Communal garden

Went up to see friend Jo’s new flat and it doesn’t seem quite right to post the interiors yet.  This is the communal garden - not as grand as some but really mature and secluded.  The magnolia must have been magnificent, i think the cherry is a wild one.  The one outside the front window is also huge and it was like looking out at snow. Stunning . 

  I walked there after work, it took the length of an episode of my podcast and shook off the cares of the day.  Still very cold but at least it was dry.  The flat is in a lovely, slightly hidden area between Kings X and Exmouth market and within walking distance of so much, it’s not quite Bloomsbury but near, not quite Islington.  Off Amwell St. 

We had dinner in Quality Cafe which is the simpler cafe next door to Quality Chop House which was buzzing and served very light and delicious food.  An artichoke, some salami, a beautiful Comte tart and a spring risotto.  It all came out as single plates and we shared.  Then a couple of cannoli filled with ricotta and cream and topped with either chocolate or nuts.  We drank a couple of glasses of vinho verde which always reminds me of a meal Jo and I had in Galicia when we were very young and travelling together.  Her older brother had given us some money for a treat and we felt so special and grown up, as we’d mainly been living on market food. I remember the wine coming in a little pitcher and asking what it was.  Jo remembered the gift but not the wine which led us onto a discussion about memory.  All too relevant as we and our loved ones get older! 

At the end of the evening I jumped onto the 38 bus and was whisked back to the hub.  I like ‘living’ in Central London!