Art, beer and sinuses

I'm currently in bed, off work with sinusitis. The front of my head feels like it's being squeezed in a vice. It's a bit of crap thing to suffer from - it's hard to feel sorry for anyone who goes on about their sinuses. It's the kind of thing a flakey character in a 70s sitcom would complain about with a nasal whine.

Despite the vice on the temples, I had a good weekend with Emily. We have the kids for the next two weekends, so it was nice to enjoy London together. After I had a few drinks with colleagues, Emily and I ate at a very nice Belgian restaurant, Abbaye, in Smithfield on Friday night.

Plumbers and Japanese ultra-violence
On Saturday we had a visit from a plumber. He told us at length about his divorce and financial situation. He also told us about an old lady who had left him and his missus her house and how the social services had banged her up in a care home, meaning the house would have to be sold to pay for her care. I got the feeling the old lady's welfare wasn't the plumber's primary concern somehow!

After the plumber had finally fitted a new shower, we made it as far as Canary wharf Wagamama's for lunch, then vegged out for the rest of the day. We watched 'Battle Royale II' on DVD, which was utterly pants. The first film was great, but unfortunately the original director died on the first day of filming and his son took over. That may explain why it's such a mess...

White blocks and Fritz's birthday
On Sunday we went to the Tate Modern to see the Rachel Whiteread installation. My daughter Mila had seen it with her mum and described it as 'a load of white blocks that were made to look like an Antarctic landscape'. I can't summarise it better than that (see the pic I took with my phone)! It was a bit underwhelming when compared with Kapoor's huge red trumpet or the Weather Project. However, kids were enjoying exploring the paths between the piles of plastic blocks. It's cool to see art that kids can connect with.

After the Tate, we went to a pub in Borough for my friend Fritz's birthday. Apparently he hasn't had time to read this blog, so I could be rude about him if I wanted to be and he'd never know! As it is, Fritz is a top boy. Although, as you can see, he does look like a satyr from Greek myth...

On the iPod
It's on shuffle as I write this - Ladytron's 'Destroy everything you touch' is playing. It's their usual combination of portentious title and flawless synth pop.