Londoner's Diary: A radical change of thinking on Alain De Botton hotel

In today's Diary: Have Alain de Botton’s dreams hit rock bottom? | Baileys Prize shortlist has The Power  | Pamela could be in trouble with Peta | Shining solidarity with Russia? | A fitting George Michael tribute  
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4 April 2017

Have Alain de Botton’s dreams hit rock bottom? Back in January 2015, the philosopher and author applied for planning permission to turn a derelict house in Hampstead into a “philosophers’ hotel.” But it seems that the promise of a thinkers’ sanctuary won’t be delivered after all.

Earlier this year, property developers Adam and Robert Julian Bier filed a planning permission application for 6 Streatley Place, the site of de Botton’s dream hotel. De Botton had bought the property for a bargain £900,000 in 2013 then sold it on quietly last year. The new proposal is for the “demolition of the existing workshops and the erection of a 1-3 storey building, with first- and second-floor terraces comprising four flats”.

The Camden New Journal reports that the pair informed Camden Town Hall that the hotel is firmly “no longer on the cards.” It’s quite the contrast from what locals were expecting: de Botton was planning a bohemian bolthole including a Freud study, Keats living room and a Constable art studio. “We feel that the introduction of residential units across the site is a more appropriate use of the space,” the Biers continue, “adding to the character of the area and general land use of the local areas.”

The neighbours are likely to agree. De Botton’s requests had been approved by Camden council two years ago, despite protestations that the construction required would disturb the peace of the area — it is beside a route to a nearby primary school — while the Art Deco redesign would have clashed with local architecture. Public consultations are continuing.

De Botton has yet to respond to our request for a comment on why his hotelier dream has apparently died. Evidently, “I think, therefore I am” doesn’t extend to construction.

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The Apostrophiser may be correcting grammar mistakes in Bristol shop signs under the cover of darkness but as usual the capital got there first. His outing reminded The Londoner of an anti-graffiti campaign on the capital’s transport network which put posters in bus and Tube stations saying “Graffiti Is Vandalism”. Then a mischief-maker struck. A phantom grammarian defaced many of these to read “Graffiti Are Vandalism”. He or she was never caught.

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Baileys Prize shortlist has The Power

Getty Images for Baileys Women's

To the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist announcement last night, at Waterstones on Tottenham Court Road. It was hosted by the prize’s co-founder Kate Mosse and this year saw Naomi Alderman’s novel, The Power, among those nominated.

The novel, based in a world where women have the power to kill men with a single zap, seems to have been inspired by Donald Trump. Alderman told The Londoner: “In a weird, funny way, he is a little bit presaged in the book. There’s a woman running for an election and mistakenly zaps someone during a debate. But the electorate elect her anyway because they like the idea that she is strong and tough.” Yikes.

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Quote of the day: ‘I’ve never paid much attention to birthdays but it’s great to finally know how old I really am’

Actress Doris Day, who has just been shown her birth certificate and discovered she’s 95, not 93 as she thought

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Pamela could be in trouble with Peta...

Dave Benett/Getty Images

Pamela Anderson was at Albert’s Club in South Kensington last night to launch Coco de Mer’s Icons Collection. Editor of The Amorist Rowan Pelling told The Londoner she had approached Pam to be her magazine’s agony aunt. “She hasn’t said no but told me she’d get back to me,” said Rowan.

Pam is famously vegan — she is a spokeswoman for animal rights group Peta. As the champagne flowed, the barman revealed that fining agents meant his bubbly wasn’t animal product-free. “Are you sure that’s vegan?” we asked Pam.

“I hope so, I’ve been drinking it all night,” she said.

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Getty Images

Since George Michael died, he has received musical dedications, vigils and calls for a London monument. But perhaps the most fitting tribute is yet to come. On Saturday, the 19th anniversary of the day that the singer was arrested for committing a “lewd act” in a public toilet, will see a picnic party on Hampstead Heath to toast Michael’s hedonistic side. “I think he would have found it funny but appropriate,” organiser Alex Green says.

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Solidarity with Russia?

London doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to show solidarity with St Petersburg. Yesterday, a terrorist attack killed 14 people in Russia’s second city. Remembering that landmarks including the London Eye, and Tower Bridge were lit up in tribute to Paris after attacks in the French capital, The Londoner wondered why the same wasn’t true of another European neighbour, St Petersburg.

So we called the London Eye to ask. “We haven’t got any plans yet,” they said. “There is no hard-and-fast rule and we haven’t heard anything from the Mayor or No 10 at this stage.” Over to No 10 who said they weren’t in charge. “It’s not our call to make,” said a spokesman, directing us on to the Mayor. The Mayor’s office said it was the Department for Culture, Media & Sport who “directed protocol on behalf of No 10 and Buckingham Palace”.

But DCMS avoided taking charge too. “We don’t issue directives on the lighting of buildings,” said a spokesperson. “We are in charge of the lowering of flags.” Like a set of Russian dolls.

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Tweet of the day: “Omitting ‘Easter’ from Easter eggs is like omitting ‘British’ from the British cluster bombs that Saudi Arabia use on Yemeni civilians.”

Twitter user @Nooruddean on Theresa May, currently in Saudi Arabia, commenting on the National Trust non- Easter egg hunt.

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Pull of the Potteries won’t go away

You can take the boy out of Stoke but you can’t take the Stoke out of the boy. Former Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Tristram Hunt, shows off his ceramic roots, with some “beautiful ware” to add to his office in the V&A, where he has recently taken up the directorship.

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Duplicity of the day: today’s front page of The Sun says “Up Yours Senors” to Spain. As well as a £15 holiday offer for EU countries including ... Spain.

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