I blinked in surprise at my first sight of Duque Luis Orlando del Campo's residence on Oakley Street, for it was of Moorish revival architecture, most unexpected, especially in this exclusive neighbourhood near the Embankment. Almost anywhere in London one might expect to see Greek revival, or Georgian, Italianate, French, Swiss, Bavarian, ad infinitum, and often regrettably combined -- but hardly ever Moorish. The home, built of yellow brick, eschewed tasteful ochre-olive-russet tones in favour of vermilion trim and peacock-blue roofing. Ruby and emerald stained glass sparkled beneath pointed arches striped red and white. Oversized checkerboard-patterned tile decked the entry-ways, and the bay windows, turrets, et cetera were surmounted not by ordinary shingles but by bronze domes, like something out of the Arabian Nights. Achieving the front door, plying a knocker in the shape of a grinning genie, I mentally prepared myself for almost anything. A butler in a turban, perhaps?

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