Blewcoat School - Brewers Green/Caxton St SW1

One of the (many) things I love about London is when you stumble across a "survivor" building - a relic of times past.  Of course I love it when whole streets or neighbourhoods are preserved but there is something about a lone building, centuries old, looking pretty much as it always has but surrounded by the modern world.  The tower of St Alban in Wood St in the City is a good example and the former Blewcoat School in St James is another.  The other half and I were having a lovely wander from the Tate Modern to the West End and cutting north off Victoria Street, up Buckingham Gate, we came upon this gem.  Built in 1709 by William Green, a brewer, the school was established to teach pupils "to read, write, cast accounts and the catechism" - basically the key skills to get by in early 18th century London (maybe they could have added "avoid syphilis, the plague and cheap gin").  It operated as a school right up until the Second World War and was then used as an army store and also by the Girl Guides.  The National Trust owns the building and it is now their London Information Centre & Shop.  A little early to be Georgian, the architecture is, I believe (and I cannot claim to be an expert on British architecture), English Baroque - the local version of the baroque styles being built on the continent in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.  I think it's quite lovely and I particularly like the blue coated youngster above the door.  The building is completely surrounded and over-shadowed by some of the modern monstrosities of Victoria St and St James but this sturdy little survivor of a building stands proud - as it should, after seeing off the trials and tribulations of over three centuries.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal SW1

I actually went to Dinner, Heston Blumenthal's restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in Knighstbridge, over a month ago and haven't had a chance to write about it so my memory is a little blurry.  Plus we could only get a 9.30pm sitting and the Other Half and I had both been working hard and sleeping little, so by the end of the meal we were in a total daze - but importantly in a happy, full-of-good-food daze so it was actually kinda nice.  In fact if they had said we could curl up under the table and sleep I would have felt quite comfortable doing just that.  Anyway I digress - basically Dinner is ace.  The service was really fantastic and the food was even better - of course I had to have the Meat Fruit (pictured) to start.  I love chicken liver pate and this creamy parfait version was cleverly disguised as a mandarin.  I don't need to write too much - others much more qualified than me have done so but let me just say that everything they say is true, this is a joy of a starter and had me smiling from the first bite.  All the dishes are a homage to recipes from the past and the Meat Fruit supposedly originates from 1500 - I had always thought the 16th century sounded interesting - the Reformation, Copernicus, Shakespeare but now I know they had Meat Fruit to eat, I am searching for a time machine.  My main course was a little more up to date, from 1860 to be exact - a Black Foot Pork Chop with Spelt & Robert Sauce (which appealed because I am Robert...anyway).  I'm not sure what exactly came from 1860, I'm sure they were eating pork chops long before that, but it was super tasty.  Interestingly they warned me that it was cooked a little pink - immediately I flashed back to my mum teaching me that the two meats you should always make sure are cooked through were chicken and pork but I had faith in Heston that he wouldn't knowingly expose me to salmonella, so I chomped away at my slightly undercooked, very delicious pork chop.  Of course we had to share the Tipsy Cake - having heard so much about it and seeing the wonderful spit roasting pineapples doing their thing in the kitchen.  It was booze soaked briochey wonderfulness with the aforementioned pineapple on the side.  Lovely, all lovely in fact.   Pricey, but oh so lovely.  Treat yourself - and order the Meat Fruit.

Piccadilly Arcade - SW1

Somewhat over-shadowed by the flashier Burlington Arcade across the road, I prefer the Piccadilly Arcade, running south from Piccadilly towards Jermyn Street.  As well as some very grand outfitters (this is the perfect arcade to go to if you are looking for hunting gear or a silk dressing gown...as you do) there are some wonderful little shops here - my favourites are Iconastas - specialising in Russian art, from the ancient icons that give the shop its name to more contemporary Soviet era pieces; and St James Art Books - which despite its name is not a book shop, but instead a rather lovely shop selling original artworks that are pricey but fascinating (and we can all dream right?).  Weirdly there's a bit of a focus on Soviet painters of the 50s and 60s - not sure why this rather grand St James Arcade has a recurring Russian theme, maybe there's a story behind it.  Anyway - if like me, you are fond of an old fashioned arcade (which I think stems from my Melbourne heritage - we do a mighty fine arcade there) then make sure to visit this one, perhaps after stopping off for a browse at Fortnums or buying some books at the lovely Hatchards.

Flat Cap Coffee - Strutton Ground SW1

Let me start off this post by talking about Strutton Ground - I discovered this cute little street market around 10 years ago.  I was doing a brief stint at the most boring internet company you could think of, with offices above Victoria Station and at lunchtimes I would pound the pavement, trying to find something to brighten up my working day.  Obviously this particular lunchtime I was in dire need because I walked almost the whole length of Victoria Street when suddenly to my right I noticed a cute street market.  I liked the fact that you went from being in central London to being in what felt like the East End - or perhaps more accurately you went from 21st century central London (typified by Victoria Street) to 1950's central London.  If you walk the length of Strutton Ground to Great Peter Street (snigger) you find yourself surrounded by lovely Peabody Trust housing estates.  Keep wandering down here and turn left into Little College Street (basically the last street before Millbank and the river) and you get the most beautiful view of the Houses of Parliament.  I love it around here - particularly early in the morning before the tourist hordes.  Anyway I digress, this post was meant to be about the Flat Cap Coffee cart at the start of the market - this was certainly not here when I stumbled on Strutton Ground in 2000 but it is here now and it serves really decent flat whites.  Grinding Square Mile beans (those guys are everywhere!) and served with a smile (as you can see from the photo) this is a little gem and brings some much needed coffee quality to SW1.  I just wish they would add another cart to their collection and put it outside Victoria - something like this is much needed there amongst the "coffee" chain overload in the station building.