Opinions are divided on this one – mostly male vs females – but I for one am in love with this marvellous monstrosity of commercialism. From Gucci to H&M this shopping mecca offers me everything – windows to drool over and aspire to, as well as those shops I can actually afford to step into without the fear of breaking something and having to remortgage to compensate.

Shop assistants are also unusually eager to please. A lovely lady at Crabtree and Evelyn spent 15 minutes wrapping up a gift I’d bought for a friend – and then gave me samples to take away. It’s unheard of. And yet there is something missing from my nirvana – a decent bookshop presence. There’s a lonely Foyles tucked away in a corner and a humungous WH Smiths – but that’s it. No Borders, no Waterstone’s, no independents…

In this climate I was wondering if they really need both a Tiffany’s and a Links of London. Maybe another bookshop would fare better?

Lara Crisp, Managing Editor