Lunar garden

Birthday. To work, where I spent most of the day hoping I'd avoid discussing it. The few people who did know were very lovely, and I appreciate their acknowledgement. There weren't as many 'phone booth' moments today. I've commented on them so much previously because these weekly in-person visits seemed destined to take place sitting in a small box with soundproofed walls. Thankfully, today was better, although I did have the bizarre moment of sitting in one of the 'booths' next door to a colleague, who was also on the invite list for the call. We couldn't find a room. Finally, however, IT has fixed the issue that showed no meeting rooms were available to me whenever I checked. I guess I may book one at some point.

My birthday evening was all planned out. After my comments earlier in the year suggesting that I wanted to know more about art, our first stop was the Moco Museum London, which exhibits modern, contemporary, and digital art. Having originally opened in Amsterdam and Barcelona, the Marble Arch location is their first UK space—names like Warhol, Haring, Banksy, and Kusama feature amongst the exhibits. There's even a Pablo Picasso hidden around one corner.

It's hard to pick a favourite. Seeing Keith Haring's work up close was impressive, but it's almost impossible to pick a favourite from the exhibition. I loved the bold colours and shapes in KAWS' work; the immersive Pulse Interactive room was simultaneously fascinating and unnerving. The sculptures by Jake Chapman are unsettling by design. There's even art by Robbie Williams.

I was most struck by American artist Daniel Arsham's Lunar Garden, probably because it's a large space, but possibly because there's a sense of calm from a limited colour palette. The description says, "Arsham introduces colour sparingly to achieve a surrealistic quality, prompting viewers to recall and question the pace of lived time."

Afterwards, PY arranged dinner at Six By Nico in Fitzrovia. The current theme is Tokyo, and the six courses offer an excellent take on Japanese food. It's hard to pick a favourite course; the opening Chicken Karaage (crispy chicken thigh) was beautiful, and the Kimchi Pancake was equally delicious. The wine pairing, as expected, worked wonderfully—even the unexpected Lambrusco, which accompanied the white chocolate, matcha cake, and candy strawberry dessert. Service was attentive and very friendly. I wonder if they thought we were somebody else as we were greeted as returning guests, in spite of never having been to this location before.