Slice of The City Magazine - Summer 2024

SLICE OF THE CITY NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS, INSIGHTS & INVITATIONS FROM THE DOYLE COLLECTION ISSUE 20 SUMMER 2024

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Come summer, morning and evening

Our new cocktail menu at Doyle at The Dupont Circle showcases creations inspired by Irish counties with strong American ancestral ties. Mainly, though, they’re delicious.

seem almost to draw apart and in this issue we’ve put our extra daylight hours to good use, looking back at a memorable residency at The Pembroke from Ireland’s much-loved chef, Richard Corrigan, and forward to Bloomsday celebrations in Dublin with a brief paean to the towering novel of the 20th Century, James Joyce’s Ulysses. We’ve profiled our new Egyptian cocktail menu at The Bloomsbury, and you can read all about our Original Gins; the brand new 108 Gin, recent Rick’s Gin and our enduring classic, The Sidecar Gin.

News & Views NAOMI, QUEEN OF FASHION The V&A does fashion like nobody else and Naomi Campbell is their latest subject of celebration, turning the spotlight on the one-woman icon that’s seldom been out of it since her ‘discovery’ aged 15, way back in 1986. By turns megawatt model,

collaborator,

ferocious

supporter

of

talent and activist, this exhibition marks and celebrates Naomi’s lasting impact on the global

THE CROKE PARK

cultural scene. To ensure you get behind this particular velvet rope, our Naomi Exhibition Experience Accommodations package includes

Explore our portfolio of Irish

room or suite, a full English breakfast and those

family-owned luxury hotels

sought-after tickets to wander the exhibition,

superbly located in the centre

admire her fabulous work and sigh a little at the

of London, Dublin, Bristol,

perennially youthful glow that still surrounds her.

Go!

Washington DC and Cork

SUNDAY, DAY OF ROAST The Sunday roast is a British

GET IN TOUCH

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doylecollection.com/hotels/the-kensington-

hotel/packages/naomi-exhibition-experience

institution that’s up there with

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ravens at the Tower and saying

EDIBLE ART

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sorry when someone else bumps

Our new Afternoon Tea menu at Town House

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into you. From the swankiest

raises a cup (and glass) to The Kensington’s

@thedoylecollection

restaurant

snuggest

enduring cultural connection to London’s best

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of pubs we meet and cocoon

galleries with a collection of deserts inspired by

TheDoyleCollection

around tables, inside and out,

artists from all around the world. From Starry

to enjoy that unhurried weekly

night and Girl with a Balloon cocktails, to Jackson

ON THE COVER

ritual of roasted meat (or veg),

Pollock-inspired confections, we’ve got afternoon

COMING UP FOR AIRE

Scarab illustration by Simon

with all the delicious trimmings,

tea down to a fine art. doylecollection.com/

Maskell taken from the

followed by the least necessary

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Egyptian Cocktail menu at

of the week’s desserts. At The

tea-in-kensington

One of London’s most wonderful spas is also its most unexpected. Step through the front door of a Georgian town house, just off the busy end of The Strand and, with every step into the space below prepare to be surprised. It’s one of the last places you’d expect to find what looks and feels like an ancient thermal bath house. The calming aromatics rising from steamy baths are more redolent of one of those out-of-town retreats where the great and the good get pampered, primped and fully rebooted, but normal mortals never have time for. The bathhouse itself is accessed via a candlelit staircase, and is set under arching brick

The Bloomsbury Club

Marylebone

the

we’re

launching

a new Sunday Roast menu, a Slice of the City is

fabulous feast to remember all

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vaults, bath after bath of varying size, steam rising atmospherically from warm to hot, with a salt-rich one for floating in – the Flotarium - an icy cold one for plunging in and a bubbly hydrotherapy one for easing tensions away. Aromas waft from the steam room, while the heated marble of the tea lounge awaits. In the house above, heavenly treatments unfold in spaces of pure serenity. Book our VIP AIRE EXPERIENCE package and enjoy 90 minutes in the baths, plus a 15-minute massage, during your luxurious stay at The Bloomsbury. doylecollection.com/hotels/the-bloomsburyhotel/packages/aire-sanctuary-in-the-city

to

40 YEARS A quick heads up. 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of The Westbury, our flagship hotel in Dublin. It goes without saying that this means we have some serious

celebrations

So, watch this space!

planned.

Condé Nast Traveller and AFAR magazine, afficionados of all things excellent, have named The Dupont Circle in a list of Washington DCs ten best hotels. It has also just been awarded a prestigious Michelin key. Come and find out why!

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RIDDLE OF THE SANDS For anyone who likes a cocktail that evokes mythical connection and the telling of fortunes, you’ve come to the right place

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n 1922, the eyes of the world turned towards Egypt upon the legendary discovery of the tomb of the boy Pharoah, Tutankhamun. Centuries of grave robbing, banditry and looting in the Valley of the Kings had stripped other tombs of every bit of treasure – both precious and personal, taking with it knowledge of how they lived and died. The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb changed everything. It was small (he died at just 19 and hadn’t yet completed something of the usual grand scale) and it was covered in centuries of debris. So, when Egyptologist Howard Carter embarked on the fifth year of his search, bankrolled by an increasingly unconvinced Lord Carnarvon, expectations were low. Yet, as he scrabbled in the only section remaining, Carter didn’t just find the tomb he had always been convinced was there, but a trove of undisturbed treasure, both material and educational. It was extraordinary.

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department of egyptian & assyrian antiquities

WA DJET Goddess of Serpents

spicy kick, soft fruit, heat, power • casamigos blanco tequila rosé vermouth strawberry cacao thyme chilli salt •

what your choice reveals

A powerful force is about to surge up in you. This might be a romantic spark, a lightbulb moment or flash of intuition. Wadjet energy is magnetic and draws others in, sometimes more than you’d like. Don’t be rash.

Stay grounded.

“Do I dare disturb the universe?” ~ ts eliot ~

Carter’s discovery sparked Egyptomania in Britain, particularly among the writers and artists of the Bloomsbury Group. Though 3,000 years and 2,000 miles separated them and Ancient Egypt, they shared the same quest: to delve into life’s mysteries and discover who we truly are – through symbols and stories, insight and mysticism, divination and dreams. In addition, the Bloomsbury Group had front row seats to Carter’s discovery, as Carnarvon’s sister was married to Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell’s half-brother George.

Inspired by this profound interpretation of hieroglyphs and art as expression, the Bloomsbury Club Bar’s newest menu has conjured this concept into the names, flavours and presentation of twelve heavenly cocktails. Inspired by notions of destiny and self-determination, we have created an interactive pyramid box with a pendulum that encourages guests to put the decision in fate's hands. And, at the same time, every cocktail (whether chosen by those ancient means or the more modern method of asking your server, reading ingredients, and taking a glance at nearby tables and passing trays before deciding which sounds most like your flavour) 6

speaks volumes about you, yourself, and your immediate mindset. We’re not quite sure what happens if you simply start at the beginning and work your way through (over a number of visits, naturally) but we would anticipate some rather fabulous revelations to accompany the process, and would hazard that even the staunchest of empiricists cannot but benefit from such a journey of discovery.

Inspired by the profound interpretation of hieroglyphs and art as expression The names, flavours and ingredients of every cocktail are inspired by the profound meaning of hieroglyphs found carved in stone close by the pyramids. So, Anubis, named for the Jackal God of the Afterlife, is a ‘Dark, pungent, head clearing’ marriage of Remy Martin, Royal Accord Cognac, Amaro Nardini (a traditional bitter orange, peppermint and gentian aperitivo) anchored by dates and cardamom bitters, designed to ‘open the way to find and recover forgotten or buried needs of the past’. Or Ib (storehouse of the heart),

A wall painting of Wadjet, Egyptian goddess of serpents, discovered in the Tomb of Nefertari.

XIXth dynasty On loan from the collection of Mrs A Goodison, 1919 wall-case 182 cat. 149

inspired by a papyrus scroll from The Book of The Dead is a moreish alchemy of discarded grape skin Chardonnay vodka, with Crème de pêche, Galliano L’Autentico, saffron custard and peach and jasmine soda. To be selected by the self-aware, wishing to atone for past actions with love.

Though there are twelve confections to choose from, one thing they all have in common is having been created, shaken, stirred and poured by absolutely expert hands. And, while some represent a twist on a classic, each is entirely original, endlessly delicious and to be found in The Bloomsbury Club now.

