A SOUTH London neighbourhood is alight with talk of famous new residents. Throughout the summer, group chats and forums in Herne Hill had been full of speculation about former PM Boris Johnson and wife Carrie moving in. After putting their Camberwell home on the market the couple have been looking for a place, and now locals tell The Londoner that they have seen their distinctive yellow moving van, last spotted in Downing Street, pulling up in a quiet street and unpacking boxes. Residents have been bracing for the new neighbour. When rumours of a southward move first emerged, journalists swooped on Herne Hill to interrogate the locals. One spoke of being “horrified” by the attention. The excitement should calm when the couple settle in, but it’s unlikely that they will be out of the public eye for long.
Memories of Bowie
The late David Bowie made a return to his native London yesterday as a paving slab. At the Music Walk of Fame in Camden his stone was unveiled by Woody Woodmansey, drummer for Bowie in the Sixties and Seventies. “I’ve never met anybody so completely being an artist 24/7. He even ate his breakfast like an artist,” Woody told us. And what would Bowie think about returning to London in concrete form? “He’d say it’s about time!”
Tackling Prince William
Fresh from her Euros victory, former Lioness Jill Scott, pictured, recalls tackling Prince William at the opening of a football facility. “I slipped and nearly wiped him out!” she said. He brings up the faux pas whenever their paths cross. “Every time he came to wish us good luck for a tournament, he always commented on me being an aggressive player. He’d say, ‘Jill, don’t tackle me today!’”
Be on TV
Fancy appearing in a film? A director for the luxury car brand Bugatti has put out a casting call for a new ad. It is strictly limited to sophisticated people who radiate an “elegant/posh mood, like they would if they had a spare million or two to spend at a Bugatti auction”. Be sure to bring a change of clothes so that you can be replicated in CGI. And be rich enough to do it for free! “No fee, alas,” the director added.
Last night in town
Rocketman star Taron Egerton was thrilled to be at photographer Gavin Bond’s exhibition, with its swish afterparty at Claridge’s, last night. Socialite Olivia Buckingham also attended. It was a busy evening in London — Hollywood star Jeff Bridges swept in for a screening of The Old Man, while Emma Appleton, of Everything I Know About Love fame, went to Annabel’s for a rainforest bash. In Mayfair, actor Nicholas Pinnock was at the launch of restaurant Miro while Roxy Horner graced the opening of clothes pop-up Adanola Soho.