Lunch at Mark’s
Today I went to lunch at Mark’s. I hadn’t seen him in ages, because he works in Denmark, returning home to London at weekends, but also has a flat in Paris. I presume he must be terribly well paid at whatever it is he does. Among the other guests was Edward, who I also rarely see. He had just arrived from his home in Italy, but hadn’t bothered to change his watch because he is going to Hamburg tomorrow. I mentioned that I had been to The Hoist on Friday night, and had been particularly pleased to find a message waiting for me when I got home. Mark asked me what the guy looked like, and looking at Mark I suddenly realized to my acute embarrassment that any description would be superfluous, so I said “Well, Mark, he looks rather like you”. “Devastatingly handsome?” “Well, yes, actually.”The food was provided by Jack, and was excellent. After that, there was some particularly fine coffee that Mark had brought back from Denmark, followed by some rare brandy he had been given for his birthday, which tasted as though it had been used to strip varnish from Old Masters. Mark managed to render me speechless when taking the orders for brandy: “So that’s two large ones, three small ones, and Paul what size is yours?” I do believe that he was flirting, and in mixed company too.
Last modified: Friday, June 19th, 2026 at 8:13pm
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