In The French House

Finally had a good night's sleep, and so felt much brighter today. Into Waterloo and had a pleasant day in Reuben's agency - working on stuff to do with arthritis, autism and fundraising. Seems nice and very natural to be working with Reuben again. Like it was with Kate. Also negotiated a weekend deadline for my Croydon article (which I have found impossible to finish on the train) and also set up an interview next week with Pooran Desai, who is a eco-housing pioneer in the UK, which should be interesting. I have met him already and he is a very nice chap.

Talked to Mum too, about what Skelton Yawngrave looks like. She is going to do a picture for my Sketon Yawngrave website.

Suddenly much more relaxed, as after relaxing so much in Crete I felt capsized by obscure stresses since my return to the UK. Met up with Anton in Soho after work in The French House on Dean Street. I'm sure I've mentioned it before on this blog, but it is a lovely place, and one of my favorite pubs in London. It sells beer in halves, as a concession to its Frenchness, and is small and crammed with interesting people, and its clientele often spill out onto the street, although this is not unusual with Soho pubs. Photos jostle high on the wooden walls, and I noticed Francis Bacon looking down from one of them.

Had a nice evening with Anton, who was sporting a rucksack he had just bought himself, which when he bought it was cooked in an oven for twenty minutes and then moulded to his back. Naturally he was very pleased with this. We then went to an American style restaurant he'd read about. And we ate some big meaty things, and had a bottle of Dos Equis beer, which I'd not tasted for a long time. A quick half in The Sun and Thirteen Cantons, and then a taxi back to Victoria, and a train back home fairly early.

Had a cheeky drink in the Battle of Trafalgar before going our separate ways after setting the world to rights on things like graphic novels, rucksacks, Anton's role as my personal marketing strategist should my Skelton Yawngrave novel take off, his career, and the correct way to research and purchase a fishing rod. All in all a splendid night.

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