Candlelit cool: Below Stone Nest
(Picture: Haydon Perrior)Even the most sanguine of optimists would have to admit that if there is light at the end of the tunnel, it’s not likely to be plugged in. Cheery John Pettigrew, head of the National Grid, warned over the weekend that on “really, really cold” winter evenings, blackouts may be imposed. In other words, good news for anyone needing to defrost the freezer, bad news for everyone else.
The lights going out doesn’t mean Londoners need stay in, though. It’s more a question of choosing where and what. Indulge your romantic side with a trip down into a candlelit den. Sticking to a bar is the pro move, given the fridges going down matters to them less, and here the long-standing institutions come into their own, perhaps partly because they’ve had candles since the last time the mains were shut off.
