Down memory lane
Explore the history of London on Remembrance Sunday
Iwas fortunate enough to be staying at the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel in London on November 12-13, the weekend of Remembrance Sunday – a time when the UK commemorates “the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.”
Located amidst vibrancy and serenity, Park Lane has always been my favorite place in London.
Daylight retires early in November in the UK. My room on the second floor of the hotel had a dynamic view of the street and I could see numerous automobiles rushing home that Saturday afternoon.
Their red taillights blurred together to form streams of glittering rubies as the cars turned along the parkway.
The 1.1-kilometer-long Park Lane is part of the London Inner Ring Road. It runs from Hyde Park Corner to Marble Arch, and separates Hyde Park to the west from Mayfair to the east.
It is hard to believe that the wide street that is Park Lane was once a narrow, rutted and unlit track that ran alongside a high brick wall that screened it from the park.
A royal connection
The hotel’s address, No.1 Park Lane, was once 145 Piccadilly.
From 1927-36, 145 Piccadilly was the family home of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (then Duke and Duchess of York), as well as the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.
My 48 hours in London started with dinner at the hotel’s casual gourmet Italian Restaurant Theo Randall, named after the Michelin-starred chef.
My friend and I loved our aperitifs – my non-alcoholic lemongrass and ginger tea and a Theo’s signature Martini cocktail for my friend. The drinks were accompanied by my favorite – deep-fried zucchini.
My friend, a Londoner with a special interest in London anecdotes, started telling a sweet story about 145 Piccadilly.
British historian and biographer Robert Lacey in his book
A Brief Life of the Queen wrote about King George V (18651936) and his granddaughter, the young Princess Elizabeth:
“When the King returned to London, he declared that regular contact with his granddaughter was essential to his health … He’d also worked out that, when the trees in Green Park shed their leaves, he could actually see the windows of her home from the rear of Buckingham Palace. So every winter morning, soon after breakfast, the young Princess would draw her curtains and wave across the park, and her grandfather would wave back.”
What a lovely story! I decided there and then to wave in the direction of Buckingham Palace from my room the next morning to see if anyone would wave back.
Five-course menu
Wanting to keep my friend around longer, I suggested he partake of the restaurant’s fivecourse menu.
It included two starters, Insalata di granchio which is fresh Devon crab and Cappelleti di vitello which is handmade pasta stuffed with slow cooked veal and pancetta with porcini mushrooms and Parmesan.
The main course was Costata di agnello, or roast rack of Somerset lamb.
I happily enjoyed my onecourse dinner Carne salata – thinly sliced Black Angus, and listening to more nostalgic stories.
The home at 145 Piccadilly was a white-terraced, stonefaced, semi-detached London town house with a large garden.
There were 26 bedrooms, 21 staff that included a butler, under-butler, housekeeper, cook, lady-in-waiting, house and kitchen maids, a valet, steward, odd-job man, RAF orderly, telephone operator and night watchman.
I found it interesting to compare how guests at the hotel are treated today versus the royal family some 80 years ago.
Young Princess Elizabeth slept in a night nursery with no plumbing – she washed her face and hands before bed with water from a large jug and basin. She also had a scarlet dustpan and brush with which she was encouraged to keep her room tidy.
Glass after glass of wine, from Merlino Rosso Fortificato to Calvados, the story-telling went on.
“Margaret ‘Bobo’ MacDonald … was who taught the little princess how to open her Christmas and birthday presents carefully, then smooth out the wrapping paper, roll up the ribbon and store it all away in a box for future use.”
“It was thanks to Bobo MacDonald that she retained some contact at least with the frugal habits of working and middleclass families … almost as if she too had been born the daughter of an Inverness railwayman. To this day the Queen saves her breakfast cereal in Tupperware boxes, and is eagle-eyed in switching off unnecessary lights in Buckingham Palace.”
On October 7, 1940, a high explosive German bomb fell on 145 Piccadilly, severely damaging the building’s interior.
As a result, it had to be closed for the war’s duration. From 1968 to 1975, under the direction of Sir Frederick Gibberd,
the site was renovated into the Inter Continental London Park Lane.
Two early birds meet
I am an early riser when traveling. Sunday morning, I met another early bird at the hotel – General Manager Alvaro Rey.
I almost burst out with the question – what are you doing here at 6 am on a Sunday morning Mr Rey?
Before I could speak, Rey answered the question that must have shown in my face.
Rey said he starts his work day by arriving at the hotel at 4:30 am, the best time to do computer work and to say hello and good morning to the night-shift staff so they don’t feel abandoned.
Rey also introduced to me the Royal Suite, which pays homage to the hotel’s location as The Queen’s childhood residence.
Lest we forget
The next day was Remem- brance Sunday. Led by The Queen, the royal family, nation’s leaders, veterans, citizens and visitors pay tribute to its war dead at the Cenotaph of Whitehall in central London.
Across the road from the hotel, I joined hundreds of participants at the war memorial service taking place at the Green Park by Wellington Arch.
As Big Ben struck 11, there were two minutes of silence.
My heart sunk as the Last Post sounded. I was not alone as I found myself surrounded by tearful eyes and heart-broken faces.
The Last Post was originally a bugle call the British Army played in the evening to mark the end of the day’s labors and the onset of a night’s rest.
For the ceremony, The Last Post represents a final farewell to the fallen at the end of their earthly labors and the onset of their eternal rest.
Mayfair and Shepherd Market
Park Lane is on the western border of Mayfair, an expensive area in the West End of London.
Mayfair was named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site of what is now the Shepherd Market from 1686.
However, the fair was banned from this location in 1764 by the well-to-do residents of Mayfair since the rather raucous fair didn’t fit with the tone of the neighborhood.
Exploring the Shepherd Market, between Piccadilly and Curzon Street, is a treat for those who are unaware of its existence.
The little village square in the heart of bustling London is not to be missed should you want to explore what the city must have been like
decades ago.
Rules of thumb Where to stay
InterContinental London Park Lane: The hotel was the childhood residence of Queen Elizabeth II between 1927 and 1936. The three-person Superior Room costs 425 pounds ($525) per night; the three-person Executive Room, which provides free access to Club InterContinental, runs 580 pounds ($716) per night.
Where to eat
A one-course dinner at Theo Randall costs 16 pounds ($20), while the 5-course tasting menu goes for 70 pounds ($87).
What to see
Park Lane, Green Park, Mayfair, Shepherd Market