Smashed, but not beaten

I went to Clapham this evening to meet up with Fi and Mark and eat delicious Vietnamese food at Mien Tay. YUM! Initially we were a little nervous about heading to an area that had suffered in the riots, but there were so many police officers that it must be one of the safest areas of London. The police are very visible indeed everywhere I've been today (except in my house, of course, but even then I can hear the sirens). The restaurant was up the hill from where the rioters had burned the Party Shop and the flats above it. It was a tall, mid-terrace building and I'm amazed that the fire wasn't even worse.

Opposite the burnt buildings is Debenhams, which was looted. The protective boardings covering the smashed windows were covered with messages.

There's endless speculation and comments on the riots, but I found this article by Russell Brand to be one of the more interesting pieces I've read.

On other news today, I had a filling replaced due to it being a bad filling in the first place (it didn't fit snug to the side of the tooth so stuff was getting in). I really loathe the dentist, but I didn't feel a thing. In fact, I was so relaxed that I almost fell asleep in the chair (I hadn't slept well because of the Dentist Fear)!

My dentist is in Holborn where I used to work. I popped in to see the concierge of the building where the office used to be. We had a good catch-up. He's such a lovely guy and has time for each and every person who works in the building. He usually makes up a catch-phrase. With me, he'd always point at his watch and roll his eyes. I was on time for the most part (London transport depending) so it used to rile me something rotten, but he always made me smile. Mr Z is an absolute gem of a Sicilian gentleman.