Lunch!

Sunday, 25th September

My dear friends Richard and Vanessa took me out for lunch today. They were being very kind to me after hearing the news that two of my friends passed away in the last few days. They normally live in Wiltshire but were staying in Reading for a few days. Vanessa picked me up and after dropping the car off where they’re staying, and we walked the short way to Carluccio’s. We had a fab lunch - my pasta was very spicy and we all enjoyed the healthy green vegetables, cooked to perfection! No pictures of the decadent desserts (I had Tiramisu), but we didn’t stop there - we all had the truffles with our coffee.

The floral picture was taken with the Reading Town Hall in the background. It was a beautiful day! September hasn’t been as warm as we sometimes like it, but the flowers are all still vibrant!

I took the train back home - it’s a quick 5 minute journey and then a 7 minute walk from the station. Even though Reading is so close to me, I rarely have reason to go there - I don’t think I’ve been in the centre of Reading since before the pandemic! The train station looks a bit like an airport terminal. I was astounded by the building going on. See Extra photo.

In the top left picture of the extra, they have demolished most of the amphitheater seating that looked down on a plaza. That seating had JUST been built shortly before the pandemic. I remember sitting on it when it had just been finished. And now it’s being replaced already to make room for more buildings on what was a very nice plaza with outdoor events. I’m sure that the pandemic and the shift to working from home has meant that there’s not enough footfall for a space like that. So sad to see. But what is being built is more offices - which surprises me a bit, with the shift to remote working! It will be interesting to see that development as it progresses!

The bottom left shows the train back to home. I liked all those angles!