West is not on the Right. It is Left. FACT.

Who knew that on Dave's Birthday I would be the one receiving a gift! Contrary to the last post, at the eleventh hour (that is, JUST before I started dicing the onions for a mushroom sauce [which i am currently perfecting]) Dave called from ... wherever he was that day (out visiting a cricket county or something. Haven't been interested enough to differentiate between them yet) and asked that I make a reservation at a restaurant for dinner!

Well well! We were leaving Bermondsey Street! Needless to say I overdressed magnificently for the occassion...

We went to a restaurant call St. John (s) which is located in the heart of London (such a big heart it is) near the Smithfield Markets. It caught Dave's fancy as it had recently been named (in The Times, of course, of course)as one of the top ten restaurants in the world (Big claim! I wonder if they have been to India...). I guess the food style is classified as 'Modern British' and St John (s) is seen as one of the beacons of the rejuvination of British cuisine. Or something like that. Blah de blah blah...

To describe the food will require me to ask the vegetarians to move to the next paragraph. So be gone with you, you dont want to know! Because we are talking a choice of neck, trotters, tail, liver, heart, tounge.. the works! You could call it nose-to-tail cookery. Dave - not the most adventurous of diners - and myself - not wanting to get a main that I didn't eat all of, such was the novelty of eating out - didnt really stray from the more conventional choices. Our entree consisted of fishing the bone marrow out of bones and eating it with a fine parsley and capers salad on toast. Not the healthiest food, but stupidly tasty. And messy. For mains I had the largest lamb shank known to man and Dave had a Beef fillet that from the looks of it had never touched heat. Desert was brioche and tart rhubarb custard which was nice (though not as nice as how Dave now makes it) but I was basically unable to touch it as the Lamb had staked too much of a claim on my tummy. I'm no food critic, and all in all it was nice atmosphere (very bare, all white, food-hall feel) and good french wine (learning, learning) but a top ten restaurant may be a bit of a strech. Nice, but no real wow factor. Perhaps I SHOULD have tried the ox tounge...

For Dave's birthday his movie education continued with Dodgeball and Schindler's Fist. I mean List. One we have already seen, the other will probably gather dust for a long, long time ... but I am hopeful. He received a nick cave cd and snoop's newest one also (his request. going through a post-35 'im still hip, pass me my bling and crank the snoop' phase). A few books (penguin are doing this £1.50 short stories/novels by famous authours series over here - bloody good idea! great value! so the authours included D. Eggars, F.S. Fitzgerald, H.S. Thompson, M. Moore, D. Lodge). He also got a brand new mesh running/weights tank top that shows off his 'guns' (to steal from Lleyton) magnificantly. And finally a tea pot, some matching cups and a selection of teas and tea canisters. Phew!! He was one lucky boy this birthday.

Ginny also sent across the new Longhorn album which we both think is pretty terrrrrriffic. Dave is currently petitioning to have it put on the Times review list.

What else has been happening in London town? Work is very, very busy for Dave. He goes back to India on the 18th of June as athletes1 India kicks into operation which is very exciting. The company has been in the papers over here following a very high profile dispute over one of their clients - a nigerian player - both Manchester United and Chelsea are fighting over. Why? Haven't the foggiest. But apparently they are going to be on the news tonight. But I think it is really good becuase their football (soccer) operations have for so long been a real fringe part of their operations - so its a real positive to be mixing it with the big boys.

What else? What else? Caught up with Kieran last weekend for the first time which was good adn Dave got to meet him. Was a bit worried about all that as Dave had threatened to commiserate with Kieran over the 'fiesty-ness of heather'. Luckily he maintained his manners and will live to see another day. Kieran, in true form, was wearing the most inappropriate t-shirt I have ever seen. It was bought in amsterdam. So I wont say any more...

I've been travelling the tube a fair bit lately (all shoes still accounted for) in my search for work. It mind-bogglingly boring when you do this -you sort of just sit there and stare up at the map of the line you are currently on. And something had been irking me for a while and only yesterday I put my finger on what it was. NOW. Some people will not follow what I am about to say becuase the best way to describe it would be to use a diagram. And most of you will not understand why it is such a big deal. Perhaps those close to me, those who understand my hatred of the inappropriate conjugation of 'you are' to 'your', will understand. OK. Here we go. This map basically is a picture of the line and all the stops that are on it. So for example the Jubilee line, which London Bridge (our station) also has stops such as Southwark, Waterloo, Wesminster, Bond Street etc. etc. In reality from WEST to EAST(picture it, picture it) the Jubilee line goes 'Westminster, Waterloo, Southwark, London Bridge'. However the map you look at whilst sitting on a train from LEFT to RIGHT (picture it, picture it)goes (LB, Southwark, Water, Wesminster). Effectively the map is alligning LEFT with EAST and RIGHT with WEST. Which does. not. make. sense. Maps are supposed to reflect reality adn these ones do not. And it's not just the Jubilee line! Now that I have noiced it, they allll do it! It drives me crazy. I mean - its not like they read English here in an arabic fashion!!

Or maybe they do. Could be why i dont have a job. Hmm...

Anyway. Sorry about that one. I have a lot of time to think about these things.

ACTUALLY - perhaps it has something to do with what direction I am heading. Ohhhhh. I hadnt thought of that. I will have to look even closer the next time and report back (though I doubt I am wrong. That happens so rarely). No doubt I will get the comments pages rocking after this little discussion.

What I really need is a photo... speaking of which - It's funny - I started this site so I could show photos...and through a combination of not knowing how to put them on the site and not actually having any (except fore perhaps 3 from India) I have never lived up to that.

Anyways - I must go. Meeting with Kate, Eleanor's sister, and her man James for a drink in an hour or so and need to get my skates on.

Please keep sending the lovely emails - I read them all and will reply as soon as I can.

xxx H