Country Life 4-Jan-2023

January Art London Art Fair brings together more than 100 galleries showcasing contemporary artworks from the early 20th century to today. January 18–22 at the Business Design Centre, 52, Upper Street, N1 (www.londonartfair.co.uk) Opera The Irish National Opera’s run of Least Like the Other: Searching for Rosemary Kennedy (facing page) is a thought-provoking work about the older sister of former President John F. Kennedy. January 15–19 at The Linbury Theatre, 35–36, Bow Street, WC2 (www.irishnationalopera.ie) Music The Piccadilly Sinfonietta will tackle Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Candlelight and other timeless classics, January 28, at St James’ Church, 197, Piccadilly, W1 (www.sjp.org.uk) February Theatre The Globe Theatre (21, Globe Walk, SE1) and Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (21, New Globe Walk, SE1) will both stage performances of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, to mark the 400th anniversary of the printing of the Elizabethan playwright’s…

IT all started with a chunk of Parmesan. George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, sent the cheese, together with seemingly innocent letters, to Lady Mary Anne Sturt, wife of his friend and fellow MP Charles Sturt. But concealed inside the envelopes were passionate love letters: ‘I can think of nothing else but you,’ wrote the Marquess when he feared she was ill. ‘I have never felt such a tremor as I do now!’ Unfortunately for him, Sturt chanced upon one of the hidden letters and sued Blandford. Only the vagaries of Georgian politics prevented awkward encounters between the two under the Gothic turrets of the Houses of Parliament: the Marquess had briefly stopped serving during his dalliance and, when he returned, Sturt lost his seat. Blandford, however, was soon dogged by further…

Queen Anne’s Gate, £6.41 million This development brings together the best of old and new—the Grade II-listed façade hides 27 apartments beautifully created by design house Linley with architects PDP London. This property has 2,022sq ft of accommodation, with three bedrooms. Beauchamp Estates (020–7722 4000; www.beauchamp.com) Adams Row, £11.95 million This 3,872sq ft Mayfair house is well suited to entertaining with the main reception room spanning the width of the property. The master bedroom has a terrace, plus there are three more bedrooms, a cinema room, gym and steam room. Harrods Estates (020-7409 9001; www.harrodsestates.com) Upper Grosvenor Street, £2.999 million Set on the third floor of this elegant building, Flat 21 enjoys fine views across the Mayfair rooftops. The 1,097sq ft accommodation includes two bedrooms, an airy reception room and a separate kitchen and dining…

Seasonal suggestions It’s your last chance to soak up some of the festive spirit: ‘Winter Light’ at the Southbank—an open-air exhibition featuring lightworks from global artists —is free to view until January 8 (www. southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/winter-festival) and tickets are still available to the Royal Opera House’s The Nutcracker, with the last performance on January 14 (www.roh.org/tickets-and-events-the-nutcracker-by-peter-wright-dates). Christmas aside, it’s your last chance to marvel at one of van Gogh’s masterpieces at ‘Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience’. Tickets to the exhibition space at 106, Commercial Street, E1, are available until January 15 (www.vangoghexpo.com). On January 29, members of the English Civil War Society will march down The Mall to mark the anniversary of Charles I’s beheading outside Banqueting House. The procession, which is free to watch, includes the laying of a wreath (www.…

THERE are many more beautiful buildings in London, but few sit quite so spectacularly in the cityscape as the Alexandra Palace. To reach its spot at the top of a 300ft hill, guidebooks suggest walking from Alexandra Park station (the attraction was once served by its own branch line), which enables the visitor to admire the extensive prospects of the capital below. But an alternative approach is from the Muswell Hill side, starting at the bottom of the hill. Climbing the slope through the trees, you get an arresting view of the building itself. It’s quite a montage. The long, terraced frontage has the massiveness of a national museum and a gabled central arch with a large circular window is akin to a cathedral. The round-headed openings above the colonnade…

What part of London is home for you? I’ve lived off Cleaver Square in Kennington for the past 15 years. Much of Georgian Kennington is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall estate and, luckily, it escaped the wrecking balls of the 1960s. Cleaver Square is one of London’s finest, hosting up to 10 games of boules a night in summer on the green. I’m an émigré from Chelsea and was lucky enough to grow up opposite the houseboats on Chelsea Embankment. It was quite an edgy place to be in the 1970s; I thought becoming a King’s Road Punk was one of the Seven Ages of Man. The King’s Road is now about as edgy as Esher. Where are your favourite places to eat and drink around the Old Bailey, Temple and…