Happy Birthday Mr S

Mr S’s Birthday, which we celebrated in The Gate just off Marble Arch. Superlative cuisine, mostly vegan, a little bit of avoidable dairy. The man himself is 50 tomorrow but takes these things casually and certainly isn’t one to fuss; he has a laid back approach to life.

I’d like to know how they cooked their aubergine miso starter. It was divine, really lovely. Might try and copy that.

The extra hour’s sleep was much appreciated. We had to drive to Wimbledon to get trains as they were doing engineering works locally, so it felt like a bit of a flog. We came back via the posh shops in South Molton Street, but only because TSM likes the Lush there.

London was nice, gearing up for Christmas. I am a bit torn ‘though. I love the beautiful buildings, rich window displays, amazing food and the festive lights waiting to be switched on. But the world is such a terribly unequal place. I feel like I am a citizen of Elysium (if you’ve seen the film), living the good life whilst so many others just grind away at it. And unbridled consumption is screwing over the planet. As Wendell Berry said, a meeting to discuss destruction of the environment is less a gathering of the concerned and more a convocation of the guilty. This year Halloween seems bigger than ever, and the exhortation to buy everything from cakes to clothes in pursuit of a ghastly night out is everywhere. Our whole world is built on shopping for things we don’t really need with the odd bit of charity giving to ease the guilt.

Anyway, a good day. Happy Birthday Mr S, I hope you enjoy being 50 something.