150. It’s Grand At The Grand.

 

‘Welcome’ card depicting the Madeleine bar

 

For my birthday, of which I have now had many, I am pleased to host a party of ten or so at dinner at Purnell’s and choose for one evening at least to think that my money is not finite.Then the pandemic came along and last year’s planned merry meeting was confined to an hour-long Zoom where several old people from around the country drank gin on screen and wore hats of various descriptions, which if we had witnessed young people acting this out, we would have thought to be very silly indeed and proof of the pointlessness of the new generation.

  This year we may meet indoors at last and we are all happily bursting with antibodies from our two Pfizer vaccinations, the most recent of which was given several weeks ago I am delighted to say, but we may only meet in groups of no more than six and that has forestalled the rather grand 10 person dinner we have otherwise held at Purnell’s in the past and would have liked to do again. Hence the dinner is to be split into three parts, like Caesar’s Gaul, with various people attending a combination of two out of 3 meals to allow those who do not see old friends at one meal to meet them at two other smaller meals. I as host have the pleasure of course of going to all three. And what a (Michelin-) starry weekend it is to be - dinners at Opheem and Purnell’s and Sunday lunch at Simpsons.

  Before all that, another special treat which I claim to be relevant to this Blog as it is a big story for the hospitality industry in Birmingham. When making my dining arrangements I noticed that they coincided with the grand reopening of the former splendid Victorian hotel in Colmore Row, The Grand (see Blog 16j and discovering the hotel was to be ‘dog-friendly’ and not wishing a late evening, expensive taxi ride home from the city centre, I reserved a room there, just three nights after it’s reopening, for Lucy The Labrador and myself so that I would be a stone’s throw from Opheem and Purnell’s and have no worry about the journey home. And the hotel’s reopening is certainly big news for the city receiving considerable coverage in the local newspapers:-

 

 And so it was that Lucy and I arrived at The Grand on the afternoon of the first Friday after its reopening. The gentleman at the entrance in Church Street greeted the dog first by name which was brilliant and guided us to the reception desk where the lovely ladies at the desk also proved to be members of the Lucy fan club and within seconds she was gobbling up treats which they had brought to her. What fabulous schmooze! How clever and very professional to realise that if you make a fuss of the dog, the owner will be completely won over. For a couple of minutes or so, Lucy held court in the lobby and then we were led to our room on the third floor, with its splendid view over Colmore Row, St Phillip’s Cathedral and its churchyard. Lucy had been provided with a very comfortable looking bed, 2 ceramic bowls and I had a box of chocolates awaiting me with the message, “Dear Mr Knight and Lucy of course, a very warm welcome back after nearly 20 years .... Have a grand stay with us.” The bedroom was excellent - stylish, comfortable and spacious. What a delight.

The Madeleine bar.

The Madeleine Martini.

  

  

The hotel’s restaurant does not reopen until 24 June and I have reservations to stay at the hotel on that date but I was able to experience the food on offer by eating the excellent ‘Full English breakfast’ which was truly memorable with delicious bacon and sausage and nicely cooked scrambled egg plus some of the finest black pudding I have had for years, a tangy tomato chutney made by chef and, delightfully, a welcome helping of baked beans which are often viewed as being infra dig but which always add pleasure to a breakfast for me. 

 

 The breakfast room was as fin de siecle Parisian as one might want and the style and chicness of the room was also to be seen in the Madeleine bar where I and my friends enjoyed cocktails predinner at Opheem and Purnell’s the following evening. This hotel is lovely and the price of staying represents exceptionally good value. No effort has been spared in making it a fabulous place to stay. The staff are quite remarkably good and welcoming. I shall be checking myself in quite regularly from now on. And Lucy will be coming back too.