Lives worth talking about

TSM dropped me off in Leatherhead at 7.45 so that I could get some food for us for lunch and as she drove off I noticed a couple of my old team members having an early breakfast in one of the many local greasy spoons. Hugs and handshakes ensued and a bit of unashamed nostalgia. It felt like getting the old band back together again. I’ve managed a lot of teams down the years, ranging from 120 down to 1 - or even zero if you count me myself I. But I have a particular fondness for the era these guys worked with me.

The working day was a sequence of meetings which mixed “keeping the show on the road” with back to the future. Then we went home and dropped the car and went up to London - TSM to meet with girlfriends and me to get some culture on the South Bank at the late night Tate Modern. And maybe  a beer or two. And maybe chips in curry sauce from the superlative Marstons Superfish in Waterloo.

South Bank was astonishingly beautiful and buzzy tonight. I’m never bored and always finding something new in the city of my birth. Love it or hate it, it is always compelling.

Went to see the disturbing Kabakov installation at Tate Modern. I’ve decided that understanding is less important than immersion when it comes to art, and this certainly has impact. The scary corridor is really claustrophobic - I actually had a near panic attack on the way around. But there was something quietly optimistic about it - about the inability of oppressive regimes to crush the human spirit and human desire to enquire.

Talking of human spirit: One of the things I like about the Tate Modern is the security guards. They are quite a wacky bunch and the conversation is always worth eavesdropping on. It’s a bit like being with John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction. Without the guns of course. And the drugs. But it is pretty funny. Particularly when you see a couple of tough, big, uniformed dudes hugging like I did tonight.

Had a beer in the BFI bar and started walking to the station before realising I had lost my scarf. Went back and found it under the table. This may not seem like a big deal but I felt strangely pleased to get it back. For some reason it didn’t fell like a night for losing things.

Quite a few zombies and stuff in London tonight. Early Halloween. Apparently there is a massive amount of pumpkin wasted at this time of year. Remember kids, a pumpkin isn’t just for Halloween. Chucking away the flesh is an insult to all the starving people in the world …

On the train home I discovered that I had been carrying a bottle of maple syrup around with me across London, which is what happens when you visit Waitrose first thing and don’t organise your shopping properly.

I took this shot in the Tate Modern. People as art. Nothing symbolic about it but I like it. The great thing about the age we live in is that everyone can express themselves. Art is not the exclusive preserve of the metropolitan elite, despite what the idiots behind Brexit seem to think. We all have an artistic life and soul. And we all have lives worth talking about.