Harry Brown at the Cafe de Paris...

I've recently rediscovered a vintage cartoon from the heyday of  London's most famous venue, The  Cafe de Paris, whose roll call of past guests comes straight from the pages of Who's Who. Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Noel Coward,The Agha Khan, Princess Margaret, the Prince of Wales, Lord and Lady Mountbatten all once graced the venue in London's Piccadilly along with, oh yes, Harry Brown. No, sorry, he wasn't rich and famous - he was just my dad.

In the 1950's Dad, a journalist, was invited to cover a prestigious sportsmen's dinner at the Cafe de Paris along with a well-known cartoonist from one of the tabloid nationals.The cartoonist did this wonderful doodle of Harry in his monkey suit as a memento of the occasion and it took pride of place in my childhood home for  many years.

Established in 1924, the Cafe de Paris was renown for staying open during World War Two when most other similar venues were shut down.  The wartime maitre d', Martin Poulson, was famously quoted as saying it would never get bombed having 'four solid storeys of masonry above.'  Yet on March 8 1941 two 50kg landmines came through the Rialto roof and 80 people were killed - including the hapless maitre d' himself. After the war around £7,500 was spent on refurbishing the blitz damage.

Incidentally, the Mountbattens were known for their choice of menu when they arrived in Piccadilly: a dozen and a half oysters and Steak Diane.... Makes a change from Mcdonalds...