For years it seems I have been labouring under the misconception that London is an evil place full of smoke, traffic, rip-off merchants and vagrants.   This is all still there of course, but on my first visit for many years I found beneath the stereotypes some fulfilment for the soul.  Hundreds of years of history, stunning architecture, some of the finest food and wine available anywhere in the world, which of course it would have been rude not to partake in. Then, of course there’s the conspicuous display of consumption in all things material.  Of particular interest to me of course were the fine watches and cars in every direction of our designated base, namely London’s premier Mayfair district.

I got bored counting the ubiquitous Porsches and Range Rovers and found my tastes quickly attuned to more exotic finery, Lamborghini Murcielago, Ferrari 550, Maserati Granturismo and more than a smattering of the latest models from Rolls Royce. In the watch arena I was reminded just how expensive new Omegas are now (£3250 for the CoAxial Moonwatch) and how beautiful the styling is on modern Cartier.

In the hangover from the ‘bankers bonus’ era, it’s refreshing to find that in Central London at least there is no such thing as a credit crunch. The sound of Harrod’s tills was ringing louder than Alastair Darling’s national debt alarm and the restaurants and bars were busier than Gordon Brown’s PR consultant.