For all the advances in medicine, there is still no cure for the common birthday.
John Glenn
I meandered to the south of England last weekend for birthday celebrations.
First up was the 70th birthday of one of my 'Summer Wine' friends, John. I've shared pieces about our group a couple of times, and John's birthday was another excuse (not that we need one) to catch up, share a few drinks, a bite to eat, and many stories.
We've known each other for over forty years now. In our younger days, we played football together. As the years passed and the legs tired, we'd meet up for table football competitions before that faded, and it became watching football together. We each follow a different team: John's is Leeds, Martin is Spurs, Reg is Chelsea, and any regular reader of these 'meanders' knows by now who I follow. So, while our conversation on the relative merits of our teams can be lively, it's good banter rather than argument. We're all too old and too wise for that.
We met in one of our favourite London pubs, the 'Ship and Shovell'. Unique, I believe, in that the pub is on two sides of a street: Craven Passage. While an underground cellar joins the halves of the pub, Patrons need to cross the pathway to move from one bar to the other. Craven Passage is just off Villiers St and is near where the boot-blacking factory of young Dickens fame once stood. The pub's owners keep a good cellar, and the food is tasty. And although the prices aren't as low as another favourite London pub of mine, 'The Chandos', just off Trafalgar Square, they are reasonable for London (it did take me and my credit card - I'm sure I saw it flinch, a few minutes to acclimatise ourselves to the much higher London prices again from those of the northeast of England)
The last time the four of us met was almost a year to the day. Just before I moved back to the northeast of England, so our get-together was also a way of marking what will soon be my first anniversary of that move.
As happens with friends of longstanding, our conversation began almost where we left off on the last parting. We slipped so easily into its warmth that it was akin to pulling on a comforting old jumper. After so many years, we have no pretence as we know each other well. We've had our ups and downs in life, work, relationships with partners, families, and health. As friends do, we've supported each other, cautioned each other, and helped each other gain perspective when times have challenged one of us. It's what friends do.
After saying goodbye to the guys and with promises of another meet-up next summer, I was off to Northampton to stay with my wife Sarah in her new place and celebrate her birthday. In the spirit of the nineteenth-century joke from the German magazine 'Fliegende Blatter', "My wife always wants me to remember her birthday, but to forget her age", I will not share Sarah's age. Decades later, the comment was ascribed incorrectly to Robert Frost. Anyway, suffice it to say Sarah is much younger in years than I am!
It was back to London for our celebration at Masala Zone, which sits beside the Criterion Theatre on Piccadilly Circus, and, quite aptly for Sarah and me, just opposite the Shaftesbury Memorial (better known as the statue of Anteros - that god of requited love. Although many people mistakenly think it is of his fellow Erotes, Eros - the god who looks to have couples fall in love).
The restaurant looks unprepossessing from the outside, but as with the Tardis, its full splendour and size became clear when over the threshold. Its richly decorated interior is cavernous, and its gilded ceiling is comparable to some of the splendid offerings in the Vatican.
It was Sarah's and my first visit to Masala Zone. However, we've often dined at its sister restaurant, Veeraswamy, which claims to be London's oldest Indian restaurant. I have much enjoyed many beautiful meals from their contemporary Indian menu. However, after reading a review of Masala Zone from the restaurant critic Jay Rayner, Sarah and I decided to try Masala Zone. While Veerasaway offers fine dining, Masala Zone is more of a bistro. Instead of formality and hushed tones, the atmosphere is more laid back, with lively conversation abounding and a buzzy atmosphere. However, Masala Zone has kept a level of service and the quality of food of its 'grander' sister. Both of which are just as splendid as Veeraswamy. Our servers were attentive but not intrusive, and the food was sublime. The starters are based on traditional Indian street food, and the curries are drawn from across the regions of India. I won't try to match Jay Rayner's review; you can read that here...
All I can say is that Sarah and I enjoyed our visit immensely.
Our original plan was that after lunch, we would stroll around the corner onto Haymarket and visit 'Café Concerto' to buy cakes we could then take back to Northampton. However, replete from lunch, we decided to skip the cakes and settle on a stroll to see some of the Christmas lights as the day faded into the evening. Alas, my fading sense of direction meant we did not reach our intended destination of Covent Garden. Abandoning our meander for a drink in 'The Crown', a quaint old pub near where Tottenham Court Road meets Oxford Street. It was then back to Northampton after a delightful day but with some relief in escaping the bustling crowds of London's streets.
The last but by no means least birthday of the weekend was the following day. That of my youngest grandaughter. My children live in towns and cities across the UK, so getting to grandchildren's birthdays is only sometimes possible. I was, therefore, doubly pleased to make Elodié's. Given that she is almost a teenager, it was not the wild, jelly-in-the-hair affair one sees in those of six or seven-year-olds. However, at sixteen or seventeen ~ I suspect the wildness might return in a different guise! The party food was more 'grown up' - but there was cake. No matter how young or old, there should always be cake.
And so, my long weekend of birthday celebrations drew to its close, and Monday saw me back in Kings Cross station admiring the grand Christmas tree you can see in the photograph. Then it was on the train to the northeast and to the promise of snow that was to come. But I will soon head southwards again for more celebration. This time a belated family 'Christmas' get-together in early January. It's a tough life….
Have been to Masala Zone as well!
What are your London pub recommendations? Maybe that would be an interesting post.
Thank you for the the Ship & Shovell and Masala Zone recommendations. I read the Jay Rayner review but it's always good to see it confirmed by someone I know.