Carducci

A week or so ago now, to the Wigmore Hall for our penultimate show of the summer season, before the summer break. The Carduccii Quartet giving us Schubert D87 and Dvořák Op.96. Surprised this morning to find that we last heard this quartet at Dorking, as noticed as reference 1, and that we do not appear to have heard them at Wigmore at all, at least not recently.

Parked at the Eclipse. Getting good with this RingGo lark.

Two non-scoring trolleys on the way to the station, where we took train for Vauxhall and Oxford Circus, toast at ABO being the order of the day rather than bun at Olle & Steen.

Not for the first time, we heard a brass band on arrival at Oxford Circus and this time we actually saw it, although we did not approach. To the immediate left of the head, likely the Salvation Army who have premises nearby - Regent Hall at No.275 to be pedantic about it.

An excellent concert, with my being on form for this occasion. And with the Dvořák working far better on this occasion than it had on the last. Although checking the archive this morning, I find there has been some conflation. The one that didn't work was its next door neighbour Op.97, as noticed at reference 2. The last outing for Op.96 was fine.

Opted for lunch at Olivelli's in St. Christopher Place, coming across this fine display of fake flowers at the Wigmore Street end. There was more of it as one went down towards Oxford Street.

Kicked off with a spot of pecorino for him and something pale & sparkling for her. €10.50 at reference 5, maybe a fifth of what we paid, so markup a touch on the high side. But we had a good waitress and a free grappa so we don't mind...

I then opted for another go at their messy prawns, served with limp leaves. Plus bread, naturally. Messy but good. Would have been even better with a bigger finger bowl and a proper napkin.

Followed by linguine, served with a rich sauce. More filling than might at first appear.

And a pretty dessert, with green antlers, a decorated variety of cheesecake. Maybe a spot of yellow grappa behind.

Interior of the restaurant pleasant and cool. Plus BH had the benefit of a very young child, perhaps four weeks. Umbrellas notwithstanding, we leave the street to others.

Lunch done, down to the tube at Bond Street. There was a rather noisy busker, but I found that, despite the noise, one picked up the rhythm going down the stairs. A rather quicker descent than it would otherwise have been.

We remembered not to jump in a taxi at Epsom, and walking back to the car, we were reminded of the rather casual closure to Amber's yard. The people who put our new boiler in and who have spent quite a bit on their new premises on West Hill. So why don't they invest in a bit of chain - or at least something a bit less tatty looking than this plastic barrier held in place with plastic tape?

Stopped at Waterloo Road for the first water melon of the season. A water melon which was a bit too much for our kitchen scales. 

So a bit of improvisation in the garage was called for. Melon in the brown bag, 6lbs in the white plastic. Taking the mid point of the brown straps, a ratio of 22 to 6, so 22lbs. 

Less the first couple of slices. Very good they were too. It all went down quite fast, the cut covered with cling film in between times and once we were half way down, in the fridge too. Just starting to soften as we finished it.

When will I buy another? It might be a while as 20 lbs is more than I care to carry home these days - so it will have to wait for an expedition with the trolley or the car.

Plus some chickpeas from Iran - so sanctions do not reach down to dried vegetables. Pity about the mullahs though as the chickpeas were good. Dry and rather bland, but one soon got used to that. Easy to keep nibbling at them, rather in the way of peanuts.

PS: BH tells me that FIL had a proper beam balance but we let it go. Whatever was I thinking of? Quite keen on that sort of thing usually.

References  

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/04/carducci-three.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/05/bennewtiz.html.

Reference 3: https://ristoranteolivelli.co.uk/.

Reference 4: https://theamber-group.co.uk/.

Reference 5: https://www.velenosivini.com/en/prodotto/villa-angela-falerio-doc-pecorino/. The almost identical bottle to be found here.

Reference 6: https://velenosivini.com/en/. Misty hills and so forth to be found here. '... Inspired by the desire to create a harmony between taste and colour, the Cantina was born in 1984. Ercole [and] Angela Velenosi, [together] with Paolo Garbini since 2005, combining artisan tradition with modern technologies, they have creatively reinterpreted the winemaking processes. / They gave birth to a company that today brings the scents and nuances of Piceno territory through wines with a unique character...'.