A cold and blustery day so not fancying pulling up and over Waterloo Bridge, I decided on Green Park rather than a Bullingdon.
Out to pass Phillips in Berkeley Square where there was a big display of modern art. None of which did anything for me, at least not the stuff I could see through the window, so I passed this one up. But interested this afternoon to see what a flashy website they have, presumably so that the sheiks of Abu Dhabi and the goons of Gorki can inspect the goods without having to leave their compounds.
Onto to Claridges where I thought to try their bar. Quite small as it turned out, got up in a very 20's style, perhaps that of an ocean liner, certainly that of a television adaptation of a Poirot story. Small and comfortable, not busy and with attentive staff. Very presentable own brand Chablis which came with very natty - if rather messy - nibbles. Intrigued by the preparation of a cocktail which a foreign gentleman was taking with his coffee. Take cocktail glass - one of those triangular jobs - and spray the inside with something from a natty little aerosol. Add a good shot of vodka. Sprinkle pinches of this and that. Serve. Also intrigued by a large selection of what appeared to be spirits from the far east. Hopefully I will be back at some point.
Onto the hall, to find two white flower arrangements. White flowers, cream flowers and pale green flowers against green. Struck me as a bit cold in the light of this particular day; not up to their usual very high standard. We also had a green flashed programme, with the green flash, it seems, for April and May.
Williams had slightly odd stage manners, including giving us a longer than usual wait before he came on for the two Beethoven sonatas. Comments behind me about cold feet and slow handclapping. First sonata (Op.10 No.2) was fine, the bagatelles were OK and the second sonata (Op.81a), for some reason, was not fine. At the time it all seemed much more concerned to show off the skill of the pianist than to entertain the audience in other ways - but, oddly, rather better with Arrau on vinyl this afternoon. Perhaps my problem was my cold coming on, a cold which made its presence known later in the afternoon - with BH being a firm believer in the power of ailments to spoil one's mood and manners. Hopefully I will be able to give it another try at some point. The rest of the audience was its usual enthusiastic self.
Back to Vauxhall and onto Clapham Junction where we were slightly alarmed by sirens and announcements about leaving the station immediately. In the event our journey was not disturbed, so perhaps it was a test announcement which had been forewarned.
Out at Raynes Park to take lunch at the Wetherspoon's there. Pleasant young barmaid (entirely English) very apologetic that my sauvignon blanc (the one mentioned at reference 1) did not come with my meal deal, which was beefburger and chips. A few minutes later, I was very impressed with the beefburger, with a nicely cooked, substantial burger in my bun, not messed about with lashings of dressings and goo. Just some discrete slices of lettuce, tomato and (red) onion. Chips decidedly oven and rather highly flavoured. Not really my thing, but a perfectly respectable specimen of their kind. Other customers mainly pensioners, some with their ladies, with a sprinkling of students. Overall, pleased with my lunch - at a combined price perhaps two thirds what I had paid for a small glass of Chablis earlier. But it was rather good Chablis.
Spotted some teasels and some chalk sticking out of a low embankment at Stoneleigh. Presumably the chalk of the downs is not that far down at that point. It is certainly not many inches from the surface in parts of Epsom - rather fewer inches than Sheet 270 of the Geological Survey would suggest, so perhaps there is some local wrinkle not picked up by their sample bore holes.
Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/a-new-stash.html.
Reference 2: https://www.phillips.com/article/30728840/vr-walkthrough-new-now.
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