As I arrived at the Corinthia Hotel in Whitehall the sunlight flooded in and the lovely grey and cream marble looked expansive and warm.
25 journalists straight of the plane from Turkey were unpacking before joining us for lunch in Massimo's - the lovely Italian restaurant. Waiting for them I was delighted to see Liam Lambert again he is the Chief Operating Officer of this wonderful new hotel...... I last saw him as the General Manager at the Mandarin Oriental before he went to run the Oberoi in Delhi two years ago....now here he is back to run one of the most talked about places in town.
Everyone was in town to see the CEO of Turk Telecom receive his award from "World Finance Magazine" as Telecom's CEO of the year! This was arranged at the London Stock Exchange......and one day later it was occupied by the demonstrators from what looks like an increasingly global movement against the banks role in making so many countries bankrupt...
Mama Mia for some and shopping for others. I took the CEO and his two aides around the Churchill Museum...one minute before it closed and then it was a few cocktails with Erik Lorincz at the American Bar at the Savoy....stylish and elegant as always....then onto dinner at the William Kent private dining room at the Ritz.. I had forgotten how incredibly opulent and beautiful it is. Within 24 hours of being asked, the Ritz had decorated the room and provided Halal food for 26. The splendour of the room, the silver guilt of the placements, the paintings and elegance of the tail coated (complete with silver studs) was from another era...and the service was excellent and charming..
The following morning we walked around Whitehall, on a brilliant sunny morning, every bit as majestic and grand as Rome. We looked at Inigo Jones's banqueting hall and the spot where Charles 1st was executed....London was showing itself off.
We arrived at Windsor Great Park and saw Windsor Castle from the Great Walk...a staggering sight. A quick tour and rather original Halal lunch at the MacDonald hotel in the high street. The blue badge guide, Ian Godfrey, coped brilliantly withe diverse party and once I had recovered the lost luggage from the day before off they went back to Istanbul after an exhilarating 30 hours in London.
I am now I bed with an appalling cough, manuka honey and listening to Diana Athill, with whom I'd travelled in a glistening Bentley to the 1st Voewood Literary Festival back in August, talking about her new book.....
25 journalists straight of the plane from Turkey were unpacking before joining us for lunch in Massimo's - the lovely Italian restaurant. Waiting for them I was delighted to see Liam Lambert again he is the Chief Operating Officer of this wonderful new hotel...... I last saw him as the General Manager at the Mandarin Oriental before he went to run the Oberoi in Delhi two years ago....now here he is back to run one of the most talked about places in town.
Everyone was in town to see the CEO of Turk Telecom receive his award from "World Finance Magazine" as Telecom's CEO of the year! This was arranged at the London Stock Exchange......and one day later it was occupied by the demonstrators from what looks like an increasingly global movement against the banks role in making so many countries bankrupt...
Mama Mia for some and shopping for others. I took the CEO and his two aides around the Churchill Museum...one minute before it closed and then it was a few cocktails with Erik Lorincz at the American Bar at the Savoy....stylish and elegant as always....then onto dinner at the William Kent private dining room at the Ritz.. I had forgotten how incredibly opulent and beautiful it is. Within 24 hours of being asked, the Ritz had decorated the room and provided Halal food for 26. The splendour of the room, the silver guilt of the placements, the paintings and elegance of the tail coated (complete with silver studs) was from another era...and the service was excellent and charming..
The following morning we walked around Whitehall, on a brilliant sunny morning, every bit as majestic and grand as Rome. We looked at Inigo Jones's banqueting hall and the spot where Charles 1st was executed....London was showing itself off.
We arrived at Windsor Great Park and saw Windsor Castle from the Great Walk...a staggering sight. A quick tour and rather original Halal lunch at the MacDonald hotel in the high street. The blue badge guide, Ian Godfrey, coped brilliantly withe diverse party and once I had recovered the lost luggage from the day before off they went back to Istanbul after an exhilarating 30 hours in London.
I am now I bed with an appalling cough, manuka honey and listening to Diana Athill, with whom I'd travelled in a glistening Bentley to the 1st Voewood Literary Festival back in August, talking about her new book.....