I really feel London is home for me, even though I was born in Yorkshire and have lived in Liverpool, Leicester and Surrey, London feels like home. I moved into a London Borough at 18 and that is where I have stayed.and have loved it. In the past few years though I have been getting a bit sick of it all, the constant traffic, noise and the joy of a living by a station half an hour away for central London is starting to wear a bit thin, but yesterday I loved every bit of it.
We caught the train to Victoria then the underground to Gloucester Road and had a little look around Knightsbridge. We had intended to go to Harrods but were worried about running out of time so decided we would go another time. When I used to go into London with my Mum, Dad and sister in the 1960s we would often look around Harrods. The part of the store that made the biggest impression on me was the pet department. They famously sold lion cubs, baby elephants and panthers. I never remember anything so exotic when we visited but I do remember staring for ages at a young fox in a cage. It looked at me so sadly I was heartbroken for days. Thankfully the pet department is now closed else I would probably be rescuing every animal in there!
We walked round to The Bentley Hotel and it was in a lovely old square, the type of London square I just love with communal gardens and old houses. They have balconies that look as if they are in a scene from the old musical film Oliver. The Bentley Hotel is stunning.
Just look at the toilets!
This looks like a gentleman's drawing room.
There is even a Grand Piano at the bottom of the stairs.
Today was an afternoon tea to remember for years.
I told my daughter, one day when I am old and if I ever I am in an old peoples home, I will get yesterday out of the part of my brain put aside for special memories and look over it and smile. It was a day I will always remember.
