grilled sardines followed by lemon sole with brown shrimp butter preceding chocolate orange marquise with espresso jelly raise spirits further. The huggermugger harum scarum of a prowlish ghoulish night owlish postprandial prance on the mansard tiles of Edinburgh’s Auld Toun awaits. The only way is down (hill).

November 2025. Still not sweating the small stuff. Random Friday, sôle poêlée aux graines de moutard in Mayfair’s La Petite Maison next to music producer Mark Ronson en famille. Remembrance Friday, baked Ragstone goat’s cheese gnocchi up the BT Tower in Soho. And so a procession of dinners towards the waxing crescent moon, moveable feasts, begins. An extended Advent. When a man isn’t tired of London but needs a weekend change of scenery, there’s always Edinburgh. Feast of Christ the King of the Universe Eve, double devilled hen’s egg on board LNER. Newark-on-Trent, Doncaster, Northallerton, Darlington … everywhere looks better when viewed from the 1st Class carriage. The snowcapped Cleveland Hills announce to the observant the proximity of the North York Moors.

Nine years ago the three course Table d’Hôte Lunch Menu at The Witchery was priced at £35. Today, we’re after the two course Light Lunch Menu, £34.50. Packed agenda: so little time, so many galleries. After a bubbly reception (déjà vu; déjà ivre; plus Bourgone Blanc Domaine Leflaive Burgundy 2017 – a good year), the feast unfolds. Appetite satisfying basket of bread rolls with smoked butter accompanying celeriac velouté then salmon, cod and smoked haddock fish pie. We’re stuffed. But as the great Scottish aristo actress Tilda Swindon (first seen in three dimensions dining at L’Ambroisie Paris; last seen in two dimensions in her ex partner John Byrne’s painting in the Edinburgh National Portrait Gallery) would say in her hushed dulcet tone, “This lunch is delicious!”

Our driver Eleftherios Galouzidis pulls up outside on Castlehill. The only way is downhill. We’re just in time for the brilliant recital of Moonlight Sonata by Candlelight in St Gile’s Cathedral. British impresario Ashley Fripp’s fingers dance across the grand piano. He opens with Johannes Brahms’ Intermezzo in A Major. “Next I will play a pair of Chopin Nocturnes – tone poems,” he states. “E Flat Major which was influenced by the Irish composer John Field followed by C Sharp Minor. The latter was fortunately discovered by one of Chopin’s students after he died.” There’s wild applause for Sergei Rachmanioff’s Prelude in D Sharp Minor, the Moscow Waltz. “And now for the one you’ve all been waiting for!” Ashley takes a bow after the dramatic third movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata climaxes to its conclusion. Nothing quite completes an evening of culture like prawn toast and chilli tofu at Jimmy’s Express Chinese Restaurant on South Bridge.

At last week’s St Martin in the Fields London Informal Eucharist the Right Reverend Oliva Graham preached, “Holy omnipresence is not a casual knowing. It is impartial and unconditional. We are called to live fully and love faithfully.” We’ll soon discover Chessel’s Court, a rare survival of 18th century tenements hidden behind Canongate on the slope from The Witchery by the Castle. The mansion blocks, to use a befitting but more southern term, were assertively restored in the 1960s. A heart shaped ivy enlivens the ground floor of one of the blocks. Always living more fully, loving more faithfully.

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East Walls Hotel Chichester West Sussex + Civilisation

No Inelegance

A Waitrose opening used to be the sign a place is going places. Now it’s The Ivy. Chains like The Ivy (Grade II Listed Building) are architecturally elevated in Chichester: the building housing Pizza Express has two Palladian windows and four blind parapet windows. Zizzi has three blind windows under a pediment dated 1791. New Look is in old architecture – a neo Grecian temple. The city has plenty of independent restaurants as well. Jorge Kloppenburg recommends fine dining at Purchases on North Street or Piccolino on South Street.

The Barn restaurant on the corner of East Street and Little London has a notice on its flank wall: “All Goodwood produce can be traced every step of the way from field to fork. They are totally committed to the care of their livestock and to the preservation of the countryside. They use no pesticides of fertilisers at Goodwood Home Farm, ensuring that the wildlife, hedgerows and centuries old natural ecosystem is protected. Goodwood Home Farm is four miles from here and therefore as local as you can get. The farm is set at the heart of the 12,000 acres Sussex estate.” You guessed it: Goodwood Farm Shop is its number one supplier. A plaque on the façade of The Barn is dedicated to fabulous clientele including Lawrence Olivier and Elizabeth Taylor. There’s still plenty of fabulosity in Chichester.

Jorge should know about good food: he’s been cooking since age 12. After a successful international sustainable business career, three years ago he bought East Walls Hotel which he runs with his wife Anywhere Thompson. “We don’t call it a hotel it’s a home from home,” Jorge relates. “In Germany I trained in Chinese, Indian and Thai cooking at night classes. We personalise breakfast here. One New Yorker guest likes her scrambled egg made with cheese. After spending 2,000 nights in 30 years staying in hotels across Europe I recognise what I like and dislike.”

He reckons, “A nice bathroom and excellent breakfast are crucial – that’s what you need to start the day.” The bathroom products are Elysl. Bedding of course is also important. All the beds are fitted with Mitre Linen’s Savoy Collection. “Fresh flowers on the dining tables are a must. I would describe our cooking as bespoke international food.” On cue, delicious halibut and salmon (with the subtlest hint of spice) is served alongside fresh greens and Finger Post wine. “Everything is freshly made. You need 35 minutes for potato dauphinoise. Air frying not deep frying is much heathier. Our breakfast homemade bread is 50 percent brown 50 percent white – fluffy, not too heavy.  We buy food at the market two to three times a week.” The tomatoes and herbs were picked two metres away two minutes ago. Forget farm to fork. This is patio to plate.

There are chillis in the garden. “We have a 37 acre chilli farm in Zimbabwe near where I was brought up,” shares Anywhere. “It provides employment for locals and supports 50 children in education. We are in the process of buying another 37 acres. We are both very committed to our philanthropic endeavours. Education is so important whether you end up as a doctor or truck driver. We want to give others a chance in life to do well.”

East Walls Hotel gets its name from the turn of last millennium Roman city walls. Its Grade II Listing dating from 1950 states, “Suffolk House, 3 East Row. 18th century. Three storeys. Four windows wide. Red brick. Eaves bracket cornice. Sash windows in reveals in flat arches; glazing bars intact on ground and first floors; rubbed brick voussoirs. Doorway with Doric columns, pediment and semicircular fanlight. Six panel moulded door with four panels cut away and glazed; door in panelled reveals. Stone coat of arms over the doorway.” A blocked Gothick arch on the first landing and a blind rounded arch on the landing above hint at structural alterations down the centuries.

Anywhere explains, “We can’t keep up with demand! So we’ve bought 1 East Row, the house next door, to expand our guest accommodation.” Its Grade II Listing, also dating from 1950, states, “18th century. Two storeys and attic. Three windows and extension of one window on ground floor. Red brick. Brick stringcourse. Wooden cornice. One dormer. Sash windows in frames, those on ground floor with slightly curved headings; glazing bars intact. Doorway with Doric pilasters, pediment and semicircular fanlight. Six panel moulded door set in panelled reveals.”

There’s no escaping the influence of Goodwood. The hotel was once the townhouse of the country house estate owners the Dukes of Richmond. A chubby Duke’s face cast in plaster protrudes over a French door on the rear elevation. “We always have guests staying for Goodwood Festival of Speed,” says Anywhere. “And businesspeople from Rolls Royce – their plant is only two miles away and employs 1,700 people. Our repeat guests book now for next year.”

A black and white photograph of Goodwood Tourist Trophy 1959 hangs in the bar next to pictures of Aston Martins and prints of Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor. “This is a men’s space,” Jorge suggests. “We’ve 75 whiskeys and 15 gins to choose from.” Burgundy chesterfield armchairs bolster the masculine ambience. The adjoining Art Deco style restaurant is more feminine. “The collection of teapots on display – Twenties, Thirties, Seventies, Nineties and 2000s – shows how time goes on.” This year is the centenary of Art Deco: the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes was held in Paris in 1925.

One of the many cultural highlights of Chichester is Pallant House Gallery, a Grade I Listed early Georgian house famous for its modern art collection. Here’s a random sample of delights. Frank Auerbach’s Reclining Head of Gerda Boehm (1982), a lesson in portraiture. Jean Metzinger’s L’Echaffaudage (1915), a diagonally determined dynamic scaffolding. Tracey Emin’s Roman Standard (1949), her first public art project. Standing tall in the courtyard, this cast iron variation of a Roman standard is topped by a small songbird rather than a triumphant eagle. Lucien Freud’s Portrait of a Girl (1949), a study of skin surface. John Piper’s Redland Park Congregational Church (1940), a rich hued and black lined depiction of the collision of the pastoral past with the brutal bomb wrecked present.

Five minutes away from East Walls Hotel – everything is five minutes away actually – lies Priory Park. This open space is a layering of history from medieval walls on Roman foundations to a Norman mote to the 13th century Guildhall, formerly the Chapel of the Franciscan Friary. The spire of the 11th century Chichester Cathedral can be seen from the second floor bedrooms and garden cottage suite. The cathedral and its precincts are a beautiful pocket of civilisation.

“We really believe in living in the hotel and doing the cooking ourselves,” confirms Anywhere. “That way the quality becomes how it should be.” She has a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science and a Master’s in Medical Biotechnology both from the University of Portsmouth, now balancing a career as a clinical pathologist with co running a hotel. “All 12 of our rooms are different but they all have antique pieces and beautiful bathrooms. Work hard – it pays off.”

Chichester: England’s finest small city. East Walls Hotel: England’s finest small hotel.

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Architecture Design Town Houses

Lady Chapel + Chichester Cathedral West Sussex

A White Horse Whose Rider is Called Faithful and True

Marcel Proust’s invented writer Bergotte in The Way by Swann’s, 1913, refers to “moving effigies that forever ennoble the venerable and charming façades of our cathedrals”.

During the Family Service in the Lady Chapel on the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, being Proper 25, Canon Nigel Ashworth, Priest Vicar of Chichester Cathedral, spoke about what is important and what happens at the end of everything. He reminded the congregation that the Bible is not just a book but a library of books. There are no excuses for skipping worship at the cathedral: five services are held each Sunday.

The most famous monument in the cathedral, the early 14th century Arundel Tomb monument of Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster, is unusual as they are holding hands. This inspired Philip Larkin’s mid 20th century poem The Arundel Tomb. The poet observes “And that faint hint of the absurd – The little dogs under their feet.” The last line of the poem is “What will survive of us is love”.

One of the many memorials in the cloisters is to Oliver Whitby who died aged 39 on 19 February 1702. He was the son of the Archdeacon Reverend Oliver Whitby and his wife Ann. He achieved plenty in his short life: “Founded and endowed a school in this city, for the maintenance of a master and 12 poor boys to be carefully educated in the principles of religion as established in the Church of England. To be diligently instructed in reading, writing, arithmetick [sic], and so far in mathematical learning as may fit them for honest and useful employments with a particular regard to navigation.”

Two weeks after this visit, the funeral service of the brilliant comedic actress Patricia Routledge, forever known as Mrs Bucket, took place in Chichester Cathedral.

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Design Developers Luxury People Restaurants Town Houses

Glas Restaurant Dublin + History

Dayhawks

It’s a torn newspaper cutting (The Irish Times? The Irish Independent?) that makes for fascinating reading. The article is long, but is worth taking the time to consume. “Head waiter laments the passing of the good old days of eating out” shouts the headline. “‘They have all closed – Red Bank, Dolphin and Jammet’s – restaurants that gave Dublin its Lucullan reputation up to the mid 1960s. That era has passed away. There is not the same discrimination in food,’ says Jimmy Beggan, for 40 years a water and finally head waiter in Jammet’s as he talks about the good old days to Conor O’Brien.”

Jimmy Beggan would undoubtedly be impressed by the contemporary restaurant scene in Dublin. There’s the British invasion of The Ivy and Ivy Asia (close neighbours as per this chain’s double branding location strategy) and Marco Pierre White Grill all on Trinity Street as well as Hawksmoor opening on College Green. It’s an international scene: spinach paneer in Baggot Street’s Kerala Kitchen, frequented by the urban elite on Friday evenings, is pure Patna on a plate.

At least one restaurant has made a comeback. The Unicorn, an Italian restaurant down Merrion Row was established in 1938. It was The Place to Be Seen at the turn of this century thanks to its flamboyant flame haired owners Simon and Christian Stokes, known as the Bang Brothers after their beautician mother Pia Bang. The restaurant was the victim of the Great Recession – and some extravagant spending. Chef Patron Kristian Burness has reopened The Unicorn.

In contrast to Hawksmoor’s carnivorous draw, Glas has a majority vegan minority vegetarian completely gluten free menu. This Michelin recommended restaurant is on Chatham Street under the shadow of St Stephen’s Green Centre. A three course €30 lunch (Carrot Mosaic, Hazelnut Gnocchi, Chestnut Mousse) is as joyful as the slightly nutty interior. Every colour is the new black in the maximalist decoration. Prints of Edward Hopper paintings add a sense of calm to the bathroom walls.

