Naples Bound…

 Napoli, we’re coming for you! 

@Arsenal ⚽️

@Regenersaurus 🦖 

#COYG 🔴⚪️

#NAPARS 🥅 

Arsenal 2 - 1 Chelsea..

It might still be early doors, but that felt like a very important win. Chelsea scored early, but the Gunners equalised, and our second goal was glorious.

Havertz and Odegaard were excellent, and Raya’s late save came with the sort of calm assurance that makes everyone breathe easy again.

Arsenal have always made grinding out one goal wins into an art form. Not pretty. Very effective.

Onwards and upwards, my friends.

@Arsenal @ChelseaFC @odegaard.98 @kaihavertz29 @d.raya1

#ARSCHE 🥅 #Arsenal #Chelsea #Odegaard #Havertz #Raya #COYG 

Death Note: The Musical @barbicancentre…

Saturday night Stuart and I went to see manga and anime behemoth Death Note: The Musical at Barbican Theatre in London’s glitzy Barbican Centre. Pure chaotic Japanese magic where murder meets soaring vocals. The score is absurdly dramatic and the whole enterprise is gloriously unhinged. Such strong performances from @xander._ @colin_ryan and @tellyleung making death look like a fabulous career choice. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#DeathNote #DeathNoteMusical #Barbican #LondonTheatre #WestEnd #TheatreReview

Arcadia @dukeofyorkstheatre…

Yesterday afternoon, we went to see Arcadia at Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s glitzy West End. Stuart and I got our brains properly melted by this complex, time-jumping play. Carrie Cracknell directs a brilliant cast featuring @isishainsworth, @nikkiamukabird, and the hilarious @oliverchris. It is classic Stoppard, packed with his trademark wit and a rare ability to cleverly blend sex jokes with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Determinism and fractals never felt so wildly fun. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#Arcadia #WestEnd #TomStoppard

Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical @Evolution_ldn London…

Last night, Stuart and I went to see Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical at Evolution London in glitzy Battersea. Secret Cinema’s trademark attention to detail shines. Stephanie Costi, Lucy Penrose, Giórgios Michaelídes & Arcangelo Ciulla are fabulous. We sang, danced & laughed. Pure joy. Pure Grease.

@secret_cinema @_stephaniecosti @lucycpenrose @giorgiosmichaelides @arcangelo.ciulla @evolutionlondon #Grease #SecretCinema 

Electra/Persona @nationaltheatre…

Last night Stuart and I went to see Electra/Persona at the Lyttelton Theatre on London’s glitzy South Bank. A bare stage of wooden steps, heightened drama and enough anguish to power a small city. At times over-written and over-directed by Benedict Andrews, but Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss are utterly fabulous.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

@nationaltheatre #ElectraPersona #NationalTheatre #CateBlanchett #NinaHoss #LondonTheatre

Trainspotting The Musical @ Theatre Royal Haymarket…

Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. But definitely don’t choose this. 

This afternoon I went to see Trainspotting The Musical at @trh_london in London’s glitzy West End. 

It’s a mess really. Despite the fun 1990s bangers. 

Leads @andrewdyer__ and @laurensocha try super hard but country & western high kicks and heroin do not really mix well. Save your cash. Or get a freebie like many do if you’re at a loose end.

⭐️⭐️

#Theatre #London #WestEnd #Trainspotting @trh_london

A Month in the Country @ Donmar Warehouse…

Last Thursday night went to see A Month in the Country at @donmarwarehouse in London’s glitzy West End with Stuart. Sophie Okonedo and Patrick Gibson try so hard to make existential Russian yearning sexy. Truth is it is just two hours of posh folk sitting around wishing they were anywhere else. I felt exact the same way. 

#AMonthInTheCountry #DonmarWarehouse #SophieOkonedo #PatrickGibson

Aston Villa 0 - 1 Arsenal…

Lovely to meet up with @gaygooners beforehand, then watch Arsenal do what champions do: win football matches without making life unnecessarily exciting. Saka tucked away Calafiori’s cutback, Villa hit the bar, VAR rescued itself from a penalty howler and Arsenal rather sensibly took all three points. Six points from two games. 

Onwards and upwards, my friends.

@Arsenal @avfcofficial @BukayoSaka87

#AVLARS 🥅 #Arsenal #AstonVilla #COYG

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. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️