I’d like to say this is going to be a cultural post, but in all honesty, it’s going to have some adrenaline thrown in with a dash of James Bond. Having said that, you get to see London’s most iconic sights with me, something I don’t talk about very often, as I prefer to showcase
Harry’s Bar. Don’t you just love those two words? It instantly brings to my mind the bitter taste of a pomegranate-coloured Negroni, Harry’s style, in Venice. There really is nowhere else in the world where I would rather sip my favourite drink. So, imagine my excitement when I heard Harry’s Dolce Vita, had opened in
My love affair with Kew Gardens began in the rain. It was one of those typical British summertime days, one which promised soggy jeans and the inevitable squelching through mud. A picnic was off the menu and so was lazing around in the summery aroma of freshly-cut grass. We had already committed to an afternoon
This week marks the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death. The celebrated author shares his London secrets with me and tells me how Queen Victoria is a big fan of his acting. Dick – do you mind if I call you Dick? I do. But you may call me Boz. What is your go-to pub?
Miami. The American Riviera with its pastel palaces, its swaying palms and Art Deco curves is one of my favourite haunts when I need a break from the slate-coloured skies at home. Eye-popping art and sleek design sit in every corner and crevice of this sorbet-coloured city, so it’s surprising to those who know me
The Victorian Afternoon Tea at the Victoria and Albert Museum had me at seed cake. These two words always bring my childhood back in a whoosh of nostalgia wrapped in a cocoon of Englishness. If seed cake was good enough for Bilbo Baggins and his Unexpected Party, then it’s good enough for Londoness. And thanks
As London revs its engines to re-open after lockdown, I speak to the famous English dandy Beau Brummell. He shares his favourite London secrets and tells me how he would like to have tea with the Duchess of Cambridge. Where do you buy those exceedingly good cravats? I like to shop in Regent, Bond, Jermyn,
The Palace of Westminster, or Houses of Parliament as it’s commonly referred to, is one of London’s ultimate tourist hot spots, even if Big Ben is hibernating for the next three years whilst he gets a makeover. When I first arrived in London in the late 1980s, I would count the days until megalomaniac MP
If you’ve been watching Victoria Series 3, then you’ve recently come across Henry Cole, Prince Albert’s wingman in the creation of the visionary Great Exhibition of 1851. What you probably didn’t know is that the exhibition, dubbed The Greatest Show on Earth and housed inside the glittering Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, would one day
Bankside was once a cacophonous pleasure zone with brothels, bear-baiting, gaming dens and four Tudor theatres: The Globe, The Rose, the Swan and the Hope. Shakespeare and Dickens lived here. Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire light up the London sky from here in 1666. So, if you’re visiting London, make sure you visit Bankside