We went in to London last night for dinner and the number of people at Paddington station was definitely smaller than usual, even taking into account summer holidays. The Saturday evening trains from Maidenhead are usually packed with young people going into London to make nuisances of themselves; last night they were nearly empty. (FYI, the Krispy Kreme stand at Paddington is now open.)

Over dinner in Knightsbridge, we chatted with the manager and she said that even they had had a slight dip (this was one of London's most popular restaurants) although they were doing better than most. Among merchants/restaurateurs, etc., there it was commonly acknowledged that business is down, even if they don't say so on TV.

Anyone for comments on Rollerbladers in London
Bikers are tame compared to some of them!

The antiques trade has suffered dreadfuly since the terrorist attacks of a month or so ago. Virtually any dealer will tell you that people simply aren't buying, and this has just worsened the situation in an already fragile market. Modern interiors, and this minimalist fad (because a fad is what it is) have all contributed to the downturn in antiques, especially furniture.

As for restaurants, no top restuarants will suffer. For starters, anyone going to Le Caprice (and every other smart place) are not going to be taking the tube, and if they are, they need their heads seeing to!

Time to buy antiques in London! Any time the stuffy, overfed dealers start to whine about a "downturn," it means there's a chance you can find something at a reasonable price for a change.

Dealers are hanging on to things rather than letting them go for below a "fair" price. Antique dealers aren't stuffy at all really. Also, people pay thousands for Conran furniture which will never be worth much, they're far better to purchase some antique pieces that hold their value (and that's "antique" as Skandinavian stuff from the mid of the last century works fabulously).

Well, MK2, the restaurant we dined at IS one of London's top restaurants by any and every measure. Their business has dropped, but slightly, primarily from out of town customers (most of their patrons are locals).

I'd go as far to say that the drop in their business has nothing to do with the terrorist attacks. If I was to visit a restaurant that's some journey, e.g. The Fat Duck, I wouldn't even think about taking a train. The drop in business is a combination of the economy, corporate expense accounts being tightened, personal purse strings being tied ever tighter, and things like that.

If one was to take the tube and dine at The Ivy it would be laughable. Rather like a girl buying a pair of Jimmy Choos for walking (long distances) in.

I don't know if many people here will know what I'm going to refer to, but: One can purchase little (although it has four smallish seats) electric cars that cost around 7000GBP, and you can park free anywhere in Westminster, and are congestion and road tax exempt. If one doesn't want to use the tube, then this seems a feasible alternative, and far more comfortable too!

Those to the manor born know instinctively that to express wishing, wanting, willing, doubt, or uncertainty, the subjunctive mood is employed. &quot;If I was...&quot; is how English is spoken in the <u>worst</u> parts of London.

<i>p.s.</i> Unloading a party of four from a tiny electric car at <i>La Gavroche</i> like so many circus clowns would undoubtedly be the source of considerable mirth among the staff.

That reminds me of Hyacinth &quot;should it have been were? or was it was?&quot;.

If I lived outside of London then I'd certainly purchase one, they look great fun, and are virtually silent too!

I've taken the tube to get to The Ivy, Le Gavroche, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, GR at Claridges, J Sheekey, Nahm, Racine, Petrus...

And Glyndebourne come to think of it. I was quite amused by the looks that I got travelling on the central line at 1pm wearing a ballgown.

But one day when cash is more plentiful I aspire to MK_2's lifestyle!

As for the tube I'm with Talullah - fewer passengers = more seats = much nicer journey. Last Thursday morning (one month anniversary of first bombs etc) I had a choice of seats in rush hour where for the previous month people had been literally taking a running jump to physically get into the carriages. It's been most amusing how the British tube etiquette (pretend no-one else exists) is maintained by some even when the crush is so extreme you can barely breathe.

As a person who used to cycle in London some years ago, may I say that the bad habits and poor riding of the majority of cyclists in recent times is a matter of evolution.

All those cyclists who followed the rules were killed, usually by black cabs, believing the highway code that they had right of way whilst on a roundabout :-)

Whereabouts do you live?

How strange going on the tube in evening dress, although I'd imagine it gave the passengers a change from the usual garb worn by tube users. Wouldn't one arrive a little shabby chic after a tube ride wearing a gown? It's certainly different bordering on bizarre.

For me, using the tube to go/return to/from anywhere/anything would utterly ruin any enjoyment previously obtained.

I live in central london, the tube ride in question was from work to Victoria for the train down to Glyndebourne (I've never before seen a train run out of first class seats while standard remains entirely empty).

It wasn't a Mario Fortuny dress so sitting down on the tube was OK (I once asked about a dress in the Fortuny shop in Venice. Not only was it expensive even beyond usual Bond Street levels, but you couldn't sit down in it. At all. Ever.)

<b>http://www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk/catalogue/images/xl/00000168.jpg</b>

Robespierre, it's interesting that you chose to mention the misused verb with subjuctive mood. You mention that such mistakes would not be common among the better classes. How right you are. But meanwhile that same post was filled with equally misused words. Don't get me started on &quot;using a preposition to end a sentence with&quot;.

Anyway, it is clear that some who would aspire to be &quot;of the manner born&quot; are in fact, not so at all. Claiming that anyone who uses the tube is simply beneath him in social status would be one such clue that the writer is trying too hard to be something he's not. Most people with true class do not disparage those who do things differently. Only those who have attained an improved financial and (possibly social) status go around mocking those who do things that seemingly represent their earlier &quot;lower&quot; social class. How sad.

That advert is amusing. It comes from the same era when cigarettes were recommended for their health benefits - curing colds etcetera.

Tres amusement!

&quot;Most people with true class do not disparage those who do things differently. Only those who have attained an improved financial and (possibly social) status go around mocking those who do things that seemingly represent their earlier &quot;lower&quot; social class. How sad.&quot;

And how true.