As the topical satirical programme of the 1960s was called (no I am not old enough to remember, I just saw a programme about it recently).

No Thursday Thirteen for me this week, as I didn’t have any good ideas or sufficient time to think of any this Thursday, and now suddenly it is Friday! I hardly know where the week has gone, but am pretty glad that it is nearly at an end as I am quite weary. Yesterday I went up to London to meet up with a work colleague and someone who does some work for us on a freelance basis. Both are therapists of the systemic school (there I am sounding like I know what I am talking about, well only vaguely actually), what is interesting is that this leads to a whole different language being spoken over dinner. They are also really enthusiastic people, and that kind of thing tends to rub off, so you come away feeling quite uplifted, though exhausted at the same time because it is like having to translate a foreign language constantly.

Covent Garden, where I met my colleague was heaving with people. Walking around, watching the street entertainers, shopping, sitting outside the many bars and restaurants eating, drinking and generally having a great time. I was a bit early, I had planned a visit to one of my university campuses to go to the library, but discovered that they are closed at 5pm at this time of year. So I sat with my bottle of water and my book for a while till it was time to go back to the tube station to meet Ana. While standing there, a man well into his 50’s approached me and asked me if I was Denise! I replied no, because that is not my name, I was then both amazed and amused when Denise turned out to be at least a foot shorter than me, slightly wider with a silver grey bob haircut. I would suggest that if you are going on a blind date, you check out what she looks like in advance!

Anyway, we walked into china town and a place called Blacks (which happens to be there but isn’t in any way Chinese). This seems to be a private kind of bar / restaurant club and quite an eccentric British kind of place at that. Not sure how you come to belong to it, but it was pretty full of people, young and middle aged and people who seem to visit there frequently. Not sure if such a place could exist in other cities in the world! The food was pretty good though.

All in all, an educational evening and one that didn’t end until I arrived home at midnight. Sadly hubby appears not to have grasped the basics of dishwasher loading, so I have that piece of work to complete this morning. Still it is Friday, and nothing seems too bad on a Friday!