Saturday, October 22, 2011
London, England
Another busy day, Leanne and I out the door by 10:30am to meet Niraj at Victoria Station at 11:00am. Got there, met him after some confusion about which Nero's we were standing outside of, and then we were off on a series of tubes to get to Warren Street Station. From there we walked to Drummond Street, where there is a particularly appealing store that sells East Indian spices, for tonight Niraj is treating us and some of his friends to a curry feast.
Along the way in his shopping, Niraj explained the basics of blending a good curry and what to buy by way of ingredients. Those I duly bought and Leanne stuffed them in her purse. Then lunch and a good chatter at an Indian restaurant on the corner. Niraj and I and Leanne have a number of things in common, including a love of cooking and poetry as well as science and particle physics. And economics and banking and ...
Then back on the tubes to the Putney area where he lives, to begin the cooking. Leanne and I were sous-chefs, chopping and peeling and the like, while Niraj mixed and mumbled over the brew as it bubbled away. As he chatted about it, I filmed, sort of like a cooking show, and we all drank tea that he made.
Later, around 7:00pm, the guests began arriving. Ross and Nikki, he a south african, she english, with his recent tour of India, about a thousand kilometers by motorized rickshaw, being an interesting topic. Then another young couple, also connected to Niraj through Loyd's bank, the fellow living in a flat with his mates and the main item concerning them being that they have more X-Boxes in the flat than people. But they also have a rat, so maybe he doesn't like being left out of the gaming. Finally the last couple, Youseff and Helen arrived, he a director of capital flow for a hedge fund and she a medical doctor in the last phases of her specialization training. A very interesting and eclectic mix, with the common factor among them being intelligence and the ability to lead interesting and productive lives. Present company excepted, of course.
Superb curry and dinner, and a wonderful evening. Leanne and Helen stayed to the end to help clean up, while Yousef and I talked about the markets and trading. Then Leanne and I home by cab. Jan had spent the evening with Tara and Jonathan and got home to Balham before us at about 10:00pm. Leanne and I got home at 2:00am, a bit late, but a fun evening.
