By the looks of it, Ros Ellott was due to come and stay with Janie that weekend but in the end did not.
We had booked out a long weekend for the purpose.
I guess Janie and I found things to do, but none are recorded in the diary.
We both worked on the Tuesday – Janie working a very long day – then headed up to the Canal Cafe Theatre to see the Edinburgh show preview.
Elements of that particular Edinburgh show have been preserved for all posterity through a TV show named The Wire. The extracts even include one of mine – the Kate Adie Song.
The NewsRevue bit of the show starts at c7:00.
Top marks again to Janie in the stalwart stakes, coming with me to that show after a 12-13 hour working day.
…the following week was a bit of an Ian’s-old-friends-from-Uni-fest for her, as we followed up an evening with Annalisa and Annie with a dinner at my place with Michelle Epstein (then Infield) and Neil Infield.
The diary is silent on what I served. Probably my Chinese specialties but you never know.
I’m sure it was a very pleasant evening.
I think it was the first time that Janie met those two. The next time I think was out in Sussex at their place.
…so Kim & Micky’s early evening party (starting at 5.00) was probably a bit of an antidote to all that.
Was this the one during which Victor gave me and Janie (especially Janie) the benefit of his wisdom about relationships? I have a feeling it was. It went down about as well as the Professor character in Oleanna touching his student on the shoulder. Oh well.
But the party would have been a swinging one, with plenty of people, good food, fine wines and lots of fun. Just the ticket ahead of early starts for both of us on the Monday morning.
As if a rather disastrous night out to see (half of) Hedda Gabler wasn’t enough for one weekend…
…we were at mine that weekend and were joined at lunchtime by my parents. I’m pretty sure this was the first time Janie met them.
My vague recollection is that this particular gathering went fine and that it was the next time around that mum was rude to Janie and then phoned to apologise as soon as she got home…
…but maybe it was this occasion. Janie is sure the rude incident occurred at my place, but then we might have gathered at my place before or after The Royal Garden.
Sunday lunch at The Royal Garden was a good choice for my folks. It was always a buffet, each week on a different theme. Janie and I eschew such things now, but in those days lots of our friends liked them and for big/fussy eaters such as dad and mum (respectively), such buffets were a good idea. Dad could always indulge himself and mum could always find at least something she liked.
The diaries are consistent on this – Saturday evening dinner at John & Mandy’s place (Dangan Road, Wanstead).
I think we went for a walk around the area before dinner on that occasion, as it was our first visit to that house and the days are long at that time of year. I remmeber doing that walk in the light.
We had a very good meal, although in truth I cannot describe exactly what we ate. I’m guessing that John cooked something with a southern asian theme, but not too hot and spicy because he knew that Janie doesn’t go for very spicy food.
I think it is fair to say that we probably drank some good wine too and I know that we did all enjoy the evening, as was our wont on those occasions when we four got together for meaks back then…and still, 26+ years later.
Janie’s diary says that Phillie [& Charlie] arrived on the Friday (2 July) and that Janie and I stayed at my palce that night. I’m guessing that the previous visit at Easter all squeezing into Sandall Clsoe had made that idea fall from favour. There was no need, given my flat’s proximity.
Janie’s diary says 6:45 at Restaurant “arrange three taxis”, so I am guessing that Pauline joined us as well.
But no clues as to the location.
It might have been North China again – I think we did all go there more than once and that location would have seemed ideal for triangulating those three addresses.
According to Janie’s diary, she came to the Canal Cafe with me on the Thursday evening (24th) to see NewsRevue.
We’d both booked the Friday out, so my guess is that the idea was to sort out the food for Saturday’s dinner party together on the Friday.
Janie’s order is written on the Friday page and is Lebanese food, so this party will have been a smaller scale version of the New Years do a few months earlier:
We’ll have gone to Mrs Saad’s place in Notting Hill/North Kernsington together to place the order – and what an order for six people. My guess is that this was one of those occasions when Janie and I ended up eating Lebanese left-overs for a week afterwards…
…worse things can happen.
Look at the order/notes:
The veal and pork mixed mince is my prescription for cha chiang. Did we serve the odd Chinese dish as well? Or perhaps the deal was that I would cook a noce meal on the Friday ahead of the party-style feast on Saturday.
It was Janie’s birthday after all – our first of those together.
Janie’s diary also mentions Jill the aromatherapist visiting us at the house on the afternoon of her birthday/birthday bash.
In those days, I was seeing John Chaney at Lampton Place for massage during the week.
The visit from Jill (Wootton) was probably the first time Janie and I had a massage-type therapy treatment together.
As for the dinner party; it is clear that we got Mrs Saad to deliver the food and I am pretty sure it is safe to say that the evening was a great success.
Looks like a lot of food – that can’t have been just for six of us. I’ll guess that the guest numbers went up without additional names being written down.
My diary says this dinner at mine was on 19th, Janie’s says 18th.
For sure I took the day off work Friday 18th, but that might have been as much to do with the NewsRevue Smoker the evening before than anything to do with the dinner party.
Janie has written a recipe for some healthy fish salad where Saturday 19th should be in her diary, but I am sure that has nothing to do with my dinner party.
Perhaps she served such healthy, salady stuff later in the weekend to neutralise the ill effects of my lavish meal on the Friday…or was it the Saturday…night.
My diary is suitably vague as to the guests:
Dan+
Dan will be Daniel Scordel. I’m not sure whetehr Daniel and Maz were still an item then – perhaps not given the term “Dan+”.
No idea who else might have been there. Andrea possibly. No more than five or maximum six at my place for a meal.
We went for dinner at Victor & Kim’s place. Kim & Micky were also there. DJ might have been there too that night but I have a feeling it was just the six of us.
Victor’s second wife was named Kim, which caused some confusion with his daughter Kim when, on occasions, someone mentioned “Kim” without a fair bit of context.
Janie’s solution was to add the suffix “the chickidoo” when referring to Victor’s Kim, while omiting said suffix when referring to her old school pal Kim. Clever stuff.
Anyway, I seem to recall a very enjoyable evening on that occasion. Good food, good wine, good chat.
What else might one wish for from such an evening?