Jane's Shortall's Amazing Return to London ... ‘Putting the Luxe in Luxury’

Corinthia interior

Partial view of the Baccarat chandelier at London's Corinthia Hotel, London

Lucky I had booked a long stay in London in September 2019, given how the world changed in early 2020. One the greatest cities on earth, it has held my heart for almost fifty years, since I took the overnight ferry from Ireland and took a train south, aged seventeen. I’ve never lived there for more than a month at a time. Whenever I arrive, I’m at home.

Thanks to technology, although I live on Portugal’s Algarve, during the enforced lockdown I’ve been visiting London and re-living memories of that 2019 trip, when I realized a few dreams.

Eating and drinking played a major part. From an elegant champagne afternoon tea at the Corinthia Hotel, to an enormous helping of fish and chips at the Mayfair Chippy, near my rented flat, to an old fashioned lunch in Simpson’s, I consumed sufficient calories during my London sojourn to sustain a heavyweight boxer.

The champagne tea at the Corinthia was a sophisticated, never to be forgotten affair. The entire experience lived up to my expectations. Sitting under the magnificent Baccarat chandelier, my friend and I spent hours drinking champagne, trying various blends of tea and eating tiny, delectable sandwiches and cakes. The words ‘putting the luxe in luxury’ really do apply here. All that was missing was even a glimpse of the hotel’s handsome, charismatic general manager, Thomas Kochs.

The flat I rented near the Tower of London, was just around the corner from the Minories, a famous pub that welcomes a diverse group of people. Waiting on the bus to Trafalgar Square, a vision, well over six foot tall and built like a lumberjack, with a head of red curly hair flying in the wind, came marching towards me. A whirl of colour passed me by in a wild apple green frilly dress, white platform boots, a red handbag festooned with silver and gold objects, held in a big hand, and bright blue eyelids, many pairs of eyelashes and scarlet lips like the late comedienne, Joan Rivers.

After years of trying to see the world’s most famous play, I finally got to The Mousetrap at St Martin’s. Settling into my seat in the back row, I felt a sense of wonder that at last, here I was. Down went the lights, up went the curtain and in no time, a young Italian couple beside me began a silent, passionate session. I have just enough Italian to understand the girl, giggling in the semi darkness, assuring her handsome boy that at least they had the tickets to prove they had been to the theatre. The play was just right, an old-fashioned Agatha mystery, and afterwards the audience giving the famous promise not to reveal the ending.

A highlight was The Oldie Magazine lunch. The Oldie is the magazine that makes getting older more fun. The lunches are held every month in the famous Simpson’s in the Strand. I got a tingling feeling going upstairs, hearing the buzz of voices. Drinking a pre-lunch glass of English sparkling wine, I looked around. I recognised some faces, a few famous, others vaguely familiar. Everyone seemed to be in thoroughly good spirits. Lunch was bound to be brilliant. And it was. As was the opening line from the impeccably dressed gentleman sitting next to me, who, after introductions, felt bound to inform me, “I’ve never eaten a pizza in my life, nor wore denim jeans.” There’s nothing quite like being in a room full of English eccentrics, it’s like being in a P. G. Wodehouse novel, great fun.

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Jane's Shortall's Amazing Return to London ... ‘Putting the Luxe in Luxury’

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