⤳ This week was all about seeing friends in pubs, bars and restaurants.
⤳ But before that kicked off, I went to the National Gallery to see The Last Caravaggio. It’s free and definitely worth a look if you’re passing (wow, I just damned Caravaggio with faint praise didn’t I).
⤳ Afterwards I went next door for a look round the National Portrait Gallery where I saw this gorgeous self-portrait by Dame Ethel Walker, who has to be the best dressed person in the whole building.
⤳ I also read this under a self-portrait of David Hockney, which only cements my view that everything DH says is simply genius.
⤳ While I was in the queue for an espresso at the NPG coffee shop I overheard the following conversation between the couple in front of me:
Him: I’ve been playing around with my air fryer
Her: Oh! I’ve been watching so many air fryer reels and sending them to Martin because he’s a big air fryer person!
‘Air fryer reels…’ Shiver.
⤳ First dining experience of the week was a much sought after table at The Devonshire pub in Soho. Fixed menu, £29, prawn cocktail, steak and chips and one of the best sticky toffee puddings I’ve ever had. Good wine too. That was just lunch. The rest of the day was spent on a bit of a bar crawl around Soho and bumping into old friends. It was lovely.
⤳ The next day (!) we took some friends to Levan in Peckham where we had the tasting menu with wine pairing (it was a birthday treat for someone). Despite being a little ‘unwell’ I managed to enjoy myself; but I am definitely too old to do all that within 48 hours.
⤳ I finished reading Ripley Underground this week. I picked it up after devouring Ripley on Netflix and wasn’t disappointed. Although I think I have overdosed on urbane, casual psychopaths now.
⤳ Some interesting things I’ve read this week:
In celebrity news (which is why you read this blog, after all), Chris Pratt wants shooting for this.
How could you not want to read an article which contains the sentence “What this means is that there may be lots more hominin bones in people’s floors and showers.”
I am very tempted to travel to Milan just to see this: David Lynch’s dreamlike rooms.
⤳ Listening to: