Grandmother's 80th at the Cavalry Club
I have always known of the Cavalry and Guards club, mostly because of family gatherings, where we would wine and dine like kings. Since my step grandfather was a Major in the cavalry and my father a Brigadier, we have always had strong roots with the Club. It is where where my parents held their Wedding reception, as did my my uncle who married 10 years ago. The Club, as a result, holds many fond memories for me.
When one walks into the marble entrance hall of number one Piccadilly it is like going into another world. When I first walked into the club I must have been at least seven years old and I had not a clue of what was happening it was quite overwhelming. After a while one adjusted to the unique settings of the club.
The Cavalry and Guards Club is a five storey house right on Piccadilly where one can find the famous Ritz hotel. The Club is a military one where one can find the headquarters of the Cavalry in London. The Cavalry were once one of the most important branches within the army. Now in modern times they use tanks which are much more effective. They really only use horses for formal purposes.
London Clubs go back to the Victorian times, where they were a important aspect of London Society. Club life was originally invented so that the men could escape their homes and find a place of tranquillity. The London Clubs thrived during this era and became hotbeds of political debate and discussion. Therefore they were often considered the true seats of power behind the throne in the Victorian area. Club culture has been an important part of the London scene ever since. Even now it is where the true business of the day gets settled and it is considered a place of networking and where one can make the "right friends" in the "right place".
If one wants to be well looked after, one makes a reservation at the Cavalry Club. I have always enjoyed great food and here they do it in grand style. Food has always been one of my many interests in my rich diverse life. To quote Plato, who was born in 427 BC, "one must resist desire"; alas I have never resisted my desire for food so in that sense I am as basic as a beast. Yet, when one looks at the other side of the coin it is mostly for survival that I eat and therefore for me it is the fear factor that one day I may be poor and thus may starve, that drives me to eat as much as I do. I also think that when one is eating its the same as yawning its very relaxing and you want to do more, so it becomes a obsession.
Nevertheless, the Cavalry and Guards Club is the one place which I cannot resist; as the food they create is fit for kings. Indeed it has even entertained kings at the club so it is fit for royalty. My favourite fact about the club was that Edward VIII used to spend a lot of time at the Club in the 1930s and it would be his special place where he would have a whale of a time.
As I have noted, it was in the Victorian times when clubland thrived as a institution; it was the hidden world of the wealthy. That is where all of the well-to-do men would escape to; fleeing their homes to behave badly at their clubs, which in a way was like a home for them. Overall it is a unique way of life that remains mysterious to many and only a few can have or want access to clubland.
