Issue 39

Around the midway point of this magazine, Jeremy Goring, not a man to mince his words, considers the current state of London’s cultural scene. In a wide-ranging interview that wore out the asterisk key of my keyboard, the straight-talking CEO of The Goring hotel, the last London digs still in the hands of the family that founded it, puts the world, and our politicians, to rights. The capital’s recent, and ongoing, proliferation of five-star hotels demonstrates a faith among foreign investors, says Jeremy, before making the point: “but if the entire town becomes a hotel, what will people actually b***dy do?”

I’ve had the same thought. Hotels and high-rises. They seem to be the only things bothering London’s planning departments. When was the last time you walked past a new pub, or club, or theatre, or museum, or music venue? Come across any new parks recently? Me neither. So who’s creating the places and spaces where we might actually want to spend our time?

Happily, by the time you reach Jeremy’s interview, you’ll have sailed through our Culture section and be buoyed by all the interesting things to see and do in the capital over the next six months. Because, as Jeremy rightly points out, despite all the doom-mongering, London remains the most culturally rich city on Earth.

Artistic institutions that are yet to be turned into flats include the Royal Opera House, where, this winter, you can see Principal Ballerina Francesca Hayward perform in The Nutcracker (p.55); The National Gallery, which will host Georges Seurat’s masterpiece, Le Chahut, for the first time in the UK (p.44); Kensington’s Design Museum, which is presenting both a Wes Anderson retrospective and a show dedicated to the legendary Blitz nightclub (p.38); and the Natural History Museum, which any five-star hotel would love to get its hands on, where David Attenborough tells the story of humanity in an immersive 360° experience (p.43).

Tom Kerridge had the chance to sell his pub, Chelsea’s The Butcher’s Tap, but, national treasure that he is, opted to open a new pub on the same site (p.66); there’s nothing new about Mark’s Club, its whole raison d’être is to be the antithesis of new, but it has recently undergone an extensive interiors refresh (p.70); and while the one thing London hasn’t been lacking in is hot new restaurants, Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen is sure to set the temperature when it comes to the capital next spring (inside a five-star hotel, naturally enough).

“We should be doing better, frankly… But I do think Britain is still an epic, brilliant country.”

What Jeremy said.

Richard Brown, Editorial Director

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