492 75 82 08; fax: +33 492 75 82 46 Editorial Director: Alison Booth Publisher: Lisa Barnard Proprietor: James B Sherwood © 2002 The Illustrated London News Group. November 2002, Original articles and other contributions published in this journal may be reproduced only with spec

fir trees, theimageofSt Nicholas as a fat, jolly man wearing a red-and-white bobble hat, and even the giving of presents on Christmas Day were ideas that only gained popularity in the 19th century, The Christmas cracker has proved to be one of the most enduring of these—and the

more modestly priced Jubilee crackers, centre, contain adorable miniature items, such as a chrome telescope and a silver-and-wooden peppermill. Renaissance crackers, £l,OOO for six. Jubilee crackers, £3OO for six. 181 Piccadilly, W 1 (020 7734 8040). THOMASGOODE Proclaiming thei

and tactile, red velvet, above right. Choose anything your heart desires from the store to fill them—just don’t forget which cracker is destined for which guest! If you are pushed for time, a pre-filled pack of six, including gifts from Lalique and Herend, costs £750. 19 South A

waste in the form of empty shells. So much so that, soon after moving in to Burlington House in 1815, Lord George Cavendish was dismayed to discover that over 40 tons of shells had been lobbed over the wall at the end of his garden. To solve the problem, he took the somewhat dra

to London, the architects want to restore Vauxhail Gardens, which, before they closed in 1842, were situated on the south bank, near today's Coding Street, St Oswald's Place and Vauxhall Walk. Pepys, Dr Johnson, the nobility and royaltyvisited these gardens to feast and carouse.

in Clerkenwell. They met at Bristol University, qualified in the same year and were made partners of Biscoe + Stanton in 1988. Together they have worked on such schemes as the restoration of the Wren church Garlickhythe in the City, after it was damaged by a crane falling across