I would like to thank all those who came to visit us at The Portcullis Arms last week and also to commiserate with the handful that didn't make it and now realise what they missed!
The event was a great success and a good example of security
in action as no one got past the burly commissionaire without
satisfying him that they were bona fide guests.
Consequently we have been asked to act as consultants for
the next bash at Windsor Castle.
See you in 2005 |
The London Season seems to start earlier every year and from now on it begins way before Ascot and Henley with The Portcullis Arms, a private house party in April. Like all the best parties it lasted three days and as the host I must say that I am rather pleased.
Not only was the place filled with all the people who mattered but all the people who thought they mattered where clamouring outside to come in. They reminded me of those hordes of middle-aged women with elbows like kitchen knives, scrambling to get through the doors on the first day of a Harrods' sale.
The jungle drums were clearly in good working order as on Monday the word on the street was a buzz with discussions about who had and who didn't have an executive pass to the Portcullis Arms. People were offering ready money to the Olympia touts for black market passes, who were themselves swamped with unwanted tickets for Infosec. Looking down from the windows of our little oasis (grinning like the Cheshire cat) I did feel like the man who'd put all his money on red and for once it didn't come up black. Not that I've ever been particularly lucky in the casinos.
From breakfast at nine until putting the last of our guests to bed at midnight the constant flow of the assembled throng just kept coming like the feeding of the five thousand. Though sadly for the old budget, I never learned that trick of turning one chicken and a beetroot into a sumptuous lunch for the hungry masses.
A number of people seemed quite impressed with the family ancestors, whose portraits had just come back from some special exhibition on Great Britons at the Louvre - no doubt there'll be a show about fantastic frogs at the Tate soon! Many were surprised about just how long we'd been going and at the calibre of people who had said nice things about us over the years. They felt it made a refreshing change to those marketing campaigns that attempt to pull the wool over your eyes.
Glad to tell, the Portcullis family's reputation for generous and warm hospitality has been given yet another boost, made all the more pleasant by the absence of any sales pitch which always seems a little pushy and vulgar to me. Suffice to say that we shall be delving into the world of Pubs and barmaids again next year and look forward to seeing you there, if you're good.