
ON LOCATION: Rule Britannia
London’s Dukes Hotel was a Fleming fave.
It’s Oscar season. So many Brits, so few statuettes. Letâs see, thereâs Daniel Day Lewis, thereâs loyal subject/Aussie Cate Blanchett playing Queen Elizabeth the First (a Brit), thereâs Atonement which is like all the most heart-wrenching British flicks rolled into one and thereâs London popping up in the Bourne Ultimatum to remind you that the railway terminals over there are way cooler than Penn Station.
Britain is not letting the craze slip by unmonetized. This spring, London’s running with it, with attractions and hotels hoping to captitalize on interest in the upcoming Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craigâs second foray into the field as 007.
April sees the Imperial War Museumâs Ian Fleming spectacular, the For Your Eyes Only exhibit. This big Bond show features Rosa Klebbâs flick knife shoes and Halle Berryâs bikini.
Even decorous hotels like Fleming fave Dukes are getting in on the actâputting on a Bond weekend special where visitors can have the original martini that inspired Bondâs creator to write âshaken not stirredâ as well as a Miss Moneypenny manicure.
In other news: Were you a fan of Depp’s Sweeney Todd? (We hear there were actually a few.) Next time you’re in London, visit St. Dunstanâs Church, the Fleet Street site of the original burial ground for Sweeneyâs hapless customers. The shop front, around the corner, where the real Mrs. Lovett served her soylent green pies is now, apparently, a pie shop. (BREAKING: We expect confirmation of this any moment now. Will be sure to let you know.) UPDATE from David: “The pie shop exists! Albeit a branch of the West Cornwall Pasty Company, an increasingly familiar sight here in London. It’s opposite the Royal Courts of Justice. Nothing too terribly special, but it must be said that their pies are just the thing when you’re drunk.”).
— Gretchen Kelly


