Blog ≫ 2024 ≫ Christmas do
Into London for our work christmas lunch yesterday. Meetings in the morning, one which had ridiculously been booked for the original time of our christmas lunch, so lunch pushed back slightly. We went over the road to The Clerk And Well (it's in Clerkenwell) and had a nice festive feast. My starter was spiced parsnip and apple soup, really good but a bit cold, then roasted butternut squash with some sort of puree and mushrooms. Nice, but a little bit unfilling, when I was looking around at the roast potatoes on everyone else's plate. I have made a special request for roast potatoes at our christmas day christmas lunch this year for this reason. No reason the vegans should have less food than everyone else! I did have a pud too, a vegan brownie with sorbet. Just the one pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord to wash it down, there was no budget for any more. No danger of this dinner getting out of hand! We went back to the office to play pool and table football, but a couple of people were leaving already so I did too. Walked from their with one friend to Waterloo so I could meet Andy who was also on a christmas social.
We met on Lower Marsh, but a mix up meant we were in two different pubs, he in Vaulty Towers and we in the Camel And Artichoke. We'd dismissed Vaulty Towers as it didn't look good and was a bit inaccessible for my friend, but moving on to the Camel And Artichoke wasn't very good either. Still, nice to chat, and Andy joined us swiftly. From there went to The Walrus, which looks quite a nice bar that is part of a hostel, then to the fantastic Marie's Cafe. An unassuming old fashioned cafe that now does Thai food. A bit trendy I think, popular, queued out the door but moving fast. Very nice, super spicy.
Then we were walking to the tube but thought we had plenty of time to go to another pub in Covent Garden, so walked and walked to find one suitable and ended up at the Porcupine near Leicester Square. There is actually a shortage of decent pubs round there. Then genuinely home, me on the tube and him in an Uber to his hotel up at Maida Vale.
I just made the 22.07 train, but it was rammed with Arsenel fans. There really wasn't quite room to get on but I squeezed in as the doors closed. Properly like sardines, and sweating despite the cold. Really unpleasant. It stopped at Stratford, no-one could get on, frustrating for them. Then at Ebbsfleet at least people did get off and it was bearable from there until home.
A long walk home in the pouring rain after that. The weather so much worse at home than in London I got absolutely drenched and still don't feel dry or warm this morning.
The boys have gone for their last full day of school for this year, and I'm about to start working from home. Not going for my pre-work walk as it looks cold out there. Going to sit on my heated blanked instead.
Sunny intervals and a moderate breeze, 0 - 7℃.
⬅️ Health stats 19/12/24 :: Last full day of school for the boys ➡️