Overleaf: Left The Bloomsbury Group had a strong association with Ballets Russes and their production of Cleopatra.

Right The cocktails are infused with ingredients to be found in ancient Egypt.

This page: Above The new cocktail menu based on a 1922 British Museum catalogue of Egyptian finds (as shown Right far left).

Right above and below left Details of the illustrated pyramid and pendulum diviner.

Centre right The moment Howard Carter opened the shrine of Tutankhamun.

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Daffodil Mulligan at The Dupont Circle with Chef Richard Corrigan & His Team ‘I came from the Waters and the Wild, and it’s to there I always return’ Richard Corrigan

Welcome Cocktail Irish Breeze, Teeling whiskey, pineapple juice, orgeat, dry Curaçao, lime juice

Snacks (for the table) Soda and Treacle Bread, whipped buttermilk (v) Dressed Oysters, rhubarb, cilantro, ginger & lime Salt ‘n’ Chili Fried Chicken, lamb sweetbreads, paprika & lime Candied Eggplant, fennel, ricotta, jalapeño (v) Crubeens, bacon jam, horseradish

Starters (choose one) Wild Snapper Ceviche, lime, ginger, smoked vinegar Irish Beef Rump Tartare, bone marrow, pickled shallot Hearts & Livers, fermented potato bread, wild garlic & grapes Octopus & Chorizo Kebab, smoked pineapple Roasted Pearl Barley, mushroom dashi, suede, mustard greens,Pecorino Lord Lurgan Duck Broth, duck cannelloni, cilantro & lime

Mains (choose one) Wild Garlic, Chickpeas & Prawns Smoked Haddock, cured egg yolk, colcannon & kale Slow Cooked Beef Cheek, stout, house slaw, marrow crumb Tikka Celeriac, tahini, chickpea, pomegranates (v) Roast Maialeto (For two), apple kimchi, bitter leaves Grass-Fed Beef Rib (For Two), roots & shoots, horseradish +$50

Dessert (choose one)

Wild Honey Soda Bread & Madeira Soft Serve Ice Cream Baked Whiskey Creme, spiced apple Cashel Blue, Banyuls, oat biscuits

For the Ditch

Irish Coffee Spiced Madeleines, lemon curd

$140 per person (not including tax & gratuity)

INCORRIGIBLE CORRIGAN Consuming raw or undercooked meat or dairy may increase the risk of foodborne illness. Our raw ingredients are carefully sourced from high quality growers and gardens that employ sustainable growing practices.

An automatic service charge of 20% is applied to parties of six or more.

When chef Richard Corrigan came to DC for a residency at The Pembroke during Irish Heritage Month, we were delighted to welcome one of Ireland’s most legendary chefs, widely celebrated as a tireless ambassador for Irish and British produce “It’s a slap on the back. It’s a splash of cold water on the cheeks. It’s a crushing bear hug of a welcome. This is cooking determined to show you a good time, and to wear a party hat while doing so. With roaring grill and a menu full of hilariously huge, uncompromising flavours, standing proud, refusing to back down.”

Jay Rayner on Daffodil Mulligan

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hen one of the UK’s frankest (some would say harshest) food critics has this to say about your third restaurant in a city like London, well, it’s unprecedented. Like second album syndrome for a band, a chef is always judged more harshly with each new opening – as critics turn their eagle eyes on every aspect of the operation, in a forensic search for absenteeism and a sense of talent being spread too thin. Yet Richard Corrigan’s cooking has always spoken from the heart to the heart (and sometimes actually involves a heart). It’s always been robust, honest, forthright, incredibly skilled and absolutely all about the flavour.

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One of just a few great Irish chefs to have come through in the hugely competitive London restaurant scene of the 1990s, Corrigan made his mark by speaking under the noise. No kitchen histrionics or bad boy antics for him. Instead, his first restaurants showcased the most impeccable artisan ingredients, sourced from small independent suppliers from the UK and Ireland to put produce centre stage, perfectly cooked and un-muckedabout with, served with warmth and love rather than ceremony. Ignoring the decade’s trends for fusion cooking, drizzles, fussy food towers and so on, Corrigan’s deceptively simple cooking and robust flavours won his London restaurants a legion of loyal fans, with two Michelin stars and awards aplenty for the chef. But where did his talent, his drive and his absolute conviction come from?

One of seven children, brought up on a small Irish farm of just 25 acres and a cottage, Richard Corrigan’s early days

might have been a world away from oysters in Mayfair (Bentleys), cooking for the Queen (not to mention Barack and Michelle Obama), but they remain core to his chef DNA. Oft quoted, his own words on the subject always warrant an outing for those newer to his food, and explain Corrigan’s cooking philosophy in a nutshell, “the farming mentality teaches you lots of things. It makes you very unpretentious about good food for a start, and it instils respect, because you know the hard graft that goes into producing it…

When you’re thinning out the leek beds and weeding every night, I’m telling you, you appreciate what you grow”.

Born in 1964, Corrigan’s childhood can sound almost Victorian, with his turf cutting, lack of electricity and five-mile walks either way to school (even his wife has jokingly asked him “were you born in the 1920s?”). “The farm was right in the middle of the bog land in County Meath.

We had two vegetable gardens, one for 9

“I was born with the farming DNA. It’s that that keeps me driving on. Having your own restaurant is like having your own farm, and all good farmers are driven.”

the lettuces and the spring onions and the rhubarb and a bigger one, more like a field, for the likes of the potatoes and carrots.

Everything (we ate) was produced on the farm (and) … we were the last gasp of a rural era that in most places in Ireland had disappeared twenty to thirty years before.

There was a discipline to Irish country life; it wasn’t idyllic, it was hard, but it was great to be self-sufficient.”

and with each movement of the calendar, nature has something else to give us.”

While Corrigan has worked 45 years in kitchens now, this has never left him. And even today, is precisely how he writes a menu. “Creating a menu for me is all about seasonality, so right now” in London, in early February, “you’re in the hungry gap of the year. Everything is asleep, it’s hibernating, nothing is growing. So it’s root vegetables, the last of the wild While rural life was hard work, they ate well. game, the mallards, the pheasants, all the Killing a pig in the autumn yielded pork, game birds are just coming off my menu. ham and bacon, while they made their own Then with the spring, wild garlic, white black pudding. Game was all around, so asparagus, morels come in, then green there was always pheasant, wild duck or asparagus. Then we’re just moving around rabbit for the pot. Rivers were stocked with the garden until we get to the red berries in salmon, the family kept bees. Though “my late summer.” father always preferred wild honey. If we heard there was a nest of bees, my dad would Corrigan’s drive, too, he attributes to life stop everything and we had to head into on the land. “I was born with the farming the fields, looking to raid it. He’d put the DNA. It’s that that keeps me driving on. honeycombs in a colander by the fire and the Having your own restaurant is like having honey would melt and filter into a bowl…” your own farm, and all good farmers are Corrigan’s mother churned butter and made driven….Farmers always covet the field the family loaves, their daily bread. next door; you can never have enough land... There is one Richard Corrigan Naturally, when you live on a small farm thinking, ‘Do I really need to open absolutely everything is seasonal – fruits and another restaurant?’ But the other Richard vegetables come in abundance then need Corrigan, the farmer, is saying, ‘Go for it’”. eating, pickling, potting and preserving, sharpish. Then before you know it they’re And go for it he did. Corrigan first went gone, until the next time. What small farm into a kitchen at 15 and he’s never left. life did achieve was to teach Corrigan After four years in the Netherlands, he everything. “We weren’t educated about came to London, where he started out at food but we knew a hell of a lot. The whole Piccadilly’s Le Meridien Hotel. Leadership country cycle of farming, shooting, fishing, came pretty early as he headed up the cooking, eating is what teaches you. The art team at Stephen Bull’s Blandford Street of country cooking was much finer than you Restaurant, jumping ship to Mulligan’s in would ever imagine. Growing up on a farm Mayfair, then settling for a while as Head also teaches you respect for the cycles and Chef at Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill, seasonality of food. I grew up with the simple which he later bought in 2005. Tempted idea that the sun goes up and comes down back by Bull in 1994, Corrigan earned 10

Left From ceviche to soda bread every dish has its roots in traditional Irish cuisine.

Above The kitchen team working with Richard Corrigan to prepare his menu for guests at The Dupont Circle

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his first Michelin Star as head chef at the hugely successful ‘90s icon, Fulham Road.

