Richard Curtis — BAFTA-winning filmmaker, Comic Relief co-founder and creator of some of the greatest British rom-coms of all time from Love Actually to Notting Hill — is telling me about his favourite if not ever-so-slightly guilty Christmas pastime, which he expects quite a few Londoners might relate to at this time of year: of wandering the streets after-dark, looking in through people's windows at their twinkling lights and festively-dressed trees.
"I’m not accusing myself of a crime here," laughs the famed screenwriter and father-of-four, his dog Betty sitting in his lap. "But I'm completely obsessed with that thing of when it's always cold outside and you look in through someone's window and you can see a fire and a Christmas tree and the lights... In LA you’ve got to walk 10 minutes to see your neighbour whereas I love the fact that even the most expensive houses in London are semi-detached. It's that proximity of everyone in London makes it a very democratic city in a way; that keeps us all very aware of the fact that there's a variety of needs; that you're in a mixed society with mixed fortunes... That's one of the things that's lovely about London: it's cosy."
