Secret London Lunch Breaks

Today, we come full circle.  This is our last lunchtime excursion together, which is far too sad a notion for me to spend any amount of time contemplating, for fear of degenerating into a blubbering wreck.  And that wasn't a pretty sight last time, to which Jess can testisfy if called upon.  But!  They will continue...albeit in a different format...although I will leave that to the lovely Jess to explain. We started with a mummified cat and thought it only fitting we end on...a mummified cat.  What else!  Secret London devotees, we have come up trumps this time and found you another Dick with another long since expired, dusty moggy.  Yay!  From Dick Whittington's mummified furry friend in a cling film-covered case on the back wall in an old mans' pub in Highgate Hill, to Dirty Dick's decrepid feline in a basement cabinet of death in a historic city pub on Bishopsgate, we leave no stone unturned in the search for the wonderful and the...

Nothing like a bit of withered hand on a Thursday afternoon.  I appreciate a statement of this nature obviously requires some explanation.  I will start at the beginning... St Etheldreda's is a beautiful old church, built in the Middle Ages (1250-1290), tucked away up a gated side street, just off crazy busy Holborn Circus and close to Hatton Garden, where gold, silver and diamonds are traded and millions of pounds change hands daily.  When you enter Ely Place, the calm of this old London street instantly hits and soothes you, but the church, sandwiched between two buildings at the far end, cannot be seen until you are upon it.  How secret is that, Secret London Lunch Break enthusiasts?  Pretty secret, I'm sure you will agree. St Etheldreda's Church was the town chapel of the Bishops of Ely from about 1250 to 1570. It is the oldest Catholic church in England and one of only two remaining buildings in London from the reign of Edward I. I...

Arrangements and a certain amount of blagging were required to gain entry to today's venue of choice - the wonderfully ornate, if slightly creepy, masonic temple in the depths of the Andaz Hotel. A bit about the temple... This Greek Masonic temple with Grade II listed marbles was built in 1912 by Charles Barry junior (son of Charles Barry, the architect of the Houses of Parliament) and cost £50,000 at the time, which is the equivalent of £4 million today. There are 12 types of Italian marble inside the temple, and the grandiose throne-like chairs are heavy mahogany. Remarkably, the temple was discovered by new owners during a 1990s refurbishment behind a faux wall, the previous owners never having been aware of its existence! Many believe Jack the Ripper was a Mason and, if so, would have attended this temple, being closest to his hunting ground. The Masons helped fund the temple's construction. Concealed by heavy, studded doors and accessed via a winding staircase ...