LEICESTER SQUARE

 

           No need for words ……

 

https://www.leicestersquare.london/scenes-in-the-square/

       Here’s hoping the woke brigade don’t discover a reason to pull down Mary Poppins.

    If dressing up for a singalong rocks your boat (certainly not mine, on both counts) the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Place is the place to go ….

    On visiting the Prince Charles in 2007, film director Kevin Smith complained that Quentin Tarantino had a bar named after him, despite never having been to the cinema.

    So a gents toilet cubicle was thoughtfully named after Smith, complete with a framed photo on the door. More recently the toilets have been swapped, so the Kevin Smith Cubicle is now in the ladies.

     Classic movies are regularly shown at the Prince Charles. I've recently been there to see Pulp Fiction (1994) and The Wild Bunch (1969), in all their gory glory, complete with cue marks for the reel changeovers.

     The Hippodrome, was built in 1900 for circus and variety performances. The first show ever was a music hall revue which featured one of the earliest performances of Charlie Chaplin. Shows were spectacular and included equestrian acts, elephants, polar bears and acrobats. From 1958 to 1982 the Hippodrome became "The Talk of the Town" nightclub. Other incarnations have come and gone. It has been Britain’s largest casino since 2012.

    The Empire Theatre was originally built in 1884 as a variety theatre and rebuilt by MGM for films in the 1920s. Since then it has always been a cinema, shared with various other attractions including a dance hall and currently a casino.

     

     Leicester Square McDonald’s is on the site of Fanum House which was the elegant residence of Joshua Reynolds at the height of his fame. The artist had his house extensively refurbished, creating an octagonal studio and staircase specially modified for the wide skirts of his lady friends.

     Orwell admitted he did know of a few pubs that almost came up to his ideal and his essay finishes: “And if anyone knows of a pub that has draught stout, open fires, cheap meals, a garden, motherly barmaids and no radio, I should be glad to hear of it, even though its name were something as prosaic as the Red Lion or the Railway Arms”.

     Tip for visitors: Never take the underground to travel from Leicester Square to Covent Garden as the stations are just 0.2 miles apart. 

   Westminster Reference Library, St Martin’s Street

      

     It's odd to find a public library in a prime location just off Leicester Square. You’d have thought Westminster Council would have sold it off ages ago.

    Chinatown

     

     Wardour Street (left) and Gerrard Street. Yes, these are recent pictures – the Chinese New Year lanterns are still there. Also, although we can now eat indoors, tables still have to be spaced apart so most alfresco arrangements remain to provide extra seating.

      There are plaques aplenty, one wonders what the collective noun is …. plethora?

    At Wong Kei, before social distancing, you would likely be instructed to share a table, even if the restaurant wasn’t busy; and you could expect verbal abuse should you have the temerity to ask for a knife and fork.

    Disappointingly the waiters are not so rude these days. I’m warmly welcomed with the words – “Sit there. What you want?” This is not, and never was, the place for a leisurely lunch and the front half of the restaurant is now tables-for-one. They are all arranged facing the front, resembling a Uighar re-education classroom.

     There’s already a complimentary pot of tea on my designated table.  My mixed meat noodles arrive quickly, are very tasty, and reasonably priced. The portions are generous; the Chinese aunties bring their own Tupperware to take away what they can’t finish. The moment I’ve cleared my plate the bill appears - cash only. I was so looking forward to asking for it in the only Cantonese I know.

Lo’s Noodle Factory, Dansey Place