But in 1997 Corrigan went solo, opening Lindsay House in Soho. For many their first introduction to his style of cooking, Lindsay House was an immediate hit.

Winning him another Michelin star, not to mention Outstanding London Chef, and he was regularly named in London’s five finest restaurants.

Tiring of the tiny kitchen in Lindsay House (“Everybody who came to see that kitchen couldn’t believe we could serve 90 covers.

Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing, Stephen Docherty – all the chefs said: “Corrigan, how on earth are you doing it?”), Corrigan opened Corrigans in Mayfair on the day he closed Lindsay House in 2008. The new establishment took over his knack as a serial award winner, including, for Corrigan’s, London restaurant of the year, three times.

Having already bought Bentley’s in 2005 (which he transformed) and enjoyed successful 1990s collaborations with Searcy’s to create four establishments, Corrigan continued to give in to his farmer’s urge to expand. His Bentley’s relaunch had been an immediate success with critics and the public alike.

Here’s fearsome Evening Standard restaurant critic Fay Maschler just about summing it up. “Sometimes, we just go somewhere good. Bentley’s Oyster Bar is a serious enterprise devoted to prime ingredients treated with wit and brio, and because ebullient Richard Corrigan is a consummate chef and restaurateur — and of course an Irishman.” As somebody who has a favourite table in the ground floor oyster bar “the end table on the left opposite the long marble bar” and has written weekly restaurant reviews since 1972 (over two million words) there are few restaurants she visits off duty. Corrigan says he tries not to worry about critics, perhaps because they’re so complimentary?

Above Corrigan’s Royal fish pie and Irish oysters as served at Bentley’s.

Right Richard Corrigan puts the final touch to a dish at The Dupont Circle

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Virginia Park Lodge, an 18th century, 100acre country estate in County Cavan, Ireland, was a departure from restaurants, though not hospitality. Purchased in 2014, the estate included the hunting lodge

in which Corrigan had married his wife Maria back in 1991, and the family (two of Richard’s children have joined the family business) has lovingly refurbished it into a destination. For weddings, for corporates seeking rural pursuits and for boating and fishing on the estate’s lake, as well as for Sunday lunches for local people. The land is put to good use, with orchards and a walled garden for growing fruit, vegetables and herbs for his restaurants.

And the house, lodges and shepherds’ huts accommodate 125 guests.

Daffodil Mulligan followed in 2019, this time in partnership with two other legendary Irishmen: Tony Gibney, publican and owner of Gibney’s of Malahide, just north of Dublin, and London-based restarateur, John Nugent. It’s a 50-cover retaurant upstairs, with a pub (Gibney’s) below. Bread is baked and butter freshly made every day and seasonal fruit and veg comes in from the Virginia Park Lodge gardens. A love letter to Irish hospitality, defined by Corrigan as “A celebration of what Ireland is, from our music, our poetry, our writing and our food”. Drink, too, to be honest. And it’s flourishing.

While most restaurateurs were happy just to come out of the Covid Pandemic with a viable business, and it wasn’t easy for anyone - Richard Corrigan was off. On a new venture with long-term collaborator, Searcy’s. Following a three-year refurbishment, the National Gallery reopened to much fanfare, anchored

by The Portrait Restaurant by Richard Corrigan to quite the reception. According to The Times food critic, Giles Coren, “Richard Corrigan has taken over the restaurant on the roof of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and absolutely nailed it.” While Tim Heyward in The FT said “Richard Corrigan deserves his own portrait in the gallery” (among many other fulsome things as he waxes lyrical for a good twelve paragraphs – don’t read them if you’re hungry).

Month, we were delighted when he said yes. In his usual forthright fashion. “I love America, I love other cultures. For all I will bring, I will leave with something, too.

That is the exchange. An organic farm just outside Washington and our farm in Ireland, I bet we have a similar approach.

It’s pointless me talking to a mass producer, we have nothing in common, but with a small farmer or small veg grower, yes we have.”

my restaurants.”) and oysters dressed in rhubarb, lime and ginger. Duck hearts came with fermented potato bread, grapes and wild garlic. And suckling pig with Irish kimchi, apple and celeriac cream. Desserts included wild honey soda bread and Madeira soft serve ice cream. The menu was bookended by an Irish Breeze (bespoke cocktail) welcomer and an Irish Coffee “For the ditch”. We had parties from out of state who travelled just to eat his food.

Richard Corrigan is, by any measure, a busy man. So, when we asked him to come and bring Daffodil Mulligan for a residency at The Pembroke during Irish Heritage

His signature ran through the tightly edited menu, with snacks including his homemade soda bread and butter (“Great butter, great bread. Sacrosanct, made in every one of

It was pretty exciting hosting a whirlwind of such authentic Irishness at The Pembroke, even for just a few days. But we’ll leave the last word on Corrigan to

another food critic feared and admired in equal measure, Tom Parker Bowles. “Chef proprietor Richard Corrigan is a broad, barrel-chested, grinning force of nature.

Not a man you’d get on the wrong side of, but one of Europe’s great chefs, no doubt about that. I first tasted his food at Lindsay House in Soho. And never forgot it. His technique was flawless, flavours always broad, but never brash. He’s certainly not shy of speaking his mind, or picking a fight with the big beasts of commercial agriculture. But he eternally fights for the small producer, the artisans, the farmers who work for passion rather than profit.

Flavour always comes first.”

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ORIGINAL GINS To mark the launch of our most recent house gin, we take a look at the (oft maligned) noble spirit and The Doyle Collection’s three fine additions to the pantheon…

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hat with Gin Alley and Mother’s Ruin (also, ‘blue ruin’) and Old Tom, historically gin has had a pretty bad rap.

To be fair, some of it is absolutely warranted. In fact, Gin’s journey from apothecary to Negroni, has been something of a drama, taking in about one and a half millennia of healing, followed by a brief spell as the crack cocaine of London (early 18th century), before a swift shift to its current incarnation as an impeccable spirit, distilled by artisans, shaken by the best.

Gin has certainly always carried with it a sense of contrasts, of contradictions. Not least in its origins. It always feels like the most quintessentially English of spirits yet, along with other surprises, such as Fish and Chips (which were actually gifted to us by Jewish settlers fleeing Spain and Portugal) and Tea (as well as tomato ketchup, for what it’s worth, both of which hail from China), it emphatically isn’t.

The earliest incarnations of juniper berries steeped in alcohol are believed to be from around 70 AD as Roman physicians helping combat chest complaints, captured in one Pedanius Discorides’ Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine. A practice which likely continued until its next capture for posterity in a 1055 recipe for tonic wine infused with juniper from the Benedictine Monks of Solerno’s Compendium Solernita. Initially juniper (gin’s central ingredient) was purely medicinal, and it appears not to have been until the 16th century, in the Netherlands, that gin first made its appearance as a spirit, albeit a rudimentary one.

‘Genever’ as it was called, was actually a malt wine spirit with juniper added for flavour rather than its therapeutic purposes. The word gin, a shortening of genever (in some quarters rather

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rudely attributed to the drunkenness of its new British imbiber – rendered unable to manage more than one syllable) was first mentioned in The Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices, Publick Benefits

by Bernard Mandeville… “The infamous liquor, the name of which deriv’d from Juniper-Berries in Dutch, is now, by frequent use… shrunk into a Monosyllable, intoxicating Gin.” It came to Britain with William of Orange in 1688 – not literally, but it helped that Acts of Parliament were passed in 1689 and 1697 to reduce taxes on home distillation rather than imports. This was designed to discourage the consumption of French Brandy (so unpatriotic!) and in favour of the distillation of gin. It worked a treat.

18th century London water was unfit for human consumption. In some areas water was delivered through basic pipes – hollowed out tree trunks – but even while the science of waterbourne diseases was in its infancy, people knew it made them sick. So most of London’s less wealthy inhabitants (the rich could, and did, buy spring water bottled at source), drank their liquids fermented and brewed; typicaly beer, ale, cider and wine. The water problem wasn’t solved until the passing of the Public Health Act of 1848, so throughout the 18th century Londoners sought ways to hydrate themselves and their families that didn’t require the imbibing of Thames water (yes, really).

Gin was an immediate hit. Although the government had made it easier and cheaper to make and sell gin, and it was a profitable endeavour for both distillers and tavern owners, unregulated distilleries, shops (17,000 of them) and barrows mushroomed with (often adulterated) liquor reaching the street for merely pennies.

