A fine London lunch

When it comes to a proper lunch there are few things more satisfying than a proper pork pie.

In the morning I had fought my way through the crowds at Selfridges to buy a ceramic pie vent in the shape of a blackbird so that I could have a go at making a traditional English pork pie at home. No doubt, the form comes from the old nursery rhyme: “Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.”

A pleasant walk in the May sunshine then brought me to the doors of Fortnum and Mason. The upper floors are now stuffed with tat for tourists but fine food can still be found in the basement and I was soon the proud possessor of an individual pork pie. Carrying this carefully in my Fortnum bag I walked along Piccadilly to the churchyard of St James, near to Piccadilly Circus. William Blake was baptized here. The church was closed but I found a seat outside and ate half the delicious pie.

Then I headed back along Piccadilly, on the other side of the road, and walked up to Grosvenor Square, buying a takeaway cup of Earl Grey tea from a café on the way. The remainder of the pork pie was eaten and the tea drunk under the shade of the huge plane trees, bright green in their early summer leaves. The square was originally at the center of the Mayfair housing developments, which started in the 1720s, of the Grosvenor family. In 1946 it was opened to the public and is now looked after by the Royal Parks. The Grosvenor family remains today one of the wealthiest in Britain with huge property holdings.

Grosvenor Square has a very close association with the United States. The country´s embassy opened there in 1938. A statue of President Roosevelt stands at the north side of the square. At the south side stands a monument to the American fliers of the Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force who fought the Nazis with Britain before their nation´s entry into the Second World War. 244 Americans served with the squadrons. A quiet garden commemorates all the people who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York.

There are many over-priced restaurants in London and many scruffy cafes. But, when the sun is shining in early summer, all it takes is a cup of tea and a pork pie to make one of the world's great lunches.

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©Phillip Bruce 2009.