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Spy tour of Mayfair and St. James’s
We were recently treated us to a spy tour of Mayfair and St. James’s given by the wonderfully entertaining David Harry, the London Spy First stop was bookseller Peter Harrington, where we gaped at an Oddjob selection of Ian Fleming first editions. Top price near £100k. A wonderful shop full of treasures old and older. David regaled us with stories and showed us relevant objects from his collection, including German-language propaganda dropped by the RAF. We visited a number of sites related to Bond, spying and wartime derring-do: - the Itsu where Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with polonium, left so much radiation it had to be closed; - shirtmaker Turnbull & Asser, which created Churchill’s wartime Siren Suit, and Beretta, maker of Bond’s original handgun, before he switched to a Walther PPK when the Beretta’s silencer became stuck in his trouser waistband; - the exclusive clubs White’s and Boodle’s, conflated to Blades in Moonraker, where Bond exposed Drax cheating at cards; - the Carlton Club, with its cads’ corner for men who look up ladies’ skirts; - Churchill’s favourite cigar shop; - the offices of Operation Fortitude, the team that deceived Hitler into believing the invasion of Europe would begin in Calais; and - Hancocks, the jeweller that makes each Victoria Cross. Finishing in St James’s Square, where George Smiley had his own table in the London Library, and home to Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron and writer of the world’s first computer program, we parted ways with our guide at the military service In and Out Club, former home of Nancy Astor, the first woman to sit as an MP in the UK. It was a thoroughly enjoyable tour, and I cannot recommend it highly enough !
