There’s a beautiful painting by Sir John Lavery, depicting Lady Astor playing golf at North Berwick. It dates from just after the First World War and for me it invokes the sense of a golden age of leisure and luxury – the start of the roaring 20s.
I was made to think of it as I walked into the foyer of the Marine Hotel, then onwards through the stylishly furnished lobby area to the huge windows offering an incredible view over North Berwick’s famous West Links and out to the rippling Firth of Forth.
