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Archive for December, 2012

Crocker’s Folly

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Judith Martin, my friend and former colleague at Pavilions of Splendour, wrote to me about a campaign to rescue a pub in south-east London, and also about a shuttered and derelict pub in St. John’s Wood.

Such a shame. Crocker’s Folly was a superb pub — not just architecturally, though the ceilings were its chief glory. It had good beer, blues bands in the evening and it was close to Lord’s. I knew it well for all those reasons, and not least because of the wonderful folly story attached to it. Here it is, as related in the heavily illustrated £4.99 ebook Follies of London:

Crocker’s Folly in Aberdeen Place was always known as The Crown Hotel, and at first glance it looks like an elaborate Victorian pub with little of the folly about it. A closer look reveals the almost Byzantine elaboration of the pub’s decoration, especially its interiors, and its sheer size, surely unnecessary when catering for a small catchment area — there are few streets in London without a pub on the corner.

The story when it comes is truly satisfying and the perfect material from which follies are made. Frank Crocker knew — just knew — that the terminus for the new railway was going to be in Aberdeen Place, so in 1898 he speculated with all his available cash to build an emporium that would be an irresistible magnet for thirsty travellers alighting from the trains. As worked progressed on his gin palace, so work progressed on the railway, and Mr. Crocker watched in horror as the navvys dug relentlessly past his pride and joy to finish up a mile down the road at Marylebone. Even if the story isn’t totally true — and who is to say it isn’t? — we are still left with a glorious, enormous Victorian pub in a quiet backwater, now properly rechristened Crocker’s Folly.

The last we heard, however, it had burned down. And the next we heard was that it was going to be turned into a Lebanese restaurant. All very nice, but it was such a convenient pub for Lord’s.

But that postcode is packed with rastaquouéres with bulging portfolios and very good reasons for not wishing to return to their native lands. Our architectural heritage is of little concern when twenty luxury apartments can be erected in its place. Hence the £4.2 m price tag, effectively ruling out any future for it as a working pub.

Watch it sink into dereliction, followed by a mysterious fire, then an application to demolish a dangerous structure.

My solution — take out a compulsory purchase order and hand it to the National / Landmark / Vivat Trust in association with CAMRA for regeneration as a real live pub. There’s an excellent precedent in Belfast, where the remarkable Crown Bar is owned and run by the National Trust and is a must-see destination on any tourist itinerary.

It’s places like Crocker’s Folly that draw people to London. That, and our lax taxes, and our reluctance to ask searching questions. If we lose the Crockers of this city, the place will be filled with pointless luxury apartments, gated communities and nothing to see here sir.

And it’s one of my favourite folly stories!

 

 

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Movember Day Thirty

Wednesday, December 5th, 2012

Well, all good things must come to an end, and so must Gwyn Headley’s moustache, grown throughout November for charitable purposes.

I did it to raise funds for Movember, supporting research into prostate and testicular cancer. With the kind support of all my donors, we have raised £700. Which, considering I never thought I had a chance of growing a moustache, surprises even me.

So I would like to thank everyone who contributed so generously. Here’s the Roll of Honour:

  • John Wilson

  • Mike Wells

  • Susan Webb

  • Philip Turner Book Productions

  • David Snyder

  • Daniel Sinfield

  • Mike Shatzkin

  • Yvonne Seeley

  • Betty Seeley

  • Graham Sadd

  • Amy Riach

  • Mike Raggett

  • Janet Pilch

  • Susan Oudôt

  • Jacqui Norman

  • Andrew Nixon

  • Yasmin Murray-Playfair

  • Dede Millar

  • Polly McDonald

  • Karen Lynch

  • Noel Lawman

  • James Lake

  • Helen Kogan

  • Maldwyn Jones

  • Owen Jackson Accountants

  • Anna Hugo

  • Iain & Gill Gray

  • Vernon Gibberd

  • Kate Fraser

  • Simon Forty

  • Stewart Ferris

  • Rachel Fay

  • Phil Davies

  • Derek Cross

  • Richard Burton

  • Cameron Brown

  • Rita Boogaart

  • Carole Blake

  • Mark Bide

  • Paul Beswick

  • Grant Berry

  • Helen Bailey

  • Alex Bache

  • David Alexander-Williams

Thank you all, most sincerely.

The final result? Well, it’s staying on to frighten a few people at the Groucho Choir practice and the Society of Bookmen Quiz Night next week. Then on Friday December 7th, off it comes. And not a moment too soon. I don’t like it, and it doesn’t suit me. It’s appalling if you have a cold and runny nose, which I do. Ach-y-fi, as we say. This is the end result:

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Movember Day Twenty-Nine

Wednesday, December 5th, 2012

My MacBook Pro has had its quintuple bypass, and I’m back in communication with the world on a far faster machine. I can only occasionally retrieve my backups though, which could be a pain. I’ll have to look into it.

While the Mac was in Hozzy, I went to lunch at my current favourite restaurant, ‘t Notarishuys in Diksmuide. It’s a bit of a schlep to get to, but it’s worth it. This is the second time we’ve been this year.

Amuse-bouches
Lord, let me live a little longer so I can eat these again.

Rillettes van wilde eend
Sinaasappel – wortel – brioche – broccoli
Wild duck pâté does not begin to describe this.

Mangalica ham
Exclusieve ham van het authentieke Hongaarse varkensras “Mangalica”
– gedurende 18 maanden gerijpt in Monte Nevado (Spanje) –
geserveerd met een toast met tapenade en gemarineerde tomaat
I can guarantee that you will never have eaten ham as tender and delicious as this. It is truly astounding. Made from a woolly pig.

Ragout van hert
Schorseneren – camembert – appel – bruin bier
Never tasted a tenderer or more delicious venison stew.

Koffie & banaan
Karamel – macaron – Equador chocolade
Not for me, but apparently superb

Crème brûlée
klassieker – vanille uit Madagaskar
What can I say? Deservedly the classic pudding.

And this is me and the ‘tache afterwards:

If you don’t know what this is all about, The World’s Most Hairless Man (that’s me, Gwyn Headley) is attempting to grow a moustache during November in aid of prostate and testicular cancer charity Movember. If you would care to donate, it’s easy — just go to http://mobro.co/gwynheadley and click on DONATE TO ME under my bald lip. I will be very grateful.

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