9 October 2009
A good day. Lunch with one of my oldest friends, 92 year old Geoffrey Hanscomb, at my favourite fish restaurant in London, Skeekey’s. When I say oldest I mean the one I have known longest. GAH gave me my first holiday job, 60 years ago and we have been good friends ever since.
I started with my favourite scallops and crispy bacon on a thin bed of mashed potato. Then, on dear Geoffrey’ insistence, I had lobster thermidor. The chef kindly extracted all the meat and served it as a sort of risotto, which was easy for me to eat with a spoon. I then finished with a creme brulee, the whole lot washed down with a couple of bottles of decent champagne between the pair of us. Spread over three hours there was no obvious signs of intoxication and I’m pleased to say, no ill effects from yesterday tooth extraction – could it perhaps have been the liquid anaesthetic?
I must say the staff at the restaurant were very helpful. When I arrived I went to the disabled loo, leaving a senior member standing on guard outside waiting to assist me to adjust my dress when I finished. (I no longer bolt lavatory doors since I found myself unable to get out recently). When it came to eating, the waiters were happy to fix my wrist supports and provides straws so that I could drink without lifting the glass. Is it really true that drinking champagne through straws, or indeed any wine, makes it more alcoholic?
I say a good day because before walking the length of Charing Cross Road to the other side of Leicester Square Underground Station, both before and after lunch, I went to PC World, near Liverpool Street Station, to look at their scanners – my old HP Scanjet has given up the ghost after around 20 years – changed an electric toothbrush, which I bought recently from Boots and visited the Carphone Warehouse to get my mobile phone topped up in readiness for China. I really felt that I had achieved quite a lot. I even managed to stay awake, on the homeward train journey and get out at the right station where I was picked up by my lovely.