THE SECOND GRAND FLANEUR WALK

Chap Life

Gustav Temple reports on the second instalment of this saunter sans purpose, which became the greatest assemblage of walking canes in London since 1815

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROSS ROBERTSON @ROO_WITHAVIEW

fter two years of not being permitted

Ato wander anywhere, with or without destination, a large number of flâneurs pressed their pantaloons, polished their canes and cultivated new buttonholes for the second Grand Flâneur Walk. On Saturday 14th May, some sixty five impeccably turned-out Chaps and Chapettes assembled at the entrance to Piccadilly Arcade, watched over by the statue of Beau Brummell, to hear a tract about the flâneur to set the dandy heart ablaze. With the words of Charles Baudelaire ringing in their ears, the

flâneurs spent a long time displaying their outfits and preparing themselves for the gruelling task ahead – namely to walk a few hundred yards around the corner for a bracing cup of coffee from the kind folk at The Gentlemen Baristas on the corner of St James’s Street and Piccadilly.

From thence the flanerie proper commenced, and our intrepid flâneurs and flâneuses made it all the way to the Guinea Grill in Mayfair, where a long pause was taken for refreshments. This convivial break was only cut short by an unruly mob of soccer fans, preparing themselves to watch the FA Cup Final on television later by pouring lager continually down their throats. When they saw the quantity of walking canes being carried by many of our number, they kept their observations on our peacockery to themselves.

We were then turned away from the Golden Eagle on Marylebone Lane, because there were “too many of you”, yet around the corner, the aptly named Angel in the Fields welcomed us with open arms into its opulently stained-glass interior. This was where debate hotly ensued among the flâneurs, as to whether the heat, by then at its fiercest, was too much for a further 45 minutes’ walk to Camden, where libations awaited us at the Camden Watch Company. Half the flâneurs braved the beating sun on Regent’s Park, the other half boarded an omnibus. Needless to say, the flâneurs on foot got there first; such is the exquisite, random, unpredictable nature of true flanerie. The Chap extends a hearty thank you to all those who attended, and especially to the generous folk at the Camden Watch Company. The Grand Flâneur Walk demonstrated that, even in today’s obsession with rigid schedules, appointments and not wasting time, a simple stroll by 65 dandies can still be turned into a Happening. n