Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Cafe Royal

5 comments:

Hels said...

I don't know what it was like at the beginning, nor after WW1. The time to be at the Cafe Royal was definitely when dining with Oscar Wilde. The idea of receiving visitors from the Continent, changing languages as new people came in, appeals to me enormously.

Hermes said...

Thanks Helen. I found this nice potted history some of which was definately new to me:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/last-orders-at-the-caf-royal-1208491.html

I didn't realise Oscar was friends wih Frank Harris. And a drinker of Absinthe.

http://czechabsinthe.wordpress.com/2007/10/

Hermes said...

Thanks Helen. I found this nice potted history some of which was definately new to me:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/last-orders-at-the-caf-royal-1208491.html

I didn't realise Oscar was friends wih Frank Harris. And a drinker of Absinthe.

http://czechabsinthe.wordpress.com/2007/10/

Hannah Stoneham said...

What a great picture. It is a shame that it closed down for good just a few years ago, but of course it had long since changed from the days when this photograph was taken. I recently read Monica Dickens' novel "Mariana" and that contains an excellent scene in the Cafe Royale in the 1930s...

thanks for sharing
Hannah

Hermes said...

Hi Hannah, as Helen says above to have been able to go at its height and share a coffee (or something stronger) with Oscar and listen to his wit - I'd love that.