When a boy cannot even go to a pond without booking it on a desktop app, something has gone wrong in London, writes Matt Waksman in today’s Notebook

Booking culture is ruining my London summer

“Summertime… when the living is easy,” sang Ella Fitzgerald, conjuring up glorious visions of the hazy wanton abandon that the season should usher in. Well, Ella had clearly not tried to get a seat by the pool in Shoreditch House during the last heatwave. No longer can you stroll in and smoke your way through the afternoon with a paloma in hand like God intended. No, the poolside at every House in London is now strictly reserved for those who have so little going on in their lives that they have the wherewithal and the energy to book their “slot” a week in advance. Free and easy living, it is not.

The slottification of summer is not just impacting the reprobates who probably deserve it at Soho House Group. It’s a worrying trend taking over all fun in the sun in the capital. Fancy a dip in the ponds in Hampstead Heath? Not so........

© City A.M.