Thursday 14 July 2005

Where were the French?

Tonight I went to St James's Park because there alledgedly was a big event organised around the Inn The Park bar and restaurant, to celebrate Bastille Day, the French National Holiday. The actual day is the 14th of July but the evening of the 13th is usually when people party, organise fireworks, etc.; the 14th is then dedicated to official celebrations involving a lot of military marches and official speeches in all main towns. So I was expecting a reasonably large crowd, considering the number of French people living in London, as well as some real celebration and some sort of pyrotechnics. Not only was there no fireworks but there were very few French people. Nobody would have ever guessed it was a special day.

Then, there was Inn The Park. The venue is beautiful but the drinks cost a fortune, even for the area, and the service is not very good. There was some confusion on closing time: from what I understood, if you were only drinking, you could only be served until 11pm but if you were having food as well you could be served until 11:30. However, they got quite confused and we ended up with a couple of extra beers after official drinking-only closing time. The location of the place is fantastic but it doesn't justify the price nor the poor service.

Then I forgot my book there so I got very bored on the tube journey home. I'll have to go back and see if they found it or buy a new copy.

All wasn't bad though: St James's Park is a beautiful place and I was with friends, in very good company. A good evening all round.

No comments: