I have been looking forward to reading Otto’s obituary of Mark Girouard, which has now appeared online (see below) and catches his multi-faceted character, the quality and range of his writing and the way, having been born into the purple of country house life, spending Christmases at Hardwick Hall, he was able to write about them with deep expertise and, also, a certain cerebral detachment. I also particularly like the picture of him, bald and with glasses, staring through the gates, with Colin Amery, bald and with glasses, the gladiators who were responsible for saving Spitalfields:-
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 