The article on the restaurant that had a strangely placed apostrophe continues: “Nothing, perhaps, illustrates the change in eating and drinking as Jimmy’s move from gracious living at 46 Nassau Street to the French Wine Centre in the basement of a Georgian building in Baggot Street. The basket chairs have been replaced by functional benches, the starched table linen by bare tabletops. Food takes the form of snacks but the wines, chosen by the French Ministry of Agriculture, form the main attraction. The Centre, in fact, represents France’s effort to cultivate an interest in the wines for which it is so famous. And that suits Jimmy Beggan, a member of the Guild of Sommeliers, a group dedicated to ‘the better service of wine’ as he puts it.”

“But it is in reminiscing of the old days that Jimmy’s eyes really light up. The shock of living in a Dublin devoid of its former famous restaurants has left him bemused, as if he had woken up one morning to find St Stephen’s Green replaced by a supermarket. ‘Dublin can ill afford to be without a restaurant like Jammet’s,’ is his verdict. Jimmy reflects a loyalty for the restaurant which he will never lose and which comes through in his conversation, laughing as he remembers the shouts of the French head chef and the pride with which he points out that all game served in Jammet’s was wild, unlike the great Tour d’Argent in Paris, where, he hints darkly, ‘Some of the duck is domestic.’”

“All dishes on the menu were à la carte; no question of table d’hote. And even though the list would not form a 10th of the Tour d’Argent’s, it had its speciality, Sole Jammet, steamed on the bone and serviced with a white wine and lobster sauce Americaine. Jammet’s I learnt has contributed greatly to gastronomic history, but in a rather obscure way. Lobster Burlington, lobster baked in the shell with a cheese sauce, owes its origin to the original Jammet’s known as the Burlington Restaurant and Oyster Saloons which was run by two brothers, Louis and Michel, at 26 St Andrew Street. That was before Louis moved to Nassau Street and Michel bought the Hôtel Bristol in Paris. Louis had previously been Chef to Lord Cadogan at what was then the Viceregal Lodge, now Áras an Uachtaráin.”

“In contrast with the present day, when a shop can turn into an office block overnight, the survival capacity of Jammet’s through the Great Depression and the stringencies of the Economic War are to be admired. The restaurant set its standards and kept to them. The international reputation helped so that wealthy visitors like the ‘old’ Aga Khan always dropped in. Jimmy reels off the names of the famous – Grace Moore the actress and opera singer who bought a special bottle of sherry there two days before she was killed in an air crash, Tyrone Power, Robert Donat, Burgess Meredith and of course, William Butler Yeats and his family. Yeats, his wife, daughter Anne and son Michael, were waited upon, Jimmy remembers, by Tom Kavanagh, whose claim to fame lay in his attending the Irish delegation to the Treaty signing in London in 1921 as official food taster. ‘Just to make sure they were not poisoned by the British.’”

“Jimmy Beggan first went to work in the restaurant as a commis waiter in 1928 and had progressed to head waiter by the time the place closed in 1967. He had been trained by a Swiss instructor in the first waiters’ course at the Technical School in Parnell Square. In 1932 he made an exploratory foray to Paris, but that was in the depths of the Depression so he decided to remain on in Dublin and Dublin certainty had its advantages. How did a top class restaurant obtain its supplies, the whitebait for instance, and the gulls’ eggs served as an appetiser? The whitebait came from ‘a family in Ringsend and they would be jumping out of the bucket when brought into the kitchen’. The gulls’ eggs came strangely enough from Raheenleagh in the Midlands. Lord Revelstoke sent some too from Lambay Island. But the really exotic foods like caviar and escargots were, naturally, imported.”

“The War brought changes and in fact Jimmy blames that conflagration for the change in eating habits. Gas rationing meant that the cooking had to be done at a certain time and this put an end to the long, drowsy meals which used to stretch into the afternoon. ‘People had to eat and drink by the clock,’ he says. There is art and skill in being a waiter, as Jimmy demonstrates. In the first place you had to time your dockets for the chef so that the dishes appeared in the correct order, and that was not always easy when things were busy. Then you had to know how to prepare the crêpes suzettes at the table – ‘the less butter the better and six pancakes at a time’.”

“The ingredients were exotic – kirsch, crème noyaux, brandy, Curaçao. You’d reel out satisfied after that. And then there was the caneton à la presse, duck compressed in the handpress and served in a kind of pâté with the legs, fried diable, on the plate. Recalling the routine made one’s mouth water. Jammet’s were fortunate, too, in that both Louis and Madame Yvonne, his wife, were the descendants of restaurateurs. Madame Jammet had other talents too as an artist, sculptress and woodcarver, producing the Stations of the Cross for churches in Dun Laoghaire and Limerick. She was also a dress designer and patron of the theatre.”

“Yes, undoubtedly talent of that sort and the easy sophistication of those days is sadly missing. Just think of the care which went into preparing a dish which we take for granted, the ubiquitous prawn cocktail. In Jammet’s it was Prawn Cocktail Marie Rose made with their own mayonnaise, tomato purée, white wine and a little fresh grapefruit juice. Nor did Jammet’s make any concessions to Women’s Lib. All the staff, except for the cashiers, were male. The head chef until shortly before the closure was always French. Then there were the others, the sauce, vegetable and entremets chefs, the kitchen porters, commis and full waiters, bar staff and doorman, all fitting into place, all part of a crew.”

“The minimum price of a meal at the Tour d’Argent is now something over £20 a head. To provide food and service of the quality of Jammet’s might well cost that amount in a comparable restaurant here. Slightly inhibiting, perhaps, which makes it all the more pleasant to recall the days when one could actually afford, about once a year or so, to try the rable de Lièvre sauce grand veneur after a dozen huitres Galway and followed by bombe glacée accompanied by a good burgundy. Jimmy recalls that the wine buyer was a Burgundian from Dijon, a man who had been a cooper in his youth. ‘And what could be better than that?’ he asks. What, indeed.”

Jammet’s was Ireland’s finest French restaurant from 1901 to 1967 run by two generations of Jammets: brothers Michel and François and then Michel’s son Louis supported by his wife Yvonne. A regular customer, the painter and broadcaster John Ryan, recalled “the main dining room was pure Second French Empire with a lovely faded patina to the furniture, snow white linen, well cut crystal, monogrammed porcelain, gourmet sized silver plated cutlery and gleaming decanters”. Opposite the side entrance to Trinity College, 46 Nassau Street is a central location. Lillie’s Bordello nightclub opened on the site in 1991 and for the next 28 years was The Place to Be Seen Dancing after dining in The Unicorn. Ever since, various pubs have taken over the premises.

It’s easy to become misty eyed about days of yore but the reality is that 60 plus years ago the choice of restaurant in Dublin was thin pickings and Jammet’s closing was a big loss. More poignant is the ephemeral nature of fame highlighted by this newspaper cutting. Only one of the mid 20th century celebrities is still a household name: William Butler Yeats. What about the actress and opera singer Grace Moore? Did she get to enjoy her special bottle of sherry before tragically dying? Now – in place of Red Bank and Dolphin and Jammet’s – fresh memories are being made in Kerala Kitchen and Glas and a myriad other restaurants. Some day some writer will reminisce on the Lucullan Twenties restaurant scene in Dublin below the parapets and pediments, namedropping long forgotten celebrities. Tour d’Argent is still going strong under third generation ownership.

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Architecture Design Developers People Restaurants Town Houses

Rémi Lazurowicz + Comptoir Lazu + Restaurant Lazu Paris

Boulevardiers on the Boulevards

Due to circumstances within our control – Paris encore une fois – we’re heading for Queer Street adjacent. We’re not over the moon about it but such is the price of expended ebullient social energy. Well beyond the faded tapestry of dawn, long after lunch, we will witness the slow transition of dusk; silver planes will be seen escaping, bright in the last sun above the darkening city. The streets will lose colour to the night. “The French take their pleasures very seriously; French chic is a high art form,” writes Ada Louise Huxtable in The Eighties, New York Review of Books, 6 April 1995.

The 9th, to coffee in Lazu (Comptoir), lunch in Lazu (Restaurant), pray in Notre Dame de Lorette (Church) and play in the bars around the casual Place José Rizal, far away from the carefully pollarded symmetries of the Jardins des Tuileries. We’re here super early in this restaurant so it’s quiet: front of house is acting waitress and sommelier. She’s fab. This is going to be a terrific lunch. Les Vins Blancs list is divided into Provence, Savoie, Alsace, Jura and Corse. It might not be ski season just yet but we’re feeling Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes so order the perfect sip from that prefecture. Domaine Louis Magnin Roussette de Savoie 2018 is bright, fresh, smoky, sharp and very good. It appears nacreous in the soft noon light. Fly Me to the Moon sung by a chanteuse is playing in the background. This is going to be a totally terrific lunch.

There are four entrées, five plats and five desserts on the menu. Our new multitasking friend produces the favourites of the day board but we’re glued to the menu. We’re always versatile so go vegan starter, pescatarian main and vegetarian pudding. Holy cow! But first a creamed cauliflower on parmesan cracker amuse bouche to commence our culinary adventure. A sack of bread and cayenne dusted butter quoin stones put the rustic into rustication.

Tartelette sablée au parmesan, pickles de girolles, Romanesco, champignons séchés, courgettes au safran, carotte et vinaigrette algre doux. A noble theme. Wow! Fillet de cabillaud Skrei rôti, cocos de Paimpol, vierge de radis roses et noirs, emulsion raifort. Wow wow! And the Norwegian Atlantic Cod even comes with our favourite bow to Michelinism: foam. As Hervé This scribes in Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavour (2002), “Low in fat because they are essentially made of air – foams came to prominence with the rise of Nouvelle Cuisine in France in the 1960s and then gained broader popularity as a consequence of the growing interest in lighter foods on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, with the advent of molecular gastronomy … they are very fashionable among connoisseurs.” Mousse au chocolat Lazu: éclats de chocolat, fleur de sel et piment d’Espeletter, huile d’olive. Wow wow wow! A coconut shortbread surprise, more nuanced than a triple entrendre, ends our gourmet voyage.

What does Monsieur Michelin have to say about Lazu? “The Chef, who was well schooled (Bruno Docuet’s second at Le Régalade), composes a well crafted bistronomique cuisine with judicious associations. While the menu changes every week, specialties such as carmelised sweetbreads and potato pâté en croûte have been enjoyed since the opening.” We say witness this materiality, solidity and substance! Well, well, how did we miss those favoured sweetbreads? Return visit required. The baked chocolate pudding served straight from the pan at our table with a side portion of olive oil is return visit worthy in itself. On y va!

Rémi Lazurowicz appears halfway through lunch for a chat even though the restaurant is now filling up with staff and customers. The charming Head Chef owner dashes across Rue Marguerite de Rochechouart from Le Comptoir to join us, full of the joys of comptoiring and restaurateuring and living. “I wanted to become a chef first and foremost,” he relates. “My cuisine is all about honesty, simplicity and freshness. I do want lots of textures and contrasts as well. I get quite a lot of English customers as we’re close to Gare du Nord.” With food, as with faces, there are moments when the forceful mystery of the inner being appears. Inwards and outwards, the lunch’s character with its inherent beauty, is in its portions and its sureness of style.

We’re entrenched in a metaphoric city continually reinventing itself to remain vital, a constant layering of cultural atrophy. Pushing beyond that immediate hinterland of desire, Eden restored. Everything tastes better in Paris. Wind inducing cauliflower becomes the breezy taste of autumn. Everything sounds better in French. Take “bricolage”: so much classier than “DIY store”. Valorisation is easy. Recalling our lunch in the 9th is like freeze framing that key moment in a film around which the whole of the narrative pivots before a spiral of hypnogogic descent. You witnessed it through us, dwellers in history. Now look: summer has turned, autumn has dropped. Lazu the moon.

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Architecture Design Developers Hotels People Town Houses

Charlotte Blease + Dr Bot + Yale University Press + Bedford Square Fitzrovia London

Hot Press

Bedford Square and Russell Square. The Duke of Bedford – family name Russell – still owns swathes of the golden postcodes of central London. Both developed in Georgian times, the former square is mainly intact; the latter, mostly rebuilt. Each side of Bedford Square was treated as a single unit in construction and design terms. The terraced houses have brick elevations, Coade stone quoins decorating the doorcases, and wrought iron balconies to the piano nobile. The centre of each terrace is stuccoed, pedimented and pilastered.

Eleanor Coade invented and produced the eponymous artificial stone which was one of the most widely used building materials of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A ceramic material made of a secret recipe, Coade stone is exceptionally resistant to weathering and erosion. Such versatility made it popular for architectural details and sculpture. In later life Eleanor was an active philanthropist. She stipulated to women benefactors named in her will that none of their husbands were to touch the bequests.

Bedford Square now has prestigious occupiers such as the Architectural Association Bookshop, Consulate General of the Republic of Angola, Magg Brothers Rare Books and Manuscripts, and Spparc Architecture. The northeast side backs on to the British Museum with its Enlightenment Room celebrating the age of reason, discovery and learning. St Gile’s Hotel bravely raises its Brutalist head over the southwest corner of the roofscape of Bedford Square, contrasting with the neoclassical architecture below. Fitzrovia was and is an area of knowledge and culture.

Number 47 is the stuccoed midpoint of the southeast side and is the address of Yale University Press, especially known for Pevsner architecture guides. Printing, the art preservative of all the arts, takes centre stage on Bedford Square. Depth of classical knowledge, brutally honest expression of form, a female trailblazer in her chosen field … a segue is barely required such is the connective tissue to the launch of Dr Charlotte Blease’s latest book.

