Janie has never kept a narrative diary. But the wonderful thing about Janie’s diary is that she makes copious notes in the diary around her plans, especially if she is preparing a meal and going to specific places to buy specific ingredients.
This meal was Japanese food and Janie no doubt used the services of our now regular sources in Noddyland, such as Atari-Ya, to source sashimi and tempura as noted in her diary.
No doubt much saki was imbibed to help such dishes go down.
This will have been a rare evening out for Michael and Elisabeth at that time, as Xenia was just turned one. I cannot remember whether a babysitter was involved or whether they brought the infant Xenia with them. At that age, probably the latter.
I was on very good terms with the owners, Tony & Sheila Shaw. They also very much took to Janie.
By early 1999 I had decided that it was time for me to buy a flat and that I would buy one very much like the flat I was renting from Tony & Sheila…if not, that very one.
We invited Tony & Sheila around for dinner and I told them of my plans.
Tony & Sheila told me that they half expected to be hearing that news and that they wondered whether I might wish to buy that flat from them.
Hence we hatched a plan to get a few independent valuations, average them and transact privately…
Michael Mainelli’s Birthday Party Aboard Lady Daphne In St Katherine’s Dock, 19 December 1998
Fret not, we were below for this party
Quite a big do. This was Michael’s 40th. Live music if I remember correctly. All the usual suspects were there. And us.
In those days you didn’t take a gazillion pictures at parties. Perhaps someone did take pictures, but I don’t recall seeing any from this party. If Michael and Elisabeth have some and want to provide digital versions thereof, I’ll gladly put a few of them into this article.
We ate, we drank, we danced, we made merry. it was a party.
Christmas Lunch At My Parent’s Place, 25 December 1998
There’s little in the diary about this, other than a tell-tale note that the taxi would cost £32, which was almost certainly an Ealing to Streatham price in those days.
I suspect that Jacqueline, Len and Hils were there that year. I also suspect that this was one of the last times, if not the last time, that my mum did Christmas day at Woodfield Avenue.
It will have been turkey for main, I’m pretty sure.
A Wild Boar Dinner At Sandall Close, Sunday 27 December 1998
The tell-tale note in Janie’s diary is an order for a rack of wild boar from Harvey Nicholls “for next Sunday”. This was one of Janie’s specialities at that time and boy was it good. We have never since found a source of excellent wild boar rack since Harvey Nicks stopped doing it.
The cast for that evening (again made clear from Janie’s diary) was Kim & Micky, Anthea [Simms] & Mitchell [Sams], plus Rupert [Stubbs] & Ana. Janie rather impressively remembered that Ana was Ana Limbrick, who (as well as dating Rupert at that time) was, indeed still is, a physiotherapist to whom Janie occasionally refers clients.
It will have been a jolly evening, despite the fact that several of the guests no doubt said “what a boar” when praising the meal.
…the evening that Nicole Kidman and I had our magic moment ‘n’ all…
…I came across the above headlined diary entry the day before.
Delving into Janie’s diary for more clues, I discover that Janie “collected wild boar” on the Thursday when in town (that would have been from Harvey Nicholls in those days) after collecting red cabbage and marinade from Waitrose first thing.
Strangely, just the other day (25 years after the above wild boar evening), Janie and I were discussing our inability to get wild boar any more . [Insert here your own joke about me having progressed from wild boar to wild bore in the space of 25 years.]
Less strangely, we’re still very much in touch with John and Mandy 25 years later…
I think this wild boar dinner visit might have been the first time that Janie and I met Lydia.
In the coincidence department, the Cambridge Theatre (where Lydia now resides) is within spitting distance of The Donmar Warehouse in Earlham Street, where 25 years earlier, Nicole and I…
Janie and I thought that Dumfries and Galloway was a very long way to go for just a couple of nights for Annalisa’s wedding, so we decided to extend our trip a little, ambling back via Sharrow Bay, a place Janie had long since wanted to try, taking an additional day off work.
Looking at both of our diaries now, 25 years later, that made the rest of the week ludicrously stuffed with work for both of us, but it was worth it, as we thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip and took lots of pictures.
12 & 13 September 1998: Annalisa’s Wedding, Annan & Clarencefield
Looks like we were among the first arrivals that weekend
We stayed at the Warmanbie Hotel, which I learn closed in 2005. It was just outside Annan, quite near to the wedding venue and set in beautiful countryside – Janie and I got there early enough on the Saturday to enjoy some walks and relax around the area before the wedding.
I even took a camera with a close-up lens, primarily expecting to use it at Sharrow Bay but actually the gardens at Warmanbie were photogenic too.
Me, Bobbie & Janie standing, ? seated left, Charlotte de Mercur seated right
Annalisa reminds me that the formal wedding took place a couple of days earlier – the above picture taken just before the “traditional” ceremonial wedding outside the castle – see pictures below.
