The Diary: The New and Lingwood x Gentleman's Journal Drinks

There are two types of British summer evening. The first is the one we spend all winter imagining: golden light, linen jackets and a rosé that somehow remains perfectly chilled despite being left in the sun. The second is the one we actually get.

Wednesday evening belonged firmly to the latter camp.

As several determined showers swept across London, we joined forces with the ever-elegant New & Lingwood to host drinks at their recently opened Motcomb Street store. Fortunately, what the weather lacked in cooperation, the guests more than made up for in good spirits. Quite literally.

Inside the handsome Belgravia space, glasses of Sipsmith gin and tonic circulated alongside generous pours of Domaines Ott rosé and Côte Citron.

Alongside New & Lingwood CEO Freddie Briance, we welcomed a crowd that included George Blandford, Charlie Rolls, Mathias le Fèvre, Sabrina Percy and Carl Ross, among others.

The prize for Best Entrance of the evening, however, went to David Tollemache, who arrived by Lime bike with the sort of momentum usually associated with cavalry charges. Having apparently treated the rain-slicked streets of Belgravia as a personal time trial, he skidded to a halt outside the shop in a manner that suggested either supreme confidence or a complete absence of braking distance.

Thankfully, no tailoring was harmed in the making of the evening.

By the time the last guests drifted out into the damp London night, the weather had finally accepted defeat. Or perhaps we had simply stopped noticing it. Either way, it was proof that a little rain is no match for good company, a well-cut jacket and the promise of one more glass of rosé. Which, in fairness, is how most British summer events survive.