She is a Northern Irish philosopher of medicine whose research concentrates on the ethical, psychological and social dimensions of healthcare innovation with a focus on the use of AI technologies in clinical settings. Charlotte is currently an Associate Professor in the Medical Faculty at Uppsala University Sweden and a research affiliate in the Digital Psychiatry Programme at Beth Israel Deaconess Harvard Medical School.

Dr Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us – and How AI Could Save Lives has received glowing reviews from the right (Daily Mail) to the left (The Guardian). International coverage has included interviews on CNN Washington, The Times Radio London and Ireland’s most listened to radio show, Pat Kenny on Ireland AM. She explains, “There are very human problems with medicine. For example, keeping up to date with information. I made a calculation a couple of years ago that there’s a new biomedical article published every 39 seconds. If doctors were to read just two percent of these it would take them 22.5 hours per day. AI can crunch through information at breakneck speed. That doesn’t mean to say that AI is without problems.”

Heather McCallum, Managing Director of Yale University Press, opens the book launch: “Charlotte has a gift for making the very complex accessible. She is producing and digesting mountains of cutting edge work and translating it into a form for people to understand and be appreciate of the ideas. That is a huge talent! I think Charlotte is a luminary. She is also fun and charismatic. I was absolutely thrilled that she chose to commit her book to Yale to publish. This is a heartfelt book for today. Charlotte’s star is in the ascendant.”

Leading academic and former general practitioner Dr Richard Lehman is the guest speaker: “The great message of Charlotte’s book is it’s not because doctors are fallible beings and therefore should be dissed. It’s because they need support of the kind that has never been available before. This is an amazing opportunity. I think it’s absolutely marvellous that Charlotte has packed so much in that has real intellectual clout and depth and personal research together with a catchy title and this superb style which can be hilarious at times. This book deserves a conference in its own right!”

Charlotte posits, “The key issue is who or what could do a better job of delivering healthcare. My book isn’t, though, a love letter to technology. My background is philosophy so I’m thinking about this in a balanced way. We’ve got to consider the fact that AI can be people pleasing, it can be obsequious – there’s a whole cluster of biases that can persist. The opportunity here however is to see if we can find ways to debias these tools to reduce inequality in healthcare.” Patients are at the centre of this book: the reader is reminded that the care of the patient is the purpose of medicine. She poses and answers the key question: who or what might do a better job of delivering that?

Dr Bot is the first book to deeply consider the diverse range of physical and psychological pitfalls associated with traditional medical visits. Two underlying arguments are “The belief that we live in the best of all possible worlds takes the path of least resistance” and “To improve medicine, we should expect to do things differently”. The surveys underpinning her views are original (for example, investigating American psychiatrists’ use of commercial generative AI bots) and expansive (such as interviewing 1,000 British general practitioners about the future of their job).

There’s a smorgasbord of delicious titbits in this book. For starters, a delightful description of verbal discourse, “Among strangers, the flow of conversation can vary considerably: sometimes chatter courses like a bounteous brook, other times it sputters like a faulty faucet.” For mains, “Whether as a clinician or a patient, we enter the consulting room equipped with a suite of inbuilt algorithms sculpted for life on the savannahs of Africa.” And just desserts, “Medical doctors gulp down many bitter pills too.”

Drawing on patients’ and personal experience, heartwarming and sometimes heart wrenching stories are balanced with light heartedness. Lady Gaga’s lesson on the benefits of hard work (spoiler alert: it often leads to success) is an unexpected find in a book about doctors and technology. As is a well known American brasserie chain: “When a doctor introduces herself, she will not say, ‘Hi, my name is Sandra, I will be looking after you.’ This is not Hooters. In fact, it’s unlikely that she (or he) will use their first name.”

Charlotte’s stance is objective: this is neither a love letter to technology nor medical doctors. “The risks and benefits of what technology can offer, and how it can be tamed,” she opines, “will need to be pursued actively and robustly, with moral imagination.” Provocative yet respectful, cleverly written but highly readable, robust and entertaining, written with a “splinter of ice” (author’s words) while filled with uplifting anecdotes, Dr Bot is a gripping read and an intriguingly insightful vision of the future of healthcare.

There are quite a few blue plaques on the houses of Bedford Square dedicated to men of distinction: William Butterfield, architect; John Scott, Lord Chancellor; Thomas Hodgkin, philanthropist; Sir Anthony Hope, novelist; Sir Harry Ricardo, mechanical engineer; Ram Mohun Roy, scholar; and Thomas Wakley, reformer. A blue plaque to a woman of distinction is now required outside number 47: “Charlotte Blease, philosopher and writer. Birthplace of the publication of her literary masterpiece Dr Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us – and How AI Could Save Lives.”

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Architecture People Town Houses

Sir Winston Churchill + General James Wolfe + Westerham Kent

The Trials and Triumphs of Troublemakers

“Do not traffic in clichés,” warns the brilliant American commentator and author Maureen Callahan. “Writers and clichés: never the twain shall meet.” We’re in Westerham: such a chocolate box town, a Cadbury tin full of surprises. Lo these many years, a gift for the ages.  There are no statues of Buddha but there are sculptures of the town’s two most famous sons: General James Wolfe and Sir Winston Churchill. “People need to have more grit these days,” Maureen believes. Those men had grit in bucketfuls. They had plenty of nerve. The late Perpendicular St Mary the Virgin Anglican Church is perched high above its sloping cemetery. All the historic houses are restored to their former glory. General James Wolfe’s home Quebec House in the town centre. Chartwell, Obriss Farm and Squerryes Court and Sir Winston Churchill’s home Chartwell on the periphery. Just our opinion. Just saying.

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Architects Architecture Art Design People Restaurants Town Houses

The Wallace Collection Marylebone London + John O’Connell

Quotes of Armour

Despite being a Sèvres urn’s throw from London’s Oxford Street, The Wallace Collection at Hertford House always radiates an air of calm and civility. Perhaps it’s the sylvan setting of Manchester Square. Maybe it’s the muted acoustics of the Courtyard Restaurant. But most likely it is the dignity – even with some daring moments – of the interiors that secures this aura of being far from the madding crowd. The latest room in the former home of the Victorian collector Sir Richard Wallace to shine once more is the Great Gallery. It’s December 2014 and John O’Connell, Founder and Director of John J O’Connell Architects, is about to give a private tour of The Wallace Collection. The municipal museum is once more a sumptuous townhouse. Over to John:

“Sir Richard Wallace planned the internal spaces around the main staircase which has a balustrade from the Hôtel de Nevers in Paris. In principle, each room is enhanced to stress the domestic or private mansion aspect of the main house. For example interconnecting doors between rooms have been reinstated and indeed in the Study we have introduced an entirely new false door to visually balance the existing doorway on the other side of the fireplace. Our main purpose is to provide an augmented setting for the Collection. It is not about re-creating rooms as they were, no, but rather re-presenting them for today’s visitors and scholars. The colour of the Dining Garden Hall is a quieter silver grey. You can’t have hectic colours all the time! Curtains should cascade and be three dimensional: they should come forwards and backwards.”

“This is the size of a city block, the Great Gallery, so it’s an extraordinary beautiful room and what we’ve done is gone and looked at the archived photograph of the room as it was with this lovely laylight which had to be abolished at a certain moment and now with modern technology we can again have this great laylight. This is where you have studio glazing at the top of the roof and it in turn lets light down onto this magnificent daylight so in other words it has a huge amount of natural light falling into the room.”

“It’s not wallpaper on the walls. It’s the most wonderful possible fabric, silk, and it’s not just damask, it’s a brocatelle, so it’s got even more silk in it! I think that to, as it were, bring the gallery forward into the modern age, you need to get the best possible conditions: lighting, climate control, security, fire safety compliance, decorative effects, so you can bring all of that into this great space. You could only do that if you go right back and lift the roof off because that’s what happened here. You see, the entire roof of the Great Gallery was taken off and what we have here is a whole new room within the gallery space because this has the technology almost of a railway terminal, when you see the supporting structure, and yet inside it is so beautiful.”

“Architectural features must do at least three jobs. The oculi in the latticed cast plasterwork punch through the cove: vertical stop, start, stop, start, all the way round the room. They also let more light into the room and act as the return path for the air conditioning. Reinstating wainscoting has curatorial importance. The paintings come to life against coloured fabric above the dado rail and the light coloured wainscot is appropriate as a backdrop to furniture. The gilt fillet of the wainscot is more pronounced than in the preceding galleries. If it was too small it would look titchy; if it was too over the top it would look bonkers. The wainscot must flow along. The Great Gallery enshrines everything we have learned during our 19 years working at the Collection. Everything bar the floor is new.”

“I think first of all The Wallace Collection is so multifaceted, the armour, then of course furniture, particularly Boulle, as an architect we love Boulle furniture, this is what we really want! The great thing is here the parameters are set. You can move everything but you cannot acquire and you cannot dispose which is marvellous, so it’s like a game of chess all the time. Everything is of equal importance. The placement of objects is just so important.”

Earlier that year Country Life had featured the Great Gallery in its 10 September edition hailing the “triumphant revitalisation”. The hang has long been recognised as one of the world’s best displays of Old Masters. Only two of the principal galleries attached to aristocratic London townhouses survive: Apsley House in Piccadilly and Hertford House. But it was John’s work which really enthralled the magazine. Michael Hall writes in Gallery Tour: The Great Gallery at The Wallace Collection:

“The present restoration – which forms a climax, but not the conclusion, of a comprehensive programme of refurbishment of the galleries begun under The Wallace’s former Director Dame Rosalind Savill in 2000 – has been paid for by a single donation of £5 million by the Monument Trust, in memory of the Honourable Simon Sainsbury, a major donor to The Wallace and a former Trustee. As with the other galleries, the design work has been carried out by John O’Connell Architects.”

“At first glance, it may seem that nothing has changed, but, in fact, almost everything has. Even the gallery’s two doors, at the far ends of the south wall, are not in their original places. They were formerly close to the corners of the room, creating a dead space in the angle; now that they have been moved closer together, there is room to hang large pictures on either side of them. In the 1978 to 1982 restoration, the walls were hung with a coral coloured fabric, which, by 2012, had faded. It has been replaced by a small patterned crimson damask woven by Prelle in Lyon.”

“Inspired by the great Victorian private picture galleries of London – continuing a tradition that goes back to the 17th century – it provides a satisfyingly rich and deep toned backdrop to the paintings. The main seat furniture in the room, an early Louis XVI set of chairs and settees, has been reupholstered to match. One subtle but striking improvement is the addition of a chair rail and dado, which the room had never possessed before. This anchors the furniture to the setting, but, more significantly, provides a strong architectural base for the hang of the paintings, preventing any feeling that they are floating on these huge walls.”

“Most impressive of all is the coved ceiling. An entirely new design by John O’Connell, it reintroduces indirect sunlight by means of oval laylights in the cove and a large laylight in the centre of the room. This has been made possible by advances in air conditioning technology: the new system installed as part of the refurbishment is very much smaller than its 1978 to 1982 predecessor. Daylight brings the room alive, and lends sparkle to the paintings, enhanced by an entirely new lighting scheme – predominantly LEDs – by the engineers, Sutton Vane Associates.” Michael Hall describes the Great Gallery as “one of London’s greatest rooms”.

Ros was Director from 1992 to 2011. Her appointment was approved by Prime Minister John Major because The Wallace is a national museum. She had the dual task of creating the optimal 21st century museum visitor experience and meeting the expanded expectation of the Government. Ros breathed light and life into the museum, excavating the basement and glazing over the courtyard. Two temporary exhibition galleries, a theatre, a learning studio, a library, a meeting room and rows of individual bathrooms were inserted into the basement. The new spaces combine the practical with the scholarly. Most of all, Ros wanted the objects to sparkle and to bring a new domestic intimacy to the staterooms. And so she called upon John and together they embarked upon the golden age of transformation – at pace. Visitor numbers more than doubled.

At her Memorial Service in St Marylebone Anglican Church in May 2025, the Reverend Canon Dr Stephen Evans said, “Rosalind is not only renowned for her services to the study of ceramics, but also someone once described as ‘the most distinguished woman museum director of the western world’. Not only the keeper who transformed The Wallace Collection. A trusted advisor. A wise, exciting and imaginative teacher. An engaging meticulous writer whose public service was enlivened by ebullience, verve and passion.”

It’s August 2025: asparagus and feta mousse followed by orange and poppyseed cake are being served in the Courtyard Restaurant. A time for reflection in and on and about a monumental cultural legacy. The late great Dame Rosalind Savill was an inspirational scholar of European decorative arts, a visionary museum director, and a human being of such intelligence, empathy and grace. She called John “my genius architect”. His practice would later be responsible for redesigning major country house estates such as Montalto in County Down. What Ros and John achieved together at The Wallace Collection remains a touchstone of excellence for museums everywhere. Dancing to the music of time.

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Architecture Art Design Developers Luxury Restaurants Town Houses

Passage des Panoramas + Musée Grévin Paris

A Lesson in Skiagraphy

It’s a diorama come to life. The past is present in Passage des Panoramas. A timeline as permeable as an Alice Rohrwacher film (La Chimera, 2023). It’s straight out of an Émile Zola novel. Literally (Nana, 1880). Built in 1799, this was the first covered arcade in Paris, oozing period character and historic authenticity. It combines beauty with functionality with rarity. Elegant white arches support the glazed pitched roof over rows of exquisite wooden shopfronts with colourful painted panels. Passage des Panoramas is a shortcut between Palais Royal and Montmartre. Only 17 such arcades have survived Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s rebuilding of the city.

