Distinguished journalist and broadcaster John Simpson CBE has a lasting love for Chelsea. He lived in the area for many years, until some uncertainty about his career at the BBC forced him to move. He returns this week for an Author’s Talk as part of the Chelsea Book Festival. Here, he shares a few memories of his former Chelsea life – and he wonders if anyone has somewhere for him to rent when he visits in the future!

 

Where is home now for you now?

I now live in Oxford, with my wife Dee, our son Rafe – when he’s not at university – and our Irish terrier, Cody. It’s lovely, quiet, and rather studious.

When did your Chelsea story begin?

In the 1950s, I had a long trek to get to school from South London to Hammersmith, and the bus used to take me along the King’s Road. It was so different from the dull suburban area I came from, and I fell in love with it. 

 

When did you first move here and where did you live?  

I first rented, then bought a flat overlooking the Physic Garden in 1997, and moved from there to a delightful house in Paultons Square. The back wall of our garden was part of the wall Sir Thomas More built round his orchard — the place where Henry VIII used to walk with his arm round More’s neck.  Guess what happened to the neck. 

 

Can you recall what you paid for that first property?

I forget what I paid in rent, but it would be amazingly low by today’s standards.  I think I paid £150,000 for the flat.

What do you think makes Chelsea special?

For me, it has always had a whiff of the Sixties, and although the bohemians have been driven out by the grotesque prices, it’s managed to cling on to that arty, raffish atmosphere. I later found that my great-grandmother, Lela Cody, ran the Queen’s Head pub in Tryon Street with her husband — until the day in 1895 when she saw Samuel Franklin Cody riding down the King’s Road in his Texas buskins. She fell violently in love with him on the spot, and ran off with him to America, taking three of her four children with her. In 1909 Lela became the first woman to go up in an aeroplane anywhere in the world. She went up with Cody in 1909, who made the first powered flight in the UK the previous year.

 

What were some of your go-to essential places whilst living in Chelsea?

My father’s glamorous Swedish girlfriend discovered the Chelsea Kitchen on the King’s Road and we used eat there a lot. Long gone, now, of course. I joined the Chelsea Arts Club in 1984, and that’s really the heart of Chelsea for me. Latterly, I used to write my newspaper articles and books in Bluebird, and my wife and son and I would eat regularly at Choy’s (also now gone).  I used to buy my notebooks, pens and pencils from Green and Stone. The Surprise was my pub of choice, but I also spent time in The Phoenix.  And there was an Argentinian steak house in the Farmer’s Market where we took people, if we didn’t want to eat at home.  And, of course, I got all my medicines from Ebi’s chemist shop on the King’s Road.

You have a long association with Chelsea Old Church. I remember seeing you in the pews for the Sunday morning Family Service many years ago – with your young son dressed as Spider-Man! What is your attachment to the church?   

I knew and loved two vicars there – Peter Elvy and his successor David Reindorp. Peter baptised our son in 2006, and we held the funeral service for my beloved mother-in-law there two years later. I took Rafe to the children’s service every week, and he used to try to catch the Mars bars that both Peter and then David threw to kids who answered questions about the Bible correctly.  

When Peter retired, he asked me to read from the Old Testament. The second reading was to come from the wonderful, far-sighted, big-shouldered Earl Cadogan — the previous Earl, now sadly dead. The Bible I read from was so big that when I finished reading, I struggled to turn the pages to the part which the Earl had to read, and eventually I abandoned the effort and went and sat down. He was a lot bigger than me, and even he had a problem turning the pages. 

Afterwards he cornered me, and grabbed me by the lapel and growled something I couldn’t understand. I thought he was bawling me out — but finally I realised he was saying that we were both wearing suits in Prince of Wales check, and people would think it was some kind of uniform. His suit probably cost ten times what I’d paid for mine.  

I sense that Old Church is still quite a special place for you…

I adored sitting in Old Church, thinking about all the people who’d brought their fears and problems with them over the ages:  More, walking down the aisle holding up the cross, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Parr sitting there, the future Elizabeth I. Then there was John Donne preaching the funeral sermon for the most beautiful woman in England, Magdalene Herbert – her son, George Herbert, working out his poems in his head. And I came to realise that all my fears and worries, which often seemed so overwhelming, weren’t really as important as they seemed to be.    

You are President of the Chelsea Society. How did that come about and what does that role mean to you?

It’s one of the things I’m proudest of, and I manage to get it into a surprisingly large number of conversations. I do, however, feel like an absentee, and I’m always hoping to find a place to rent in Chelsea. If you hear of anything affordable, please let me know (though I won’t hold my breath!).

You are coming back to Old Church for the book festival. Can you tell us about the event and what we can expect?

My event is really just going to be me talking about my weird life and one or two of the things I’ve been so hugely privileged to see during my 60 years as a reporter at the BBC — plus the leaders and lunatics I have interviewed.

Why did you leave Chelsea?

We had a new boss from the outside who didn’t like me and wanted to get rid of me.  I resisted, and eventually won, but living in Chelsea was no longer possible. Sadly. I really miss being able to walk to the Chelsea Arts Club and stagger home, and I miss Sundays at Old Church.  

I very much enjoy Unspun World. If you had to deliver some serious “spin” to encourage people to tune in, what would you say?  

Unspun World is my brainchild, and I love it dearly. It’s done on an absolute shoestring, with only three of us on the editorial side. With the whole, marvellous range of BBC correspondents round the world to call on, we provide what I think is a Rolls-Royce look at this crazy world of ours for BBC Two, the News Channel and BBC World Service. It is quite weird, knowing we get an audience of around 300 million in Britain and around the world for our efforts. Now I’ve taken on another task, presenting a look back at the week on Friday nights on the News Channel. At the age of 81, I think I’m working harder, but more enjoyably, than I’ve ever worked before.

John Simpson will give an Author’s Talk at The Chelsea Book Festival at Petyt Hall, 6.45-8.30pm, on Saturday, 27th September. For tickets, visit here…

Unspun World with John Simpson is broadcast on the BBC at varying times. Scheduling details can be found here. And all episodes can be found on the iPlayer here