An 'Old' Friend at the Goring Hotel

When Roy Blackwell  The Wandering Soul chapter 14, invited me to lunch with him at the Goring Hotel near Buckingham Palace London  which we enjoyed earlier this week, it was a very pleasant surprise.  In fact there was always some doubt about whether restaurants in London would be closed again before our appointment because of the pandemic but thankfully this did not occur.

Roy whom I had known as a professional friend for many years when he was appointed clerk to United Westminster and Greycoat Hospital Schools and I, a solicitor, first at Witham Weld then more recently at Farrer & Co,  had not met since retiring from Farrer & Co in 2017. We had dined together previously at The Goring but on this occasion our meeting was purely social.

The dining room had only re-opened a few days previously as along with most hotels and restaurants The Goring had closed its salle a manger weeks previously on account of the dreadful Covid-19 pandemic. We were  told that a new dining room that had been due to open earlier this year had had to remain closed on account of the reductions in numbers at the Hotel caused by the pandemic.

Having been offered and accepted a glass of excellent champagne from the wine waiter before looking at the menu, a great afternoon was in store. The dining room had never been crowded and was happily much the same as on the last occasion I was fortunate enough to have lunch there:

For  starters, I wondered whether Roy would be offended if I had pate de fois gras parfait, as some animal lovers tended to worry about the way in which animals are treated before being used as food for humans. Fortunately  Roy had no such worries. For the main course lobster omelette and chips was recommended as a Goring speciality and indeed it proved delicious though again I wondered if  animal lovers had concerns about lobsters; still that is their problem rather than mine. Roy ordered a delicious wine sauvignon blanc as I recollect,  or it may have been a French Chardonnay, to accompany our main courses.

Then for sweet, Crème fraîche and Tonka bean Vacherin, grilled white peach was my option. Additionally the Goring provided their own tidbits for our enjoyment throughout the meal.

We chatted for hours over coffee and mint tea. Roy refused to accept any contribution towards the bill but asked me to sign a copy of the autobiography, which he told me he had purchased from Amazon.

Travel was easy. Vauxhall  from Wimbledon by almost empty South Western Railways then  a walk over Vauxhall Bridge, which is closed to nearly all traffic. A few buses and taxis travelling south are permitted as are bicycles over the excellent bike paths. Then walking the back doubles route to Horseferry Road market and along Victoria Street, on to the Goring. The market was busy which was good to see.

Returning past Pimlico to Vauxhall was still very quiet.

A great afternoon with an old friend.