There’s quirky and there’s Victoria Station Wagon Restaurant which is like a railway coach derailed at the entrance. A winged wolf and a bejewelled lynx peer through the windows of Caffè Stern in the centre. Philippe Starck designed the interior of this petite restaurant owned by the Alajmo group which runs the three Michelin star Le Calandre in Padova. Postcards of flooded streets and reclining kittens can be found in Maison Prins. On the opposite side of Boulevard Montmartre is Musée Grévin which opened in 1882. It’s where celebrities come to life – in wax.

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Architecture Art Design Fashion Luxury Town Houses

Paris + L’Art de Vivre

Releasing the Pressure

A dash across Paris can easily turn into a Coco Mademoiselle Chanel ad style escapade. Sipping morning coffee on a balcony of Le Milie Rose Hôtel teetering over Rue des Petites Ecuries (Street of Little Stables). Popping into Pleaseness for an 80s retro retail kick. Saying salut to François (Mahé) and Nico (Francioni) in La Mâle d’Effeenne. Lighting a candle in St Paul and St Louis Church. In an increasingly byzantine world, the French Capital never fails to elevate the body and soul.

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Architecture Design Developers Restaurants Town Houses

The Flask Pub + Highgate London

Raising the Roofs

It’s the part of London associated with the dead but there’s also plenty of life in Highgate. England does pubs well and The Flask is an oasis for thirsty – and hungry – travellers. The pub blends in so well with its Georgian neighbours it could easily be mistaken for one of the grand houses. A stone plaque on the five bay three storey redbrick façade displays the date “1663” which must predate the current building. A rabbit warren of bars and dining rooms, some under low vaulted ceilings bending all sorts of modern building regulations, has all the atmosphere of a coaching inn. Highwayman Claude Duval might just swing by for a pint.

Or a glass of Champagne. She may have had a vested interest but a chalk message on a blackboard in The Flask quotes the sage words of Lilly Bollinger, “I only drink Champagne 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 am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.” A faded print of Queen Anne hangs on the ladies’ lavatory door; Henry Prince of Wales beckons the gents.

Opposite The Flask is The Grove, an early 18th century suburban residential development in leafy environs. Poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Leigh Hunt; spy Anthony Blunt; singer George Michael; musicians Annie Lennox, Yehudi Menuhin and Sting; actors Gladys Cooper, Robert Donat and Jude Law; and model Kate Moss have all called The Grove home across the ages. It’s the sort of Georgian enclave that can only be found in London’s classier outlying villages such as Blackheath, Clapham and West Dulwich.

Across the road, or is it down the hill, or maybe over the brae – Highgate’s attractiveness is matched only by its confusion of layout – stands Lauderdale House. Vicky Wilson writes in London’s Houses, 2011, “An unattractive pebbledash building with an uninspiring five bay Georgian entrance front, a surprisingly unthought-out arrangement of windows on its long southeast side and a fine Doric colonnade at the back, Lauderdale House is nevertheless endowed with a history – both architectural and social. One of the few surviving large timber framed London houses, Lauderdale was built in 1582 by Sir Richard Martin, Warden and Masterworker of the Royal Mint, for his younger son Richard, probably with a rich bounty of Spanish gold earned from financing Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigatoin of 1577 to 1580.”

She summarises the evolution of the house: “The Martins’ home was designed to be a U shaped plan around a central courtyard. The long southeast flank was probably divided into three rooms with a traditional great chamber on the first floor; the present entrance hall in the northeast wing was probably a dining room. A single storey building at the open end of the courtyard, connected by a corridor to the dining room, contained the kitchens. The construction is timberframe infilled with wattle and daub, with the larger upper floor frame resting on projecting joists, a method known as continuous jetting. The slight projection of the the upper floor today and the asymmetrical fenestration on the long front are the clearest clues to the building’s Tudor origins.”

Professor Finola O’Kane of University College Dublin has a slightly more positive view of the house, “Lauderdale House is an attractive, rambling, not very distinguished looking building which conceals a much earlier timber house. It has a few vestiges of its early garden including a parterre and mount. St Paul’s Cathedral could be seen from the garden. This is a suburban house closer to the City than the West End. Highgate wasn’t very fashionable in the 17th century and it really only got going in the 18th century.”

Both commentators criticise its mostly casual appearance resulting from a Georgian cloak draping over a Tudor frame. The lawn front is symmetrical from the first floor five bay jettied projection upwards. A second floor Diocletian window is surmounted by a pediment and flanked by half gables. The garden backs onto Waterlow Park which in turn abuts Highgate Cemetery. Lauderdale House is now an arts and education centre. Sunbathers catch rays between crawling ladybirds and fluttering white butterflies. A sky of awnings provides respite from the summer heat. An ice cream parlour is handily located off the lawn front.

Northwest of Lauderdale House is the former residence of the 19th century explorer Mary Kingsley. She was brought up in Avalon, a late Georgian two storey over basement redbrick villa with an elegant prostyle Roman Doric porch. The only window on the façade is over the porch. Four blind windows complete the balanced elevational composition. Wide windows capture views of the Capital on the garden facing south front. Opposite Avalon is a long single storey redbrick block with a double height centrepiece. A plaque under the central pediment reads: “Anno 1722. The si almes-houses founded by Sir John Woolaston being very old and decayed were pull’d down and these 12 built in their room together with a schoolhouse for the charity girls at the sole charge of Edward Pauncfort, one of the governours and treasurer of the Chapell and Free School of Highgate.”

In contrast to its Georgian neighbours, Holly Village is very High Victorian Gothic. An archway on one side and a gateway on the other side linked by holly hedgerows provide tantalising glimpses of 12 highly ornate large cottages grouped around a green. Built in 1865 by the property developer William Cubitt to the design of Henry Astley Darbishire, the four villas and four pairs of semi detached houses are – to use modern property parlance – highly spec’d, from Portland stone to teak wood. Gated developments are very Highgate: luxuriously appointed apartment and housing schemes behind cast iron railings would arrive in the 20th century on nearby Hillway.

Another piece of non neoclassical architecture is the Catholic Church of St Joseph on Highgate Hill. It is known locally as “Smoky Joe’s” after the high church religious order which runs it. The Passionists built the current monastery and chapel in 1858 in a Neo Romanesque style to the design of Albert Vicars (potentially some nominative determinism going on with that surname). The powerful white gone grey brick complex with copper domes over a dominant octagonal tower and smaller octagonal corner turrets dominates the townscape southeast of Lauderdale House.

The cemetery can wait.

Postscript: we know many of you missed out on the limited first edition of our bestseller Sabbath Plus One. But fear not: Daunt Marylebone may have sold out but north London’s top independent literature retailer House of Books in West Hampstead is now stocking the second edition. And the most flattering compliment of the month comes from said retailer about the 30 year old opening portrait in the fabric covered hand stitched 300 GSM paper heavyweight book, “That’s still you!”

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Design Luxury People Restaurants Town Houses

Eels Restaurant Paris + Le Déjeuner Le Plus Magnifique Imaginable Sérieusement

In Honour of Anguilliformes 

It’s a restaurant to design a weekend around. Eels. On the corner of Rue d’Hauteville and Rue Gabriel Laumain in the Grands Boulevards district, rows of windows lighten the interior and brighten the pavement. This establishment has the electric atmosphere of a new venue but it’s actually been going strong for eight years. So strong that the owner has opened another restaurant on Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière which runs parallel with Rue d’Hauteville. On a Saturday lunchtime Eels is a microcosm of Arrondisement 10 society. The beautiful people – staff and patrons – are out in force.

The dining room exudes that effortless chic Parisians somehow manage to pull off with aplomb. Decoration is kept to a bare minimum. Exposed brick and stone columns add patina. The vertical tubes of the radiators resemble rows of shiny white eels – or at least they do after the second glass of Vin de Savoie Domaine Chevillard 2021. Piped pop music adds to the electricity in the air as the staff set about making gastronomic magic. “I started to cook at the age of 15 right after secondary school,” says owner Chef Adrien Ferrand. “I then went to train at a catering college and after a few days I knew I wanted a career as a chef.” No man is an île and Adrien has left a pool of talent in charge today.

He comments, “Eels is a bistronomic or semi gastronomic restaurant – you can call it what you want! The menu of Eels takes inspiration from Asia and the Mediterranean as well as French cooking. It was my father who introduced me to Asian cuisine. I love Asian food so much I have opened a fully Asian restaurant nearby – Brigade du Tigre.” The name of his first restaurant comes from Adrien’s fascination with the ray finned fish. The English word was chosen as it is a little easier to pronounce than the French “anguilles”. Most of the eels are sourced from Greece.

“The connection I make between cooking and smell is the rising of images and emotions,” Adrien relates. “My aromatic catalogue includes Thai basil, lemongrass and galanga which is a rhizome and a cousin of ginger. I also use cardamon and Voatsperifery pepper which comes from Madagascar.” It would be rude not to order his signature dish of charcoal smoked eel, liquorice, apple and hazelnuts with roasted butter sauce. All the right ingredients – scent, taste, texture, beauty, impact, originality – are present in abundance.

Marinated Corsican meagre, samphire, kohlrabi with elderflowers, dashi vinaigrette and sea lettuce followed by white chocolate crunch, rhubarb, rose marmalade and Bronte pistachio pralines continue this elevation of Franco Asian cooking status. The stars they are aligning. Starters range from €19 to €22 and mains from €33 to €43. Puddings are all priced €17. There’s a midweek two course lunch menu for €37. Plenty of bottles on the wine list will tempt the connoisseur: Échezeaux Domaine Jean-Pierre Guyon 2021 pinot noir for €1,053 or Bourbogne Domaine Arnaud Ente 2019 Chardonnay for €430. But there are reasonably priced wines too such as the Vin de Savoie at €62. Meals at Eels live up to the hype and eclipse the rave reviews.

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Architecture Country Houses Design Restaurants Town Houses

Ramelton Donegal +

Drop the Tea and the Haitch

Donegal County Council’s 2020 Ramelton Action Plan prepared by Dedalus Architecture of Moville states, “Ramelton is a town of significant built, social and cultural heritage with a unique regional character and comparable in quality to the most visited historic places in Ireland. The current town was founded as a Plantation settlement in the early 1600s by Sir William Stewart of Ayrshire on the site of an O’Donnell castle.” Sir William built Tullyaughnish Reformation Church on the edge of the town, now a scenic ruin. Dr Finola O’Kane of University College Dublin ruminates, “Ruins in Ireland have always been political in light of the country’s history.”

In his 2021 essay Beyond Pastness: Reuse in Ramelton, Gary Hamilton argues, “In the picturesque town of Ramelton, located in the northwest of Ireland, a hulking set of warehouses on The Quays are a tactile reminder of what this place used to be. In stone, shale, and concrete, they tell a story about the past: of bustling trade, industrialisation, and prosperity in rural parts of the country. After decades of dereliction, some of the warehouses have been recently repurposed into a heritage centre, a café, and even apartments. Two, however, remain in a state of decay, and one is on the brink of collapse. The tourism economy values the ‘pastness’ of rural Ireland, but preserving that pastness has the effect of consigning towns to a state of perpetual limbo.”

Lo, the tide was turning. The following year Donegal County Council was awarded the Chambers Ireland 2022 Excellence in Local Government Award for Heritage and Built Environment for an urban scale conservation project in Ramelton. A 2019 audit had demonstrated a high rate of vacancy (13 percent), dereliction (seven percent) and buildings at risk (20 structures). The Council worked with the local community to reverse this advancing decay and repair 14 of the historic buildings.

Most visible is the restoration of The House on the Brae in the centre of the town. Council funding was the catalyst for Ramelton Georgian Society bringing this 1760s building back to life for community use. In 2025, the restoration is nearing completion. The House appears on Bridge Street as a modest two storey over basement rendered block with very wide windows on the first floor. Generously proportioned window openings are a feature of 18th century houses in the town, possibly to maximise natural light for linen weavers at work. The House falls dramatically to the rear towards the riverside Shore Road, revealing its three storey plus attic full extent. Ramelton Georgian Society plans to reinstate a two storey block along Shore Road, enclosing the rear garden of The House on the Brae.

Shore Road continues eastwards, becoming The Quays. Mill House is located at the sharp right angle of Shore Road elbowing into the River Leannan. It’s a tall, darkish and handsome 1840s three bay three storey villa faced with random rubblestone and cornered by squared smooth stone quoins. A shallow fanlight stretches over the entrance door and sidelights framed by Tuscan columns and pilasters. A hipped roof resting on eaves is fully exposed: this is a parapet free town. Mill House backs on to some of the restored and converted warehouses.

At the western end of the town, yet more gorgeous buildings are clustered around Bridge End where the River Leannan narrows and is crossed by Ramelton Bridge. The Tannery backs onto the river and was converted to apartments in 2000. Built in the late 19th century, it’s an impressive 13 bay three storey block. Coursed and square rubble limestone walls with flush squared rubblestone quoins produce a grand vernacular.

Set at a right angle to The Tannery is The Green, a country house and estate in miniature. Three bay two bay symmetrical perfection overlooks – as its name suggests – a large green. The house was built circa 1830 for James Watt, the owner of a linen bleach mill, now demolished. An Ionic distyle porch framing the entrance door with its fanlight provides the decorative highlight to the simply elegant smooth rendered with limestone plinth façade. A hipped slate roof completes the simple outline. The main block is three bays deep and is elongated by later return wings.

