Lashana Lynch is cocooned in a full-length padded coat and beanie, looking inconspicuous as a friend checks her into the well-known London members’ club we have arranged to meet in, then leaves. Lynch sees me and grins, yet I can’t help but picture the 36-year-old actor axe-kicking me in the face. That was more her speed with a history-making turn as M16 agent Nomi, the spy who takes over the 007 code number in Daniel Craig’s 2021 swansong Bond film No Time to Die. Today, though, she’s unassuming. So much so that no one besides the reception manager has recognised her. No big deal – except now there are no club members in our party and so we’re flouting house rules.
Lynch goes back and forth with a server after trying to order some peppermint tea without a membership card (“Um, do you have a name?” we’re asked). Her friend calls to share the details we need. But you can’t use a phone here, so she can’t answer. Finally, after a manager is consulted and we agree to “settle the tab straight away”, the tea is on its way. That was awkward. “This feels like … Are we back in the 1960s?” Lynch says, the subtext being that we are two young Black women feeling a little like intruders. “It just feels slightly oppressive. It’s fine, though. I just won’t do this again.”
