Londoner's Diary: New Annabel’s: brace yourself for the bill

In today's diary: Annabel's members brace themselves for big bill | Donald Trump's new twitter alias | Katie Hickman tells tales of sex and rock n roll | Technological stars party at Sotheby's | Boris Johnson and Theresa May eat and run | Naomie Harris sympathises with Tom Hiddleston | John Bercow steps out to the theatre
Building the empire: Richard Caring
7 February 2017

It has been host to some legendary guests including the Prince of Wales, Aristotle Onassis and shamed US President Richard Nixon. But now the world’s best known nightclub, Annabel’s in Mayfair, has infuriated a few of its loyal clientele by hitting them with a steep bill.

One hundred members with memberships up for renewal have just been sent the invitation to join the new Annabel’s, after owner Richard Caring invested £55 million into new luxury premises a few doors down from the original basement club. This is a whole townhouse on Berkeley Square.

One hot-headed recipient of the letter, who doesn’t want to be named, told The Londoner: “Even my richest friends say he can f**k off — the place is going to be crammed full of Eurotrash who are the only ones stupid enough to pay it.”Under Caring’s proposals, it will be £2,700 for annual membership and an additional £1,250 for your spouse. To join rival members club No 5 Hertford Street, situated just around the corner and owned by Robin Birley, the son of the original Annabel’s owner Mark Birley, costs two-thirds of the price of Annabel’s at around £1,800 annual membership and £500 for an added spouse.

“The only reason aristocracy have retained their membership is because when some of them joined 20 years ago the deal was that the yearly membership stayed the same,” said one Mayfair insider. “The drinks aren’t even subsidised.”It is true that meritocracy has bitten into the spending power of the aristocracy — but The Londoner thinks Caring won’t be short of the new elite for his much anticipated venture. His representatives were too dignified to issue a response this morning.

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The Trump presidency hasn’t got off to a flier so no wonder social media seeks solace in the past. A new Twitter account is dedicated to Donaeld The Unready, a fictional medieval king with Trump-like qualities. “I’ve got great swords,” the profile reads. “Everyone says so. Make Mercia Great Again.” He hopes to build a wall to repel the Welsh, and hates King Canute. “What a loser. Can’t even hold back the sea. It’s just water. We’re going to be so tough on the sea. Sad.”

Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll in the Raj

TO DAUNT’S in Marylebone last night, where writer Katie Hickman was the perfect hostess at the launch of her new novel The House at Bishopsgate. The book is the third in a trilogy that has taken up 10 years of her life but she is already planning the next step: two works of non-fiction. “One is about women of the Raj, from 1616, and the other is women of the Wild West,” Hickman said. “They were in the early days of sex, drugs rock ’n’ roll: they drank and they gambled and they had not very respectable liaisons.” Sounds like The Londoner’s kind of gals.

Fashionable folk are talking techno

Real intellectuals discussed artificial intelligence, fashion and technology last night in an outing for the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Trust at Sotheby’s. José Neves, CEO of luxury group Farfetch, mused on the intersection between glamour and gadgets with will.i.am, who has recently launched a range of designer earbuds. Given the amount of time the Black Eyed Pea spends over here, The Londoner wonders if he’s on some kind of exchange programme with James Corden and Piers Morgan (we’re happy with the deal). Guests included interior designer Kelly Hoppen, cocktail dress maven Amanda Wakeley, and Donna Air, who was going for gold in an elegant fringed ensemble.

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Pity Boris. The Foreign Secretary had barely tucked into his starter at the Black and White Ball last night when he had to make his excuses. He, Theresa May, Liz Truss and a host of other ministers had to leave the biggest Tory fundraiser of the year, held at Battersea Evolution, in order to return to Westminster in time for the Article 50 vote. Guess the days of party politics are over.

Harris puts herself in Hiddleston’s shoes

Last month Naomie Harris appeared to cringe as Tom Hiddleston, pictured, gave a questionable acceptance speech at the Golden Globes. But now she explains that she was expressing empathy, not disdain. “I really sympathise with Tom,” Harris tells New York Magazine, “because I think it’s so easy, under the pressure of those moments … to find yourself going down the path of telling a story and as you’re telling it, think, ‘This is not what I want to say, it’s not how I mean it to go’, but you’re kind of trapped on that train and you can’t stop.”Harris may experience a similar ordeal if she wins an Oscar for her performance in Moonlight. “It’s not going to happen,” she says. “It’s Viola [Davis]’s year, you know?” Stranger things have happened...

Tough crowd for Bercow

FRESH from theatrics in the Commons over Donald Trump, John Bercow stepped out last night. He was among the audience at the Garrick Theatre, current home of acclaimed political play This House. But just as he was getting comfy in the red plush seats, a fellow theatregoer turned to confront him. Other members of the audience — Jack Straw was also about — held their breath. Were they complaining about Bercow’s speech, in which he made it clear that Trump was not welcome to address Westminster Hall? No: the stranger was angry at Bercow’s secondary announcement, his decision to strip Commons clerks of their ceremonial wigs. Bercow replied that they “had to modernise”. But are the two matters related? Surely a ban on wigs would at least require an in-depth analysis of Trump’s follicles.

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Pick of the day: yesterday actress Meghan Markle was pictured choosing some flowers at Kensington’s Flower Corner, where we buy our blooms. See you there on Valentine’s Day/ Eve, Meghan.

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