A day to remember

Went to see Modigliani at the Tate Modern. Not an art critics favourite (apparently he is unchallenging and easy to fake according to one Guardian writer), nonetheless I find him really easy on the eye and quite beguiling. Some of the portraits are arrestingly beautiful and the nudes are just stunning. He got into trouble for giving them pubic hair, which apparently was shockingly unconventional because naked women were supposed to be flawless and hair was just not idealised enough.

Before this we went to the rather lovely Tibits in Bankside for vegan food. Then we went back afterwards for vegan pudding. This place lets you help yourself and then you get your plate weighed. Like the concept, discourages food waste, and it was very nice. They have a really chilled back room where you can sit and people watch.

As for the rest I finished setting up my new table saw, which is wonderful. I am calling it Carol after Carol Vorderman because it is fast, accurate and easy to work with. There will be some serious DIY going on shortly ...

I subscribed to BFI player this week. Last night I watched a curious old sci-fi called Saturn 3, which is a real oddity. Probably some of the worst acting ever seen, it is nonetheless intriguing and interesting. A key focus is finding different ways for Farah Fawcett to lose her clothes, and there is a giant robot and a Frankenstein theme running through it. A very youthful Harvey Keitel was dubbed for some unknown reason by (of all people) Roy Dotrice and remarkably the screenplay was by Martin Amis.

Then tonight we watched A NightTo Remember, which is a far better film than Cameon’s later Titanic, although being made in 1958 the special effects were a bit dodgy. It did look like an Airfix kit sinking in the bath by candlelight at the end. But you had a real sense of the horror and panic and grainy black and white just gave it more emphasis.

Good day.