TRAVEL London in winter Surely the most civilized of cities LONDON — Timing is everything, particularly when visiting this most civi- lized of cities. Indubitably this is the best time, when air fares are half the summer rate and some remarkable hotel packages are available. - You may also find room to stretch out on the aircraft, as 1 have managed to do as the wheels come up and Vancouver is left behind on a winter’s night. My hotel near Regent’s Park was not mobbed with tourists, and the 10-minute stroll to Oxford Street barely merited belting the Burberry; London winter temperatures average 1°C warmer than Vancouver. It takes 10 minutes on the novel emporium that is Oxford Street te find out what’s in fashion, and a month or a year to afford any- thing in Mayfair that lures via South Moulton Street, Brook Street and along New Bond Street. Here are the great.carriage trade shops, Asprey the Queen’s jeweller and Herbert: Johnson the ‘hatter, sharing eminent addresses with upstarts. like Ralph Lauren. “ and Ferragamo. Sotheby’s,. showing 19th century European “ANTOM MOSIMANR, whose “dining . club Is ‘the = toast of | hondon. =: paintings and watercolors, charges nothing for a browse. -And so to Piccadilly, where a newspaper vendor. in a flat cap says ‘‘thanks, guv’’ for a small tip, and tea is taken at a modest - cafe opposite Brown’s Hotel. — Lord: Quinton is writing in the Evening Standard: ‘Real estate transactions ... have been’ notable ‘for the piercing nastiness of solici- . tors’ letters ... do solicitors get special instructions in incivility?”’ Quinton, my philosophy tutor at Oxford, has never been at a loss for a good turn of phrase. The first time we met he said to my little group: “Come to my rooms on Tuesday, when I will begin to give you knowledge.” This had a better ring to it than on this occasion” David ‘TRAVEL TIPS “classes start next week.’” ’ Anyway, he was not finished with solicitors. “I quite understand why clubs try to keep them out,’’ writes Quinton. “One I belong to pre- tends jt has an enormous waiting list. But rea! pecple are allowed in quite rapidly.”’ The day picks up pace with a tube ride to a city pub by the spot ‘where the world’s first postmark was struck in 1661, and in the luachtime borhomie of the bar a chat to a couple going té the Mousetrap, Agatha Christie's thriller which has been running for 40 years. The producer keeps the show cheese fresh by having a complete cast change and a new director every year. My evening in London, so often of late preceded by references to the Cheap Eats guide, leads hap- pily to Belgravia, where celebrity chef Anton Mosimann runs a din- ing club in an elegantly converted church, In.a city with the best of everything a discriminating clientele pays hundreds to join Mosimann’s and a king’s ransom for a meal. Mosimann, who dazzled at the Dorchester while cooking without butter, cream or alcohol, delivers -brilliant dishes that are creative yet still wholesome, and very tas- ty. Not for Mosimann the over- garnishing of so many chefs. Overseas visitors can join; get a British Airways cheap hotel package, skimp daily and eat here once for the meal of your life. AH of the next day could have been spent at the splendid Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition (on till Jan. 19} but there were Mozart and 20th century collectibies at the British Museurn, which by the way, remains mostly free. ~ When. it was time to go, the early afternoon departure of Brit- ish Airways’ non-stop to Van- couver allowed for a leisurely breakfast and uncongested tube ride to Heathrow, where BA treats its passengers to a private termi- nal, T: ae aft cabins were fairly full, probably with bargain-hunters at $590 or so roundtrip, while in business class there was a clublike atmosphere and big, comfy arm- chairs to match. (The business class lounge at T4 is better than many first-class tooms, and even at midday BA _ Offers both a Morgon from Burgundy and a good Bordeaux.) A Stylish lunch and a nap, and the big. Boeing was soaring down from the Arctic Circle, surfing along with a brisk tailwind. We arrived 40 minutes early over mountains caked with snow and clear winter sunshine. 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