Hot Danish was still trying to sort out a lift on the morning of his Dutch friend’s wedding. He had to rush out so he asked me to pack everything. We discovered too late that I’d left the memory card out of my camera. Worse, I’d forgotten to pack the trousers to go with the tuxedo. ‘Two-tone is very 2013,’ I teased when we realised he’d have to wear navy trousers with a black jacket. After a leisurely lunch everyone was getting changed into eveningwear while I stared at my salad dressing oil-splattered silk dress. Someone kindly lent me a beautiful Dolce & Gabbana cocktail number.
I am, however, starting to worry I’m turning into my mother (who sent me off in the wrong uniform on my first day of secondary school). Last week I made a vegetarian Jamie Oliver recipe. It tasted like my mum’s cooking. HD dutifully ate it, but asked, ‘Are we that poor that we have to have beans and rice for dinner?’ It’s clear that I’m not taking to domestic life like Tamara Fogle to handbag making.
‘I shouldn’t really complain,’ I said to Natasha. ‘But I miss London. I know things will improve when I get a job [I’ve so far managed to get one magazine commission which would probably cover one dinner out] but my day-to-day life feels a little dull.’ Natasha had recently caught up with an ex whom she hadn’t seen for a long time. They’d had lunch at Cecconi’s and then wandered around his old neighbourhood, Fulham. The weather was hot and they finally settled for drinks at The Salisbury where they bumped into the ex’s old pub friends. When Natasha said goodbye to her ex, she got tearful. ‘I can’t explain why. I think I’d imagined that the day would be romantic and exciting but in reality we were bored of each other and it was really underwhelming,’ she told me. The ex was concerned.
‘Maybe the day was just a bit pedestrian,’ he said.
Someone I once babysat for but who is now in a band contacted me on Facebook asking me to put him in touch with music promoters, ‘From what I hear you move in glamorous circles, so I thought I’d ask,’ he said. I was reminded that I’m starting from scratch in a new country without friends, contacts and a job.
On my birthday HD took me to a restaurant (which has two sister restaurants in South Kensington) and for brilliantly made cocktails at Door 74 (you need to SMS after 8pm to get in) in Amsterdam. ‘Anyone would think we’re on a first date,’ HD said after we snogged in the street. A little bit of glamour and buzz is just what every girl (and boy) needs once in a while. You can find it in other cities, but it’s definitely something we expect from London.
