Posted 1:04 PM by Paul
Classic London

I hit central London around midday on 31st December and did two things which made me very happy.

I bought two pairs of classic old fashioned gentleman's boots and a pair of shoes in the sales from Sam Walker in Covent Garden. Total price £79.

I then went for an outdoor swim at The Oasis Centre, on the corner of Endell Street just as it meets the top of the Charing Cross Road. This is a public pool and you do not have to be a member. For £3.60 you can swim outside in warm water as the steam rises into the cold winter air on the edge of Covent Graden. A great way to end 2003.

At night the four of us went to see a 3D kids film at the Imax in Waterloo and then walked down by the Thames with London lit up in the freezing night air. The city looked very beautiful and last night I could not imagine living anywhere else. We ended up at Banquette a small American style diner in the Savoy Hotel. I had steak and salad, Heather had a burger, Emily had a steak baguette and Alice had shepherds pie. Simple food brilliantly done. Towards the end of the meal the chef Marcus Waring came out to talk to the customers. He spent a good 10 minutes talking to the kids about what they did and did not like about school dinners. He is a partner of Gordon Ramsay also runs the Savoy Grill downstairs and the the Michelin starred Petrus in Belgravia. Banquette is a new sideline. The man is a becoming a celebrity in the world of haute cuisine and on New Years Eve he was with his staff and talking to kids about food.