Nicholas Quirke was relived to be taking the edge off the frenetic pace of the past 2 days on 5th December and spent a more leisurely morning planning the next couple of days. A realisation of the inconvenience of living out of a suitcase was dawning on him as his limited wardrobe started to frustrate him.  The plethora of hats he had carried across the ocean would not suffice to differentiate his look. it was time for a thrift store. First though, the dogs were in town with David and it was out for a first visit to Central Park and Strawberry Fields. Nicholas was a little sick of the compromises he had to make in New York diners who supposedly catered for Vegans so when Jenny suggested lunch before going to ‘The Met’, he searched for a proper solely Vegan Restaurant and booked them the up market Candle79. This was a smart place and the food was perfect. Sated they walked to The Met where they wanted to see the Michelangelo and Hockney exhibitions. A curator quickly talked them through the Museum and having identified Nicholas;s native tongue engaged them in a conversation about Royalty. These were Michelangelo’s sketches and drawings and doodles on letters and paper from the 15th Century. It was awe inspiring that theses pieces of paper were physically in front of him demonstrating the art and sometimes the personal concerns of this genius. The David Hockney exhibition was impressive and it was really good to be acquainted with some new and some old paintings again. He shared the story of meeting Ossie Clark, the subject of Hockney’s  ‘Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy; at a Buddhist meeting at Sandie Shaw’s with jenny and was delighted to see the painting his former hero Christopher Isherwood and Dan Bachardy. Nicholas took the opportunity to see more of the museum before walking back through Central Park and trying to identify scenes from movies, specifically ‘Hair’. Nicholas was delighted, courtesy of his team from American Express, to be seeing ‘The Book of Mormon’ on the fabled Broadway. It was as rude, funny and uplifting as when he had seen it in the West End and he enjoyed every moment of it. even being seated next to a giant could not dampen his spirits. It was raining heavily when he left the theatre and he took a cab and argued with the driver over the fair who wanted to charge him $40. “I am not paying $40” he said and gave him $30. Tense New York atmosphere.

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