Oh dear! We had a very nice table booked for lunch tomorrow at Michelin starred Chez Bruce, www.chezbruce.co.uk, but sadly Her Majesty’s government announced Covid-19 Teir 3 restrictions from midnight tonight. But, situation partially saved by our friend Rick Gibbs, chef and proprietor of Ricks Dining Room www.ricksdiningroom.co.uk. Rick called us anticipating that we’d be up for s pre-Christmas feast. So we’re off to Rick’s tonight for a seasonal slap-up meal. And then who knows – probably home cooking until next year.

I met up with my son John on Monday for a spot of lunch in downtown Tooting. John is quite the foodie and a talented cook. He also works in a food lover’s paradise – Borough Market near London Bridge – where he and his brother run Whirld, a unique fudge shop. I took John on a quick tour of the two Tooting markets – one, somewhat predictably, called Tooting Market, and the other, Broadway Market. These two market arcades sit side by side in Tooting Broadway, and despite having visited both of them countless times, I still find it easy to mix them up. Even though John was born…

Our youngest is 21 next weekend and proposes celebrating with his university mates in Brighton. So as parents we’ve had to opt for the weekend before to celebrate his coming of age with him. I had already booked a table for eight on Saturday at our favourite, Tota in downtown Tooting – where, incidentally I decided to book in person over a fish finger sandwich and an espresso. Ben pitched up Friday night and we thought we’d nip out in advance of the big celebration for a quiet Friday evening spot of grub. Local Italian restaurant Sette Bello seemed the ideal choice. I had melanzana alla parmigiano to start followed…