Tea for three

I was looking to buy a new mobile phone, when I bumped into Sir Stephen Sherbourne, who ran Margaret Thatcher's private office at No.10, what seems like a hundred years ago. His views on the upcoming election (May 6th) were fascinating, and he said, subject to nothing spectacular happening in the debates between Brown, Cameron and Clegg (first one Thursday April 15th), he thought the overall result would be a 20-30 majority for the Conservatives. I left him to have tea at the Ritz with Joanna Lumley and Chris Beetles. Chris and I had bid for the privilege of tea with Ms Lumley at a charity auction some time ago, and she joined us there bang on time - like a good Gurkha. I was astounded that there was a choice of 17 types of tea on the menu, and I confess I thought £38 per person somewhat extravagant, although I'm bound to admit it was packed, with a long queue waiting to be seated. Joanna entertained us with stories about her upcoming play, La Bete, where she'll be performing with Mark Rylance and David Hyde Pierce for a 12 week run at the Comedy Theatre in June, before taking the show to New York. I was surprised to learn that it would be the first time Joanna was appearing on Broadway. After tea, Chris and I accompanied her back to her Smart Car, which looked sparklingly clean - she blushed, and admitted she was going on to Buckingham Palace for evening drinks with the Duke of Edinburgh in support of another of her charities. She is a truly remarkable woman.