Despite living in London for four years plus, I've never, until today, visited Fortnum & Mason. It's quite spectacular, easily far grander than Harrods. We popped in to look at Christmas crackers – that our one job for the McRobbie Christmas Lunch – and were, shall we say, entertained to find that the first box we looked at, containing six crackers, was £500. Seriously. To further illustrate the point, take a look at the price tag of this five-inch tall bottle of vinegar:



Yes, three hundred quid for vinegar. OK, it has been on the planet a little under four times longer than I, but still. Three hundred pounds. F&M is quite beautiful, though, and I yearn for the day when that can be the supermarket at which I do my weekly shop.

We popped across the road so Jenny could show me the little fountains in the forecourt of the RCA. They're very pretty little things, a few inches tall, bubbling up all over the pavement, though with a bit of judicious hunkering, you can make them look a little more imposing.



Autumn is a very photogenic time of year, with the low-slanting sunlight and the warm reds of the leaves. Even shitty New Cross looks story-book.



And now I must dash, as we're off to see Seu Jorge, of Life Aquatic fame, at the Roundhouse, thanks to Ruth's hectic social life meaning that she was unable to use the two tickets she had bought.