Yuletide 2013

Two or more months since the last update. Today I went to see Tony at the Furniture Cave, and we talked about Esme. It was strange to be there, an Aladdin’s cave, without her presence as has been the case for several decades now. Richard and I went this evening to the private viewing of “Body Language” at the Saatchi Gallery. The exhibition was interesting, the gallery dazzling, and the crowd stylish and attractive for the most part.

Yesterday was the start of the thirteen-day Latin yuletide – the Agonium sacred to Sol Indiges, the indigenous sun. Marion and Leslie had spent the previous night with us, and we had dined with them and Peter at the Club. Marion had meetings, and Leslie departed late morning. Richard and I then went to the Wallace Collection first for “The Male Nude: Eighteenth-century Drawings from the Paris Academy.” We had lattes first along with biscotti. After this, we simply ambled about and enjoyed Titian, Hals, de Hooch, Hobema, Rembrandt, Rubens, Ruysdael, Reynolds, Velazquez, Canaletto and Gainsborough plus many, many others. Though the museum is relatively of small size, there is still much to digest at any one time, and we finally had to depart and enjoy the outside.

We walked all the way home – stopping first at Allans Patisseries on Duke Street for more coffee. We could not see but celebrated the sunset across the street atop Stanley Peach’s electricity sub-station of 1903-5. We then wandered on to Claridge’s and had negroni in the Fumoir. Certainly a peak of peaks, we felt that we were enjoying where the vipers go to relax and not be dangerous. Eventually we got to the Winter Wonderland Christmas fair in Hyde Park and from there through Sloane Square to the Club for a final round of negroni before getting home and calling it a day and a superlative launch for the Yule.

The rest of October had been medical check-ups, lunch with Cole and Zia in Middleton, a night with James Collias and another night with Susan Hoover let alone Shirley’s house tour day, a Canonchet Farm walk and dinner at Lise and Russ’s. November was the SSSR meeting in Boston, dinner one night with Laura and Tom and another night at Trade’s with Helen and John. Ten days later we were with Jacqueline and Hans in Grasonville and then the AAR meeting in Baltimore. Somehow, even with the conferences and their receptions, we have been able to keep with Michael Mosley’s 5:2 eating and fasting programme. In Baltimore we both fell in love with the American Visionary Art Museum and, subsequently at the New Religious Movement reception, Eileen Barker introduced me to Rebecca Hoffberger, the museum’s founder and director. We had a lovely dinner one night with Bron at Duda’s that Jacqueline and Hans had recommended, one night with Joyce and River at Sotto Sopra and another night with Barbara and Patrick at the superlative Charleston.

The night we got home, we dined at Basil’s thanks to a gift from Maggie. Along with Joe, we were invited to Sarah and Frank’s for a full, full, full Thanksgiving dinner. The next night it was just the two of us for a final dinner at Shirley’s. Joe drove us to Boston, and we had a magnificent afternoon at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum – lamenting only the stolen Vermeer and Rembrandt. The flight the next day was painless and filled for me with World War Z, Whitehouse Down and Wolverine. Meg and Marie-Laure arrived three days later. By this point, I had come down with Richard’s cold, and we were both suffering from lack of sleep and jet-lag. All the same, we took Peter two nights after our arrival to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Members Room. The first night the gals were here we attended Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at St. Martins in the Fields. The next night it was the Residents’ Association reception. And the third night, we took the gals to the Club for dinner to which Marcia, Eamonn and James joined us as well – seven of us in all.

And so it has been full. Unexpected though it was, we currently have Iain spending the night with us. Tomorrow is the Ides of December, and the celebrations continue. Two days ago I basically finished my chapter on secular mysticism. The calendar remains full, and we train to Amsterdam on the 30th.