So people drank. And drank. Sufficiently serious was the crisis to 15

trigger not one, but two Acts of Parliament, specifically designed to regulate the selling of gin – the second, in 1751, essentially took it off the streets and back into tavens and pubs - beyond the reach, financially, of the very poor. So back they went to beer. And back gin went to normal. Which meant retaining its status as a core spirit in the highballs and cocktails served in the drawing rooms of the many.

An unexpected consequence of the 1751 Gin (colloquially known as the Tippling) Act arose more recently. Designed to limit production only to established distillers (those licensed by the Worshipful Company of Distillers, incorporated in 1638), it was so draconian that the words boutique and distillery were only to be said in that order following its repeal in – drumroll – 2008! Like opening the starter gates to the Epsom Derby, runners and riders thundered down the home straits and started craft distilling in artisan earnesty.

RICK’S GIN

At Rick’s Bar at The Bristol we’ve only been open a year, but it’s

While London was the centre of much of the 18th century Gin Craze (as it was known), other port cities along the south and west coast did not go unscathed, most notably Portsmouth, Plymouth and, of course, Bristol. In Ireland, though, early gin history was a much less tortuous affair. For Dubliners, the fact that it was initially known as Dutch Courage (same origins as Britain then, just, obviously, should have been minus a king ), rather than Mother’s Ruin, itself spoke volumes. Courage was central to its origins, as initially it was imbibed in quantities by soldiers and sailors. And, where the military led, society followed. More soubriquets emerged, still on the jovial side (though Ladies’ Delight soon gave way to Knock Me Down) and on the back of an abundance of grain in 18th-century Ireland a thriving industry arose. By the 19th century Ireland was home to over 200 licensed distilleries, perfecting everything from gin to absinthe. Today we have around 40 established craft distilleries dedicated to gin.

been a good one. We love all our customers, and we’re not here

So, it’s been quite the checkered history but the love for good quality gin has never waned and as it came from physicians originally, perhaps we should conclude its history in the words of a more recent (admittedly fictional) doctor, from the 1935 film, Bride of Frankenstein, Doctor Septimus Pretorius. “Without gin, there would be no martinis, and that’s a scenario too troubling to contemplate sober.”

Even though Rick’s Bar is obviously an homage to a far flung (and

to brag, but if you did hear that one of them was a Mr Stanley Tucci supping martinis (on two occasions), well, it wasn’t from us. It was a challenge opening a brand-new bar from scratch shortly after the global pandemic, but we’ve done our level best to bring the glamour of Old Hollywood to the West Country.

And one thing we’ve noticed, is that guests are really loving all our classic gin cocktails. So, we created our own gin.

We knew what we wanted, but we needed experts to take us there. Here’s the team at Rick’s Bar, “We wanted our gin to be classic, clean and uncomplicated, inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood. What we didn’t know is that it takes a village to achieve that. But the brilliant Psychopomp Microdistillery took our flavour profiles and botanicals and worked closely with us to create a perfectly-balanced classic gin.”

fictional) place, our location is a huge part of who we are. “Bristol is a unique city full of enterprising characters, creativity and innovation. It has a rebellious, can-do attitude and we feel lucky to be based among so many bold makers and creators. When looking for a partner in this process Psycopomp Microdistillery was a natural choice. Being Bristol-based and B-Corp certified was certainly a big factor in our decision, but most crucially they are renowned

MAKING OUR OWN Anybody that’s serious about cocktail making, bartending and hospitality fully understands the power of a beautifully made martini, the elegance of a pristine-spirited negroni – and, in turn, the importance of the quality of the spirit that alchemises into cocktails. Behind the scenes at every one of our bars the imaginations of our teams conjure miracles. They freeze grapes in place of ice; cook up cordials redolent of smoke, hedgerow berries, even the forest floor; they make one-of-a-kind bitters, foams, sodas and syrups, all by hand. Though it’s a relatively recent enterprise, it shouldn’t surprise that we make our own gins. So, let us introduce them…

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for their unique single-shot distillation process which creates a gin that’s truly superior in flavour and texture. Ultimately we left the alchemy to the experts. We fully trusted them with their craft and they came back with a balance and flavour profile that was exactly what we wanted, effortlessly making tweaks along the way.”

“We were inpired by classic Hollywood films and landed on three key flavours (Cherry, for the whiskey sours in The Seven Year Itch, Raspberry from the Knickerbocker cocktails in The Thin Man and, of course, juniper for Casablanca).” instagram.com/ricksbarbristol microdistillery.co.uk

17

“The decision was made to champion that wonderful spirit in our own way by sourcing it locally and putting our name to something really special.”

108 ESTATE

The newest, launching summer 2024, is a labour of love. “We set out with a simple goal in mind, create the best gin we could for both a gin and tonic and a classic martini”, said GM of The Marylebone, Nicholas Davies. “We also wanted to find a top class distillery to help us realise this goal. So we’re working in partnership with the excellent Hawkridge Distilleries.”

A distillery ‘nestled in the strikingly beautiful North Wessex Downs’ (and named after the historic house it started out in), little birdies tell us they distill for the Royal Household. While

THE SIDECAR

If Rick’s and 108 were a labour of love, developing The Sidecar

several members of the royal family have been tireless in their

Gin was a beacon of hope, and the project that kept The

support of London’s noblest spirit, and for that we thank them,

Westbury’s whole F&B team sane between lockdowns. Given

what we’re really interested in is Hawkridge’s painstakingly

the retro glamour of the space and the expertise of the cocktail-

authentic methods, locally sourced botanicals and absolute flair

making here, now that we’ve created our own spirit it feels like

in the making. Typical of many a craft distillery, they’re a boutique

a no-brainer. And it’s a proud feeling when we serve our house

operation; alchemist heavy, passenger light, founded by three

G&Ts and add our iconic bottle to the tableside Martini trolley.

compadres (two master distillers, one brand guru) to go back to

Over to the team. “The decision was made to champion that

a simpler, more authentic way of making the purest native spirit.

wonderful spirit in our own way by sourcing it locally and putting our name to something really special. So, we reached out to

While the gin was always going to be crisp, clear and

local distilleries and began the conversation to see who matched

beautifully balanced, naturally there’s a twist. Honey. “Our

our values and the approach we wanted to take. Eventually we

gin is infused with honey from Cork as a nod to our heritage”,

settled on Stillgarden. It’s a community garden distillery who

said Nicholas. “Though it’s well known as a smoothing agent,

grow and source ingredients locally and sustainably – obviously

it isn’t often used by distillers as it’s a rather messy botanical

we champion those same values of local, Irish, sustainability and

to work with, but it is one of our favourites as it helps create a

community. The gin is a single pot still distillation and there is

beautifully smooth spirit and enhances the other flavours.”

also a cold vacuum process involved which helps to draw even more flavour from the botanicals and spices. It’s beautiful.”

“The process is fascinating too”, he continued. “Hawkridge

18

made the gin using a Victorian three-stage process to create

“We were very particular on the flavour and profile we wanted,

something called a ‘tea’ – by steeping botanicals for seven

but as we were working to create something special, it was a

days in pure alcohol. They then strain the liquid and remove

process that lasted some time – very much to the benefit of the

the botanicals so they don’t sit and stew in the main still

gin we have today. We started by visiting the distillery and walking

during the 11-hour distillation process. Other distilleries don’t

the gardens. That enabled us to choose botanicals and discuss

use this process any more because it is so time-consuming

methods before they started. Then we met for rounds of tastings

but in their opinion it helps create a far superior spirit.”

and tweaking, again and again before deciding on the right blend.”

“The final result is a traditional London Dry, but with juniper,

“The profile we went with is a drier gin with notes of orange, lemon

orange and lemon zest, coriander, angelica, rose, cracked

verbena and grassy notes from locally sourced Irish nettle. We

pepper, rosemary, lemon verbena, lavender, fresh orange juice,

also infused a number of spices and freshly foraged ingredients

wild gorse flowers, a touch of spearmint and that Cork honey,

including ginger, bitter orange and, of course, juniper. The Sidecar

giving it a light citrus, floral profile. It took a while, but we

Dublin Dry Gin is for sale in the bottle and, naturally, served in

knew immediately when we found the flavour we wanted. We

the bar. Our guests love it. Our preferred tonic is 1724, made with

particularly like it straight from the freezer into a martini glass

quinine from 1,724 metres above sea level on the Incan trail in

with a wash of vermouth and a lemon twist (or a pickled onion,

Peru. We serve our G&Ts with fresh orange slices, juniper berries

for me). Or, if you’re keeping things simple, in a G&T (ideally

and mint. People think it’s such a good idea that everyone in the

with London Essence Tonic and a slice of pink grapefruit.”

business seems to have been at the meeting where it was hatched”.

