The novelist Sebastian Faulks, 72, was born in Newbury in Berkshire. He is best known for Birdsong, his first of several bestselling historical novels set in France, a list which also includes Charlotte Gray and The Girl at the Lion D’Or. He shares his guide to London.
Where was your first flat in London?
In a mews near Paddington that I shared with my brother. My bedroom was in the garage; draughty in winter. It was well placed to head north or south. You could also walk to the Standard Indian curry house in Westbourne Grove, the best restaurant I have ever been to in London.
What was your first job in London?
I taught at the International School of London, which was then in the old Working Men’s College in Crowndale Road. I’ve stayed in touch with some colleagues and students. The school still exists, now in Gunnersbury.
What’s the best meal you’ve had?
Bentley’s on Swallow Street. My daughter and son-in-law took us out to dinner. Oysters, prawns, fish pie, Guinness, wine. And more. At the less glitzy end, there is Shilpa in King Street, Hammersmith, and my wife’s osso buco with risotto Milanese.
Bentley’s seafood bar on the restaurant’s ground floor
What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?
Put an outdoor ban on all mobile phones, headphones and ear buds so everyone was compelled to confront the reality of other people and of their environment. Outlaw all cardboard cups and close all coffee chains and leave independent cafés open. I would stock each carriage on the Tube with books.
Where do you go and what do you do to have fun?
I go to the kitchen to make dinner and open wine, then to the sitting room to read poetry or watch Here We Go on television.
What’s the best thing a London cabbie has ever said to you?
“The fare’s on me, mate. I’ve read all your books and loved them all except one. Not saying which. I’m a Dostoevsky fan, me, though from what I can work out you’d be more of a Tolstoy man. Am I right? Mind how you go, young man.”
Have you ever had a run-in with a London police officer?
I have been breathalysed twice, once because the headlight on my motorbike was apparently “too bright” and once on leaving a party in the City. I got off both times, though some of this could be due to the sycophancy with which I addressed the officer as we waited for the crystals to colour. During the Notting Hill Carnival I was once pushed into a pub by a policeman because his colleagues were about to make a baton charge. He shut the door behind us. It was the only pub lock-in I’ve been to that was initiated by the police.
Where do you go to let your hair down?
Who do you call when you want to have fun?
Someone called Mandi xxx who left her card in a local phone box. She sounds nice, but I haven’t yet been able to get through. She seems busy.
What’s your London secret?
You don’t have to walk half a mile at Tottenham Court Road to get to the Central line platform. There’s a short cut. Not saying more. You ain’t seen me.
What are you up to at the moment for work?
Sebastian Faulks: Fires which burned brightly, out now
Penguin
What podcast are you currently obsessed with?
I have only listened to a podcast once. It was good, but I don’t have five hours a day to spare.
Favourite work of art in London?
Christ Before the High Priest by Gerrit van Honthorst in the National Gallery. My least favourite is the bronze of a couple at St Pancras.
The Meeting Place, Sebastian Faulkes’ least favourite artwork in London
In Pictures via Getty Images
I don’t use Google because of its tax arrangements. I use Duck Duck Go.
Clarendon Cross Canines, W11, where I take the dog for her quarterly wash, teeth clean and mani-pedi. Though I suppose strictly speaking it’s more of a pedi-pedi.
Bobby Moore. As a schoolboy I saw him play, once at Upton Park and at Highbury when I was 14. I learned the value of anticipation and timing. He had a two-yard start on quicker players, because he knew before they did where the ball was going.
