Letter from Laura: London alive again

COVID curtailed our travelling, so it was over two years since we've enjoyed London. Immediately I was reminded of how cosmopolitan London is by the variety of our Uber drivers' nationalities: Turkish, Kurdish, Kashmiri, Indian, Algerian, Tunisian, Romanian, Macedonian, and I'd only been there six days in April but what a glorious six days with cherry blossoms, azaleas and rhododendrons setting the city abloom.

Cultural Events

The absolutely most important event was Small Island at the National Theatre, a play adapted from Andrea Levy’s novel about Jamaicans at home during the Second World War and subsequent reality of living in London after arriving on the HMT Empire Windrush. The set design was superb with waves and their sound simulated on the stage floor with a sunrise/sunset above. A revolving stage changed scenes while semi-circular screens behind reflected different scenarios as the play progressed displaying spot-on dialogue and excellent acting by the entire cast. We were fortunate to catch this revival which ended on April 30, but the original 2019 performance was filmed so you can look for it online.

The other cultural gem was the Van Gogh exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House on the Strand. This was the first-ever exhibition of half of his self-portraits in one place so that you can view his painting from early days in Paris in 1886 when he used himself as a model, until one of the last self-portraits painted in September 1889 at the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in the south of France before his suicide in 1890. Granted, this isn’t as spectacular as the immersive exhibition several years ago at L’Atelier des Lumieres where you entered immense darkened rooms as his masterpieces were projected floor to ceiling surrounding one, slowly moving to music as one was engulfed, as though inside his work. If ever you have occasion to see one of those exhibitions by any artist, don’t hesitate! But the best part of this exhibition which ended May 8 was that the small titles with explanations gave not only context but pointed out background details I would never otherwise have noticed. And, since Samuel Courtauld was influential in introducing French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art to London and donated his collection in 1932, the gallery’s permanent collection is well worth a visit at any time.

Restaurants

My favourite restaurant in the whole world is Le Gavroche on Upper Brook Street in Mayfair, created fifty years ago, which achieved three Michelin stars and was the first to offer a set-menu where their business lunch – a choice of appetiser, main entree and dessert with half a bottle of fine wine – used to be a bargain for such a fine restaurant but Michel Roux Jr's elegant establishment no longer opens for lunch. Both the COVID crisis and Brexit ensure that one only dines at dinner for now. But what delicious classic French cuisine one can dine on. I'll leave you to google their menus. Additionally, the ambience and attentive warmth of their staff speaks to a fine dining experience which takes reservations two months in advance.

Throughout London, the effects of Brexit can be seen with many 'Hiring' signs placed, not only in shops but restaurants as well. Fortunately, our next foray out for dinner was to my brother-in-law’s The Ivy Club, where you have to be a member. Where once we saw Princess Margaret stop at the top of the stairs coming from the lou in The Ivy restaurant– which caused the entire cast of artistic and business types to come to complete silence (she raised her hand in a small wave of recognition) that kind of thing is unlikely to happen there again as The Ivy has branched out with many restaurants around. But even at the club, which has the atmosphere of the original Ivy Restaurant, staff is hard to find, something Le Gavroche admitted as well. Brexit, without as many Europeans working in England, is proving harder on the economy than Boris Johnson projected.

Now the Duck and Waffle, located on the 40th floor of 110 Bishopsgate in the City of London, was a completely different experience. With spectacular views of London lights at night and vibrating music pulsating throughout as slinky thin females paraded past, we thought if only our younger friends were here, they would better appreciate the place. Indeed, when I ventured into the ladies room, three of the model-looking females crowded into one of the two toilet cabinets which left the rest of us imagining what they were up to. Get a table by one of the windows to fully appreciate the place which is open 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. M-W and 24 hours a day otherwise, with an English/European take on cuisine and though we might be too old to venture back, the Foie Gras Crème Brulée on brioche was to die for, in my opinion.

Finally, in a place better suited to meeting our nephew who had just flown in from Maputo and our sister-in-law and niece in London, we dined at Rani, a vegetarian restaurant serving Gujarati vegetarian cuisine. Less elaborate than the above restaurants, Rani was a good place to try something quite different in a pleasant atmosphere, with families bringing their children for either a luncheon buffet or service at the table. Located on Long Lane in Finchley, I couldn’t help also noticing Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Romanian shops and restaurants. What was I telling you about how cosmopolitan England is?