On the brow of the hill heading out of Ramelton and looking down over The Tannery, Bridge Bar Restaurant is the quintessential Irish pub. A slightly asymmetrical five bay two storey pebbledashed façade is quirkily enlivened by red shutters, red quoins and a red entrance door. it’s colourful and lively, just as a pub should be. This tour is but the icing on the cake that is the architectural treat of Ramelton. There are many rich layers to explore of the heritage of sweet unique town. Ramelton is no longer in perpetual limbo: pastness has a present and a future.

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Architecture Art Country Houses Town Houses

St Fiach’s Church of Ireland Church + Carrigans Donegal

Developing An Overarching Grammar Based on Idealised Irish Country Life

The Laggan lies between the River Foyle and Lough Swilly: a lowland rich in agriculture, rich in architecture, rich. It was once dominated by flax growing and salmon fishing. In between country house estates lies Carrigans, one of the prettiest villages in Ireland. Population in 1841: precisely 235. Population today: about 350. In between single and double storey houses, Main Street has a Garda Station, Carrig Inn, Post Office and Village Shop, Village Chippy, and AMC Hair and Beauty. This 215 metre stretch of road is bookended by a a painted boat in a sloping field to the west and a derelict cottage with windows and a door painted on its facade to the east. A car port provides a roof for a Christmas sleigh. Next door and set back from Main Street is St Fiach’s Church of Ireland church which is the Parish Church of Killea in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe.

This is Plantation of Ulster country. After confiscation by the British Crown in 1607, County Donegal was carved up into parcels of 400 hectares, each distributed to mainly Scottish families. Scottish sounding surnames can still be found in the area: Buchanan, Galbraith, Hamilton, McClintock and Stewart. Other nearby Plantation settlements include Castlefin, Convoy, Killygordon and Stranorlar.Reverend George Hill writes in An Historical Account of the Plantation in Ulster at the Commencement of the 17th Century 1608 to 1620 (1877), “From occasional glimpses at the general condition of Ulster in the 17th century, as given in these Plantation records, the reader will probably infer that our northern province must have had certain rare attractions for British settlers. Among the descendants of the latter, however, it has been a cherished faith that our worthy ancestors came here to find homes only in a howling wilderness, or rather, perhaps, in a dreary and terrible region of muirland and morass. We very generally overlook the fact, that the shrewd and needy people whom we call our forefathers, and who dwelt north and south of the Tweed, would have had neither time nor inclination to look towards the shores of Ulster at all, had there been no objects sufficiently attractive, such as green fields, rich straths, beauteous valleys, and herds of Irish cattle adorning the hillsides. But such was, indeed, the simple truth.” The Laggan is still filled with that greenness, richness and beauty.

Many of the buildings of Carrigans are gaily coloured. Whoever decided to paint the rendered St Fiach’s Church was clearly a blue sky thinker. Literally. Most Irish churches are grey. This one is blue. Beyond the Pale blue. Erected in 1763, St Fiach’s was altered over the next two centuries while still retaining exquisite allure. It’s a simple three bay nave barn church. Roundheaded windows have extremely fine cast iron quarry glazing with timber Y tracery. The chancel, vestry and porch were added in 1856 to the design of Armagh architect Alexander Hardy. Their grey rubblestone contrasts with the blue render of the main church building. Reverend William Law was the first incumbent. The current rector is Reverend Canon John Merrick; his predecessor Reverend David Crooks retired in 2024 after 47 years service.

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Architects Architecture Art Country Houses Design Developers People Town Houses

Sir John Soane’s Museum Holborn London + Richard Rogers

Architectural Communication

The extraordinary townhouse that is Sir John Soane’s Museum has played host to many exciting exhibitions drawing synergy from the riveting interiors. Highlights of the last nine years include shows featuring Alcantara (microfibre fabric) and Space Popular (multidisciplinary design practice); Emily Allchurch (artist); William Shakespeare (a certain playwright); and Sarah Lucas (artist). The latest is the first UK retrospective since his demise of the work of Richard Rogers, leading exponent of High Tech architecture. And so, at 13 Lincoln’s Inns Fields two architects who had a passion for materials, light and life meet posthumously.

Will Gompertz, Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum, opens the exhibition: “Rogers Pink completely fits with the vibe of the good weather and also aesthetically fits with the vibe of Soane as next door in the South Drawing Room there is this extraordinary colour field of yellow which is called Turner Yellow – not Turner the painter but Turner the designer – which he very specifically chose and then you’ve got the Rogers Pink in this exhibition. I think Soane would approve of this enormously and also he would have loved Richard as a man. They would have had so much in common.”

“The exhibition started three weeks after I began as Director here and Richard’s son Ab got on the phone and said, ‘Can I come round with an idea?’ He came round and five minutes later we had a show! Ab’s idea was for the Soane to show the first retrospective of Richard Rogers in this country since he sadly passed. And the answer was emphatically yes.”

Ab provides a tour of the exhibition Talking Buildings: “It’s a simple show based on eight pivotal projects across his career. It’s really about this escalating idea how the buildings talk to each other. I think Richard really wanted his architecture to talk to the people, to improve the quality of the citizens’ lives, to celebrate the streets, to get people to look up at the sky, to enjoy the public space and to really look at the responsibility of the building to respond to its uses.”

“This ongoing conversation started with the Zip Up House which is a solution to social housing. It is an object made out of prefabricated units, incredibly well insulated, that can continuously grow and expand. He was looking at sustainable issues before there was awareness of them in 1969. The house he designed for his mother and father also in 1969 creates this very open space where there’s no specific programme and you’re free to play with it as you will. You can roll out of the building and into the grass – it’s very free, almost boundaryless.”

“And that plays into the Pompidou Centre in Paris where 50 percent of the site is given to the public; you see all the services taken from the inside to the outside to free up the programme of the interior. And you can argue that this free programme that exists inside the Pompidou also exists inside the Zip Up House. This escalation goes on and then he creates Lloyds Building – this shining armour sitting in the historical setting of the City of London. They’re both very brave and radical buildings. Lloyds was the youngest building to be Listed in the UK.”

“We go on to the Millennium Dome, a building which was quite controversial at its time although it came in on budget and on time. This huge roof held a world beneath it. The Dome was meant to be up for one year but instead 25 years later like the Eiffel Tower it becomes this icon of the capital. And from there we go back to social housing looking at The Treehouse which is a collection of ‘shoeboxes’ fabricated from cross laminated timber, rapidly assembled as a tower and very low cost. The roof of one becomes the garden of the next creating these ‘shoeboxes’ with free programmes.”

“We see this conversation and idea continue when we finally end up in the drawing gallery which takes us back to the Zip Up House’s very muscular cantilevered box. It is designed like a telescope with a straight line of viewing out to the landscape. Talking Buildings is a quick journey really trying to work around this conversation and Richard’s passion for creating civic architecture which is generous to the citizens and generous to the streets, while trying to provoke the role of the developer and the council to be bigger and more integrated.” This show adds yet another layer of brilliance to the immersive multimedia experience that is Sir John Soane’s Museum.

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Architects Architecture Art Design Developers People Town Houses

Micky Damm + Studio Baukunst Düsseldorf

Rethinking Urban Space Through Architecture and Art: Innovation, Preservation and Sustainability in Modern Design

“Coming from the Art Academy we want to have a little bit of art always incorporated into every project. It’s always different: it can be something typical like art integrated into the building or meanwhile uses such as exhibitions before we start to build,” says Micky Damm who founded the architectural practice Studio Baukunst with fellow alumnus Philipp Bilke and their former professor, Karl-Heinz Petzinka. They now have 15 employees. “I studied architecture and fine art – sculpture at Kunstakademie.”

Their studio on Oberbilker Allee in Düsseldorf is a case in point. The bronze wheat sheaf entrance door handle sculpted by Joscha Bender provides a clue to the site’s origins and the practice’s ethos. “This used to be a farm a few hundred years ago called Leeschenhof. ‘Doff’ is village and ‘hof’ is farm.” He jests, “That’s all the German you need!” The two storey 1950s villa was refaced in natural stone. An attached single storey bow cornered building was formerly a DIY store.

Micky explains, “I started out as a graffiti artist in my teens. It was a good connection looking with my eyes on the city for spots to spray. I am still reading the city but instead of providing text somewhere I now build houses. Since we launched Studio Baukunst in 2018 it is about building a big dream. The funny thing is there are parts of north Düsseldorf where there is no graffiti at all. Outsiders would come in and go oh this is a good area. But it’s a boring area! No one has been there. So you often have graffiti as an indicator that something is going on. There is graffiti in Bilk, this area where our studio is located.” Graffiti was written on the fascia of the DIY store when it closed down. It translates as, “We don’t want to have gentrification here.” Studio Baukunst kept the graffiti. The parking bays to the rear are going to be removed and replaced with a pocket park. Striking green tiles are currently being wrapped round the ground floor exterior of the apartment building completing this urban block.

It’s hard not to talk about Bauhaus in a German architecture studio. Micky argues, “Bauhaus is influential in terms of straight and clear architecture and having big ideas in small spaces. So it’s all about the greatness of architecture – the decisions you have over everything. You always have to keep in mind what you are working on and not lose your way. The built Bauhaus projects are so great in all sorts of different dimensions: footprint, floorplans, materials. Everything follows one idea and this has been a huge influence on our way of thinking.”

But he thinks there’s a downside: “Right now I have problems with Bauhaus today because too many people use it as an excuse to build boring things. Money is no excuse. That was the nice thing about Bauhaus: you have great architecture in economic spaces. Today when people have the excuse we need more money to make something better I am like no! Lack of money is not a reason to build something that is not good. it just sets the parameters you are working with.”

Take his latest office scheme in the city: “When we design workspace we want to make it more interesting to attract the young people back into the office. So we create spaces that are so unusual that you would never have them at home in your apartment. We want it to be a benefit for employees to be in these special spaces. We have placed a tower of balconies linked by gangways to the front of an existing 1950s building. Every 500 square metres of internal office space has a 50 square metres balcony. We want to have office space outside too. So it is like you can talk on the open deck of your boat! We want to get away from the same boring spaces.”

This innovative approach flows from outside spaces through external walls to internal spaces. Micky says, “So for example here inside our studio we had the problem that there wasn’t enough concrete over the steel. We didn’t have the required 90 minute fire protection so we had to spray three centimetres of concrete onto everything. But instead of hiding the sprayed concrete we’re keeping it exposed. Ordinarily everything is completely different and we leave it that way. The rough textures of the walls contrast with the shiny floor. It’s good to get this together. In our projects every colour is usually the result of the material. Although there is a typical industrial green and a fire protection red so we make an exception and don’t count them as colours!”

Sustainability is such an overused word but like everything, Micky has his own original take on it. “What do we have to do so that things last very long? When we talk about sustainability it’s not really about how much insulation we put into the walls. It’s about how we develop the architecture as a whole so that it remains for a very long time because it has good spaces. We’re not so much about developing new forms. There are other practices doing that. We’re about cutting things out and making new collages together. Just as a DJ starts cutting out music and arranging new songs by putting them together that’s how we think about architecture.”

Are there any modern practices he admires? “Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei known as LRO in Stuttgart. What I like about them is that they have different projects of different sizes and they have different answers to the site specific questions. But you can always see their handwriting on everything. So they are following a bigger idea of architecture. Then there are other big architects you can go to and ask for a Bauhaus house, a classical house, any style of house. If you do everything what is your own idea of architecture? So I do like the architects that have their own idea of practice and are not just doing development for others.”

Micky’s tour of his studio ends on a high in the new glasshouse on top of the villa building. “There are so many lines that are happening. The staircase or ‘water tower’ with the round form doesn’t care about all the structure lines of the house. It’s just here. Every rectangle aligns in this glasshouse but the round water tower is just there. You walk up the stairs through the dark then you open the door and you have the light of the glasshouse. And that’s the idea of architecture, experiencing how spaces can change. It’s about the space beyond the floorplan too.”

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Düsseldorf +

Completing the Circle

“He made a circle out of a lake; he formed two rivers from the circle; he flooded and destroyed an island, creating a sea,” writes Gore Vidal in The City and the Pillar (1949). “Dorf means ‘village’ and Düssel is a tributary flowing into the Rhine,” announces the well informed tour guide Katja Stuben. The origins of the city may lie in 7th century farming and fishing settlements where the minor River Düssel flows into the major River Rhine. In 1288 the ruling Count Adolf V of Berg granted a town charter to Düsseldorf. “Today there are around 700,000 people living in Düsseldorf but it still resembles a village. It is a friendly local community with all the benefits of a city.”

“Düsseldorf mainly developed on the east side of the Rhine,” Katja explains. “Only about 10 percent of it is on the west side in Oberkassel, Niederkassel, Lörick and Heerdt. During World War II much of the city was damaged or destroyed but the Art Deco residential buildings in Oberkassel were relatively unscathed. These are now some of the best properties in the city overlooking the riverside Rheinwiesen Meadows.” There is a surprisingly large restored and rebuilt Old Town known as Altstadt. “The cobblestoned square of Burgplatz connects the banks of the Rhine to Altstadt. In the middle of Burgplatz is Schlossturm, the remaining medieval tower of the ducal palace.”

