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.
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Sussex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Sussex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TAKE YOUR TIME
Dean Edwards’ new cookbook features delectable recipes that you can slow cook or stick in the oven. Here’s a selection of the best
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
ON THE FRONT FOOT
The rugby legend took the reins at Sussex County Cricket Club in 2017, rekindling his love for a sport that first won his heart on the village cricket fields of North Yorkshire
NAKED AMBITION
In the 1980s, Christine and Jennifer Binnie partied with Boy George and Marilyn and bared all as performance art collective The Neo-Naturists. Now they are working together to gain the recognition they feel they deserve
ROCKET MAN
Astronaut Tim Peake has come a long way since growing up in Westbourne and attending Chichester High School for Boys: 248 miles above Earth, to be precise. But, he says, life on the International Space Station has a lot in common with family caravanning holidays
Revolution man
Lewes’ most famous resident Thomas Paine may be the greatest propagandist who ever lived. But how did a humble customs and excise officer ignite the touchpaper for revolution in not one but two countries?
THE DIARY
17 exciting things to do this month in East and West Sussex
All in a day's work
Meet Tim Dummer, who has helped keep Midhurst’s Cowdray Estate shipshape for an impressive five decades
My favourite Sussex
Bruce Fogle is an author and a vet with a practice in London who has lived in West Sussex with his wife, the actress Julia Foster, since 1989. He recently became president of RSPCA Mount Noddy near Chichester
10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove
Brighton is often rated one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK. What these restaurants prove is that plant-based food doesn’t have to be puritanical – at all of these places you’ll find big flavours and a desire to push the envelope
