We'd been to London on many occasions as a family, but in this instance I thought we would have a little father and son time - a sort of boys' weekend to London in high summer, while Mark still wants to be seen with me.
Arriving from Glasgow by train just after lunch, we took a taxi to The Rockwell in Kensington, a boutique hotel with a relaxed atmosphere. Our twin room was spotless with a fridge we stuffed with cold drinks as there was a heatwave - probably normal for London but it was cooking hot for us. Which leads me to my favourite bit of the hotel - the delightful garden, which is cool in style as well as temperature. After a long day pounding the pavements it was the ideal place to chilli out.
We'd agreed Mark was in charge, which meant my idea of bus tours and trip to the V&A was out of the question. Being keen on all things musical, Mark wanted to eat at The Hard Rock Cafe on Old Park Lane (pictured). While the food was great, what stood out was The Vault in the basement, a sort of guitar museum which is home to instruments owned by Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and, most iconic of all, a Gibson Flying V owned by Jimi Hendrix.
The next port of call was Denmark Street on the edge of Soho, a famous stretch of guitar shops. We must have spent nearly two hours ogling and trying out guitars. The staff were all friendly and the stories of not being allowed to play Stairway To Heaven in the stores of Tin Pan Alley, as the street is also known, seem unfounded.
Leicester Square is another haunt which was buzzing and worth stopping at to take in the atmosphere. It's also the home of London's big cinemas so we went to see Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie, again Mark's choice.
Our boys' weekend was priceless and showed me a different side of London. Next time, though, I'm going on a bus tour.
Martin Shields was a guest of The Rockwell, 181 Cromwell Road, London SW5. Rates start at £140 per night based on two sharing. Visit www.therockwell.com or call 020 7244 2000.
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