People watching

Pretty much all we did today. But we started in the most formal sense, at the National Portrait Gallery. I thought this year's BP awards were of a really high standard, a couple of them spectacularly so. One of the artist's grandmother dying in a hospital bed was terribly poignant. 

The William Egglestone exhibition next door was excellent; he had a wider range than I realised and his early black and white work was very good. But of course he is famous for his use of colour and for his depiction of Tennessee as representative of the the stagnant, bizarre and strangely lobotomised culture of the Southern states of America. There is one depiction of a drug addicted naked dentist bathed in red light shortly before someone murdered him in his own home and set it on fire. Not one to hang in the living room. But compelling.

We had a drink in the cafe and I tried to eat a sunflower. TSM adopted a religious pose. Then we went and sat in St James' park, renting deckchairs by the hour and talking about the last few weeks and how we both felt about life, the universe and everything. And people watching. Lot of people to watch in a London park in high summer. Oh and we got befriended by a ladybird.

Then walked up through Mayfair to Titbits a veggie and vegan cafe style restaurant where you can buy healthy and tasty food by the 100g from a buffet. Had my first alcohol in nearly two months, a glass of white wine with the meal. Very pleasant, but stuck to the one and had a coffee afterwards. And more people watching. Heddon Street is good for that because it has such a diversity of eating places in a small area. A real mix of restaurants and bars and a real mix of types.

Got home just before nine, tired but happy as they say. Love days like this. Even got some free sunglasses in a Boris Bike promotion at Waterloo ...