On the first day of Partridges… by JOHN SHEPHERD

Partridges, the London food shop, opened in 1972 with the purpose of offering ‘good things for the larder’. As we approach our golden anniversary, we celebrate our customers, some of whom are very famous indeed. 1 Honorary Member of Staff Dirk Bogarde developed a great rapport with some of our staff and mentioned them in his book, A Short

Walk from Harrods. He joined us at one farewell party and helped with our Christmas Party. We were proud to make him our only Honorary Member of Staff. 2 James Bonds: Sean and Roger Sir Sean had an affinity with our delicatessen chef Louis Ghibaut who hailed from the same area in France as Sir Sean’s second wife, Micheline. 3 Ex-heads of State Lord Chamberlain’s Rules for discretion apply here. 4 The Royal Family Ditto on this one. 5 Football managers Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson (England), José Mourinho and Ruud Gullit (Chelsea) and Martin O’neill (Republic of Ireland). 6 Academy Award Winners Lauren Bacall, Faye Dunaway, Alec Guinness, Michael Caine, Dustin Hoffman, Antonio Banderas. We were pleased to count Luise Rainer, the first-ever Academy Award winner in 1936, and then again in 1937. 7 Knights of the Realm Too many to mention. This is Chelsea after all. 8 From the Royal Household Team We have supplied the Royal Household for 30 years and been Grocer to HM Queen Elizabeth personally for 25 years. 9 Ambassadors to the Court of St James When we organised the Coronation Festival (2013), we found that many ambassadors were regulars. The Italian Ambassador was particularly keen on Chocolate Bath Olivers. 10 Lords-a-leaping Lords, and Ladies! See 7 above 11 Royal Warrant Holders We held a party when I was President of the Royal Warrant Holders Association with at least 100 Royal Warrant Holding attendees. 12 Members of Parliament My brother, Sir Richard Shepherd, was an MP for 36 years. Many of his colleagues and several Ministers from both sides of the House visited us. I suggested we install a division bell so that in the evenings members could dash back to the House to vote. Partridges, celebrating its 50th Christmas, has created this ‘Golden Hamper’ for Oldie readers, including a bottle of Bottega Il Vino Poeti Gold Prosecco (75cl), a bottle of Moet & Chandon Brut Champagne (375ml), a jar of Partridges’ own mixed nuts (75g), a box of Charbonnel & Walker Chocolate Orange Thins (195g) and a jar of Brezzo Alpine Flowers Honey (400g) with dipper, all packed inside a Partridges festive red hamper box.