The lure of St James's

Procrastination may be the thief of time, but in the right circumstances, it can be fun. The other day, I was enjoying myself in St James's, my favourite London arrondissement. There are delightful contrasts, from the grandeur of the royal palaces and the St James's Street clubs to the charming, intimate side streets and alleys with their pubs and restaurants.
The late Jacob Rothschild would often cross from his palatial office in Spencer House to Crown Passage, in order to lunch at Il Vicolo (regularly praised here). His Lordship never bothered to reserve a table. Instead, he would send someone across with his form of booking: a bottle of Château Lafite. Crown Passage is also home to the Red Lion, one of the oldest hostelries in London. It has excellent beer, no music and no teenagers. One grows curmudgeonly with age.
Though I never thought of Alan Clark as a pub habitué, he did visit the Red Lion, where he was indeed an egregious figure – to employ correctly just about the most misused adjective in current English. But he always seemed to enjoy himself: a change from Brooks's, perhaps.
St James's is also full of art galleries and someone then said that there was an interesting exhibition round the corner in Mason's Yard. We went and were not disappointed. Harry Moore-Gwyn specialises in British art from the late 19th century onwards. His current offerings are all easily worth a visit.
There are renowned names: Gwen John, Walter Sickert, Charles Rennie Mackintosh et al. But there were other figures whom I had never come across (so much the worse for me) such as Herbert Dalziel. However, I was particularly interested in Harry's Roger Frys. Fry, though no genius, was a serious painter who ought to be re-evaluated.
Harry's walls offer much to enjoy, much to think about, much to covet, and after those pleasures, you are no distance from food and drink.
Later on, our conversation moved on to another art form: winemaking. A friend had just come back from South Africa and was able to bring some good news from that benighted land. Since the passing of the old regime, the wine industry has flourished. Foreign markets are much easier, and there has been a lot of investment. It remains to be seen whether all this will continue to flourish as so much of that potentially glorious country succumbs to chaos.
His Lordship would send someone across with
his form of booking:
a bottle of Château Lafite
We heard one depressing non-economic story. Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country is much the finest literary work to come from South Africa. Everyone ought to read it. But a (white) youngster, educated at a good South African private school, had never even heard of it. Cry, indeed.
South Africa has produced fine wine for centuries. But today the vineyards have spread outwards from the Stellenbosch region, especially to Swartland, which I have never visited. I am told that the winemakers are optimistic. Theirs is, of course, an optimistic profession. But let us hope they are right.
The theme broadened to wine and war. During both world wars the French made remarkable quantities of wine, some of it excellent. Then again, for the poilus, wine was the equivalent of grog for the Royal Navy. If wine had not been available, the mutinies would have been much worse. Even so, miracles were achieved. I remember Alan Clark – no pub that day – treating David Owen and me to a bottle of 1916 La Mission Haut-Brion (in the Diaries, he says 'Latour' but I trust my own memory). Those grapes were ripening during the Somme. The grapes of wrath can produce great wine.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Glasgow Times

an hour ago

• Glasgow Times

Lenham the charming Kent village just an hour from London

Lenham is a small market village in the Maidstone district on the edge of the North Downs and is surrounded by scenic views. Lenham is just an hour and 10-minute train journey from the capital with direct trains from London Bridge. You can also easily drive to the village, which takes on average around an hour and a half. The Lenham Cross is a chalk cross carved into the hillside. (Image: Getty Images) Why you should visit the Kent village of Lenham The Kent village is the perfect place to visit, whether you fancy a break from London and want an easy weekend or fancy a weekend of long walks. If you're a keen walker, the North Downs Way 9 from Lenham to Wye is the perfect route to follow. The 9.3-mile walk goes through the famous hillside with a chalk cross cut into it and the Grade II-listed World War I memorial. The walk takes you through the scenic Weald before moving towards the Westwell Vineyard and the outskirts of the village of Westwell. You can find out more about the walk via Explore Kent. Away from walks, Lenham offers plenty to enjoy with highly-rated pubs and restaurants, including The Bow Window Cafe and The Wishful Thinker. On the online review website TripAdvisor, The Bow Window Cafe has a 4.5/5 rating and is described as being "super cute and a lovely space". Recommended Reading Lenham is also home to the popular Chilston Park Hotel, a four-star boutique accommodation set in a Grade I listed castle. The hotel has 22 acres of parkland and a two AA rosette restaurant, and describes itself as being a "classic British country house hotel with plenty of style and charm." One recent guest at the hotel said: "Beautiful hotel surrounded by English countryside."

