Exiting the Leica store in London’s high-denomination Burlington Arcade, I was surprised to find myself surrounded by skiers in full regalia and apparently ready for action. With London lucky to get half an inch of snow a year, this was incongruous to say the least. The rolled matching umbrella was a clue that they were in London and not on the slopes.
But note the tell-tale wheels bolted to the skis. These professionals, from Megève in the Rhône-Alpes region near Mont Blanc, were on a publicity tour of London to encourage shoppers with bottomless pockets to spend a week on the pistes this winter, perhaps instead of splashing out on a Leica M. Of course they didn’t have far to go to feel at home: Just a few shops up the Burlington Arcade is the famous Panfriend store with its world-famous collection of fountain pens, Mont Blanc to the fore. That’s as near to a snow-capped mountain as they are likely to get in London.
(Photo Leica M-P and 35mm Summicron)