The Diary: A Gentleman's Evening at Tramp with Tissot

It was the warmest April day in eighty years, they said — so you'd expect the heavily-oaked subterranean lair at Tramp to be the last place one might wish to descend to on a Wednesday evening. Not that you'd know if from the merry crowd that attended the 'Gentleman's Evening' with Tissot at the members' club last night — nor the impressive number of spicy margaritas that were consumed in just four short hours (hydration in such heat is key, to be fair). But there was serious business afoot, too. Around the edge of this famous space a series of backgammon boards were dotted, so that, as the canapes circulated (I can recommend the excellent ham and cheese croqueta), pairs of guests sat with brows furrowed in concentration, while the tasteful thrum of the jazz was broken only by the exuberant clink of the dice. (Perhaps the competitive spirit was subconciously stoked by the presence of England and Harlequins great Marcus Smith, whose lovely Tissot 'Gentleman' shimmered in the half-light.) Guests for the evening included Ed Westwick, Marcus Smith, Isaac Carew, James Aiken, Harrison Osterfield, Sagar Radia, Callum Mullin, Nick Blood, Cyril Ibrahim, Dennis Okwera, Sean Teale — all of whom left into the humid evening with a goody bag of Tissot baubles and a punchy pre-batched negroni for the road. Which means, in many ways, we're all winners.