Villa…

Villa, we’re coming for you! 

@Arsenal ⚽️

@Regenersaurus 🦖 

#COYG 🔴⚪️

#AVLARS 🥅 

Lupa…

Last night, Jane, Sara, Stuart and I went out for a spot of supper and a catch-up. We went to the superb Lupa in glitzy Highbury. Which was a first for us. We’d heard good things. It didn’t disappoint.

It’s a newish Italian restaurant owned by none of other than the one and only Theo James, hunky actor from White Lotus and The Gentlemen. 

The food leans towards a Roman-style, & the menu’s laid out in classical Italian way (antipasti, followed by primi, then secondi & contorni). 

There’s carbonara, & it’s done properly, strong with pecorino & guancale, no cream or bacon in sight. The bucatini was amazing too with a seismic sauce. And potatoes? Crisp-edged, rosemary-flecked, & exactly the kind of thing you end up fighting over.

For dessert, the tiramisu was divine.   

Which, in many ways, is whole point of Lupa. It’s elegant without being showy, & quite cool without trying, & kind of the place you want to have in your neighbourhood. And yes, fine, it does happen to be backed by an actor whose jawline was recently declared Site of Natural Beauty. 

But real star here is the food. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sloe, Sloe, Quick Quick, Sloe...

This year's annual foraging for sloes to make Highbury sloe gin was quite successful. Because of the hot summer they were perhaps a little bit smaller than usual and the harvest came earlier.  But the crop was just as good.  

Stuart and I took them home, washed off the yeast with warm water then cold water, dried them with a tea towel & popped them in the freezer overnight. That way when they defrost in the room temperature gin they burst a bit to let juices seep out. 

This afternoon we put them into four airtight Kilner jars, topping up with gin & leaving in dark for three months for the sloes to infuse into gin. Then we add sugar to taste. Just ready for Christmas. Yum, yum. 

In Theory…

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.

Darce’s 30th Birthday Trip…

So for Darce’s birthday, we had a night in a hotel at Heathrow, flew to Zurich for the Lindt chocolate museum tour, then train to Paris for steak dinner, then Eurostar.  🏩✈️🍫🚞🥩🏨🚝

@darce_styles @darcestyles96 

Pride Coming To The Bridge Theatre…

Pride is moving to the Bridge Theatre.  Yay!  Go see!    https://www.bridgetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/pride

The Importance of Being Oscar @ Park Theatre…

Last Saturday night with Stuart, I went to see The Importance of Being Oscar at Park Theatre in London’s glitzy Finsbury. Alastair Whatley brings Wilde vividly to life, mixing biography with excerpts from the plays and writings. Entertaining enough, although two hours of Oscar is perhaps a little less important than Wilde himself thought it was.

@alastairwhatley @parktheatrelondon

#TheImportanceOfBeingOscar #OscarWilde #ParkTheatre #AlastairWhatley

Famalam in King’s Cross…

Lovely day out in King’s Cross with some of the famalam.  

[Photo credits also to: Charlotte Kate & Joanna Green]

Arsenal 3 - 0 Coventry City…

Champions back at the Emirates and still rather good at this football lark. Havertz, Saka and Ødegaard supplied the goals as Arsenal eased past Coventry in our Premier League opener. Comfortable, composed, and thoroughly enjoyable. Lovely to meet @gaygooners beforehand too. Football, mates, and a winning start. What’s not to like?

Onwards and upwards, my friends.

@Arsenal @Coventry_City @kaihavertz29 @BukayoSaka87 @gaygooners

#ARSCOV 🥅 #Arsenal #CoventryCity