“Dad-style dancing” is compulsory at weddings, even for those of us who are not dads
14 & 15 September: Sharrow Bay Hotel
Sharrow Bay, PenrithBeautiful gardens at Sharrow Bay Hotel
Sharrow Bay Hotel was lovely, although a little twee for our taste. We wanted to relax and certainly felt able to do so on arrival and looking around for a while, but soon it became clear that the hotel was run on a “strict house timings” basis. For example, our request for a slightly later meal time was met with, “but we serve dinner at…” response. Our request simply to miss out on “pre dinner drinks, which are served at sundown o’clock” was met with, “but everyone comes down for drinks at sundown o’clock, that’s how we like it here.”
“Do I have to get up and go down for pre-dinner drinks?”“I suppose so”Yummy grub – we were happy
Once all the other dinners had retired early, we could relax in our own way.
“Cosy in ‘ere, ain’t it?”“Don’t like rules”
When we got back to London the next day, we had dinner at The Chiswick, an offshoot of The Brackenbury. The former didn’t last as long as the latter, which, 25 years later, is still there. The site of the Chiswick is now a Gourmet Burger place. We remember The Chiswick as being quite good. It was certainly a pleasant way to round off a most memorable long weekend.
All the pictures from that long weekend can be found through the Flickr link below or click here.
No doubt a plan mainly cooked up by Janie and Kim and Phillie. Notes in Janie’s diary suggest that she took control of the arrangements:
9:30 to 5:30… Boat trip… £150. Nobby and Phil. Deposit £500. Ring Elisabeth Mainelli. Open cabin cruiser £150. Bray Boats. Nobby. [presumably the boat man, not my car, which was at that time, coincidentally, a Honda CRX named Nobby].
Janie, with Nobby, at his last resting place
Us lot. A boat. A river. What could possibly go wrong?
Actually, I don’t think anything went wrong. I think we had rather a splendid day out, in fact.
I did have a contretemps with a swan at one point…
In truth, I’m not at home on a boat
…but we resolved our differences and were able to share the river in harmony for the rest of the trip.
Micky – more at home on boats than mePresumably that’s Nobby, with Phillie and Janie supping wine beyondStunning river scenesCharlie & Phillie
Janie cannot really add to the memory pile, other than concurring that we all had a memorable and enjoyable day.
Update: Charlotte indeed remembers:
Oh my goodness, yes I do remember this.
I think it may even have been the trip where my Dad felt he was the boating ‘expert’ and got grumpy when Mum and Janie took control of navigating some of the Locks!!! He may have had a point though as I think mum’s shoe fell into the river as part of said activities at one point!!
But the most shocking point to make is WHAT was I wearing?! Honestly, that’s a crime against humanity!
In truth I remember little about this day out in London.
Charlotte, who was about 12 at the time, might remember it a whole lot better. I’m not sure that Phillie & Tony were with us for the outing, although I’m pretty sure that Phillie, if not both of them, joined us at least for the meal at Good Earth in the evening. Both my diary and Janie’s diary describe the outing as “Charlie”.
The London Planetarium was clearly something that Charlie was keen to see, so see it we did. Janie’s diary is full of copious notes booking the place up and arranging to park in Chiltern Street.
After that, the trail gets murky. Janie was clearly considering Planet Hollywood or The Fashion Cafe for an in-between stop off, but I have a funny feeling we ended up in Madam Tussaud’s, which came as part of the deal with the Planetarium. Possibly we snacked there (or at the Planetarium) for lunch, especially as we had a dinner booked.
I think I might remember having been at the Fashion cafe, especially if all of them supermodels were hanging around in there, as implied by this write up. I did used to see Claudia Schiffer in Moscow Road occasionally in those days – I think she had a pied-à-terre around there. But I digress.
I’m pretty sure it was the Knightsbridge incarnation of The Good Earth that we tried that evening and jolly good food it was too.
Update: Yes Charlie does indeed remember more than us!
Charlie writes:
Wow, Ian, thank you for sending me that diary reminder from 1998. I remember it so well…even to the extent of Janie doing my hair in an ‘on the side’ ponytail and me wearing a hideous luminous yellow jumper 🤢
It was a wonderful weekend; we did Planetarium and M Tussauds followed by lunch at Fashion Cafe. I’m not sure mum did join us for dinner in the evening as I have a memory of going to tennis with you both on the Sunday and me having a tennis coach. I think you both also bought me some Speedo swimming costumes?!!!!!!!
So we did go to the Fashion Cafe, but I guess the supermodels weren’t there that day. Still, it’s just as well we went when we did, because the Fashion Cafe apparently opened in London in 1998 and went bust in 1999! The global story is of an even more spectacular failure.
The tennis coach would have been Jeremy or Shola, probably the latter, at Lammas Park in those days. It was Shola who introduced me and Janie to Boston Manor.
We had a few weeks off from theatre in late April & May 1998, but Janie and I did a fair bit of eating and drinking with friends instead.
30 April 1998 – “John Boy”
That is all the diary says, but my recent experience trawling medieval household accounts records for relevant factoids has led me to use a similar technique for my own stuff. I figured, if I could find a restaurant record in my archaic personal accounting system for 30 April 1998, it would have been my turn and I would, in those days, have named the place.
