Waterloo, oh lovely Waterloo.
By some odd little quirk of fate I've now had my FIFTH meeting in Waterloo, this one was at brunchtime today. I had no idea that this small pocket of this large City was so swiftly becoming the new Beverly Hills, but there you have it.
Not only that, but it was back to the National Theatre where I'd met David Suchet just two weeks ago.
I had a bit more time on my hands on this occasion so I decided to broaden my intellectual horizons by wandering around the Saatchi Gallery and then I decided to visit the Tate Modern to cast my discerning eye over Rachel Whiteread's 'Unilever Series'.
Actually I tell a lie, I did none of the above. I ate a full-English in the Train station cafe.
I was supposed to meet TV Presenter Bob Holness, best known I'd imagine for his stint as the host of Blockbusters, late last year, yet on that occasion circumstances had conspired against us.
Today everything went like clockwork (and unlike the clock by my bed - see a reference to that somewhere below). Just after midday, as I stood outside the bookshop inside the Theatre complex an elegant lady whom I took to be Bob's wife approached and enquired whether I was Jonathan.
"No I'm Julian."
"Oh yes, sorry, Julian. I'm Bob's wife, he'll be here shortly."
As we waited, I had a lovely conversation with Mrs Holness, who I discovered had been an actress herself back in South Africa. She had even bought along one of the last surviving Blockbusters sweatshirts that I'm sure will pick up some tidy little bids at the RNIB auction. In fact the sweatshirt had been her own but she offered it to me regardless. What a sweet gesture.
Bob appeared soon afterwards and was as polite and as charming as his wife, going to great lengths to apologise for not being able to keep to our pre-Christmas arrangement. No apology needed I said.
After all, he was kind enough to agree to the meeting full stop and not only that, but he'd also brought a signed photo to go with the sweatshirt.
Mrs H did the honours with Michael's digital Nikon COOLPIX885 and after studying the photo above I complemented her artistic flair and told Bob that we had a budding David Bailey on our hands. I thanked them again, wished them a pleasant day at the Equity event they were attending and headed off to Blackfriars Bridge to catch my bus to work.
I've got to say, it's a very interesting walk along that part of the Thames. Past the OXO Tower restaurant (where I'm sure the gravy is top notch), past a very small patch of grass named Bernie Spain Gardens and then past Sea Containers House.
Who on earth would want a crateful of seawater in their living room?
And who's Bernie Spain for that matter?
