Cool Britannia

The weather has finally cooled down a little, which is a huge relief. I had a very light breakfast to leave room to try the pastries at the global winner of the  “top new bakery” category. Rich but delicious. 

I spent the morning in the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, wandering, but with a particular focus on the Tudors and the Regency period. All the famous, recognisable portraits of the kings and queens are here, far more interesting in person than viewed digitally. When the brushstrokes catch the light right in front of you, it becomes easier to remember that the person in the portrait once posed for it, saw it, liked it, owned it. 

I skipped the traditional “masters” section of the gallery as I had been here before, many years ago with Jason and the boys. Sometimes those memories are lovely and sometimes they are tough. While I was perusing the museum gift shop I found myself gravitating to all the books Jase would have been buying with a bit of a lump in my throat. 

The galley buildings themselves are spectacular too. Britain does such an excellent job of collecting and displaying history. They create elaborate spaces that allow you to step into the story. I know that it’s a curated story, and that the curation may sometimes be controversial, but I think we can accept that fact while still allowing ourselves to step into the story. These spaces invite visitors to to appreciate a remarkable continuity of memory and identity. Walking back out into the busy streets afterwards, modern London seemed layered on top of everything I’d just seen, rather than separate from it.

After all the English culture, I was ready for lunch. If England does any food particularly well, it’s Indian, so I took myself off to Benares, a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant. It was fantastic. Just fantastic. There were three “street food” options, beautifully presented, followed by a tasting plate for the main course. It LOOKED like the food we get at home from the local Raj’s corner, but it was on another level altogether. 

The other wonderful thing that London does is support the arts. I hadn’t been organised enough to book tickets to any shows in advance but during dinner last night with a dear school friend and his son, we booked tickets for tonight to see The Devil Wears Prada musical. There were so many shows to choose from, many running for multiple years, still playing to full houses. The show was great fun, with excellent costumes and a live orchestra. The theatre was packed. Soho was still a hive of activity at 10pm when the show finished, and we had a very late after-show dinner before the boys walked me back to my club. 

Fun fact, there is a lamp post outside my club that was used by the KGB during the Cold War as a drop site. Agents would leave their documents behind a small door at the rear of the post, marking the base with chalk to indicate there was a message waiting. The British only found out about it in 1985. 

From the conversations I’ve had here, my sense is that many people in the UK are feeling the weight of economic and social pressures. As a visitor, what stands out to me is the extraordinary depth cultural history woven through the galleries, theatres, streets and traditions. I suspect that continuity will ultimately help to stabilise and strengthen the national sense of identity.