Things I have been doing

Sock Monkey and Sock Monkey's Bird, P (or if you prefer: 'bit of skirt') had a very nice weekend which seeped over to Tuesday.

On Friday we went to see Coraline in 3D no less. I was particularly interested in seeing it after I read a review which said its "About as suitable for children as Pan's Labyrinth'. Well naturally I had to see it after that! I really liked it and if you like The Nightmare Before Christmas you'll probably like it too. And we got to keep the 3D glasses which look like nerd glasses. I shall put them in my dressing up box for later. The funny thing though, was that because it is a kid's film all the trailers were for other kids' films. We sat here going "Oooh I fancy seeing that. Oooh and that one!"

We went to Sir John Soane's House on Saturday. I've planned to go there for years but hadn't got round to it. Sir John Soan was a architect who collected stuff. Lots of stuff. Like bits of old buildings, paintings, statues, a sarcophagus and lots of other crap. He kept it all in his house which is now open to the public. All this stuff is crammed into this house which is about to burst and you can visit it. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to find that he has the original 8 paintings of A Rake's Progress by Hogarth. Its an interesting place to visit but it does give you a dose of visual overload.

Afterwards we wandered over to Neale's Yard where P discovered the best ever ice cream shop. Its called 'Scoop' and they do the most fantastic flavours. Its not that the flavours are unusual or anything its that they actually taste like what they are supposed to be. So my banana ice cream tasted exactly like a banana and P's mandarin flavour was just like opening a tin of mandarins and eating some. Only colder. And as we stood eating the massive cones (which were the smallest size they do), laughing because our mouths had frozen we suddenly noticed a guy photographing us. He laughed, looked sheepish and sidled off. Who knows where this may be reproduced!

Then we did some shopping. Well I did. I got some trousers and a factor 30 protection t-shirt which will be suitable for my imminent trip into the Sahara desert.

That evening I cooked risotto for the first time. Asparagus risotto. Lots of people told me that its hard to cook but it is not! Its a piece of piss. You just have to stir it non-stop. Somehow my television turned itself over to the Eurovision Song Contest. I was certain that I had convinced P that due to technical problems my tv won't receive programmes like that but she obviously didn't believe me. So we watched 500 hours of crap songs. We didn't watch it all though because halfway through she got out her guitar and did a lot better than the performers thank-you-very-much.

On Sunday I made an effort to start tidying the Sugar Candy Mountain of stuff in my bedroom and now have a pile of 'Chuck', 'Charity Shop' and 'Put Away' clothes. We treated ourselves to a Sunday afternoon drink in the local (which we hardly ever do) then I cooked up a big ol' roast lamb for us after which we settled down to watch 'Withnail and I'. I can't believe P has never seen it! And she didn't like it! I shall have to make a greater effort to educate her in her taste in film. I have already succeeded in proving to her that Margaret Rutherford was the best Miss Marple and that 'The Ghost Train' is a British Classic and 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' and 'The Forbidden Planet' are B-Movie genius.

Last night we went out for dinner to a fantastic French-Vietmanese restaurant. After researching Far East food emporiums in Soho I tracked down Bam Bou. Its a lovely place in a Georgian Town house with paintings on the walls and all wooden interiors.

I have never tasted such fantastic spare ribs, which I chose as my starter. Their Hanoi-style short ribs with chili, garlic and red wine vinegar are absolutely amazing. P had Chao Tom grilled chopped prawns on sugar cane with peanut hoisin sauce which is a sort of make-your-own prawn, lettuce and chili dip sandwich to start with. I felt it was mean to taste hers as she appears to be allergic to pork so couldn't taste my starter but she reported that it was delicious.

Then we both had fish. I had Bam-Bou Cha Ca which isn't a dance but Vietnamese Mekong fish (with dill, turmeric and wild garlic leaves), which was served as a curry, P had a crispy fried whole bream complete with head and tail. Both tasted lovely and we were stuffed silly by the time we were finished. Lovely food, lovely wine, lovely interior design, lovely staff. We will definitely return. I need more of those ribs and they do a Suckling Pig Fest!

We are now planning our next culinary expedition: lunch at Gordon Ramsay's place York and Albany. The table's booked for 2.15.