It’s been about 5 years since I was last in London and now we are back. My observations on this return: cell phones are in use everywhere on the street, even more so than New York. Many, many restaurants now have outside seating, cafe style. On some days that means lap blankets are provided in addition to exterior heaters.
The Tube is cleaner, faster, and even better. We have not yet had to wait more than a minute or two for a train, and there are ready announcements if there is even the slightest delay (“we are stopped for a red signal and should be moving again in a moment.”) Many stations have been upgraded and made attractive. Happily, our Oyster cards of yore still work and we’ve been topping them up frequently! Mass transit here is expensive which, I guess, is providing the fuel for the upgrades.
British food has gone trendy; the farm to table movement is in evidence on numerous menus–think California and San Francisco, but with a British twist! We had a small lunch at a hot newish restaurant called The Shed (rustic inside and out like a garden shed) and sampled carrot hummus and lamb chips (as in shaped like fries and fried) with a harissa dipping sauce. The hummus was tasty and the lamb chips delectable. Among the more usual offerings on their menu, we nibbled a couple of delicious cheeses. Overall, though, I’m still struck by how much meat is on the menus, probably no more than before, but my response to living midst California’s bounteous produce.
The new double decker buses are very classy looking and still red, thank you. Lots of construction going on—both new buildings and road works.
Hatchard’s, that bastion of books, was doing a lively business the other day and remains one of my favorite hangouts for all things literary. It is now owned by Waterstone’s, but retains its genteel character and other than Waterstone’s Kindle covers for sale, you almost wouldn’t know.
There are branches of Waterstone’s all around the city and a number of other independent bookstores and mini-chains. Other favorites of mine include the original Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street and Heywood Hill in Mayfair. The latter is a cluttered cozy set of two small rooms of both old and new books with a thriving mail order and gift collection business. On the surface at least, London’s bookselling industry appears to be thriving.
As for what else is new, we stopped in at the gala reception for the opening of the new Sherlock Holmes exhibit. Quite the bash!
And I absolutely love the blue rooster in Trafalgar Square! It’s unmissable, whimsical and adds an element of informality to this public space. The title of it is Hahn/Cock and the sculptor is Katharina Fritsch.
