Mayfair

I have now been to the launch of a small, but beautifully produced, book called The Essence of Mayfair, published by British Land in celebration of its new building development in Clarges Street.   What became clear is that everyone has a different view of Mayfair.   For Jeremy King, the proprietor of the Wolseley, it is, not unnaturally, a  neighbourhood of grand hotels (The Beaumont), restaurants and fine car show rooms (although the Wolseley was short-lived as a car show room).   For Kathryn Sargent, the former head cutter at Gieves and Hawkes, it is somewhere where Terence Stamp might emerge from Albany in his dressing gown to post a letter.   For Rupert Sanderson, it was once a neighbourhood for men only – guns, suits and clubs – which is now responding to the invasion of international fashion.   There is a sad little note inserted in the book to the effect that Allens, the long-standing  butcher on Carlos Place, is moving.   So, the question is how long this mixed ecology can survive.

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2 thoughts on “Mayfair

  1. Allen’s, no more ? For shame ! It’s like that great scene in A BOUT DE SOUFFLE when Jean-Paul Belmondo, having been on the run away from Paris for several months, returns and rings Jean Seberg, his love. He can’t get through to BALZAC, QUARANTE SIX, QUARANTE SEPT. He complains to the Operator who says the number no longer exists – the exchanges have been replaced by all-number lines. The Operator : ” Je regret, M’sieur, BALZAC n’existe pas .” Belmondo : ” Eh ? Balzac, n’existe pas ??????? !!!!!!!! “

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