Two of the oldest and grandest buildings in Altstadt are the Catholic Churches of St Lambertus and St Andreas. Founded in 1288, St Lambertus overlooks a courtyard behind Burgplatz. Its wonky spire, one of the many idiosyncratic glories of the city’s exhilarating skyline, is the result of an 1815 reconstruction which was too heavy making the roof tiles gradually twist. In contrast to the red brick walls of St Lambertus, the exterior of St Andreas is painted lemon yellow and pepper grey. This Baroque ecclesiastical edifice founded in 1622 stands further to the east of Burgplatz. HeimWerk is the best brasserie in Altstadt to sample schnitzel. The vegetarian option is vegetable and potato rösti in a marinade of horseradish and mustard topped by carrot flakes.

“Japanese people settled in Düsseldorf in the middle of the 20th century,” records Katja. “They came to establish businesses in the steel industry. The population of this city is now around one percent Japanese. Little Tokyo is the Japanese business district. The Michelin starred Nagaya is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Europe. There are still traditional Eastern travel agents in Little Tokyo.” Heading westwards geographically and culturally, Königsallee is devoted to luxury fashion houses and hotels. The glitzy five star Steigenberger Park Hotel overlooks this verdant boulevard. Its retail concessions include Dolce Gabbana, Givenchy, Stefano Ricci, Catherine Sauvage and Wellendorff. Everyone and everything in this postcode is preened to perfection, even the posing pondside ducks.

“Let’s go up the 240 metre high Rheinturm – the Rhine Tower!” suggests Katja heading back to the river. “The penultimate floor viewing gallery of the tower rotates a full circle once an hour like it’s on rollerblades.” Slanting windows frame an eagle eye’s view of the Landtag North Rhine-Westphalia Parliament building completed in 1988 to the design of Eller Maier Walter. Its floorplate of overlapping and concentric circles draws on an aspiration for openness and transparency in politics. A decade younger is Frank Gehry’s RheinHafen Arts and Media Centre on Am HandelsHafen in his “where’s my T square gone” trademark idiom. Each of the three curvilinear concrete volumes is individually finished. The northernmost block is white painted render. The southernmost, red brick. The middle block is coated in stainless steel. Using identical rectangular windows set in deep surrounds (except for the ground floor windows which are similar but taller) demonstrates the architect’s functionality of fenestration amidst whimsy of form. Later, the moon will rest on this tricoloured trio.

She points out, “Look down again and beyond RheinHafen is MedienHafen, the Media Harbour which was the old riverside industrial area. It mostly accommodates media, communications, IT and fashion companies now. Many of the big international architects have designed buildings there: Will Alsop, David Chipperfield, Steven Holl, Helmut Jahn,  Renzo Piano. Ok, let’s go shopping now. Schadow Arkaden on Schadowstrasse is one of the large shopping centres in Düsseldorf.” The nearest subway station is a work of art. A screen over the line records anonymised images of passengers entering the building with a few minutes delay, deriving geometries – many circular – from their movements. Called Turnstile, this installation was designed by local artist Ursula Damm.

Borrowing the words of Gore Vidal “On the warmest and greenest afternoon of the spring” Carlsplatz is where everyone aesthetically pleasing is hanging out for food and wine. It’s a downtown upmarket market. “Three guys – Philipp Kutsch, Björn Schwethelm and Nico von der Ohe – started Concept Riesling in Carlsplatz in 2017. They source from young to vintage wineries. There are 1,500 bottles to choose from priced right up to €7,000,” Katja confirms. Prost! Sláinte! Cartwheeling is the urban sport of Düsseldorf. Happiness is the city’s default disposition. Next to Concept Reisling is a potato stall; many varieties have girls’ names. Adretta, Gunda, Laura, Marabel, Rose, Theresa and Violet all vie for attention.

“Twilight and the day ended,” prompts Gore Vidal. There’s so much promise and pleasure in the air. Destination: The Paradise Now on Hammerstrasse. Co owner Garciano Manzambi shares, “I wanted to bring the holiday vibe of Mykonos to my hometown. We can accommodate 800 people who come early and stay late. Come with me and check out the nightclub.” But first there is caramel and truffle pasta to enjoy on the vast terrace. And bread. “This butter is heated and whipped to give the taste of nut and truffle,” explains the friendly waitress. Everyone is friendly in Düsseldorf. “Your wine is from the Pfalz, one of the famous regions of German vineyard production.” Sorbet is Stilllebenmalerei. The Paradise Now is open till 3am on weekends. The hot DJ is already mixing cool tunes. Everyone here is genetically blessed and materially privileged. Dining, drinking and dancing in the same venue till dawn or at least the wee small hours will unfold as a theme of this city. Fast forward 24 hours and cruising up the Rhine on the KD (Köln-Düsseldorfer) is what it’s all about. Good food, good company, good music and thank goodness two discos to shape those midnight grooves.

On another day, leading journalist and trend consultant Ilona Marx cuts a dash as she shares her creative passions under the constant blue velvet sky which is crisscrossed by white streaks, a reminder that the airport lies in the city itself. Five years ago, goldsmith and jewellery designer Lisa Scherebnenko took over as Director of Orfèvre. The gallery and workshop is on the prestigious Bastionstrasse. She relates, “I use classy materials for jewellery: silver, gold, platinum but also tantalum which is a very special one. Do you know about it? Tantalum is a super nice material and not a lot of jewellers use it because it’s very hard to work with. But it’s very beautiful and really lovely on every skin.” Very fine jewellery has been made in Orfèvre since it opened in 1969. Her Rope Collection uses intertwined circular forms. Further down Bastionstrasse is Constanze Muhle’s eponymous atelier. “This is a hidden gem with collections from the likes of Nasco, Neni and Bruno Marnetti inside,” Ilona observes. “Constanze is incredibly well informed.”

Ilona states, “Ruby Luna is one of our trendiest hotels. The name comes from the popularity of the moon landing in the mid 20th century. This building started life as a Commerzbank drive through in the 1960s. It was designed by architect Paul Schneider-Esleben. You can still see the control panel of the bank which is now the breakfast bar of the hotel! Come on up to the rooftop terrace for a view of the city and the Rhine.” Upstream is Kunstpalast which celebrates art history. Mid 20th century Arno Breker figurative sculptures line the lawn. Midtown is K20, another museum, known for its modernist art such as Andy Warhol’s 1962 silkscreen ink and pencil on linen A Woman’s Suicide.

Lunch of porcini mushroom ravioli is on the stylish terrace of Schillings overlooking Hofgarten. This restaurant is on the ground floor of Schauspielhaus. The theatre with its white ribbed concrete exterior forms an enigmatic volume resting on pilotis (The City and the Pillars pluralised into physicality?) in front of the partly glazed ground floor. It was built to the design of local architect Bernhard Pfau in 1970 and has an enigmatically timeless quality. The dining room is as monochromatic as the exterior. Previously, Katya had discussed some local cuisine. “Himmel und Erde is a traditional brewery dish. It is mashed apple and potato. The name means literally ‘sky and ground’! Then there is Sauerbraten which is made of hot brown raisin. Adam Bertram Bergrath mustard or ‘ABB’ dates back to 1726. It comes in a refillable ceramic pot. Van Gogh included a pot in one of his paintings.” A circularity of existence.

Cultural hours with creative Düsseldorfers don’t come any better than learning about art and fashion and life with Hiroyuki Murase, Kaoli Mashio and Klaus Rosskothen. CEO and Creative Director of the internationally successful fashion and interiors label Suzusan, Hiroyuki has a studio in a historic former bakery building in Ronsdorferstrasse. He relates, “My family have been doing the dyeing technique called Shibori for 100 years. This traditional craft is usually for making kimonos but I use it in a contemporary way for a range of clothes as well as cushions and other items for the home.” Hiroyuki’s wife Kaoli’s studio is hidden at the end of a wisteria clad mews in the Grafenberger Wald area. Her critically acclaimed paintings and mixed media art are borne of an intense study of simplicity, nonduality and infinity. Across the city, former graffiti artist Klaus established Pretty Portal on Brunnenstrasse in 2007. His influential gallery represents emerging and established urban artists across Europe.

Later, architect Micky Damm of Studio Baukunst in the Bilk quarter will complete the circle. “We always try to develop circles. We want a client to have a bigger benefit than he would usually expect. And at the end of every project we want everyone to look with their eyes and say we would like to do another project. So that’s it. Those are the terms of the circle. We are developing properties for clients but we also support the subculture of artists and musicians. So you need the creatives and clubs to have this special space. And the other ones who pay full rent. This keeps a space alive. If you make these circles work then everyone is happy.” Everyone is happy. This is Düsseldorf turning full circle.

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Montparnasse Tower Paris +

Positive Capability

Dawn in winter 2019. Noon in spring 2025. Oh how the years go by. A century ago, Montparnasse hosted the vanguard of avant garde Paris. Writer Gertrude Stein’s partner Alice Toklas once called it “the city of boulevard bars and Baudeloire”. Poet Guillaume Apollinaire went further referring to it as “a quarter of crazies”. It was home for Marianne Faithfull from riding in a sportscar to missing the moon. Behind Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s homogeneity and square cut gentility lies the mysterious courtyard life of Paris played out in the penumbra of Montparnasse Tower. It’s a 32 second lift ride to the 59th floor of the tower to view the sacred horizontality and profane verticality.

The skyscraper in all its splendid isolation was completed in 1973 to the design of Eugène Beaudouin, Urbain Cassan, Louis de Hoÿm de Marien and Jean Saubot. The Tower’s height, all 210 metres, was not universally welcomed. It didn’t quite accord with Baron Haussmann’s rule that no building should be taller than the width of the boulevard on which it stood. Two years after Montparnasse Tower’s completion, President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing banned buildings over 32 metres in central Paris. In recent times, the limit has been relaxed to 50 metres but only on a case by case basis. Wallpaper* City Guide, 2022, provides a contemporary reassessment, admiring the Tower’s “wonderfully gridded curtain wall” before adding, “The redevelopment of the down-at-heel area around Gare Montparnasse in the early 1960s was, by and large, a piece of inspired city planning.”

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Le Littré Hotel + Left Bank Paris

Rêve Parisien

Nos jours. The late great chanteuse Marianne Faithfull latterly lived in a lateral apartment on Boulevard du Montparnasse. She once shared, “I have some lovely paintings and photographs and furniture. All things that have been passed down by my family. But actual decorations are absurd!” Hôtel Le Littré is on a quiet side street off the southern end of Boulevard du Montparnasse, under the shadow of the famous Montparnasse Tower.

Rue Littré fortunately isn’t named after rubbish but rather the multihyphenate Émile Littré. This politician, philosopher and linguist Left Banker fulfilled his aptronym by writing an etymological dictionary, published in 1841. A few copies of the Littré Dictionary are in the Winter Garden of the hotel which opens onto that most Parisian of spaces – the courtyard. There has been a hotel behind the Haussmann façade of 9 Rue Littré since 1967. Full French breakfast is served in the lower level dining room.

Keeping to the literary theme, the hotel stocks Le Littré News (April 2025 edition) and La Gazette de Littré (timeless edition). One of the recommendations in Le Littré News is for a restaurant across the road from the hotel called Le Petit Littré. Jean-Baptiste Bellecourt opened the restaurant in 2012. On a rainy Saturday evening, it’s at full capacity. The convivial owner explains that the waiter cut his hand earlier and had to go home. So Jean-Baptiste is acting as receptionist, maître d’, waiter, sommelier … a one man machine (presumably there’s a chef hidden away somewhere). Dinner of risotto and Tarte Tatin is an essay on perfect French cuisine.

“Madame de Pompadour ate four meals a day: breakfast, dinner, a late afternoon snack (goûter) and supper,” the much missed Dame Rosalind Savill records in her 2022 double volume literary masterpiece Everyday Rococo: Madame De Pompadour and Sèvres Porcelain. Madame de Pompadour would have adored the French fries and shrimp parcels lunch in a casual café on Boulevard du Montparnasse.

A short stroll past the glasshouses of Jardin Botanique de l’Universitie Cité leads to Jardin du Luxembourg. The world and its beautiful partner are playing boules, sunbathing, promenading. All 25 hectares are brimming with life. The ghost of Louis XIII’s mother, the Regent Marie de’ Medici, must be looking down in wonder at the bourgeois from her top floor bedroom in the 17th century Palais du Luxembourg. The balustrades and pedestals and statues and urns are all still very recognisable from John Singer Sargent’s 1879 painting In the Luxembourg Garden.

Getting ever closer to the River Seine, past the scent of Goutal perfumery (a modern day maker of myrrh), is the city’s third largest church: St Sulpice. Construction of Daniel Gittard’s neoclassical design began in 1646 and its 21 chapels were decorated over the following decades as the architecture evolved. Most splendid of all is the Virgin Chapel started by Giovanni Nicoli Servandoni in 1777 and completed 48 years later by Charles de Wally. “She was perfectly in tune with the rococo period in which she lived, and enabled it to evolve and flourish,” Ros comments. Madame de Pompadour would feel very at peace under the rococo golden dome of the Virgin Chapel.

A visit to San Francisco Books literally continues the literary theme.

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Lavender’s Blue + 1,000 Articles

Upward We Fly

The Tuamgraney born London based novelist Edna O’Brien once remarked, “There’s a very interesting thing about memory and exile. It is only when you leave someone or something that the full power if you like, the performance of it is in you, it’s inside you. So separation brings the emotions and ultimately a book. I think a book is the accumulation of emotions written in a particular, hopefully musical, way. It’s a beautiful feeling actually; it’s like the whole influx of something that is stronger than memory. Of course, it’s memory but you’re back in it, not writing it secondhand. Again, that counts for a certain derangement.”