Postscript: John White chimed in to suggest that the place wasn’t Turkish but “a bit of upmarket suburban gastronomy.” I’m sure I recall something oriental about it – perhaps it was full of eastern promise – or just reasonably close to John’s beloved Orient.
2 May 1998 – David Party
I’m not 100% sure that 1998 was the year that DJ shlepped us all out in grand style to the Fat Duck to help Kim celebrate her birthday, but I have a feeling it was around about that year. DJ never let on where we were going in those days, sending vehicles for us at an appointed hour, so even Janie’s diary is silent on detail.
If it was The Fat Duck year, it was for sure a fantastic meal. Heston Blumenthal had not yet gone into the more excessive realms of food fancies, but was already wowing the crowds with magnificent food served imaginatively.
3 May 1998 – Mum & Dad Lunch
In the same way as Kim’s birthday inevitably (in those days) meant an event around that time, mum’s birthday falling three days after Kim’s meant more dining.
Not so high-falutin’, my household records tell me that Mum & Dad joined us at Lee Fook for lunch – they both liked a nice Chinese. This would have been the Westbourne Grove incarnation of Lee Fook, where the chef was memorably named Ringo.
9 May or 16 May 1998…The Latter, I’m Pretty Sure, Phillie & Charlie Staying At Janie’s Place
Diary confusion which i think was to do with a planned visit on 9 May being moved to 16 May, but for sure they came and I am pretty sure that Janie cooked something splendid rather than us going out on that occasion. In my diary for 16th it says “Duchess”, which might mean that Pauline joined us that evening but might also be part of the same diary confusion as Janie and I went to the theatre with said Duchess the following week. That event also might have been shunted a week.
Come to think of it, in those days Pauline would no doubt have joined us for that meal on 16th too.
As we had planned to be away for most of March, but changed our plans due to Phillipa’s indisposition, we had a few weeks of relatively low key activity that spring. Yet we ended up meeting and seeing a lot of people.
Introduced To Nigel Hinks, 20/27 March 1998
I very rarely talk about work-related matters in Ogblog, but by my meeting Charles Bartlett (in Autumn 1997) and Nigel Hinks in March 1998, through The Children’s Society, a tradition that endures a quarter of a century later was established:
In the matter of being introduced to Nigel, my diary has clear notes. I had a meeting with Clive Timms on 20 March 1998, at which he gave me Nigel Hinks & Jeff Tye’s telephone numbers. I had an initial telephone call with Nigel the following week (27 March) and the rest, as they say, history.
Charles & Nigel 15 years later, Chester-Le-Street: Clive didn’t mention the singing
A Resourceful Party, Thanks To Rupert Stubbs, 28 March 1998
After speaking with Nigel on 27 March I went to play bridge at Maz’s place (almost certainly with Andrea and Tessa on that occasion), then on to Janie’s place.
That Saturday lunchtime Janie and I went to a party on Rupert Stubbs’s Thames Sailing Barge of a home, Resourceful. This might have been my first “return to the scene of the crime that was Michael Mainelli’s stag night” since that night.
Janie and I remember this party surprisingly well. Rupie was going out with a lovely lass by the name of Sophie at that time. The party was mostly populated by people we didn’t know – i.e. we only knew a few of Rupert’s friends before the party. Most of the party goers were either Sophie’s fun friends, whom we got to know by dint of the party, and a rather cliquey crowd of Rupert’s colleagues from Saatchi & Saatchi who were, to say the least, not quite so friendly.
Here’s Rupie a few week’s later, at an early Z/Yen cricket match, donning whites in a Saatchi & Saatchi ad man stylee. The hat is an especially telling piece of non-cricket garb.
Anyway, the hospitality was lavish and there were plenty of fun people, so we had a really good time. We weren’t surprised when we learnt that Rupert had left Saatchi’s not all that long afterwards.
I think this visit was primarily to do with Janie doing a CPD course or joining a podiatrtist’s convention of some kind, but we were also able to combine it with a visit to Michelle & Neil’s [Epstein/Infield] place in Balcombe on the way back.
We weren’t expecting to see a show that day. Michael and Elisabeth invited us over “for the day” being a bit unspecific about the meal time, but suggesting that we might all take a swim in the pool of their newcapartment block. But, unbeknown to us, their plan was to serve an early meal and then pop out to see Fiona Shaw perform The Waste Land under Deborah Warner’s direction in Wilton’s Music Hall – within spitting distance of Michael and Elisabeth’s new place.
Good plan.
I recorded in my log that the piece was short and OK. I’ve never been over keen on The Waste Land as a piece of poetry. Fiona Shaw is of course marvellous and would probably hold one’s attention if reciting from the telephone directory.
Janie was intrigued by the T S Eliot aspect, as she had treated and continued to treat Valerie Eliot for many years.
Most interesting about the evening was seeing Wilton’s Music Hall, which had not been used for a performance for over 100 years and looked suitably distressed. I’m not sure that the health and safety brigade would today allow a performance in a place quite so distressed, but it was great to see it at that time. It has since been somewhat more revived.
Lyn Gardner warmed to the whole idea in The Guardian:
