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Observer Newspaper - Sunday October 22, 2000
Hilary Whitney

MP and former reporter Martin Bell has been a regular at La Gaffe in Belsize Park since 1965. And its owner Bernardo Stella has hosted Martin's wedding reception, book launch and even hidden him from prying journalists.

Martin Bell:

It must have been 1965 when I first went to La Gaffe. I'd just joined the BBC and was living in Belsize Park; it was local and, being a creature of habit, I've been going there ever since. It's grown over the years, but in the 60s it was a tiny place with checked tablecloths and candles in bottles. I got to know Bernardo gradually, but I liked him immediately. He's always ebullient, a genial host, and he hasn't changed over the years. Well, he had more hair in those days and was a little thinner, but so was I.
I've celebrated quite a few major landmarks of my life with Bernardo. When I married my first wife we had our wedding party at La Gaffe, and it's where I had the launch party for my book, In Harm's Way, and where I usually see the New Year in.
When the going gets tough, Bernardo and his wife Androulla, whom I adore, are always there. When it was first announced that I was standing as a parliamentary candidate, it felt as if everybody was after me. It was scary. I went into hiding at La Gaffe and Bernardo and Androulla really looked after me. There were lots of pictures of me in the restaurant the next day, nervously talking into my mobile phone.
Although Bernardo runs a wonderful restaurant, his first love is writing. He writes mainly plays and poems. When he went to Bosnia to research an idea he had for a play about a Muslim Serb couple, I introduced him to a good friend, a lovely woman whose husband was killed by mortar fire in the early days of the war. I know that she gave him great insight into the situation over there and I'm sure it was a better play as a result.
There's been a lot of interest in Bernardo's play, When in Rome, mainly I think because, according to the publicity, it's about 'two men swept into an orgy of bacchanalian proportions'. A lot of people have been trying to get a quote from me about it, but as I haven't read it there isn't much I can say.
La Gaffe has become a home away from home for me. I've made a lot of good friends there. I don't like name-dropping, but a lot of interesting people go there. You know the same people will be there. Sometimes it's a bit like walking into an episode of Cheers.

Bernardo Stella:

Martin first started coming to my restaurant in the 60s. He was very suave, laid-back and always in the company of beautiful women. He started coming more frequently and we became friends. We also run a hotel here and it became his base when he was working abroad.
I think Martin is a brilliant writer. A few years ago I read an article he'd written for a newspaper. It was so intelligent and witty, I said, 'This is fantastic. When are you going to write a book?'
One evening, I introduced him to Peter O'Toole who was sitting across the restaurant from him. I said to Peter, 'You must tell Martin he has to write', but he was resistant to the idea for a long time, probably because his father was a writer and we often fight against following in our parents' footsteps. But he eventually wrote two books.
I was forced into catering for pecuniary reasons, but I've always spent my spare time writing. I wrote a modern Romeo and Juliet set in Sarajevo as part of a playwriting course I was doing. When I decided to go to Bosnia to research it, Martin put me in touch with a Catholic lady whose husband was a Muslim. He had been killed while he was at home watching television. She was a wonderful, courageous woman and she taught me a lot. Bosnia was different to how I'd imagined and it was a humbling experience.
Martin is a brave man, not just because his work took him to some of the most dangerous places in the world. It also takes courage to stand up for your convictions, like he has done. When he started his political career, I didn't realise that he didn't have any funds. I feel bad that I didn't offer him any help. He has always been generous to me and helped to fund my latest play.
Martin is such a genuine person. When it had been announced that he was going into politics, a journalist came round, trying to get me to dish the dirt on him. I told him that the only thing I could tell him was that when the English coined the phrase 'salt of the earth' they had Martin Bell in mind.