Flying the @eldoncashmere Union Jack from the best seat in the house: the lovers’ ledge that bridges two existing stanchions. The mahogany slab came from @retrouvius and was halved and sawn in order to wedge in between the stanchions. Above the ledge is the crater of a former spotlight: a victim of my anti-downlighting policy in the pub. The cavity proved a great spot for mistletoe come December. Also in the spirit of Advent is the socket to my left, which powers the fairy lights on our Christmas tree – an essential consideration in any lighting plan.

The windows overlooking St Giles’ are painted in Rhomboid Red by @papersandpaints Deeply pigmented reds like this are hard to come by but, as a wise friend once told me – in the land of roast beef, a pub needs a bit of red. Our electricians were patient enough to let me lower the wall lighting in the room by one panel. The wall lights are by @howelondon and quarter-sawn oak graining by @swrdecart

A portrait of an old man with a pipe sits beside a window overlooking Lamb and Flag Passage. Decades of paint was lifted from the staggered lintels by hand. The window muntins were painted black and the old man was given a picture light. I took the painting out of its frame, as I wanted the room to feel rustic and unfussy. Two shelves were embedded beneath using leftover floorboards. The more ledges there are to rest a drink in a pub the better…

Celebrating the news that Listed Building Consent (LBC) has been granted for the Lamb and Flag. Alongside drawing up the pub’s design, I drafted the LBC application for the project. The LBC is sometimes outsourced to a specialist but I found the research really complemented the design work. Both concern the building and its history. Both also concern the design proposal and its specifications. The LBC culminates in the Heritage Statement, which considers the historical, architectural and cultural ‘significance’ of the listed building in relation to the proposal. Even in 125 pages, it was hard to summarise the legacy of a 16th-century inn that counts J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis among its former patrons. Honoured to have the application approved today and many months of research recognised by Oxford City Council.

At the back of the pub is a large room that was formerly home to a darts board, a scythe and a cash machine. The plaster was rotten, and sagging sheets of plasterboard adulterated the vaulting of the ceiling. Outdoor paving stones made the room permanently cold and a Hogwarts-style chandelier flickered its orange bulbs above. The resulting design is intentionally minimalist. I wanted to expose the original shape of the room and let the lime plaster do the talking. The fire door was re-stained and its architrave removed. This large enamel pendant light, with its scrolled, wrought-iron bracket, helps to fill the space.

View into the main bar After photo by @jackwrighton

The Snug was built in the late 1960s on the site of the old yard. At the same time, Antonín Šuman would have been designing these bentwood chairs for TON – at the Czech factory founded by Michael Thonet, who invented bentwood furniture. Thank you to @merchantandfound for sourcing 22 of them for the project. Bentwood chairs are as common in British pubs as fake IDs. We were fortunate to inherit a well-scuffed existing suite from the previous tenants, so the new TON chairs are in good company.

I was asked to rectify a Victorian fireplace at the Lamb and Flag in line with a planning enforcement order by the local council. Engineering bricks had been laid in the firebox returns and were not in keeping with the historic building. The wall had to be Acrow propped and the inner hearth rebuilt using reclaimed Victorian clay bricks and hydraulic lime mortar. The old Victorian fireplace was then reinstated and a new slate hearthstone laid beneath. Its broken mantelpiece was replaced in Welsh slate and marbled to match by @swrdecart. More on that to come…

The last orders bell at the Lamb formerly presided over the wardroom of a ship. Sourced for the project, its clapper was fitted with a new rope lanyard. As the old saying goes, ‘he who rings the bell in jest buys a drink for all the rest’.

Art will never die! So avows the resting place of Canova’s heart, built by his students and erected in 1827. The pyramid shape (likely Masonic) and its half-open door were originally designed by Canova – not for himself, but for Titian. To the right, the weeping figures of Sculpture, Painting and Architecture are trailed by three genii with torches aflame. To the left, a winged Lion (Venice) sleeps beside the genius of Antonio Canova (1757–1822) – earthly torch now extinguished. This October the @veniceinperil.fund completed a two-year restoration of the cenotaph. Damp and saltwater had risen up into the marble causing staining and shifting of the facade. Final pic: Alinari, Venezia – Chiesa de’ Frari Monumento a Canova, private collection.

In memory of my dear friend Milton Grundy (1926–2022), I am taking his seven walks around Venice. These are mapped out in his anthology guide, now in its sixth edition. The first walk takes the reader to the church of San Giorgio Maggiore – designed by Palladio in 1566, with a misty view of the Lagoon from the bell tower. Just last month Milton finished narrating the walks for a forthcoming app. A wise and wonderful man who is much missed.

Decked the pub with boughs of holly today. Beneath lives a copy of Les Vendanges (‘the grape harvest’), made to a special colourway for the room. The tapestry reads from left to right, showing the various stages of wine-making, from picking to treading to feeling the consequences. The original hangs at the Cluny Museum in Paris. To its left is a new stable door, freshly grained by @swrdecart. The red woollen curtain and old oak settle from @societique are also new additions. Happy advent, one and all!