108brasserie.com/the-cocktail-bar

instagram.com/thesidecardublin

hawkridgedistillers.com

stillgardendistillery.com

19

BLOOMSDAY One of the biggest days in the Irish literary calendar, Bloomsday (June 16th) is a joyous celebration of all things Joyce and a great day out in Dublin to boot

A

sk anybody, anywhere to name the single most important Irish novel and the chances are they all say Ulysses. Considered by many the greatest modernist novel of the 20th century, and certainly the most inventive of its day, it also, amusingly, comes third in a 2009 World Book Day survey reported in The Irish Times listing the books most people fib about having read. Beating Ulysses to the top spot was 1984 (George Orwell – also, surprising, as quite a slim volume) with War & Peace (Leo Tolstoy, at a hefty 1,500 pages, perhaps not so much) coming in second place.

To be fair very few people were actually able to read Ulysses upon publication, on account of the outcry at its ‘obscenity’ and the novel’s subsequent banning in UK, US and, de facto in Ireland. It was pretty shocking back in 1922 for the central character of a novel to lay bare his inner thoughts in a stream of consciousness narrative style, while sitting on the loo, going about his business as Leopold Bloom does early on. Molly Bloom, his wife, clearly has a love life of her own, outside the marriage, which is neither condemned

20

nor condoned by a narrative voice. Other similarly shocking stuff unfolds, notably at Sandymont Strand, but the crux of the outrage was more, as it so often is, around the shock of the new.

There’s a sense of an untethered consciousness, a rejection of any kind of conventional structure and a ride around the disordered minds of Joyce’s characters on what feels like just one entirely random day in June, 1904. But of course, there was nothing random about Ulysses. It was painstakingly plotted in episodes following Homer’s Odyssey (an epic Joyce greatly admired, and an icon of classical literature). When writing Ulysses James Joyce insisted he was working on “a 20th-

No sooner was the ink dry on Ulysses’ first edition, and books distributed to shops than the legal challenges (for obscenity) began.

century masterpiece”. It was packed with meaningful classical allusions. And the day he picked for the action was the very day of his first encounter with lifelong partner, Nora Barnacle (and, yes, her actual name – it’s often asked).

Anyway, back to the ban. No sooner was the ink dry on Ulysses’ first edition, and books distributed to shops than the legal challenges began. In the United Kingdom Ulysses was banned for obscenity and copies seized by customs officials. The ban was not lifted until the 1936 court case R v.

The Penguin Books Ltd. In Ireland the book wasn’t actually banned. Just laws around expression were very tight and closely monitored. However, it was cleared for publication in 1932. In the USA, boxes were seized by customs officials in 1922 and ensuing shenanigans continued for a decade. Until a celebrated case before New York District Judge, John Wolesley, in December 1932 when the ban was categorically overturned. Not only that, his Honour delivered a review of which Joyce’s publishers could only have dreamed.

“Ulysses is not an easy book to read or to understand” Wolesley asserted. (Well, yes.)

21

acknowledges, “Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, a fried hencods’ roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine”. Hmmm.

TS Eliot had no such doubts. “I hold this book to be the most important expression which the present age has found; it is a book to which we are all indebted, and from which none of us can escape. These are postulates for anything that I have to say about it, and I have no wish to waste the reader’s time by elaborating my eulogies; it has given me all the surprise, delight, and terror that I can require, and I will leave it at that”.

Ulysses is no autobiography but this kind of talk feels as though it might provide an answer to the question why Joyce suffered so much from stomach complaints. Bloom the character is unstoppable, though.

In Davy Byrne’s pub for a light meal (after that morning kidney) he chooses a gorgonzola sandwich with a glass of Burgundy. Followed by tea and a bun at Burton Restaurant (in chapter 8).

By the end of a long evening (read it!!) food features once more, as Bloom hosts Dedalus for a meal of grilled mutton kidneys with bread and butter (and, possibly, some nibbling of a lemon soap bought earlier on from Sweny’s Pharmacy – it’s unclear). “But”, regardless, “there must be blood. Mutton kidneys fried with butter, rosemary and bits of bacon. And no sugar. Liver’s a treat once in a way. Ugh. Eating…”

Naysayers included DH Lawrence, Virginia Woolf and HG Wells, who just raised their eyes heavenward. There was one other set, possibly those with most in common with the average reader… Ford Madox Ford admired Joyce’s talent but also expressed frustration with the novel’s difficulty, while EM Forster praised Joyce’s technical innovation but admitted to finding the novel difficult to follow.

Yet he went on to describe the work as “an amazing tour de force” and Joyce himself as “a great artist in words”. He continued…

“The work is not obscene but a sincere and serious attempt to devise a new literary method for the observation and description of mankind.” Well, well...

And Judge Wolesley wasn’t the only one to share that view. In all honesty – and future ban-ers of literature, art and culture do take note, it’s one of the best ways to ensure absolutely everybody wants to buy the thing – Ulysses was certainly guaranteed a reading by anybody with any pretentions to being literary. But what was unexpected was the sheer volume of response among holders of some the world’s mightiest pens – who all immediately put them down to pick up their copies of Ulysses.

James Joyce had Ezra Pound at hello. He was one of Joyce’s staunchest supporters and championed it from the start, including 22

actively lobbying for its publication. He said, “I make no apologies for the book. I celebrate it. I should have recognised that it was going to be a great classic whether I liked it or not”.

For George Orwell, Ulysses triggered insecurity…“I managed to get my copy of Ulysses through safely this time. I rather wish I had never read it. It gives me an inferiority complex. When I read a book like that and then come back to my own work, I feel like a eunuch who has taken a course in voice production.”

future ban-ers of literature, art and culture do take note, it’s one of the best ways to ensure absolutely everybody wants to buy the thing

One thing that does remain pretty strange to the modern reader is the food. It’s offaly (pardon the pun), well, offal-y. And visceral. By turns revoluting and delicious, intense and plain. But emphatically TOO MUCH. Any day that declares its breakfast of a pork kidney ‘modest’ is coming from a very particular place. As Joyce himself

While there’s obviously no better way to dive into a book than to read it yourself, you very much don’t need to have read Ulysses to enjoy its energy, boldness and wit over 100 years on. Bloomsday is Dublin’s own tribute to Joyce (there are other Bloomsday celebrations all around the country, too) and is marked with readings, tastings (not the soap, but certainly the gorgonzola, and the Burgundy), cookings, performances (Circe, Chapter 15, is written in the form of a play, for instance), and a tour of all the places Bloom and Dedalus visited – many still standing (if not still host to the previous business).

James Joyce © Helena Perez Garcia

Above The main James Joyce landmarks can be walked on an easy loop around central Dublin from The Westbury. Turn the page for a full one-day tour. Right James Joyce

Perhaps they would have benefited from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s thoughts on the subject. For him, “they” (actually Kafka, as well as Joyce) “showed me that it was not necessary to demonstrate facts: it was enough for the author to have written something for it to be true, with no proof other than the power of his talent and the authority of his voice”. We think the idea of being inaccessible and especially difficult to understand was probably of its time. But for anybody wishing to read but struggling to grasp Ulysses, we recommend Jim Norton’s audiobook version. It wraps you up in Joyce’s words in a way that charms, delights and carries you along. Plus, to be honest, a hundred years on we’ve read much stranger stuff since than a firstperson, three-character (Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus and Molly Bloom) stream of consciousness narrative, picked up and dropped in turns through the course of one single day.

The very committed should hire Edwardian garb early as demand is high – and be prepared to follow the circuit.

We recommend starting early with a full Irish breakfast (in the spirit of Bloom, just less offal) at The Westbury. Festivities run from 11th-16th June. bloomsdayfestival.ie 23

A BLOOMSDAY TOUR There will be plenty going on on June 16th, but if you want to start at the Martello Tower and do a One-day Ulysses walking tour that takes in most of the locations covered in the episodes (Italicised), then follow in Alex Lewis’s steps.

