Smoking Club Quarterly Drinks: Hippodrome
6th September 2016Having had to miss the June Smoking Club, I was very pleased to come to the new Committee's latest wheeze: The splendid open deck bar, (fairly) newly created at the London Hippodrome. This is a venue I've passed for over 20 years and never stepped inside... well, it's extraordinary - a Frank Matcham theatre, conceived as a circus and now, after several variants, a Casino, Theater, Restaurant and Bar - you can just have a drink and a smoke (they keep a fine humidor if you're caught short), or try their excellent steak and lobster House dish - very fine too. Whilst Tony Scanlon chairs this Committee, it was Assistant Elise Rasmussen who organised the excellent evening. About 25 of us found our way to the reserved smoking deck where we were entitled to two drinks from the bar, and plenty of good bites were circulated. Assistant Colin Ritchie kindly gave me a Montecristo No.2 and, when that was done, I stoked up the silver-mounted churchwarden kindly given me by Past Master Richard Tranter, and a darn good smoke it was too. Several guests had joined us, and we were very pleased to welcome Peter, the Manager of the place who gave us a fascinating potted history. Well done to Tony, Elise and the team - roll on the next one...