The walks, described below, usually take place in the Spring, start at 11.00am and are a gentle stroll which will take around 2 hours.  The cost of joining a walk per person just £5.00 for a Memory Lane subscriber, £7.00 otherwise. The Walks take place regardless of the weather. But if the success of previous Memory Lane walks is repeated, it will be a lovely Spring  or Autumn day in the convivial company of fellow enthusiasts.

Class and Clubs and Top Hat and tails

The May Fair Hotel….The Embassy Club….Quaglinos….Hatchettes…..The Ciro’s Club…..The Kit Cat Club….The Monseigneur Restaurant..... Café Anglais.....Casani Club.....Café de Paris..... Berkeley Hotel..... Devonshire House..... New Princes..... Hotel Cecil, Romano's.... the Savoy..... Waldorf Hotel.....The Ambassadors Club.... Fischer's Restaurant.... Bag of Nails.... Murray's Club... the Bat Club....Astoria Ballroom. And many others.

Just the names of these venues conjure up a nostalgic image of London in the 1930s where you could see, listen to and dance to Harry Roy, Ambrose, Lew Stone, Charlie Kunz and others in the "Premiere League" of dance bands. Or you may have seen these names on 78 rpm record labels and wondered where exactly they were and whether, in fact, any of them still exist. If so, here is your opportunity to find out. In fact, there are a few surprises en route.

Ray Pallett  hosts two guided "dance band" walks around the West End of London to view the locations where the dance bands played. Each Walk takes in around 20 locations during which Ray recalls the bands which played at the different establishments together with anecdotes and narrative.

Al Bowlly's London

This walk takes in many of the places mentioned above with special mention of those where Al appeared such as the Monseigneur Restaurant and the Savoy Hotel. However, this walk takes in additional places such as the flats where Al lived, the Register Office where he married. En route, we also identify a number of places associated with the dance bands. We reach Dukes Court, the building housing the flat in which he died. From there, the group may either  take the train to Hanwell to visit the cemetery where his mass grave is to be found, or the beautiful Greek Orthodox Cathedral where his memorial service was held or the Abbey Road Studios where he made so may wonderful records. Ray provides a narrative in his own inimitable way linking the locations to the Al Bowlly story.

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