It all started with Cliveden. In September 2012, we received an invitation to stay in the Berkshire hotel but as hard copy publications back then were disappearing faster than Veuve Cliquot at one of our soirées, we came up with the idea of publishing an article online. And so Lavender’s Blue was born. The name has triple derivation after our home (“Your house is so cinematic!” declares film director Stephan Pierre Mitchell), our location and the song by Marillion. Before long, every PR in London and further afield learned we always turn up, give good party, and even better copy. Although five parties in one day starting with an 11am Champagne reception for New York thinker John Mack in the Rosewood Hotel was pushing it even by our standards. Actually, it all really began in April 1995 with a column House of the Month in Ulster Architect magazine, edited and published by the bold and brave and brilliant Anne Davey Orr. But that’s a whole other story.

While most events are one-offs, from a vanishing crystal coach at Ascot to a vanishing guest on the Orient Express, others would become annual events. If the preview of Masterpiece (in Royal Hospital Chelsea grounds) was an early summer hit each year, the Boutique Hotel Awards (in Merchant Taylor’s Hall) would quickly become a midwinter highlight. Fortunately Masterpiece has been replaced by The Treasure House Fair and WOW!house and we’ve landed ourselves on their preview lists. We’re also proving a hit at the annual International Media Marketplace.

Behind the curtain. That’s our forte. And we don’t just mean peeping round the iron variety (think Gdańsk). We’re not only through the gates: we’re over the threshold. We gain access where others dare not tread. If it’s an Irish country house, we’ll stay with the owners and explore the cellars and attics – preferably when they’re tucked up in their fourposter (Temple House). We’ll pop into the kitchen to see what’s really going on whether in Le Bristol or Comme Chez Soi. We’ll talk to the lady of the manor and a millworker (Sion Mills). Sometimes it takes a village to raise an article: in Castletownshend the fun began over breakfast at The Castle continuing through public houses and private houses up Main Street before ending back in The Castle by dawn.

If “design” is the mauve thread that sews Lavender’s Blue together, “celebration of life” is our way of banishing anything mentally blue. Illuminated by art and architecture, fashion and the Divine, we’re mad for life, channelling that literary derangement. But if it ain’t good, it don’t appear. Simple. At the opposite end of the spectrum, some events are far too private to be published such as an impresario salon recital in one of London’s grandest houses surrounded by more Zoffanys than The National Gallery owns while sampling the owners’ South African wine cellar. Or a party in Corke Lodge, County Wicklow, with more diplomats per square metre than Kensington Palace Gardens being serenaded by the Whiffenpoofs on the folly gladed lawn.

Lavender’s Blue is all about places and people so we rarely do personal. You won’t read how we were catastrophically frogmarched out of The Lanesborough (too much catwalking) or categorically told to pipe down in Launceston Place (too much caterwauling). Or the full story of hijinks with the model Parees which one friend described as sounding like an escapade from an Armistead Maupin short story. Original writing and original photography – and occasionally original drawing (from a two minute sketch of Mountainstown House to a 10 hour floor plan of Derrymore House) – are our creative cornerstones. We never plagiarise except from ourselves: to quote from one of our most read articles, Beaulieu House, “Lavender’s Blue is the brilliant coated edition of universal facts, riveting mankind, bringing nice and pretty events.” We’ll coin the odd phrase too from “Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder” to “You can’t be this fabulous and not make a few enemies!”

What’s our literary style? Well we’re not paid up members of Plain English for starters. Lord Wolfe would blanche at such opening gambits as, “There’s nothing standard in The Standard” or “Mary Martin London fashion is more than an antinomic macédoine: it is a semiotic embrace of science and conviction made manifest in materiality, tactility and sartorial disruption”. There are a quarter of a million English words to choose from (compared to a mere 100,000 in French and a meagre 85,000 in Chinese) so why reach for simplicity when you can stretch the lexicon? We don’t like to namedrop but as Daphne Guinness shared with us about her lyrics at a party in Notting Hill, “There are some words I just really like the sound of!” A picture tells 1,000 words and sometimes we’ll deliver 1,000 words and 1,000 pictures. But how can you keep the shutter open when you’re cherishing Chatsworth or roaming round Rochester? We’re not just about obvious glitz and glamour. So we frequent Hôtel Meurice in Paris and Hôtel Meurice in Calais. We’ve explored Georgian Bath and Georgian Dover. Doubling down on clichés is avoided except in derision while downing Chapel Down south of the Kent Downs.

How long does an article take to prepare? Some flow with automatic writing on a commute or in bed or in the bath in almost unconscious reverie. Others take decades. Mourne Park House started with a memorable visit in 1992 (the boathouse collapsed and gracefully slid into the lake mid morning coffee) and continued with return visits up to 2021 (by then the house was badly burnt). Crevenagh House was photographed over two decades in every season from heavy snow to scorching sunshine. We visited Gunnersbury Park four times over a London heatwave to capture it morning, noon, evening, and after supper. We also vacationed at Murlough four times, Irish Sea hopping in search of elusive sunlight. Montevetro and Marlfield both first appeared in Ulster Architect before being resurrected on Lavender’s Blue. Marlfield is the work of genius architect Alfred Cochrane with later lodges by the talented Albert Noonan. And on that note, John O’Connell’s work (Montalto) and tours (Ranger’s House) have added an abundance of sparkle to Lavender’s Blue.

We’re always up for top drawer collaborations: polo in Buenos Aires; the Government in Montenegro; Audi in Istanbul; Boutique Hotels Club in Bruges; Guggenheim in Bilbao; Rare Champagne in Paris. Did we mention Paris? The friendliest city in the world! As long as you’re in the right set, of course. We know our French, spring, red and rings. Oh, and we’re easily dragooned to fashion shows stretching the bailiwick especially when it comes to fashion artist Mary Martin London. Vintage models (Goodwood, Carmen dell’Orefice and Pattie Boyd), modern models (Esther Blakley, Janice Blakley and Katie Ice – all beautiful, all gazelles), royalty (Queen Ronke and Catherine Princess of Wales) and pop star royalty (Heather Small) have all enjoyed Lavender’s Blue exposure. There are even occasional segues into filming (Newzroom Afrika and English Heritage) and the dreaded bashing of ivories (Rabbit).

The current culmination of Lavender’s Blue is an exquisitely printed hardback coffee table book of substance on the Holy Land. The first edition of SABBATH PLUS ONE was an instant sellout at Daunt Books Marylebone. It’s now on the coffee tables of all the best homes – including a certain Clarence House. Oh yes, King Charles III is really enjoying his copy. “Your most thoughtful gesture is greatly appreciated …” So it’s time for the second edition. Same high quality print with a reddish burgundy rather than navy blue hard back hand stitched fabric cover. We’re still gonna vaunt about Daunt. Only the finest. In all the best libraries now, not least earning its stripes at Abbey Leix House and Pitchford Hall. And lobbies: The American Colony Hotel and The Jaffa.

We do love our triple Michelin starred places (L’Ambroisie, Lasarte, Core). Champagne! Foam! Truffle! While most of the restaurants we have visited are still thriving, unknowingly at the time, Lavender’s Blue would become an archive for quite a few. Aquavit, Bank Westminster and Zander Bar, Duddell’s, Farmacy, Galvin at Windows in The Hilton Park Lane, The Gas Station (one of our regular rendezvous with fellow gourmand Becks), Hello Darling, Marcus Wareing’s Tredwell’s, 8 Mount Street, Nuala, Plateau, Rex Whistler at Tate Britain, San Lorenzo, Senkai, Tom Kemble at Bonham’s, and Typing Room all in London have disappeared. So have Scheltema in Brussels, Le Détroit in Calais, The Black Douglas in Deal, The Table in Broadstairs, l’Écrivain in Dublin, Cristal Room Baccarat in Paris, and Forage and Folk in Omagh.

Still, nothing tastes as good as skinny fries. It’s survival of the fattest! Impressive as it was, Embassy Gardens Marketing Suite was never built to last. Erarta Art Gallery, Fu Manchu nightclub (the real Annabel’s!) and The Green and Found gift shop are lost in the mists of time. We’d barely photographed Quinlan Terry’s 35 year old junior common room bungalow at Downing College before the wrecker’s ball entered the site. We’re already missing our perfumer neighbour Sniff.

Even sadder, we have become the repository for final curtain interviews. Min Hogg, Founding Editor of The World of Interiors magazine and Anna Wintour’s first boss, the 9th Marquess of Waterford and the musician Diana Rogers entertained us – and hopefully you – with their end of life witticisms. David George, a reader of our Diana in Savannah article wrote, “I was married to her for 10 years and we were together for more than two decades. When you look in the sky she is the brightest star that you will ever see! I love you sweet middle class princess! Rest in peace, all my love, David.” We featured artist Trevor Newton’s final solo show and fashion designer Thierry Mugler taking his au revoir bow at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris. Now historic photographs of model Misty Bailey appeared on Lavender’s Blue. Lindy Guinness, the last Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, shared thoughts at one of her last townhouse parties full of people one should know like the international tastemaker Charles Plante. Beresford Neill reminisced on early 20th century Tyrella. And of course, two memorial pieces to the much missed Dorinda, Lady Dunleath. The last book launch of Dame Rosalind Savill, the inspirational scholar of European decorative arts and visionary museum director of the Wallace Collection, is another moving memory now frozen in time.

Readers’ comments are always of interest. Standout messages include a painting request to Ballyfin; advice on the best photographic viewing point at Dungiven Castle; revealing a shared love of Mary Delany or the Mitfords; a discussion of the meaning of Rue Monsieur; Samarès Manor relatives trying to contact each other during a Jersey storm; and an unreported baby drowning in a mansion swimming pool in Sandwich Bay. Mount Congreve attracted interesting comments including from James Sweeney who wrote, “I worked in Mount Congreve Estate for many years as a Private Chef to the Congreves. It was a joy and a pleasure and has given me cherished memories. Mr Congreve was an amazing man and I owe him a great deal for his wisdom that he kindly let me benefit from.”

Ewelina from Beauty on the Cliff poetically scribed, “Waterford is my home since 17 years and Mount Congreve was always my soft point. The moment when you enter the place is simply magical. I’ve been inside the house recently, just before yesterday. I was inside of the Blue Wedgwood Room … well … only the pale blue walls and the beautiful but sadly empty china cabinets reminded me about past grandeur of this place. It’s really really heartbreaking to see the empty rooms, stripped from everything … even the curtains … the books all over the floor in the library … totally without the respect for Mr Congreve. I hope that Waterford City Council didn’t forget that was someone else’s home. As Mr Yeats said, ‘Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.’ Thank you so much for your review. Kindest regards from Waterford.” Sara Stainsby messaged, “Really interesting essay on Stapleford Park. My great grandparents worked there, my grandmother was born there and was married in the church. In the 70s I visited my great grandparents when they lived in a flat above the stables …” Birthday wishes (Portrait) and restoration concerns (Barden Towers) are always welcome. Even more welcome was a Champers accompanied poem hand delivered to the state dining room (Hartwell House).

There are direct messages too: “I came across your Lavender’s Blue series starting from Auchinleck then Crevenagh House and Tullan Strand. I can see from your McClelland connection that you have an interest in Northern Ireland including Donegal … I found that your articles on architecture address the most erudite, meticulous and expansive aspects of the subject so perhaps the work of James Taylor in late Georgian times will fall beneath the range of your interest in the style and proportions of symmetrical Palladian buildings.” We jumped straight in a car to Islington. Likewise when tipped off about Stockwell Park. A reader enjoyed our “wonderful commentary on various aspects of Ballyshannon … tis wonderful to share your thoughts about my hometown”. We’ll accept high praise from Ireland’s greatest host: “I just love your articles striking notes of deepest erudizione to soprano and coloratura gossip! I’m so glad you were the catalyst to my party and I can’t believe it went so well.”

Amazing Grace Point inspired a declaration of faith: “Lough Swilly and Fort Dunree is one of the most wonderful places in Ireland to visit, and especially to look out across the waters where so many great ships have sailed. But most of all – to ponder the words of Amazing Grace written there by John Newton. His miraculous conversion credited to his mother’s prayers. She never gave up, like my mother, who never gave up but prayed me into the Kingdom.” Messages come from above and down under: “I hope you don’t mind me emailing you but I happened to walk into a beautiful graveyard today in Picton, Australia, and happened to come across this one particular headstone. I was instantly intrigued as my grandparents were from Donegal in Ireland and I wanted to see if this was close? Anyway I just read about Mountjoy Square and when the area become established. I’m not sure but working out the dates I think this couple might have been some of the original inhabitants? I saw an article that you wrote and just wanted to share this with you – you may or may not appreciate it but I wanted to bring this couple home!” They’ve come home.

Artist and art restorer Denise Cook crosses the rare divide from comment provider to content provider sharing her expanse of knowledge from Pink Magnolias to the Rector of Stiffkey. So does Dr Roderick O’Donnell, world authority on all matters Pugin. Another reader turned writer, the ever erudite historian and patron of the arts Nicholas Sheaff, brought Gosford Castle completely (back) to life. “There is really too much to say,” to parrot Henry James in The Portrait of a Lady, 1881. Haud muto factum.

