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London in the Fall - Afternoon Tea at the Ritz

© Stuart Buchanan MacWatt

I love London in the Fall. The summer tourist season is over and we Londoners can get down to the serious business of enjoying our 300 museums, free art galleries, West End theatres,the excellent restaurants of every nationality, the local pub on the street corner, and our peaceful Royal Parks.

The weather at this time of year is invariably benign. As I write we Londoners are enjoying Autumnal temperatures in the high 60's which is comfortable for walking in Kensington Palace Gardens,(have a look at the Palace, the Albert Memorial and the Albert Hall, or St.James Park, (enjoy the magnificent views of Whitehall and Buckingham Palace and feed the birds and squirrels). This is a pleasant time to browse among the shops and galleries in Bond Street, or Beauchamp Place and Halkin Street in Knightsbridge.

I cannot pass down Bond Street without pausing within the portals of The Fine Art Society's Gallery at 148 New Bond Street. At a time when art dealers have become narrowly specialist in their vision, the 125 year old Society remains firmly pluralist in its stock of pictures, sculpture, art nouveau designer furniture, glass, silver, ceramics and textiles. Their contribution to the the appreciation of art and design of the 19th and 20th centuries has been impressive.

My own personal collection of 19th century watercolours began here with the acquisition of a fine David Cox and a MacTaggart thirty five years ago, and I have enjoyed and aesthetically profited from the informed advice of its directors ever since.

At the Piccadilly end of Bond Street stands the Ritz Hotel, which together with the Connaught off Berkeley Square, and Claridges in Duke Street, remains unrivalled for discreet, old fashioned quality service. It used to be the pleasure of my late grandfather, General Sir Charles, to entertain my mother and me to tea in the Palm Court at the Ritz during the dark days of World War II. The Ritz still serves the best Afternoon Tea in the West End, though the String Ensemble has been replaced by a tinkling piano accompaniment as you pour the Darjeeling.

A short walk across Green Park from the Ritz brings you to Buckingham Palace. The Queen's Gallery, which is open throughout the year, is currently exhibiting a magnificent collection of seventy drawings by Raphael, (1483 - 1520), and his circle of artists, from the Royal Collection. These include his father Giovanni Santi, his teacher Perugino, and his assistants. This is a wonderful opportunity to see the collected work of perhaps the single most influential painter in the history of Western art.

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