Londoning advantages...

Having to work in London occasionally has its bonuses. Just a couple of hundred yards from our office in Caledonia House (as it was christened since last week; before that it went by the rather more prosaic 53 Parliament Street) is Banqueting House. The clue as to its function is in its name. It sits on the site of the former palace built by Wolsey which was then 'adopted' by Henry VIII, after which it became a favourite site of splendid feasts and masques for kings of England and Scotland. That is, until Cromwell decided it was just the place for a bit of beheading, and King Charles I was executed outside the hall in 1649. As well as its grizzly past, the building is now famous because of its spectacular ceilings which are the only ceiling panels painted by Reubens which remain in their original location. History lesson over...