As Reverend Prebendary Andy Rider once quipped, “You do get around.” Amsterdam to Zürich, Brussels to Verona, Channel Island hopping, nowhere is safe from the Lavender’s Blue sagacity filled patrician treatment. As for our favourite place, that’s simple: Bunbeg Beach, especially at 10.30pm on a sun drenched midsummer night. Chronicling our times, we produce the material – and sometimes we are the material. But only when shot by the likes of top cinematographer Mina Hanbury-Tennyson-Choi and shoot the shoot supremo Simon Dutson. Striking a striking pose. Fading grandeur (the interior not the model).

“The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, You call forth songs of joy,” Psalm 65. Lavender’s Blue is between the bookends of everything that was and is to come. It’s about dealing with things as they are, not as they should be. We’re all about orchestrating a fresh approach, synthesising Baroque stridency with Palladian refinement. Our oeuvre is a sumptuous sequence of artistic compositions. On the frontline, turning to face the light. Mary Oliver always gets it right: Instructions for Living a Life, 2010, “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Thank you to all our readers. Thank you Council Bluffs. In the short now, to pluralise the words of the French Resistance fighter Simone Segouin, “We’d do it all again.”

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Architects Architecture Art Design Developers Hotels Luxury People Restaurants Town Houses

Blackpool Pleasure Beach + Boulevard Hotel Blackpool Lancashire

From Swerve of Bay to Bend of Shore

CEO of Boulevard Hotel, Amanda Thompson OBE, states, “Blackpool may not be the first place that springs to mind for the luxury traveller and that’s a perception we feel strongly about challenging. We believe Boulevard has addressed a gap in the market to attract luxury and business travellers to the Fylde Coast area where there is a plethora of things to do and see.”

This holiday resort in the northwest of England dates back to the 18th century when visitors started coming to bathe in the sea for medicinal purposes. Its boomtime really began in the Victorian era with the arrival of the railway – there are three stations in the town – and the opening of the Pleasure Beach in 1896 (with its Witching Waves and River Caves). Blackpool continues to evolve and Boulevard Hotel now brings elevated hospitality to the promenade.

The hotel is Amanda’s brainchild. She is also CEO of the adjacent Pleasure Beach which was founded by William Bean, her great grandfather. Allison Pike Architects designed the multi gabled five and two storey building which faces the shoreline to the west and the Pleasure Beach to the east. Use of natural stone on the exterior reflects the built heritage of the historic town. Blackpool is not short of adventurous skylines: further north is the 158 metre high Blackpool Tower (designed by Lancashire architects James Maxwell and Charles Tuke) which opened two years before the Pleasure Beach. Its first guidebook was naturally effusive: “The successful erection of the tower is in itself one of the greatest engineering feats of modern times.”

An 1897 guidebook Blackpool: The Unrivalled Seaside Resort for Health and Leisure claimed the town had 10,000 rooms when the static population was 43,000. The guidebook classified accommodation into three categories. “Hotels, hydros and boarding houses” offering inclusive rates for a room and meals. “Private apartments” for a room with meals cooked by a landlord or landlady using ingredients provided by the guests. “Company houses” for a room or bed in a room with the option to dine in at extra cost or out.

Two of Blackpool’s finest stone buildings are Sacred Heart Catholic Church near North Pier and Holy Trinity Anglican Church next to South Pier. Sacred Heart was built of dark stone in 1854 to the distinguished Decorated Gothic design of Edward Welby Pugin. Just 46 years later a large octagonal lantern with a pyramidal roof over the nave as well as a sanctuary (top lit by a pitched roof of stained glass) were added by architect Peter Paul Pugin, younger brother of Edward. Holy Trinity was built in the last quarter of the 19th century to the design of Richard Knill Freeman. It is constructed of yellow stone with red stone dressings. The church is an accomplished example of the Free Style of Decorated Gothic with a square tower forming a South Shore wayfinder. Both churches still have active congregations.

The names of bed and breakfasts lining the promenade between North and South Piers are a nostalgic throwback to British summers, conjuring up images of ice cream and sandcastles: Blue Waves; The Chimes on the Sea; Crystals on the Prom; Craig-y-Don; The Golden Cheval; Oakwell; On the Beach; 359 Roomz; Royal Ocean; Royal Windsor; Sea Princess; Skye Oceans; St Albans; Sunny Days; and Talk of the Coast.

Amanda’s vision for the interior of Boulevard Hotel is a contemporary take on Art Deco inspired by the 1930s architecture of Blackpool. There are 120 bedrooms including 18 suites. Mid 20th century art by Tom Purvis originally created for the Pleasure Beach is displayed throughout the hotel. Fabrics by Designers Guild, wallcoverings by Andrew Martin and lamps by Chelsom deliver quintessential Britishness. Details are carefully considered: the wavy hotel logo appears everywhere from waiting staff’s ties to tins of mints and stationery. It is the only hotel in the UK to have bath products by Balmain.

“We are the best hotel in the region,” confirms General Manager Klaus Spiekermann. He has worked in high end hotels all his career and recently won Best General Manager at the Luxury Hotel Awards. “Our function suite can accommodate a 240 person gala dinner. There are also three syndicate rooms. We cater for board meetings, conferences and weddings. Ballroom dancing competitions attract visitors from many countries including the US and China.”

Klaus continues, “The first and second floors have family accommodation including some rooms with bunkbeds. The third and fourth floors are adults only. Breakfast for the top storey suites guests is served in the first floor Ocean Club to give that exclusive vibe. Our Head Chef Andrew Derbyshire uses the highest quality produce such as Lanigan’s Seafood and Lancashire Cheese. There’s a 24 hour studio gym and guests have a VIP entrance to the Pleasure Beach. We are a one stop shop for the luxury lifestyle!”

The ground floor Beachside Restaurant lives up to its name with views over the Irish Sea – perfect for watching the candyfloss pink and honeycomb yellow sunsets. A square pillared covered entrance – the traditional porte cochère reinvented – overlooks the Pleasure Beach, revelling in the symbiosis of luxury and amusement. It’s not every top hotel has a rollercoaster roaring past its roofline.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach, just like its host town, is ever growing. A £8.72 million Gyro Swing will be the next addition, opening in 2026. This ride is a giant spinning pendulum swinging 120 degrees and reaching up to 42 metres in the sky. Amanda declares, “We’re thrilled to confirm the addition of the Gyro with work already underway. We’re known for doing things on a large scale so becoming home to the biggest of this type of ride in the UK makes complete sense. It’s dynamic, fast and incredibly high! We’re very excited for the future at Pleasure Beach Resort.”

In the meantime there are plenty of thrills. The Pleasure Beach has 13 shops (buy gifts or confectionary), 26 food and drink outlets (eat burgers and drink Champagne), 27 family rides (jump on a ghost train or enter a mechanical steeple chase), eight attractions (experience over 18s pure fear in Pasaje del Terror) and 11 thrill rides (buckle up for The Big One in all its 1.6 kilometre long 72 metre high 119 kilometres per hour rollercoasting glory). Designed by Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, The Big One was the tallest rollercoaster in the world when it opened in 1994. The 96 year old Sir Hiram Maxim Captive Flying Machine is still the oldest continuous working amusement park ride in Europe. There’s even a Noah’s Ark dating back to the 1930s.

And thrilling architecture. “The Casino, finished in 1939, is the purest example in Blackpool of International Style Modernism,” Allan Brodie and Matthew Whitfield record in Blackpool’s Seaside Heritage (2014). “No corner of the park was untouched as Leonard Thompson gave Joseph Emberton total control of the redesign of the park with new buildings and rides constructed and older features remodelled.”

Joseph Emberton was the only British architect to have a building included in Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson’s groundbreaking 1932 New York exhibition The International Style. Opening one year before the exhibition, his Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, made the cut. Joseph’s Casino at the Pleasure Beach is a gigantic three storey white painted concrete drum with a 28 metre high external spiral staircase. This £300,000 building incorporated company offices and a penthouse for the Thompson family. The Casino is coastal Art Deco architecture at its finest. Move over Miami.

“Four generations of the Thompson family,” writes Vanessa Toulmin in Blackpool Pleasure Beach: More Than Just an Amusement Park (2011), “have willingly shared their ideas and experiences with other park owners, including Walt Disney in the 1950s, and have reaped the rewards by this being reciprocated. The Pleasure Beach has always strived to offer its visitors the biggest, the best, the scariest and the most innovative attractions and has brought pleasure to millions.” Early inspiration for the Pleasure Beach came from the 1887 Earls Court London Anglo American Exhibition and the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

Amanda Thompson OBE concludes, “We opened Boulevard Hotel with the hope of introducing something rather unique to Blackpool: a truly luxurious hotel. Since then, we’ve won numerous awards including being named the current Best Luxury Hotel in Northern Europe for two years running. At Boulevard, luxury is defined by exceptional service and attention to detail. We pride ourselves on meticulously curating our guest experience which is complemented by exquisite accommodation, unexpectedly beautiful coastal vistas and delicious locally sourced gourmet cuisine.”

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Townhouse on the Green Hotel Dublin + Albert Noonan

Bird on the Wire

A note from the Front Office Team is in our nursery floor bedroom, “We would like to welcome you into our humble residence situated in the centre of Dublin. We hope you are going to enjoy your stay with us!” We quibble with the first sentence: it isn’t that humble. We comply with the second sentence: enjoying our stay to the max. Everybody knows St Stephen’s Green is Dublin’s joint best address (sharing that honour with Merrion Square). The south facing side is home to the prestigious Shelbourne Hotel, Kildare Street Club and Stephen’s Green Club. And now Townhouse on the Green, an intimate nine bedroom hotel with two restaurants. It’s an offshoot of The Fitzwilliam Hotel on the east facing side of St Stephen’s Green. There’s also The Fitzwilliam Hotel in Belfast next to the Grand Opera House. That’s not the only northern connection.

Number 22 St Stephen’s Green was built in 1790 by the son of a farmer from Strabane, County Tyrone. Thomas Lighton made his fortune in the East India Company and invested it in (garnet red) bricks and (moonstone grey) granite. He was High Sheriff of County Dublin in 1790 and for the following seven years sat in the Irish House of Commons as MP for Tuam. Thomas represented Carlingford in the Commons from 1798 to 1800. The three bay four storey over basement under attic home he built reflects his wealth and status. It is one of a pair likely designed by the architect David Weir. In 1885, a first floor trellis ironwork balcony was added to the design of McCurdy Mitchell. Rationalised windowpanes with external blind boxes are other rare survivals from this period. The postcard worthy doorcase is full bloom Georgian Dublin: an umbrella spoked fanlight radiates over a crinoline-wide door flanked by leaded margin lights. Number 23, now offices, fully retains its 18th century fenestration.

Elizabeth Bowen wrote the ultimate hotel guide, The Shelbourne, in 1951: “Gulls, in from the river, drift and plane on the air.” They still do in this coastal capital. “Given that Number 22 was constructed as the home for the very wealthy Thomas Lighton, it incorporates many decorative features including an ornately decorated barrel vaulted ceiling over a Portland stone cantilevered staircase,” highlights Albert Noonan, Partner at NoMo Architecture. This prestigious Baggot Street based practice was responsible for the interiors of the upper floors. “Many of the rooms have upscale elegant proportions with high ceilings and neoclassical plasterwork. Luckily a lot of these features have survived.”

He explains, “Quiet luxury is how we describe our approach. We’ve used the best of materials and fabrics layered in subtle tones to create rooms that are havens of tranquillity. Nothing in any bedroom shouts at you craving its 15 seconds of Instagram fame. These rooms are easy on the eye. They are serene and calm: transitional modern furniture seamlessly harmonises with the period building interiors. Each room has a deep pile green wool carpet, oyster coloured linen textured wallpaper and long curtains with golden ochre lining and moss coloured trimmings. The Monarch Chartreuse linen mix curtain fabric with its embroidered bees and butterflies draws inspiration from St Stephen’s Green and adds a touch of femininity to the building.” O’Gorman Joinery made bespoke dark stained bedheads with green granite bedside tabletops.

Each of the nine bedrooms has an ensuite bathroom wrapped in Calcutta Miele marble. A two man shower has curved corners decorated with emerald and bronze glass Sicis mosaics. A large classic white ceramic basin stands on nickel legs. “Given the building’s origins as a residence,” relates Albert, “we wanted to provide a distinctive homely feel of a well off friend’s house rather than a corporate hotel. To reinforce this impression, paintings, prints and objets d’art are curated for every room.” Bedside books on Morocco as well as Ireland in our bedroom are a reminder that no country is just an island.

Thursday night dinner is served in Floritz, the restaurant on the piano nobile. An Asian fusion menu takes its inspiration from Thomas Lighton’s adventures in India and the Far East. Suffolk based architecture and design practice Project Orange came up with the flamboyant interior. “I am going to make a Great Golden Grog for each of you,” announces our sommelier. “It is the most complicated cocktail in Dublin! Add full bodied daiquiri to carrot infused Bacardi, fresh lime juice, cardamom and pimento muscovado syrup, and then some magic!” No cars are required after dinner: Cellar 22 is below Floritz. This cosy wine and food bar was also designed by Project Orange and uses lots of natural earthy materials to reflect its original use as a kitchen. Tonight will be fine.

“Gay days at once ephemeral and immortal. They have a pulse of their own, and a golden mist round them which it is hard to capture in cold words – they should be lived, not written about,” scribes Elizabeth. Her words resonate so strongly with us on this sun saturated Friday after Sexagesima Sunday. We asked for signs, the signs were sent. A robin and her companions follow us on our morning walk passing through Merrion Square. Bird singing at the break of day. Hallelujah. A thousand kisses deep.