there are two things (at least) which i must report to the blogosphere out of the weekend's endeavours. firstly, that i had the good fortune on friday night to meet perhaps london's nicest bus driver on the way to putney. knighthoods and principalities be bestowed upon his smiling face.

the second is merely to list the manifold ways in which i addressed the duck yesterday: scratchings, confit legs, fried maigret and tonight pumpkin risotto. such (false) thrift feels deeply appropriate in these deepening autumnal times.

went back to hawksmoor with e last night for steak and scallops which was rather good, the meat tasting all grassy and buttery. i would urge the uninitiated carnivore to go without delay. not sure why, but on both my visits i have experienced a kind of meat hangover the next day, and my forgetting to shave this morning only adds to the visual effect. i am jolly excited about my impending trip to the west, and the opportunities there to experiment with new terre et mer.

from the depths of a quiet north london autumn afternoon this blog stirs meekly into voice. i am mainly coming on to talk food (inevitably). i have visited a few newish openings in the last weeks, and cooked a few decent things. bread sauce for one, will certainly reappear on a dinner plate near you should we dine together with any frequency. the bouchon bretton served up a pretty fair cote de boeuf and some toothsome eel. tiera brindisa is indeed home to the finest croquettes in london as the hermanos point out. i had a wonderfully fatty chicken and ham pie at st john b & w.

today i have visited the atelier of joel robuchon for a fairly middling if well cooked lunch of egg, lamb and a tart or two. in all this i suppose the impending economic doom should fill me with remorse for all this spending but i have no fear. the multiplier surely helps us all, and i am just saving myself from tax hikes to come.

on the crunch i cannot believe all the bilge which the bbc et al. peddle on business and economics and i should encourage you to actually focus on the facts rather than bull shit and ignorant flummery.