8. Cassidy’s, 27 Westmoreland Street

Covering every stop in this tour takes a

4. National Maternity Hospital, Holles

full day, much like the novel itself. The

Street (Oxen of the Sun)

(Aeolus)

distance connecting all stops from #3 Sean

Here Bloom visits Mina Purefoy as she

The former site of the Freeman’s Journal,

NOTES*

Moore Park to #15 Glasnevin Cemetery is 10

gives birth, finally meeting the abandoned

a longstanding, but now declining, pro-

About the first two stops. As you

kilometres or 6.2 miles. Break out the good

Stephen

conversation

independence newspaper where Bloom

can see from the map above, #1

shoes. The tour is organized by the most

reenacts the history of the English language.

sold ads in the Aeolus episode, is now an

Martello Tower and #2 Summerfield

eccentric bar in the Temple Bar area.

House, though relatively near each

and

boisterous

efficient walking route, not by the order of

other, are the farthest from all the

episodes in Ulysses. That said, it does begin

5. Sweny’s Pharmacy, 1 Lincoln Place

the morning like the novel at Sandycove

(Lotus Eaters)

9. O’Connell Bridge

others. At 10km from the first or

Martello Tower, and the Bloom home, where

Bloom stops at Sweny’s for a bar of

(Wandering Rocks)

second to the third stop – as long

the novel ends, is the penultimate stop (and

lemon soap in the Lotus Eaters episode

Multiple characters cross this prominent

as the rest of the tour combined –

Glasnevin Cemetery, the final stop, is a nice

after collecting a love letter from Martha

city-center bridge over the Liffey, including

they require taking a taxi or some

place to end). It’s perfectly possible to go in

Clifford at the Westland Row post office

several in the Wandering Rocks episode.

alternative form of transport. If

reverse order, but I think something is lost

just north and stepping in to St. Andrew’s

It is a major thoroughfare, and the statue

you don’t feel like doing that, #3

that way.

(“All Hallows”), a nearby church with a good

of Daniel O’Connell – “the huge cloaked

Sean Moore Park is a great place to

choir. Sweny’s holds readings in addition to

Liberator” – dates to 1882.

start too; doing so would still cover

1. James Joyce Martello Tower & Museum*

selling used books and lemon soap, making

(Telemachus)

it a good priority stop. Open 11am - 4pm.

Near O’Connell bridge is the cabmen’s

Ulysses begins in the Sandycove Martello

Above Because of the distance covered by the tour the scale of the above map of Dublin is only indicative of the marked locations. We suggest you use Googlemaps or Citymapper to give you the precise route between each. Above right The tour in relation to stops #1 and #2

only missing Stephen’s separate morning episodes.

Tower, where Stephen Dedalus is living

6. National Library of Ireland, 7–8 Kildare

shelter where the exhausted and confused

in a state of some tension with “stately,

Street (Scylla & Charybdis)

Bloom and Stephen linger before returning

plump Buck Mulligan.” Today, the tower

Stephen

and

to Bloom’s home. In another touch of

is

Bloom looks for an old ad in the library

historical continuity, a number of bus routes

the Parnell Monument, which would be the

14. Bloom Home, 7 Eccles Street

Martello Tower doesn’t open until

during the Scylla & Charybdis episode;

make stops here.

more Joycean and historical choice. In either

(Calypso, Ithaca, Penelope)

10am and #5 Sweny’s Pharmacy

case, after the next stop you’ll be going

Bloom begins his day with breakfast at

doesn’t

a

small

museum.

Open

10am-4pm

lectures

on

Shakespeare

It’s good to start in the morning, while noting that the #1 Sandycove

open

until

11am

(you

2. Summerfield House, Dalkey Avenue*

they cross paths but do not recognize each

(Nestor)

other. The library has exhibitions pertaining

11. Ormond Hotel, 7–11 Ormond Quay

about a mile with comparably fewer food/

home in the Calypso episode. He returns

could easily switch the order of

Stephen teaches at the pro-unionist Mr.

to Irish history and art as well as a lovely

Upper (Sirens)

stop options.)

here late at night with Stephen in the

#5 and #6 the National Library if

Deasy’s school for boys in a house in Dalkey,

reading room. Open 9:30am -7pm

Bloom eats dinner with Stephen’s uncle and

catechistic Ithaca episode, and the novel

timing necessitates). The #7 Davy

eyes barmaids at this hotel in the Sirens

13. Corner of James Joyce Street and

concludes here in the Penelope episode

Byrne’s Pub stop lands right about

7. Davy Byrne’s, 21 Duke Street

episode amid a variety of musical flourishes.

Railway Street (Circe)

with Molly’s stream of consciousness while

lunchtime depending on when

(Lestrygonians)

The structure from Joyce’s time, derelict in

What

residential

lying in bed. The terraced houses of Joyce’s

you start the day and how long

3. Sean Moore Park Strand

After being repulsed by some bad eaters,

this century, is being replaced.

district

was Dublin’s red light district or

day were demolished to build the present

you linger at some of the early

(Proteus, Nausicaa)

Bloom lunches on a gorgonzola cheese

“nighttown” at the turn of the century.

Mater Misericordiae hospital, but there’s a

stops. Several of the morning

One of multiple beach parks along the

sandwich with a glass of burgundy at this

12. 9 Little Britain Street (Cyclops)

Much

of

the

nice plaque marking its place in Ulysses.

stops are conducive to lingering or

Sandymount

Stephen

upscale pub, which still operates under

The former site of Kiernan’s Pub is where

been

both

renovated

muses over a flux of subjects personal and

the same name. They do not skimp on

a drunken anti-Semite threw a biscuit tin

making this area a low priority stop.

intellectual in the Proteus episode. In the

the gorgonzola, so order accordingly. If

at Bloom in the Cyclops episode.

Nausicaa episode, Bloom leers at Gerty

you’ve got a little time before lunch and

priority stop).

McDowell here while she considers love

haven’t already, consider heading south to

(or while Bloom fancies that she does).

Stephen’s Green. After you leave, you can

The beach is pleasant in the early morning, especially when it coincides with high tide.

based on Clifton School where Joyce taught.( a lower priority stop.)

24

every episode of Bloom’s day, 10. Eden Quay (Eumaeus)

Strand,

where

is

now

a

primarily

neighbourhood and

has

activities: Sweny’s Pharmacy sells

renamed, 15. Glasnevin Cemetery, Finglas Road

books and the National Library

(Hades)

of Ireland has exhibits. Many of

Tyrone Street

This striking graveyard holds the funeral

the stops in the second half of

82 Tyrone Street, “the disorderly house of

for Paddy Dignam that Bloom attends in

the tour, by contrast, are simply

(If you do the full trek in order, you’ll end

Mrs Bella Cohen,” is now Railway Street;

the morning during the Hades episode; he

checkpoints. The second half also

stroll up Grafton Street and pop in to Front

up crossing O’Connell Street again after this

“the Mabbot street entrance of nighttown”

meditates on death – his own, his son’s, his

covers slightly more distance, so

Square of Trinity College Dublin.

stop, either at the Spire or farther north at

is now, of all things, James Joyce Street.

father’s – before getting back to life.

plan and pace accordingly.

(a low

25

Events & Happenings

14th – 23rd June

MOTOR CITY BLUES

in Dominique Morrisseau’s Tony

Donmar Warehouse

southbankcentre.co.uk

When the last of its car

Award-winning play, the human

28th June – 24th August

Step out of your hotel and into our pick of this month’s most captivating events

factories was threatened with

cost of 2008’s global financial

donmarwarehouse.com

OH, ROMEO

closure, the city of Detroit

crisis is brought to visceral life.

If you’ve tweens and teens to

faced unimaginable loss. And

Skeleton Crew

entertain and you’re looking for a little culture, there’s a

The Kensington

TAKE PRIDE

this spring. Whether you

You know the drill. Parade,

For the world’s biggest polo

perch on the highly polished

check. Performances, check.

festival, head to Putney! If that

wooden benches (cushion a

Club nights, check. Carnival

wasn’t where you expected

must) or you prefer to go as

atmosphere, check. Brand

a groundling, this 90-minute

partnerships, check. Pride is a

re-telling of the drama of star-

rainbow celebration of every

crossed love is must-see.

orientation and a chance for

Romeo & Juliet

the LGBTQ+ communities to

Shakespeare’s Globe

celebrate their freedoms to

19th March – 13th April

love and live. You’re welcome!

shakespearesglobe.com

Pride in London

But 16,000 people (on Lady’s Day alone) and some of the world’s top polo players will be there. So, head down to Putney (just 20 minutes by tube) and stomp some divots (if you know, you know).

