Wigging

Last week saw a second lunch time visit to the Wigmore Hall since the start of the plague. To hear a cello.

The day was overcast, but mild. Mask wearing on the quiet Epsom platform for London was about 50:50. Rather less on the quiet train.

We noticed that the Wetherspoon's at Raynes Park had closed. Closed to the point of all the signage having been removed - perhaps for the quite sensible reason that Mr. Wetherspoon does not want to advertise the fact that some of his establishments fail. But a shame: it is a place we have used from time to time when wanting a basic meal on the way home from town.

We also noticed an advertisement, possibly at Clapham Junction for an apple flavoured alcopop from Jack Daniels. Always a bit rum when a big brand like Jack Daniels has to starting scraping a few dollars more from the margins. To my mind, does their image no good at all. Bing fails to turn up the stuff in question, but I do find that Jack Daniels does do apple liqueurs - perhaps a US version of Calvados - and does do alcopops, bottled, canned or six packed. Must have telephone at the ready next time we are at Clapham Junction.

Tube to Oxford Circus much busier and no-one offered either of us a seat. Then from there to our usual stop over at All-Bar-One. I took a glass of their most expensive Riesling, which turned out to be slightly pink, despite the yellow appearance of the wine above, the only Riesling on the All Bar One list to be found at reference 3. While BH took a coffee which came with a noughts and crosses board drawn in chocolate powder on top of the white foam. The usual smarties were missing on this occasion.

Into the moderately full Wigmore Hall, with a modicum of social distancing, through the back door in Welbeck Way. To hear two suites plus a teaser from Alisa Weilerstein, whom I but not BH had heard once before, at St. John's at Smith Square. Where I am due back, as it happens, to see what has happened to the once fairly grand EU offices in one corner. Have they been downgraded to a shed? Are they forbidden to fly flags?

Dressed quite loud in a dark pink dress with plenty of back showing, probably not the one turned up by Bing above, probably providing plenty of upper body air cooling, probably needed for this sort of work, Weilerstein managed very well, playing without music and not even bothering to keep an eye on the bridge quite a lot of the time. Very reliable item these Bach Cello Suites, working pretty much every time.

Out to inspect a spot of building work at a place I had thought was a bijou B&B. Actually Chandos House in Queen Anne Street of reference 6. Doesn't seem to be a hotel any more, although it does feature in Tripadvisor - but not familiar enough with this last to work out what is going on there. And it was a B&B at the time of the outing, rather similar to the present one, noticed at reference 8.

First thought for lunch had been the Wigmore, an annex to the Langham Hotel, second thought was the Artesian Bar in the Langham and we actually wound up in a quiet but not empty Palm Court there. Very flash and one did not need to spend a lot of money - although one certainly could. A large dining room with a very high ceiling and with very flashy art deco style trim, fittings and and furnishing. But fairly low key and rather pleasing. Piano already noticed under the search key provided below.

Very good white bread, unusually good for a restaurant. May have been sour dough, but none the worse for that on this occasion. New-to-me butter, in very dinky wrapping, from Netherend Farm. For which see reference 10.

I started with a chicken broth which was not bad, but reminded me rather of chicken noodle soup from Knorr. And with a Chinese rather than European twang about it. Following up with their version of spaghetti Bolognese, which came with short pasta pipes, maybe an inch in diameter at one point in their life, but served flat on this occasion. All very good. While BH was pleased with her chicken salad.

To drink, apart from water for BH, a 2009 Léon Beyer Riesling Cuvée des Comtes d'Eguisheim for which the Figaro give 94 out of 100. No idea whether that is OK, good or very good. We thought it was very good. From the horse's mouth at reference 9.

Wrong dessert, being chocolate rather than cheese cake, but it was well presented and went down well enough. No Calvados, so I think I took Black Label instead. While BH's tea came in a proper silver plated teapot with all the trimmings, just like used to be the normal form in the better hotels of my childhood - like the 'Blue Boar' in Cambridge or the 'Maids Head' in Norwich. Was the name of this last some kind of a pun on what the place was once used for?

Staff pleasant and cheerful, with our lead waitress coming from the mountains of Transylvania. I managed the Iron Gates but not the novel by Gabriela Adameșteanu noticed at reference 11. Not that likely that she would of heard of it anyway - but it would have been fun to have tested her. She had the manners to manage, whatever the outcome.

While this morning I have just found out that my memory is playing tricks again. The Iron Gates is not just a Soviet era hydro-electric plant on the Danube, it is also a scenic gorge where the Danube crosses from Serbia to Romania. Unesco heritage site and all. Just as well the waitress did not interrogate me.

Wended our way back to the tube at Oxford Circus, now much more crowded. For the first time for a long time, I climbed the 63 steps out at Vauxhall. Trains to Epsom a little disturbed and rather crowded, but we got there.

Quite a decent haul at Raynes Park. One duplicate, bottom middle, two already noticed under the search key included below. As it happens, I think I was first alerted to Osbert Sitwell by a hardback from the same library. Yet to take a proper look at the Chinese dictionary.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/08/to-london-town.html.

Reference 2: https://www.langhamhotels.com/en/the-langham/london/.

Reference 3: https://www.allbarone.co.uk/.

Reference 4: https://chaffeybroswine.com.au/. The Riesling was run down to these people: not your usual tasteful shots of rolling hills with mist and vines at all. All very Australian.

Reference 5: http://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/02/wednesdays-girl.html. Whatever was the airstock mentioned in connection with the Half Way House?

Reference 6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandos_House.

Reference 7: http://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/06/chandos.html. I am reminded of a different angle on Chandos, that is to say the church of St Lawrence, Whitchurch Lane, Little Stanmore. Not yet visited. Not to mention the public house in Trafalgar Square.

Reference 8: http://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/12/fancy-spirits.html.

Reference 9: https://www.leonbeyer.fr/Anglais/index-Anglais.htm.

Reference 10: https://www.netherendfarmbutter.co.uk/. 

Reference 11: http://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/2011/11/curly-kale.html.

Group search key: wga.