Spectator

an hour ago

• Spectator

The cult of the farmer's market

Farmer's markets are a very cheeky wheeze and we all know it. Their promise – getting back to peasants' basics of veg yanked from the ground – carries a hefty premium compared to supermarket food, which actual peasants have to buy. Indeed, supermarket food, from veg and fruit to eggs and cheese and bread, is generally two or three times cheaper and tastes just as good. But it seems that we are already in a world so dystopian that only the rich want – and can afford – soily spinach sold loose on a table. Certainly, the rich will queue for sorrel and strawberries, yoghurt and kimchi, raw milk, chicken and sourdough. Especially the sourdough. Carbs used to be bad, but now the queue outside places such as Lannan in Edinburgh is so long that the bakery has had to employ bouncers to control it. At the mouth of the Queens Park farmers' market in north-west London – one of the most Instagrammed north of the river – is Don't Tell Dad, a sprawling café with sourdough loaves and circular candied hazelnut croissants. These generate queues along the pretty cobbled road that are so off-putting that I will only go when it's pouring with rain and nobody's out. The sourdough at Dusty Knuckle in Hackney has to be booked well in advance. Pastry and bread is the treat that leavens the purchase of greens; so very many greens. My thinking about markets has been shaped by travel. I have realised I hate foreign food markets. I always went because the internet said I had to and because the cosmopolitan middle-class milieu I inhabit has a reverence for local produce that is hard to override, even with cynicism and empty pockets. The worst of my life were the markets in Sicily and Jerusalem. Palermo left me traumatised; tourists are baited and mocked as they timorously look at this or that vendor's mound of veg. I came away with some tiny bag of exotic olives for €10 that should have cost €1, feeling a pathetic fool. I have even seen native Italian speakers ripped off in Sicilian markets. Sellers demand that customers speak the dialect or else face bald exploitation. It seems a bad sales strategy. And yet, so slavishly do we want what these scoundrels are selling – or rather what they represent – that it doesn't seem to do them much harm. Compared to the incomprehensible shouts of Mediterranean hawkers, the English farmers' market is, of course, a blessed relief. At least I speak the language and don't have to conjure the price of a third of a kilo of sardines while a greasy man is shouting at me. There is no shouting, no bargaining and no vernacular. Many of the people at the stalls aren't even English. The other great insult of the market, the sheer cost, has lessened over the past few years. Since the cost of living has shot up, the gap between the prices of greenery, eggs and fruit at the farmers' and the supermarket has narrowed. On my most recent visit to the former, I fell for a rather wilted bunch of coriander for £2 (compared to 90p in Waitrose), and £2 for a small bunch of spinach, but the strawberries – decking every table as far as the eye could see – were quite good value, at two punnets for £5. These velvety strawbs were superior by far to Waitrose's best organic efforts at £4 (an admittedly slightly heavier punnet). I have always found the idea of seasonal cooking imprisoning Then there are the health considerations. As I have got older, and pore over articles and videos about microplastics and forever chemicals, the farmers' market has a new appeal. If I buy my vegetables in brown paper bags and eat things that haven't been sprayed too much, perhaps they will be better for me. I have always found the idea of seasonal cooking imprisoning; surely one of the glories of late modern capitalism is that we have become free of nature's strictures, and can eat pineapple and avocado and coconuts all year round. Why should I limit myself to courgette and asparagus in spring, tomatoes in August and apples in autumn? Why go gaga over gooseberries for two weeks in June? It's like going to bed when the sun sets and getting up when it rises. No thank you. Seasonal veg remains of little interest to me (is there really a difference in taste between a Spanish courgette in January and a Kentish one in May?), but seasonal fruit, I now admit, is delicious, even if it's of the provincial English type. Once you accept the homegrown tastes of dark red stone-fruit after the exotica that our globalised palates are used to, you can begin to enjoy the fruits, if not the cost, of shopping at the farmers' market.

Daily Mirror

2 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

EasyJet rules for visiting major holiday hotspots in Europe this summer

easyJet states that post-Brexit, Brits travelling to the EU will need to ensure their travel documents meet certain requirements - specifically when it comes to their passport's validity If you are one of the many sun-seeking Brits preparing for a European holiday, there are some rules that you should know. easyJet has shared its guidance for those travelling to certain countries in the EU to ensure all passengers have a smooth flight. Under the ' travel documents and information' section of its website, easyJet states that passengers 'need to have some form of identification on both domestic and international flights'. Below are the specific guidelines for travel to Spain, Portugal, Greece and France. ‌ Spain Under post-Brexit regulations, easyJet confirms UK passport holders travelling to the EU (except Ireland), or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican City or Switzerland need to meet certain passport criteria. ‌ UK passport holders travelling to Spain must have a passport that is valid for 'at least three months after the day you plan to depart from the EU or above countries'. Additionally, passports 'must be no more than 10 years' old on the date of travel to the EU or above countries'. According to the UK government's latest guidance, those with a full British citizen passport from the UK can travel without a visa to the Schengen area, which includes Spain, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Portugal easyJet passengers flying to Portugal are also reminded that entry is permitted for a maximum stay of 90 days in a 180-day period without a visa. Portugal follows Schengen area rules as well, meaning your passport's validity must fall within the prescribed 10-year and three-month rules. Your passport must have a 'date of issue' less than 10 years before the date you arrive and have an 'expiry date' at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area (the expiry date does not need to be within 10 years of the date of issue). easyJet also states that extra documents are required for children entering or leaving Portugal without a parent or guardian. According to the airline: 'Children aged 17 and under, must carry written authorization to be able to travel to and from Portugal if they are travelling without their parent or legal guardian.' ‌ easyJet's guidance continues: 'The letter must include the details of the adult who will be responsible for them during their stay in Portugal. For full information about the requirements please see the web pages of the Government of Portugal and the Government of the United Kingdom . Greece Given that Greece is also part of the Schengen area, easyJet passengers that are UK passport holders are subject to the same passport and visa regulations as those travelling to Spain and Portugal. ‌ Meaning that those with a full British passport will also be able to travel without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Additionally, the UK government website advises that even if you are visiting multiple countries 'your total stay in the Schengen area must be no more than 90 days in every 180 days. 'It does not matter how many countries you visit. The 180-day period keeps 'rolling',' the website confirms. Additionally, if you are considering adding on a trip to Cyprus on your Greece journey, remember that Cyprus is not in the Schengen area. That said, the UK government confirms that British passport holders can stay up to 90 days in a 180-day period in Cyprus without a visa. More importantly, any time you spend in the Schengen area does not affect the number of days you can spend in Cyprus. France France, also being part of the Schengen region, does not require British passport holders to travel with a visa for stays under 90 days. Non-EU passport holders travelling to the Schengen area are once again obliged to ensure that their passport is valid for at least three months from the date of their departure from the Schengen member country, according to the UK government website. Though this requirement does not apply to holders of a Schengen issued residence permit or long-term visas.