A Tale of Two Cities.

Today I’m travelling to Paris for an antiques fair at the Grand Palais. Such is the state of Southern Fail that whilst logistically feasible to travel from the south to St Pancras International directly by the Capital Connect Line it is too risky to make the journey in one day by walking the short distance from the main line station to the Eurostar terminal. I therefore arrived in London yesterday. It will be interesting to compare the two cities. Between 1987 and 2004 I travelled frequently to Paris for commercial and amorous motives. My distinct impression was that in that period Paris stood still but London became cool, diverse and more of a ‘go to’ destination. I was last in Paris for the consecration of a member of my family’s grave a few months ago and the city had clearly been hit hard by the outrage at the Bataclan. The big hotels had much reduced occupancy, there was a palpable nervousness as I strolled its great thoroughfares.

Staying in my favourite quarter of London, Marylebone, the place was vibrant with life. My traveling companion Elodie went for diner at Daffers’ favourite 28-50 where the food and ambience impressed the demanding standards of Elodie as we strolled in the warm night air, the revellers were spilling onto the pavement in the warm night air and there was a feeling of post holiday well-being. Although I voted Remain I have to admit the apocalypse has not arrived. I suspect the reason for this is that whilst Prime Minister Theresa May tells us Brexit means Brexit no one, including her, actually knows what the end product will be and those in charge of its negotiation are more interested in self-publicity and sound bites than a coherent trajectory of negotiation. I don’t foresee London’s pre-eminence in financial services being affected by whatever the EU tries to debilitate this. London with its new mayor seems confident and affluent. Let’s  see how Paris compares.