12 February 2010
Lunch today at my favourite restaurant, Sheekeys, off Charing Cross Road, with my dear old 92-year-old friend, Geoffrey Hanscomb. He was in great form with nothing more than the occasional touch of gout – in his case a medical condition rather than a by product of an excess of alcohol! I wonder whether this will be our last Sheekey lunch and which of us will go first? As his executor I really ought to hang around longer than he does. It is a bit of a struggle for both of us. I travelled by train to Liverpool Street station, underground to Tottenham Court Road and walked from there. Unfortunately, I started off down Oxford Street having got confused by all the hoardings put up for the Crossrail reconstruction of Tottenham Court Road Underground station. This added around 100 yards to the walk from Tottenham Court Road Station to the other side of Trafalgar Sq Underground Station. It is quite a stretch and was just about as far as I could manage with my legs. Anyway, I wonder how much longer I shall be able to walk that sort of distance.
Once in the restaurant, having arrived before my host, I decided to have a pee to make room for the champagne to come. This was accomplished by soliciting the assistance of one of the young waiters to stand guard outside the door of the disabled loo, as I can no longer manipulate the lock, and they once I had done my business, assist me to adjust my dress. He didn’t seem to mind but then what choice do I have. Similarly, when it came to ‘ dressing up’ with my two wrist supports, apron, wipeable sleeve and shoover, these were all put on in the best of humour by one of the Polish waiters.
When it came to going home, although ‘my lovely’ had insisted that I got a taxi, I was loath to do so, having had such a bad experience getting in and out of the taxi last week following and opted to travel by bus. I got back to Liverpool  Street Station on the Number 23 bus but stupidly took the wrong turning and went down Duncannon Street, missing the main bus stop and found that I had to walk almost a complete distance of the Strand  before I found a stop. When the bus  arrived the  driver, noticing my difficulty in stepping up, lowered the step which I thought was very decent of him.