London polishes the silver ready for an invasion of well-heeled protesters
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Your support makes all the difference.London is bracing itself for the arrival of an angry horde. Yet rather than battening down the hatches and boarding up the shopfronts, it is more a case of polishing the silver and pulling out the corks.
The arrival of up to 300,000 protesters, many of them well-heeled, in support of the second Countryside Alliance march on Sunday has led to full bookings at the Michelin-starred restaurants along the route.
The gentlemen's clubs of Pall Mall and St James's are expecting a busy day, waiving centuries-old rules on dress and female visitors. With the rumoured participation of Camilla Parker Bowles and the prospect of a procession of landed aristocracy, the message is clear: nobody is too posh to protest.
Some of Britain's leading public schools, including Eton College, Harrow and Radley have permitted boarders an extra night off to attend the march.
Besides a clutch of pro-hunt balls, the most exclusive gathering is a private party for 300 supporters thrown by Charles Moore, editor of The Daily Telegraph, at a venue kept secret because of to a potential threat from anti-hunt campaigners. Guests will range from the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire to Kate Hoey, one of the few pro-hunt Labour MPs.
Also competing for best march party will be Penny Mortimer, wife of Sir John Mortimer, who has invited 200 guests to a north-west London church. Miranda Quarry, wife of theEarl of Stockton, is hosting a pro-hunt party at the Parisienne Chophouse in Knightsbridge, run by one of the countryside movement's most flamboyant champions, Marco Pierre White.
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