Chesterton’s Polo in the Park Hurlingham Park 7th – 9th June polointheparklondon.com SHOW OF THE SEASON Held every year since 1769, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is the world’s oldest open submission exhibition - meaning anybody can enter a piece of work. Coordinated by a different Royal Academician every year (in

Enninful OBE.

Barbie The Exhibition

a compelling new exhibition.

2024 it’s the abstract sculptor,

Naomi: In Fashion

The Design Museum

Zanele Muholi

Ann Christopher RA), the show

V&A South Kensington

5th July 2024 – 23rd

Tate Modern

features over 1,000 works,

22nd June 2024 -

February 2025

6th June – 26th September

many of them for sale.

24th March 2025

designmuseum.org

tate.org.uk

Summer Exhibition 2024

vam.ac.uk

The Royal Academy 18th June – 18th August

IN A BARBIE WORLD

royalacademy.org.uk

For anybody that enjoyed the

The Bloomsbury

MELTDOWN! Following in a stellar and pleasingly eclectic line of

Barbie movie (over 41 million

BEAUTIFUL ACTIVISM

mavericks to curate Meltdown

OOH, FASHION

before streaming), another

Artist and visual activist, South

(from Patti Smith to Ornette

Before Naomi, longevity in

treat. Barbie, the exhibition

African-born Zanele Muholi

Coleman, Elvis Costello to Lee

modelling didn’t exist. Then

isn’t only Barbie, or even

photographs black LGBTI

Scratch Perry, Jarvis Cocker

up she came, the original

just Ken. It’s a celebration

people from South Africa to

to Nick Cave), this year it’s

supermodel eating firsts for

of Barbie’s whole world and

“document the realities of

Chaka Khan’s turn and, frankly,

breakfast. A cultural icon and

features original (1959) Barbie,

people who deserve to be

we can’t wait. Bookended

a collaborator par excellence,

bestselling (Totally Hair)

heard”. Muholi’s photographs

by Chaka herself, it features

Naomi has also been a lifelong

Barbie, diversity Barbies and

capture the stories of people

a diverse line-up of peerless

advocate for equality. Her

all their friends - Ken, Midge,

often marginalised in their

musicians and storytellers.

legacy is celebrated in an

Christy, Teresa and Skipper

society, sharing them, and

Meltdown Festival

exhibition curated by Edward

(but what about Allan?).

Muholi’s own self-portrait, in

Southbank Centre

1959 Barbie No. 1 © Mattel, Inc. • Zanele Muholi Ntozakhe II, Parktown 2016. Courtesy of the Artist and Stevenson, and Yancey Richardson • Romeo & Juliet photograophy: Tristram Kenton

Romeo & Juliet at the Globe PUKKAH CHUKKAH

that sentence to end, likewise.

26

The Marylebone

fast-paced new production of

All over the city AND, PLAY

29th June 2024

Following its 2022 showing at

prideinlondon.org

the Venice Biennale, Mexican artist, Francis Alÿs’, acclaimed

TASTE SENSATION

series, Children’s Games is

When it comes to food festivals,

coming to the Barbican for its

55,000 Londoners can’t be

UK premiere, with the addition

wrong. And that’s roughly the

of a “site-specific project for

number wending their way to

the surrounding community

The Regent’s Park for Taste

offering new perspectives on

(celebrating 20 years). With

his prolific career”. Intriguing.

artisan food producers, dishes

Francis Alÿs

from some the capital’s best

Ricochets Barbican Art Gallery 27th June – 1st September barbican.org.uk

Left Barbie Number 1 from 1959 at The Design Museum.

Right, Top Ntozakhe II, Parktown 2016 by Zaneli Muholi at Tate Modern.

Right Romeo & Juliet 2024 at Shakespeare’s Globe.

27

Bristol

features the British National

Dublin. Looking back, we’ve

village, performances all over

20th – 29th June

Hot Air Championships where

come a long way. And how

town and the legendary Parade

dublinpride.ie

The Roundhouse

VISCERAL CANKER

around 15 teams go balloon

better to celebrate than at

and Mother Pride Block Party.

are bringing their latest world

9th July – 31st August

Spike Island’s celebration

to balloon to compete for the

Dublin Pride, with nine days

Dublin Pride

IMPRESSIONISTAS!

tour to The Roundhouse

roundhouse.org.uk

of the life in work of artist

ultimate accolade. Competition

of festivities, including Pride

All over the city

When you think of the

The Regent’s Park

Donald Rodney showcases his

flights start on 6th August,

12th – 16th June

incisive, acerbic commentary in

twice daily, but the festival

london.tastefestivals.com

sculpture, installation, drawing

proper starts on 9th August;

and digital media on racial

and when not looking up you

RAINDANCE

prejudice and injustice, as well

can enjoy the entertainment,

Britain’s largest independent

as the realities of the sickle cell

food and drink alongside.

film festival, Raindance is the

anaemia that took his life in

Bristol International

best place to see the work

1998. Curated in partnership

Balloon Fiesta

of new and established film

with the Nottingham

Ashton Court

makers and predict which might

Contemporary and Whitechapel

9th-11th August

be in for a shout at the Oscars.

Galleries.

bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk

Attended by about 16,000 film

Visceral Canker

lovers and industry types, it’s a

Spike Island

mix of screenings, workshops

25th May – 8th September

and talks, finishing with the

spikeisland.org.uk

The Westbury

Raindance Film Festival

BRISTOL PRIDE

TASTY!

Various locations

Pride is like children, you’re

In 2023, over 35,000

19th – 28th June

really not supposed to have

people made tracks for the

raindance.org

a favourite, but you kind of

delicious flavours of Taste

do. Bristol Pride is a riot,

of Dublin. With pop ups,

BRUTE FORCE

with two weeks of thought-

food trucks, masterclasses,

Fuerza Bruta are an Argentinian

provoking and, obviously,

workshops, tastings from

troupe, established in 2005

big fun programming,

artisan producers, bars and

by the co-creators of De La

culminating in the mother

live entertainment, it’s four

Guardia – dance imagineers

of all parades. Dress. Up.

fun days out for all the family

that took London by storm in

Bristol Pride

(and kids under 10 go free).

the 1990s. Creators of Aven, a

All over the city

Taste of Dublin Festival

29th June – 14th July

Merrion Square

bristolpride.co.uk

13th – 16th June

Impressionists it’s Monet, Manet

tasteofdublin.ie

and Degas that spring to mind.

restaurants, fire pits, cooking

“rollercoaster ride of euphoria,

Aven

schools, craft beer, fine wines,

optimism and desire beyond

Fuerza Bruta

cocktails, music and all manner

imagination” Fuerza Bruta

of food trucks.

Taste

Jury Awards.

HARBOURFEST

Yet some of the finest work

If tall ships, music stages,

50 YEARS OF PRIDE

was produced by female artists

water display teams, circus

Things were very different for

who never became household

acts, street food markets and

the LGBTQ+ people across

names. The National Gallery of

live performers float your

the world in 1974, when the

Ireland is redressing the balance

boat, you’re in good company.

first pride march took place in

this summer with an exhibition

The Bristol Harbour Festival

28

featuring Berthe Morisot, Eva

brings around 250,000 people

Left, Top Aerial dance

Gonzalès, Marie Bracquemond

every year to the docks and

by Fuerza Bruta at The

and Mary Cassatt.

they are treated to quite the

Roundhouse. Left The

Women Impressionists

long weekend. Find out more

irrepressible singer/songwriter

National Gallery of Ireland

and book yourself a pass.

Carol Whitworth of Doreen

27th June – 6th October

Bristol Harbour Festival

Doreen headlining Bristol’s

nationalgallery.ie

All around the Harbour

2023 HarbourFest. Right,

19th – 21st July

Top Donald Rodney at Spike

COME TOGETHER

bristolharbourfestival.co.uk

Island, Bristol Right The Artist’s

Every year about 40,000

daughter by Berthe Morisot

people flock to a suburban

LOOK UP!

from Women Impressionists at

park about 40 minutes

This year’s balloon fiesta

The National Gallery of Ireland.

south of Dublin City centre

29

The Dupont Circle

whole city puts on a show

THE FABULOUS FOURTH

draws the world’s top

old music.

