After
almost a year’s wait, I was a little worried with what Rebecca had in mind for
the letter ‘B’. Let’s not forget, I had her draw an old guy’s balls
for our last date…
I
admit I first heard about alphabet dating while listening to the Guardian’s Football Weekly
podcast. Yes, useful things can come from football. But no, sadly A is not for
Aldershot, B for Barnet etc…
We
were both feeling a little worse for wear on the morning of the long awaited
date and woke up in a mild state of panic, scrabbling around to find something
that would tell us the time. Once we’d realised we weren’t going to be too
late, we calmed down. So I was lovingly presented with a little card that
read “B is for…brunch and Bauhaus”.
Having
worked in Clerkenwell for the last five years until recently, I always knew I’d
never made the most of the area. I had my favourite spots, like Café Kick and Caravan on Exmouth Market, or the Jerusalem Tavern and The
Dovetail, but after brunch at The Modern Pantry it
became apparent that I’d made a few glaring omissions.
We
arrived and waited patiently to be seated, only to be queue jumped by a man
claiming he needed to get out of the sun. It was true, he was ginger and looked
like he was burning by the second, but still. When we were eventually shown
upstairs to our table, we entered a dining room of wooden floorboards painted
white, grey walls and a huge gilt framed mirror. This place is pretty much our
fantasy lottery home. If we win, we’ll keep the kitchen staff on.
Bloody
Marys arrived swiftly, followed by a refreshing elderflower and Earl Grey iced
tea for Rebecca and a black coffee for me. We were both struggling with the
menu as we wanted everything. In the end, Rebecca opted for poached eggs on
toast with haloumi, spinach and slow-roast vine ripened tomatoes while I
decided on poached eggs with chorizo and plantain. Heaven. As was a cheeky
glass of bubbly.
A
short journey followed to take us to the Bauhaus exhibition at the Barbican.
I’ve wanted to see this for quite a while and was impressed that Rebecca had
made note. Germany in the 1920s and 30s, particularly Berlin, is in my top
three time traveling destinations of choice. Happy to skip the 40s.
I
love the way so much output from the Bauhaus movement resonates today, from
fonts to furniture. The exhibition is a delight and much larger than we had
anticipated - from the movement’s origins in Weimar, moving on to Dessau, and
finally to its eventual closure in Berlin. One of my favourite objects in the
entire collection of the British Museum is a little tea infuser, and it’s
here on loan, alongside so many other everyday objects of beautiful simplicity.
I’m also surprised to see a fun side as well, not just in the photographs of
teachers and students, but also the puppets and children’s toys that were made.
Rebecca,
as an events planner, loves the photos and invitations from the school’s
infamous parties – they had thrown a elaborate themed events, including the
‘white party’, ‘metal party’ (guests entered through a long steel slide) and a
‘beard, nose and heart party’. She intends taking inspiration from the latter
for an upcoming wedding…
We
leave and I’m very happy with the letter B. I hadn’t really thought too much
about what it was going to be and I’ve been suitably impressed. Bamboozled. I’d
better get it together for C...
And the scores are in:
- Originality = 7/10 (I had said I wanted to go to the exhibition, but brunch was a lovely surprise...)
- Atmosphere = 8/10 (A very relaxing afternoon)
- Delivery = 7/10 (I liked the card reveal, plus the whole thing was a surprise)
A grand total of 22/30. I'm a point and a half down. Not that we're competitive...it's the thought that counts*.
David
* and winning
After
almost a year’s wait, I was a little worried with what Rebecca had in mind for
the letter ‘B’. Let’s not forget, I had her draw an old guy’s balls
for our last date…
Having
worked in Clerkenwell for the last five years until recently, I always knew I’d
never made the most of the area. I had my favourite spots, like Café Kick and Caravan on Exmouth Market, or the Jerusalem Tavern and The
Dovetail, but after brunch at The Modern Pantry it
became apparent that I’d made a few glaring omissions.
A
short journey followed to take us to the Bauhaus exhibition at the Barbican.
I’ve wanted to see this for quite a while and was impressed that Rebecca had
made note. Germany in the 1920s and 30s, particularly Berlin, is in my top
three time traveling destinations of choice. Happy to skip the 40s.
"Meet me at Angel station at 6.15pm" instructed David's email. I showed the girls and there followed a flurry of excitement as we discussed what it could be. Having highlighted the fact that simply booking a restaurant beginning with the letter 'A' was not imaginative enough, I know I have put the pressure on him to surprise me.
We arrive at the Candid Gallery where we have a drink in the cute cafe. I'm already feeling a bit nervous, ridiculous as it sounds, fearing that the potential for total humiliation is high. Nevertheless we go down to the studio, where we discover a big group of both regulars and newcomers setting up their sketchbooks and taping paper to the easels. Again I'm impressed that David has done his research and knows that we can buy paper for 25 pence a sheet and charcoal at 25 pence a stick. Others around us have brought their own materials and I can feel a sense of dread in my stomach as I imagine just how awful I am going to be at this. We find a spot in the back corner.
Back in the studio, Mike the model is in his final pose. I've forgotten all of the tips I've been given but happily get to work, thanks to that one glass of wine. The alcohol has had the opposite effect on David, who sighs and puffs loudly for the last half an hour. 