Our Patch march 2017
Bailey ’ S ODYSSEY
Shepherds Bush author Paul Bailey , his books and his cat
PICTURES : JUSTIN THOMAS
SHELF LIFE Gifted writer and raconteur Paul Bailey turns 80 and is still showing us what a prodigious talent he is , writes Tim Harrison
One of west London ’ s most critically acclaimed writers , Paul Bailey , turns 80 … and shows no sign of slowing up .
“ I ’ m trying not to think about it ,” he admitted in the house in Davisville Road , Shepherds Bush , that he has called home since 1972 – when it was still ( just ) possible to buy and have change from £ 20,000 . It is now half a century since his first novel , At The Jerusalem , appeared , winning the prestigious Somerset Maugham award .
“ It was a book about old women , yet today , I ’ m writing some of my most youthful prose ever ,” he said , with the characteristic twinkle in his eye .
There ’ s always something mischievous and conspiratorial about a conversation with Paul ; as well as being a gifted writer he is a superb raconteur , eternal name-dropper and irredeemable gossip .
fresh LOOK & new menu FOR FAMOUS ALBERTINE WINE BAR
6 / 7
Allegra McEvedy
Paul was attracted to Shepherds Bush by its stimulating multi-culturalism .
“ This was a predominantly working class area in the early 70s ,” he said .
“ There were a lot of Polish and Irish residents , and black families from Jamaica . It was long before POSK [ the Polish centre in King Street , Hammersmith ] was established , so all the Poles used to congregate in a big deli on Shepherds Bush Green . POSK didn ’ t really arrive until Thatcher ’ s time .
“ Now I tell people that I don ’ t live on the posh side of Askew Road … but I still adore this area and its characters .”
In some shape or other , several have made it on to the pages of his dozen novels , which include the Bookershortlisted Peter Smart ’ s Confessions and Gabriel ’ s Lament , a timeless read which would have been a worthy winner , but which was pipped to the post by Kingsley Amis ’ s The Old Devils .
Having decided to shelve a halfwritten novel about an actor ’ s descent
Allegra McEvedy , the culinary powerhouse behind the Leon restaurant chain , is taking on a new challenge . Albertine , the wine bar which was beloved by TV and media stars of nearby Television Centre , is McEvedy ' s latest passion . It ' s one that is particularly dear to her heart as her late mother used to run the Wood Lane bar . Albertine is reopening after a refit . " We ' re going to be a wine bar with more food ." albertine . london . Call : 020 8743 9593 into madness , Paul is currently working on a semi-autobiographical novel about people he has known . The working title is Foreign Friends .
“ I don ’ t know how it ’ s happened that I ’ ve made it to 80 ,” he said . “ In a way it ’ s a mixed blessing , but it is a lot to do with advances in medicine .”
Today , I ' m writing some of my most youthful prose ever
Fifteen years ago he collapsed on a visit to Romania , where a heart condition was confirmed in a hospital in the Black Sea city of Constanta .
Flown home to London , clutching a set of scribbled medical notes , he was treated at Hammersmith Hospital ( after the jottings had been translated by a trainee doctor on the cardiac ward ).
“ I ’ ve been in their care ever since , with a succession of brilliant doctors , all on the NHS ,” he said with , well , heartfelt gratitude .
He had just finished the novel Uncle Rudolf , but has since produced Chapman ’ s Odyssey (“ I felt compelled to write it ; it ’ s about a man dying in hospital and quoting poetry !”) and The Prince ’ s Boy , a melancholic love story about a young Romanian , partly set in a Paris brothel .
Romania crops up again and again . Another fine novel , Kitty and Virgil ( published in 1998 ), is about the relationship of an Englishwoman and a Romanian poet .
“ I first visited the country when it was still a dictatorship in early 1989 ,” he said .
As he celebrates his 80th , he can reflect that there may be many more to come . Longevity is a trait on his mother ’ s side of the family , while a half sister lasted to 99 .