PRIDE OF CORK

for Pride month with special

It’s the one date everybody

musicians, the Literary Festival

West Cork Music Festivals

While the theme and line-

drawn to town by its wonderful

THE MIGRATION

events and happenings in

knows in the American calendar

hosts talks and writers’

All over Bantry

up for this year’s Cork Pride

but confirmed headliners

literary festival. Founded by

Step Africa!’s latest production

bars, clubs and restaurants.

– Independence Day – and

workshops and the Masters of

28th June & 25th August

is yet to be announced at

include Doja Cat, Becky Hill

Sian Smyth, at Dalkey blink

takes its inspiration from Jacob

Pride Festival Parade

a rare public holiday that’s

Tradition is a celebration of the

westcorkmusic.ie

the time of going to press,

for Longitude festival. With

restaurants. Every June

multiple stages, 2024’s line-

it’s host to 20,000 people,

up was still being revealed

and 21 Savage. If that sounds

celebrated by all. In DC it’s a big

one thing we can say is it’s

like your jam, book ahead.

one – with all the usual food and

always a showstopper, with

Longitude festival

drink, the big parade, music,

happenings all over Cork City

Marlay Park

parties and, most importantly,

and a fabulous, fun, flamboyant

29th-30th June

the fireworks. DC’s are

rainbow parade that’s well

longitude.ie

(arguably) the most spectacular

worth lining the streets for.

in the USA.

Cork Pride

GREAT MINDS COME

Fourth of July

August 5th

TO CARLOW

All over Washington DC

corkpride.com

Founded in 2012 by Hugo

4th July

Jellet and Vivienne Guinness

july4thparade.com

There’s something rather

Writing and Ideas is a three-

pleasing that Ireland’s

day meeting of minds to

The River Lee

discuss literature, art, politics

gourmet capital rhymes with ‘fork’. Something not lost on the organisers of Cork’s

and every pressing issue of the day. Book ahead. If you

MIDSUMMER IN CORK

premier food festival that

can’t make it, we recommend

Come summer everyone in

takes over the city streets

The Borris Broadcasts.

Ireland wants to get out and

with all manner of artisan

Borris House Festival of

about, and when it comes to

goodness, including tastings,

Writing and Ideas

June that starts with the Cork

demos, food trucks, talks,

Carlow

Midsummer Festival. It’s all

entertainments and everything

7th-9th June

theatre, dance, live music, and

else a foodie could desire.

festivalofwritingandideas.com

one of the most diverse cultural

Cork on a Fork

festivals around, involving

All over the city

pretty much everybody in

14th – 18th August

the community. Enjoy!

corkcity.ie/en/cork-

Cork Midsummer Festival

on-a-fork-fest

The Croke Park Lawrence’s iconic Migration

Pennsylvania Avenue

All over the city

DANCING WITH TIME

to Tom Hanks or Stephen Fry

Series and tells the story of the

9th June

12th – 23rd June

Any new production of Brian

to Roddy Doyle, while Salman

great migration of the 1900s

capitalpride.org

corkmidsummer.com

Friel’s award-winning 1990

Rushdie dubbed it “the best

(when African Americans

play, set in County Donegal

little festival in the world”. .

moved from rural south to

BATTLE OF THE BBQS

in 1936 and capturing a

Dalkey Book Festival

industrial north in search of

It’s back to the ‘90s for the

moment of change for Ireland

13th-16th June

work and away from danger) in

32nd annual Giant Barbecue

and the Mundy sisters, is

dalkeybookfestival.org

movement, music and dance.

Battle in DC. While the theming

The Migration

is all fun and games, the BBQ

But when it’s directed by

FINAL COUNTDOWN

Arena Stage

battles are deadly serious

Caroline Byrne at The Gate

From July into August you’re

June 6th – July 14th

with some of the world’s top

theatre it’s a must-see.

reaching the final countdown

arenastage.org

pitmasters going head-to-

Dancing at Lughnasa

of the GAA season at Croke

The Gate Theatre

Park. Cheer and gasp at any

WASHINGTON PRIDE

spectacular BBQ on earth

12th July - 8th September

All-Ireland Championship finals,

With several hundred thousand

– alongside four stages of

gatetheatre.ie

grab a pint or a bite pre or

revellers expected to join the

bands, demos, and tastings.

post-match (there's a special

festivities, Pride is always

more. All you have to do is go.

A WORLD OF WORDS

Grill 16 menu as a tribute to Hill

a big fun day out – with

Giant National Capital

Just a 50-minute drive from

16) and live every moment.

entertainments, food, drink

BBQ Battle

Dublin you’ll find Dalkey, a

Croke Park Stadium

and the spectacular parade

Pennsylvania Avenue

picturesque seaside town with

21st July – 11th August

that makes a rainbow carnival

22nd-23rd June

independent shops and artisan

crokepark.ie

of Pennsylvania Avenue. The

bbqindc.com

head to produce the most

Quatuor Ardeo quartet photograph: Franziska Strauss

and you’ll miss Bono chatting

going to be interesting.

30

HAPPY PLACE

the Borris House Festival of

MUSIC AND WORDS Like city buses you wait all year and three come along at once. West Cork Music was established in 1995 and presents three festivals every summer. Based in Bantry, just over an hour from Cork City, the Chamber Music Festival

Left Quatuor Ardeo quartet at Cork’s Chamber Music Festival.

Right, Top Independence Day parade, Washington DC. Right The Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas.

31

24 HOURS

BOUJI SHOPPING IN BRISTOL With its street art and buzzy docks, it’s easy to forget that Bristol is a city with some seriously bouji shops. We’re heading to the pretty villas of Clifton, high on the hill.

8.30 FUEL UP Retail therapy is a tiring business. Go big on breakfast. doylecollection.com/hotels/the-bristol-hotel 10.00 STEP OUT Not every member of a party wants to shop. So refuseniks can take a (very) scenic walk up to Clifton then meet at lunchtime. mikesbristolwalks.com/walks/ walk-five-introduction-to-clifton 10.30 A-MAZE-ING This family-run, sustainably minded boutique have curated smart threads since 1985. mazeclothing.co.uk

FLEET STREET 1906

THEN

11.30 INDIRA ROSE VINTAGE Three storeys of antiques, much mid-century vintage, well worth a wander. indirarose.co.uk

For almost 300 years Fleet Street was synonymous with newspapers and is still used as shorthand for them, despite most papers leaving nearly four decades ago. Britain’s first newspaper, The Daily Courant, was published there from 1702 to 1735 when it was merged with the Daily Gazetteer. Unusually, even for today, it was published by a

12.00 GRACE & MABEL Founded by three sisters who stylishly cherry pick from their favourite designers. graceandmabel.co.uk

& NOW

11.00 CLIFTON ROCKS If you’re looking for fine jewellery from local artisans, Clifton Rocks is a gifting Nirvana. cliftonrocks.co.uk

12.30 SHY MIMOSA An olfactory adventure in a little shop chock full of perfumes. shymimosa.co.uk 1.00 CLIFTON ARCADE It’s a little bit gifty and touristy, but it’s a Victorian arcade zhuzh’d up to its original ornate glory. cliftonarcade.com

Today, Fleet Street couldn’t be more different. While ‘the Print’ was a significant employer of working-class city dwellers (mainly men) for decades, in the 1980s digital technology put them out of a job, with newspapers (and printing) moving to Wapping (previously docks in East London).

After years of demonstrations

2.00 LONG LUNCH AT THE LIDO You can’t go wrong with the cracking menu at the Clifton lido restaurant (yes, really). lidobristol.com 3.30 STROLL You can’t come all the way up here without peering down the gorge.

4.30 THE BRISTOL ARTISAN Ceramics, enamelware, block printed robes, giant raffia hats – you get the picture. thebristolartisan.com 6.00 IT’S GIN O’CLOCK You’ll need a drink before dinner. Make it a Rick’s Bar classic Negroni with Rick’s Gin @ricksbarbristol.

32

FLEET STREET TODAY

woman, Elizabeth Mallet. Amusing when you consider that it took until 1982 for women to win the right, in the courts, to approach the bar (pardon the pun) and buy their own drinks in legendary journalists’ watering hole, El Vinos.

When this image was taken in 1883, the street was lined with newspaper offices.

and conflict, one Rupert Murdoch was the first to move, taking his tabloids and his 1981-acquisition, The Times to Wapping in January 1986. Today, you can still find some Fleet Street icons, from the Punch Tavern to the Sunday Post building. 20th century gem, the former Daily Express building is now home to Goldman Sachs.