Modigliani

A week ago or so, to the Wigmore to hear the Modigliani Quartet, a quartet I had heard once before, as noticed at reference 2. Inter alia, the day of the Viennese hot dog. Mozart: K156, Elise Bertrand: Lui e Loro, Beethoven: Op.59 No.1. This last being the very quartet, as it happens, that I had heard at St. Luke's back in 2023. Perhaps it is one of their specialities.

As it turned out, a day without trains at Epsom, so driving to Sutton again. I didn't manage to book the car park the day before - not finding out how to park the next day - but I was able to book before we set off, which saved fiddling with the telephone in the station car park. From there to the town platform where the train was ready and waiting and so served as a convenient waiting room. I snoozed part of the way to Victoria and woke to the chattering of a young girl, perhaps 5 or 6. BH told me that she had kept it up more or less all the way from Sutton. Would her parents go the distance?

Out to admire the tulips in Grosvenor Gardens, from where we took a No.36 bus to Marble Arch, where there was an unsightly clutter of hire bicycles. From thence to Olle & Steen in Wigmore Street where I took expresso (for once in a while) and one of their Kløben buns. Decaff for BH who is taking a holiday from caffeine, salt and sugar.

The concert to follow was very good, rounded off by the scherzo of Beethoven 18.6 as an encore. And we liked the Bertrand piece in the middle, although not sharable as it does not seem to have made it to YouTube. Nor have I come up with a convincing translation of the title.

Perhaps the expresso got me onto form.

Out to inspect a fine hole in the road, with a serious bit of shoring to keep it open.

Made our way down to Pierre Victoire of Dean Street, as noticed ten days previously at reference 4. Taking in the rather grand post office at the junction of Mortimer Street and Great Portland Street on the way - not many of them left these days. Not clear that this building was built for the post office, nor was it clear why it had been built in this rather florid way at all, quite unlike its neighbours. No doubt now on some heritage list.

And then a bit further on the embroiderer, Hand & Lock, of reference 3. I was a bit surprised at the size of the premises given over to hand embroidery - having thought that this sort of thing had died out years ago. But alive and well since 1767, perhaps getting by on fancy uniforms for royals and the upper ranks of the military. Plus the odd handbag for a celebrity or pop star. Perhaps Elton John is one of their customers.

And last but not least, an impressive bit of steel framing for a building going up near Oxford Street. Presumably a concrete core for lifts and so on, steel frame for the rest of the building, marble for the atrium, fancy cladding for the outside.

We had booked a table on this occasion, being the middle of what might have been a busy Sunday afternoon. Just as well, as it was fairly busy, possibly even full at some point during our visit. Imitation French, rather in the way of the late Terroirs, if rather more fussily so.

Some baguettes in a proper French bread basket, although I imagine the baguettes had been cooked from frozen. Not quite cooked enough to my mind.

Wine satisfactory, but I thought it little oversweet and a little overpriced - a 2018 'Les vieux murs' - a Pouilly-Fuissé from one Jean Loron.

The beginning of Copilot's unsolicited story is snapped above, having slipped into French for some reason. 27 euros at reference 6, more than I had expected, so perhaps Pierre Victoire apply a lower multiple than the usual three. While Loron looks to be a big operator, with a website with all the usual big vigneron trimmings.

To eat we both started with parsnip soup, which was fine. I followed up with rabbit pie, which was OK, but a bit thin - and not in the same league as the rabbit I had taken at the Estrela a few weeks previously, noticed at reference 7.

Probably made in the same way as pies in many public houses: pour a bit of stew into a bowl, top off with a slab of ready made puff, pop into a hot oven for ten minutes. Not really a proper pie at all. Nothing like the fine steak and kidney pie offered at the Tea House Theatre - finding which is left as an exercise for the more intrepid reader.

Followed up by what turned out to be an interesting take on tiramisu. It went down better than it looked, perhaps helped along by the amber nectar to the side.

Rounded off the proceedings with the piano previously noticed at reference 5. Carping above notwithstanding, a good meal in a pleasant atmosphere. We may well be back.

Somewhere along the line, the latest thing in public sinks. A very curious design to my mind, but I dare say there is some thinking there somewhere, if only I could grasp it. But where is the plug hole?

A bit of redevelopment from the 1930s?

Despite appearances, a cocktail bar. Clearly fuelled by the recent lunch, I got muddled with my locations and, thinking that it was where the Coach & Horses of reference 8 used to be, explained to the doorman that it used to be a pub catering mainly to alcoholics. On which he explained that he was quite happy to take that kind of trade too. Why did I not step inside? This morning I find that the Coach & Horses is still alive and well a few hundred yards away, now a member of the Fullers family and not quite the house it used to be fifty years ago. 

Once the fine commercial baker, Dugdale & Adams, from whom I used to buy excellent small, round wholemeal loaves, not long out of the oven. Good enough to be taken without butter or cheese. See reference 9.

The crowd got steadily denser as we moved down towards the embankment and we abandoned our plans to get the tube at Trafalgar Square. Bicycles a bit of a problem to.

Eventually working out that it was the day of the marathon. We caught the tail end, working its way to Parliament Square.

Once across the river, reminded of Mrs. Thatcher's curious spite in her choice of position for Nelson Mandela. Whatever was the matter with her?

But maybe it all works out in the end. Footfall past him now probably a lot higher than if he had been given some more prestigious location in or around Green Park.

Plenty of Bullingdons on the ramp at Waterloo, unlike the morning of the day before.

Struck, not for the first time, by the tower of the church across the road from the station, on the approaches to Waterloo Bridge. Snapped below in Street View.

I doubt whether using Greek revival below topped with Baroque above would work on today's much larger buildings, but I also doubt whether the detailing of today's buildings will wear as well visually as that of these older buildings.

Changed at Clapham Junction for Sutton. Various deep conversations, no doubt alcohol fuelled, both on the way to Clapham Junction and to Sutton. From where BH drove us home without further incident.

References

Reference 1: https://en.modiglianiquartet.com/.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/02/modigliani.html.

Reference 3: https://handembroidery.com/.

Reference 4: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/04/grub-up.html.

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/04/piano-82.html.

Reference 6: https://www.loron.fr/en/vins/pouilly-fuisse-les-vieux-murs/. 

Reference 7: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/04/wet.html.

Reference 8: https://www.coachandhorsessoho.pub/.

Reference 9: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/08/batch-572.html.