Maggi and I met Bernard as we walked onto the platform at Pinner Station. He stands very upright for a man of 100 and we boarded the train for Baker Street. At Baker Street we exited the tube. Although Bernard is slow he doesn’t like to be helped up the stairs or along the flat. I think his determination not accept assistance maybe partly the reason for his healthy longevity.
Portrait Gallery Restaurant
Instead of taking the tube to the Portrait Gallery where I had booked lunch we decided to take a taxi to avoid the crowds on the underground. It would probably have been quicker, but it was certainly much easier. We ascended the lift to the 4th floor and entered The Portrait Gallery Restaurant. We arrived at 1:30 but planned to stay 2 hours and then cross over to St Martin-in-the-Fields to watch the service of 9 lessons and Christmas Carols. We therefore took our time.
First of all we decided to order wine and wait to order our food to slow the pace of our eating. Maggi selected a nice bottle of red wine because both Bernard and I prefer red. We couldn’t delay the waiter more than we did to order our food. We all chose from the set menu. I decided to have the onion and leek tart to begin. I’m sorry to say this disappointed when it arrived. It passed but not with flying colours. I followed this with Lamb Belly Aubergine Puree and Pickled Pumpkin. Now we moved up the scale. I chose this main course because I had never tried or even heard of lamb belly before. I really enjoyed this main course. The meat broke down in my mouth as easily easily as a succulent steak but had that distinctive taste of lamb. Finally I picked the Pot Crème, Mandarine, Shortbread as my dessert. Another treat for the palate. Pot Creme is very similar to creme caramel but without the sweet sticky liquor. All in all a very good meal. Bernard finished all of his three courses and had a coffee to finish it off.
St Martin-in-the Fields
We left the restaurant at 3:30 to walk across to the church. When I rang St Martin’s 6 weeks ago about the service I was told that if we arrived 30 minutes before the start of 4 pm we would find it easy to get a seat. When we arrived the place was all but full. We managed to organise three seats together but they had a very restricted view. However we could hear everything very clearly.
The 9 lessons are all about the Christmas nativity story and the mumbo jumbo associated with it, like the tale of the shepherds and the three wise men. The soloists and choir performed some of the carols without the congregation but others allowed the audience to sing along. Fortunately directly behind us two ladies sang out to their hearts content with very good voices. All in all I enjoyed the event probably more than any other carol service I have attended before.
