November 27 – Why-oh-why-oh-why???

But then a huge delivery of coal (that hadn’t been ordered) arrived, and wedding cakes… Then doctors, lawyers, vicars, priests – these had been told that someone in the house was dying and needed medicine, wills, or last rites! Then fishmongers, shoemakers, and other tradesmen… A dozen pianos and an organ were delivered and sent away! Most startling of all, in my mind: The Governor of the Bank of England, the Duke of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Mayor of London – all these important folks arrived, claiming to have an appointment that had never been made.

The street was super congested with carts and carriages – and soon onlookers. Two onlookers were Theodore Hook and Samuel Beazley, who were watching from the house directly across from 54 Berners Street. 

Soon police officers had to be stationed at each end of the street to stop deliveries and visits before they could dive into the narrow street and cause more confusion. A suprisingly large chunk of London basically came to a standstill!

Theodore Hooke

You see, Hook made a bet with his friend Beazley: he said he
could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week.