Plea for peace: Arkady Novikov at the Zaryadye Concert Hall in Moscow on October 14, 2021
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)LONDON’S top Russian restaurants have hit out at the war in Ukraine and promised to donate takings to appeals.
Novikov, the Berkley street restaurant which is owned by Arkady Novikov, above, who has been described a close friend of Putin, tells us it is supporting the Ukranians. On its website the words “Peace for Ukraine” feature prominently above a Ukrainian flag.
“We have lots of Ukrainian customers, we have lots of Russian customers,” a spokesperson for the venue added. Mari Vanna, an upmarket Russian restaurant in Knightsbridge, told us that today, and on March 8, “50 per cent of our takings will be donated to the DEC”. The Disasters Emergency Committee has launched a fund for Ukrainians.
Bob Bob Ricard, owned by Russian-born Brit Leonid Shutov, promised to donate £1 from every bill to the Ukrainian Red Cross. It is also hostinga fundraising dinner next week.
Zima, another Soho restaurant, told us, “we support Ukraine, we’re donating 10 per cent from every meal” and added, “we have Ukrainians working here”.
Institute cuts link with Russia group
RIGHT-WING think tank the Adam Smith Institute is cutting ties with a group known as Adam Smith Conferences. The latter was due to host an event for Russian wealth advisers in Zurich in May. When The Londoner contacted the ASI, they told us they had “a historic good-faith copyright agreement with Adam Smith Conferences” and added “we have asked to terminate any remaining association with immediate effect”. The webpage for the Zurich event has now vanished. Adam Smith Conferences describes itself as “the leading organiser of business events for Russia”. It declined to comment.
Fans draw on love for Queen star
BRIAN MAY fans rejoice. The Queen star is releasing a book to celebrate the relaunch of album Another World, and customers are being promised “a unique book of fan-art — or, in this case, ‘Bri-art’, as it has become, now a phenomenon in the Instagram community”. Fan pictures of the guitarist are a cult hit online. The proceeds will help protect badgers and foxes around the UK, animals which are dear to May’s heart. Win-win.
You can’t knock Cryer’s gags
JON CULSHAW says he will miss the late Barry Cryer, “so very much”. Impressionist Culshaw reminisced about when Cryer would ring him up, as the comic did with many of his friends, and say “I’ll leave you with this one, just the one”, which once was “the most mischievous knock, knock joke of them all”. Culshaw told Richard Herring’s podcast how it went: “Knock, knock. Who’s there? Grandad… stop the funeral!”
Warrior women howl together
DESIGNER Rene Macdonald, Tamara Beckwith and party organiser Yasmin Mills channeled their inner warriors at a private viewing of Howl: Resurrection Of The Wild Woman at Waterton Gallery in Fulham last night, curated by Beckwith’s daughter Anouska. Earlier in the day, the celebration of women was in full swing across town, where Shirley Ballas and Sinitta enjoyed an Ann Summers brunch for International Women’s Day.
SW1A
NADINE DORRIES broke with tradition and looked straight down the camera lens in the Commons to deliver her statement on cultural steps to isolate Russia. Prepare for more of the same? “The MP… regularly referred to Mr Speaker so was addressing the Chair in the proper way,” Commons authorities tell us. New ground is broken.
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MPs and their staffers do love a sweet treat. Parliament appears to be fuelled largely by KitKats. A healthy 5,000 of the bars were bought, number crunchers at The Spectator learnt after examining data between November 2020 and November 2021. But the most popular buy? Bottles of still water. Bring back the good old days
