London life, but not as we know it........

Something was wrong...what was it?

Everything looked normal : the buses were red, the cabs black, the sky overcast and dull, the moon moped around listless, the pubs were crowded on the outside with smokers, The Evening Standard was angry and The Metro was happy.......then it dawned upon us like a parting of the clouds and a calling down from heaven, the air was mild, it was not cold!

Yes, the air was easy and caressed the skin, tender was the night!

It's ben a long, long, long time since we could wander out on a summer evening without a jumper or a coat, but this evening, we could, and lovely it was too.

We strolled along the canal to Little Venice and our favourite canal side pub, the Waterway.

As usual, it was jam packed with the drinking class, a happy sub-section of the bourgeoisie who don't actually create wealth but perform the vital function of re-circulating it, thereby creating employment for us all.

The smoking class live alongside the drinking class, they have the guts to live and love dangerously, out of doors, and they all seem to stare longingly at those they seek to ensnare.

The waiting class employed by the Waterway are among the best in the world - and they are from the world.

From Milan, Italy, we caught Stefano Marchi entertaining his customers with a balletic pose. He regards it as a part of his job to stretch into unusual postures and positions, and we are grateful to him for it.

Next up, we met Lucas Schmitd, from Brazil, a man who knows his product and is proud to recommend it to you. As he put it himself : ' I know my shit. An economist knows his numbers...and I know my shit'

It worked, we bought a pint of the Cerella beer he recommended. Lucas has an irresistible smile, but like a lot of Brazilians at the moment, he thinks Pele is an idiot and should keep his mouth shut and stick to kicking a football.

Behind the bar we met Alberto Bazzoni, a cocktail artist and beer magician, a man whose expertise is in making your drink buds smile.

And the troubadours of our time were well represented by Higher Love, a superb duo who serenaded the bar with songs of love and peace, soulful sounds, bluesy and catchy, perfectly attuned to the carefree atmosphere of this unusually mild evening but adding an element of romance. We asked them for our song - My Girl, by The Temptations, and the vocalist Michael Kamara worshipped it reverentially, exactly and precisely how we feel about it, and on guitar Luke Harvey painted the perfect backcloth for this masterpiece. Catch Higher love whenever you can - they are good.

Once again, we were overwhelmed by the feeling that London knows how to live in peace. ( The riots were a long time ago, and nobody really wants to overthrow capitalism - too many people are having too much fun to want to go back to central planning )

All you warmongers, come, stroll around our town and see how the United Nations can live together. All it takes is jobs, schools, a health service, drinks and music and a strong drinking class.

Later, at Mumtaz on Park Road, an Indian restaurant patronised by Prime Ministers, famous cricketers and us, we met a lovely family from Saudi Arabia. We spoke about how trade, commerce and technology are slowly bringing the people of the world together and will do so - unless the warmongers win and go and ruin it all.

We thank them for reminding us that we are all just doing what we can, bringing up the children and trying to keep them safe.

Here we proudly present the secret of the Mumtaz' success - Mr Monyul Haque, the chef. No more need be said or written. He is an artist.