J P Guivier - Mortimer St W1

I don't play the violin or in fact any stringed instrument but I have a fascination and a fondness for England's oldest violin dealer - J P Guivier on Mortimer Street.  I love the jaunty window display, the sense of calm that seems to reside inside and just the fact that here in busy central London there is a shop wholly dedicated to selling violins, violas and cellos.  Anyone who has read Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question (and if you haven't you should - it's great) will recognise Guivier's as the location of the main character's mugging.  But don't let that put you off - I have stood and stared into this wonderful shop many a time without being assaulted (at least to date).  It seems as though shops like this are increasingly rare in central London - perhaps driven out by high rents or the demand for a new Pret or Starbucks so I feel particularly protective of them.  So if you are in the market for a violin, please buy it here!  Otherwise, give yourself a moment of calm in your busy west end day and spend some time, just like Finkler, staring in at one of central London's loveliest shops.