In my admittedly very limited experience, new parenthood is about the birth of more than just a baby. Two other new individuals emerge dazed into the sunlight by which, of course, I mean the new parents. There are so many firsts in that first year of parenthood that it is easy to lose one’s own identity. The thing I have found the most shocking, though, is the death of spontaneity.
So the idea of a spur-of-the-moment family weekend in the capital struck me as daring in the extreme. But Taj 51 Buckingham Gate seemed perfect: it would be our own little pied a terre so no need to worry about having to sit in silence after the boy goes to bed at 7; plus all the many little conveniences meant it would be just like being at home, only miles better.
On a cold, rainy November day stepping into the grand central courtyard, with its red brick, glossy green tiles and Shakespearean frieze, felt like finding water in the desert. The site was originally home to almshouses caring for underprivileged children before a Major Pawley built eight prestigious townhouses as an enclave for the political and aristocratic elite. Three of these now form Taj 51 Buckingham Gate, one of which – Minster’s – was to be our temporary home.
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