A few weeks ago, I flew by an "award winning" airline ... famed for its "faultless service" ... and yes - it is good but rather contrived i.e. done by the book. Real service comes from the heart, not from requirement. The reason I bring this up is Shabul the Doorman at the hotel I have been staying in. As you can imagine, I meet many doormen in many hotels but it is not often you meet one who actually does not care who you are, he will treat you the same. Whether you are a multi-millionaire or someone delivering shirts, Shabul smiles, is courteous and is also the kind of guy who looks like he does not WANT a tip! He's the kind of guy who would give you five pounds rather than take one from you! If ever you are in Canary Wharf and need cheering up, Shabul is your man.
We checked out of The Four Seasons, Canary Wharf ... a sad moment ... at the end of a wonderful stay.
So this morning we ventured into the Eastside and specifically Flowers East art gallery. Matthew Flowers and I have been friends for many years and in fact, he is the one who introduced me to the art world. The likes of Peter Howson, Patrick Hughes and John Keane have all entered my life because of Matt. The Eastside is so trendy now and within 200 metres of the gallery there are oodles of clubs, bars and restaurants ... so the art he shows is in the perfect location. The stars that I have seen swing through Matt's doors include David Bowie and Brian Eno. Anyway, on camera, we discussed "cool Eastside" ... and he made me feel positively ... old!
OK - here's a story for you. Many, many moons ago I had a friend who LOVED Madonna. Anyway, I got two copies of her awful but very exclusive book "Sex" ... it has a metal cover and is filled with dodgy photos of "Madonna" with ... well ... boyfriends in provocative poses. I never got to give one of the books to my friend and instead Matt swapped a copy for a piece of art called "Praise the Mouse" by John Keane. SO, Matt looks after one of the world's greatest living artists - Peter Howson - who really wanted to paint a portrait of Madonna. She refused several requests for a sitting so he used the "Sex" book I gave Matt as his model. Anyway, he painted two pieces that got HUGE HUGE publicity (one below) and I suppose this was down to me! Legend has it that Peter DID get Madonna to pose ... but even the artist has denied it! I would hate to think what the pieces would fetch now at auction ... Matt??!!!
From there to Spitalfields Market ... since the 60's it has been selling fruit & veg ... now with £120 million of investment - it is ALSO cool, trendy and quite fun. We filmed and left ... I could have spent THOUSANDS there.
The boys then pootled off to the Olympic site to film and the Excel centre.
I mentioned yesterday that there was an aircraft carrier in the Thames yesterday. Well, it is there to celebrate 100 years of aircraft in the Navy ... and this morning I was woken up by helicopters and jets buzzing around! It was quite a sight from 7 floors up ...
Before I checked into The Sloane Club, I ventured into Davidoff for a cigar with the greatest cigar man in the world - Edward Sahakian. A nice Entreatco was smoked ...
I have two "homes" in London - The Athenauem Hotel on Picadilly and The Sloane Club. Tonight I am staying at the latter ... in one of the suites. The Club is a (members) club... not a hotel ... and it offers home luxuries. The suite has a large bedroom, large bathroom and lounge ... and is just off Sloane Square! Excellent place, excellent location and excellent value for money. AND it takes dogs! Yay!
Off for a barbeque now - a HUGE day of editing tomorrow...
Song of the Day: Take A Bow (Say Goodbye) - Madonna (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI_Q2L-bLs8&feature=related)
Weather: Grumbling
SHABUL
MADONNA (or Reclining Madonna With the Boobies)
SLOANE CLUB SUITE LOUNGE
SLOANE CLUB SUITE BEDROOM
