Catriona

My feeling would be that your drinks with dinner would be included... why don't you email them to check? The Coyle sisters, who run it, are very nice and approachable, and would be happy to clarify!

Look forward to hearing all about it...

Just to fill you all in, went to the Thai Day on Sunday, and had a great time. The chef at Saba, Tao, is a wonderful teacher - very patient and kind, and we made such delicious things! I'd definitely recommend this. It would be good to do in a big group.. And definitely go hungry, though.

Buon appetito!

This has been a longrunning debate with my mother-in-law, so thank you!

hm, maybe I need to clarify that.. Request, not offer. tee hee.

If I get pregnant, will you make me dinner?

Oh my god, one of the most helpful things in the world! Thank you so much. Vaguely connected.. can someone confirm to me that cranberry = airelle?

Maybe I can rent them out a room in my new apartment... they'll share, right? To save on rent? I understand they provide their own milk.

Hope it went well, Daniel.

Might be it just for the bagels! Thanks for your help, everyone. I look forward to contributing to London discussions.

Poor cute husband, when I broke the news to him on Friday (he really doesn't care) said surely he would be able to find us a reservation. Cutie. Not really getting the point. Ah well. Fat duck instead, I guess.

Yep. I just got that one. Misery.

that's one of the best things I've read all week!

Did I mention where we're moving from? Actually, I quite like it over there, sister used to live in Whitechapel... that's probably my second-choice area. However, it's just not as green as I'd like... Argh.

You make it sound so horrible Tim! Perhaps I'll run into you at one of the above places. Or sprinting through Regent's park, depending on whose opinion I agree with in the end. Clerkenwellian: not a huge fan of clerkenwell, to be honest. Need somewhere a little more villagey, rather than central. Greener. I might consider central if I was on my own, but husband values space more than a central location. We found a good compromise in Dublin, but in London I may have to bow to his superior knowledge!

Cats: thank you so much for the clarification! Very useful.

Thanks for that! No bonus, I'm afraid, but a girl can always dream!

Forgive me for a self-serving topic, but I'm in need of advice. I've just (as of this morning) resigned from my job, and my husband and I will be moving to London in January. We both work, our respective offices will both be on the Northern Line (Moorgate/Bank). My question is, based on the fact that we both like food and wine, and like having access to nice local shops, good pub food, etc etc, does anyone have any recommendation as to nice areas to live? I'm somewhat familiar with Kentish town etc, and husband used to live in West Hampstead. Anyone have any hotspots they'd like to share with me, or alternatively deserts that I should avoid? Help very much appreciated...

As of today, we're starting to plan a move to London (arriving there january)... we're trying to find a place to live... thinking probably northwestish, kentish town, highgate, hampsteadish. Any thoughts from a shopping perspective, oh experts? We'll both be working in the (dare I say it) City or thereabouts.

"mettitutto". What a brilliant word. I'm going to use it for the drawer in my bedside table which is such a mess, my husband can't cope with the thought that I have something that messy in his house. "But darling, it's a traditional Italian mettitutto, you can't take away my traditions!"

Christmas wasn't christmas in my house as a kid without crystallised ginger in chocolate.

Who's the Tuna Guy? That's a brilliant expression on his face. Next time I'm hacking into a huge scaly onster I'll give that a go! Breakfast time in Florence was one of my favourite times. I spent a few summers there, so was always there at the height of tourist season, and it would get really jampacked with people later in the day. The mornings, though, from about 7 to 8, were gorgeous. Slightly chilly sometimes, but the streets were quiet, the sky blue with no heathaze yet, the streetsweeping machines had cleaned up the mess, and the passersby would be more likely to be the smart local officepeople than straggly backpackers (how snobbish of me). For my first stay, I was in an apartment out near Piazza d'Azeglio (about 10 minutes walk form the Duomo, the centre of the town). The cafe below the apartment made great coffee, but their food was pretty dire, so I'd grab a quick espresso there before heading to class (I was studying italian), and head out through the nearby square with its trees and birds and every now and then a kid on the playground. Next cafe stop was beside the newspaper place - La Repubblica, another coffee, and a cornetto alla crema, a bit like the sfogliatelle you have pictured above. One more coffee, a bottle of water from the fridge and a quick chat with the guys at Bar Max (not its real name, can't remember what it was called), and then class. I loved mornings. All that adventure all within 25 minutes. Do you have a routine, divina, or is it dependent on class schedule? what do you do when you've no classes on?

Absolutely, Jerry! Sorry to hear about your no, Corinna.

The lamb wasn't something I knew about either (don't worry, have never been pregnant) but was told it over dinner a couple of weeks ago with a new mum and my sister in law who's pregnant with her second. Apparently it's something to do with toxoplasmosis... but if you get tested for toxoplasmosis and you're ok, then you can eat rare meat and lamb. All I knew re tox was that you should avoid cat faeces... (which usually isn't that much of a sacrifice) Uninformative, I know, but it was at the end of a very long dinner...