salmis of partridge, carrots, bread sauce, santenay. good times on a sunday night.

the sportsman yesterday was lovely - same delicious bread and olives as last time, veal carpraccio, brilliant turbot with lobster sauce and the finest runner beans of the year and finally some cheese. we walked the four miles to whitstable where i bought a dozen oysters which e and i had for a small terre et mer with peas and sticky chicken jus. and now i shall listen to the new smiley on radio 4.

this week seems to have raced by but things have been accomplished. for one, e and i tried constancia which i would rate a worthy peer to buen ayre in the argentine steak game. i attended the longest, most tiresome meeting of the year. i have had my hair cut. and today i shall book tickets for my next holiday: turin here i come.

last night e and i went to hix oyster and chop shop - not bad. skate knobs and scratchings to start were quite delicious, but onglet and veal chop more variable. i am not sure that going so far past the requested medium rare is cool at these prices and a roast marrow bone was thoroughly baffling - it was essentially pureed garlic bread stuffed into a bone and was not that nice. e tells me this is the sort of thing moderately drunken girls make when they come home from the pub.

on another note, i hereby issue a save the day request for the evening of 17 september - i shall be taking dry martinis and cheese on toast in st john bar in celebration of my birthday. details may follow if i have your email address.