Custom Cars And Mrs Beeton!

A Memory of Chelsea.

I lived in Chelsea when Mr. Beeton was still alive and running his bakery on the King's Road. I worked there for a while after leaving college and I feel very privileged to have done so. He dressed like a Victorian gentleman and hand-iced all the important cakes himself. The shop was a delight, unchanged for many years, and it was a tragedy when the business closed down. The old wooden racks, counters and floors were a step back in time, and the baked goods simply divine..... I've never tasted better bread, and the franzipan cakes were sublime. I served many famous faces, particularly on Saturdays, and I still have a couple of autographs written on the white paper bags we used to put the cakes into! I lived in Ixworth Place, in a lovely airy flat on the Sutton Estate and was very happy there. Further along towards Hyde Park Corner was St. George's Hospital - now the ridiculously expensive Lanesborough Hotel - and in 1964 I was lucky enough to have open-heart surgery in there. I'm 53 now so it must have gone alright at the time! I remember the Custom Car rallies that used to go in convoy through the Chelsea streets at the weekends - they ended up in Battersea Park and a good time was always had by all! This was stopped some years later because it was considered a public nuisance, which we thought a great shame. Some of those cars were amazing!