Christmas Eve

24 December, 2015

Fortnum & Mason Window Display

A long, fun-filled day! We started out by dispersing to do our Secret Santa shopping. I rarely "shop" in stores. I usually do all my shopping well in advance and then go to the store to make a purchase, so this was a departure from the norm. About the only thing I truly shop for these days would be adult beverages. I enjoy talking to shopkeepers about their inventory; seeking out something unusual, perhaps something with an interesting story,  or just something that presents an outstanding value. Otherwise it's pretty much purchasing items that are needed. Since I didn't have a lot of direction I opted to start at Fortnum & Mason, which is a particular favorite of mine in London. They hold Royal Warrants from both HM the Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales and have been the Royal Grocer since 1707. While they certainly have products that are on the expensive end of the spectrum there are a great number of affordable indulgences that make excellent gifts for people back home.  Tins of biscuits (cookies to Americans) and tea are always a hit, since you end up with a neat little storage container after consuming the goodies from inside. I always enjoy browsing the wine department. Seeing a 10 or 20 year vertical of Chateaux Margaux is enough to make even a neophyte oenophile wipe drool from the corner if their mouth. It's a good place to look if you're after a bottle of wine from a specific year, perhaps to mark the year of a birth or a wedding. The cheeses and cured meats offered downstairs nearly push me over the edge every time I

visit. I finally selected a scarf for my son, somewhat in the colors of his fraternity, before going a few doors towards Piccadilly Circus to another of our favorite stores, Hatchards.

Hatchards has been in the book business since 1787 and hold three Royal Warrants. If you are a bibliophile it is easy to fall down the rabbit hole and spend hour upon hour browsing the stacks. You'll usually find a table filled with signed copies of new editions just inside the front door. If you're looking for books about anything related to the UK then this is the place to look. If you happen to be a book collector they also have a selection of rare and first edition books to choose from. While books can add a bit of weight to your suitcase they do have the benefit of being free of VAT.  These folks still put out a catalog of new releases, complete with reviews by members of their staff. It really is a departure from the big-box book sellers in the states. If you have a question about a book the odds are reasonable that someone on staff has read it. Your purchase will be placed in a real shopping bag, made of paper with rope handles. No flimsy plastic to tear open under the weight of a couple of books.

Dinner found us at another of our favored UK chain restaurants. We discovered Côte when we were in London a few years ago and visited their Notting Hill/Bayswater location. They offer a menu filled with classic French dishes along with a reasonable wine list. We were absolutely floored by the combination of quality and reasonable prices. Our first visit as a party of three afforded an opportunity to try a good assortment of menu items and everything we ordered was quite good, which is to say there wasn't a single dish that was "just OK." We knew that booking a table for Christmas Eve dinner was likely to present a challenge, so we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Côte was serving. This time we visited the Soho location, which can be a bit tricky to find (the entrance is on what I recall to be the northeast corner of the block, opposite what the address indicates on most mapping software.) They met our high expectations, this time with a party of six that tested the far reaches of the menu. Everything was well prepared and attractively presented yet again. The wine list had several reasonably priced options and we were well pleased in that regard. Service was top-notch, even given the light staffing on the holiday evening. I was a bit shocked that there weren't more customers, given the vast cultural diversity of London.

After dinner we grabbed a taxi over to St Paul's Cathedral for midnight mass. While it was a bit chilly, it wasn't unbearable, but would have been much better with a warm beverage. Everything we found online recommended that we arrive at least 1.5 hours prior to the service in order to be assured of a seat. The crowd was lively and conversation flowed fairly well between complete strangers, which helped shorten the apparent length of time we waited. The Cathedral Chapter could easily augment their coffers by a significant amount if they were to set up a vending service for coffee, tea, and cocoa prior to the midnight service. The doors opened at the appointed time and we were able to procure seats just outside the main dome. This was the third time we attended a service at the Cathedral, the first being Easter Sunday 2007 (which we'll get to eventually in this blog) and the second being a Sunday evening "Talk" event that featured one of the Deacons of the Cathedral, who happened to be a PhD in Astrophysics, chatting with one of the Priests concerning finding balance between science and religion. This was, perhaps, the most interesting religious service I've ever attended. Regardless of your level of devotion to Christianity and religious observances, hearing the organ and the choir in concert for the processional will send a shiver up your spine. When you pause to consider that services have been held in this building since 1697 it can quickly put a lump in your throat. I consider St Paul's one of the three "must see" sites in London (the other two being the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey) so even if you don't have the opportunity to attend a service you should plan a visit to see it from an historical perspective. The building is awe-inspiring from the perspectives of both architecture as well as content.

After the service a Metropolitan Police officer was out front directing the taxi loading zone, which was running quickly and efficiently. We made it home not long after midnight without any hassle. The streets of London were eerily vacant, which was a sight unto itself.