He's behind you!

I'm sitting opposite Mr Philip Sallon on a train returning to London from Bristol. Philip is asleep. We're in first class and a nice lady keeps walking past with a trolley crammed with lovely food which she seems keen for us to eat. I've never travelled first class on a train before and won't be in any rush to repeat the experience. I'm surrounded by rather ghastly people! Philip has now woken up and is singing Hello Dolly, much to the chagrin of those around us. He wants us to sing something else in harmony, which will, no doubt cause some kind of polite riot in the carriage... We're singing Jerusalem The Gold.


We've just been with Matt to see Barbara Windsor in a pantomime at the Bristol Hippodrome. She was playing the fairy of the Bow Bells in Dick Whittington, which is about as perfect as casting gets! It's a wonderful production. My eyes were almost blinded by the sheer amount of sparkle on the stage. Everything shimmered and glistened, even the crests of the waves painted onto the backdrops. I recommend the production wholeheartedly! Matt was asked if he’d mind going up on stage with all the children during the song-sheet section, and like a trooper he did, which must have been a proper treat for the audience. It is wonderful to sit and watch the way that children respond to pantomimes. Barbara arrived on a floating moon at one point and started waving at the audience, and all these children were waving back, eyes wide with excitement. It was, for them, a truly magical experience.

Matt on stage

We went backstage afterwards and drank champagne in Barbara's dressing room, which felt hugely decadent. She was extremely gracious; exactly what you’d expect from a Grand Dame of the entertainment industry. Speaking of which, I wonder when we can expect her Dame-hood to be confirmed. Surely it's just a matter of time?

All of us were exhausted as we met at Paddington this morning. Matt's just returned from the States and Philip was up all night worrying about a party he's organising tomorrow night. For my part, I'd been up all night with chronic diarrhoea. Not the nicest thing to have to write about, and not the most enjoyable evening of my life. I don't know whether I'd eaten something weird in Brighton, but it was hideous, and the gripes accompanied me through the entire night. I haven't eaten much today but had a pasty a few minutes ago, so we'll have to see if the gripes begin again.

Mr Sallon

350 years ago and Pepys found himself with very little to write about. "We had three eels that my wife and I bought this morning of a man, that cried them about, for our dinner, and that was all I did to-day."