Week 6 - Greg + Matthew M
I met Matt at Higher Ground in town. I arrived slightly early and he was bang on time. This wasn’t unexpected as Matt is one of the most punctilious people I know. He always turns up to your house with a bunch of flowers and is meticulous with his thank you messages. He was also the person who suggested I order some personalised correspondence cards which I now send as thank yous and people seem very grateful to receive. On this occasion he was worried he might be a little late as he was working on a breast reconstruction (he’s a plastic surgeon), but it had all been dealt with in time.
Higher Ground offer an à la carte and a tasting menu, with the dishes from the latter not listed, so each comes as a surprise. We of course opted for the adventure. I will attempt to recall what we ate later in the blog, but don’t get your hopes up if you’re looking for accuracy.
Matt had been in London earlier in the week and we chatted a little about Dean St Townhouse where he’d been for dinner while he was there. We’ve both been (independently) several times and it’s a nice place to grab a meal. If my memory serves me correctly it’s where Harry and Meghan had their first date, but don’t let that put you off. Dean St Townhouse is one of the first places I ate out after lockdown eased up and I sat outside with my business partner Chris. About halfway through the meal Chris shouted across to the people on the table next to us, completely taking me by surprise. It transpired that he was warning them that a guy walking along the street was attempting to steal something out of a bag they had placed by their feet.
Matt and I discussed some of our other favourite restaurants and somehow got onto the subject of The Ritz, perhaps due to its proximity to the Wolsey, one of my faves. I’ve never eaten at The Ritz, but have wandered through the foyer a few times and always found it a bit kitsch for my modernist tastes. Matt assures me that the main restaurant is in fact very nice. I mentioned that Margaret Thatcher spent her final days living in the Ritz, presumably at the behest of a wealthy benefactor. I’m yet to get very far through The Downing Street Years, but did take away poached eggs on Marmite toast which is utterly delicious. Matt didn’t agree.
We spoke briefly about Trump’s latest presidency and Elon Musk’s attempts to reduce governmental waste. Let’s just say neither of us are fans of the current regime. I can understand people’s enthusiasm for getting stuff done, but seriously question the methods which are being employed. I try not to get overly political here so will leave it at that. For now.
Somehow we got onto the subject of work. There’s a running joke amongst my friends that no one really knows what I do for a living. I’d love to say that I’m secretly employed by a government agency, but that’s not the case. I co-own a small business that puts in customises and supports backend software for other businesses. It’s the software you use to run the business and incorporates things like accounting, inventory management and CRM functionality. It’s not a career I really anticipated and certainly not one I planned, but I enjoy it and it affords me a nice lifestyle so I really have no reason to complain.
I asked Matt what he had planned for the weekend and he said he was heading back to Ireland for his father’s retirement party. He mentioned that this wasn’t the first time he’d retired and it called to mind David Brent who kept returning to the office despite no longer working there. An unfair comparison I’m sure. Matt spends a lot of time visiting family in Ireland and we always like to give him a gentle ribbing about how often he’s there. Matt is one of the most positive people I know and always takes things in good humour, so I’m always conscious that I don’t take things too far as it’s easy to unintentionally be mean to nice people.
Matt was one of the group who came skiing a couple of weeks ago and said he had a touch of the post holiday blues. It was a great week, but I have no such malaise. I always find that by the end of a holiday I’m ready to get home and sleep in my own bed. Ski chalets are always blisteringly hot and I can’t ever sleep well in the sweltering conditions. I always get excited about holidays and then find them a bit anticlimactic once I’m there. Don’t get me wrong, I have a great time, but it’s never quite what I anticipated, not in any specific way I can put my finger on, just something lacking. My father always quotes the adage “He who expects nothing is seldom disappointed” which although practical doesn’t really align with my general outlook, which tends to be an optimistic one.
I have recently adopted two kittens who came to me as Whimsy Lou and Rumble Honey. They are now known as Thunder and Lightning, but that doesn’t prevent several of my friends dead-naming that at any opportunity. Matt isn’t one of them, but he hasn’t met them IRL yet so I will reserve judgement until he does. He’s a polite young man so I’m sure he’ll treat them with the respect they deserve.
I spotted someone at the table next to us who I thought I recognised, and as soon as I heard her laugh I was convinced. I spent the first half of the meal avoiding eye contact as it was the day before Valentine’s Day and I assumed I’d be interrupting a date. When her dinner partner got up to go to the loo our eyes met and my suspicions were confirmed, the lady in question was indeed the lovely Jemma who runs my local coffee shop, Kiosk. We had a brief chat, and it turned out she was on a date, with her partner of three years. He had suggested Higher Ground and it was also their first time there.
Matt suggested that he and I should get our colours read, something I recall my mother getting done in the late 90s. For those not familiar with the concept, one employs a colour expert who says things like “DON’T EVER WEAR CERISE” and “You would really suit a mocha gilet”. I’m not convinced that the process is either scientific nor necessary, but admit it would be good fun. I wore a green jumper for the first time the other day which drew a compliment on the colour from my friend Scott, so perhaps it’s worth a go.
We finished up at the restaurant discussing my parlous love life (my words, not Matt’s) and whether I’d recently been to any meet up type events. When I first moved to Manchester I went speed dating in town, which yielded a couple of dates with a nice guy. I also went to a local singles event in Didsbury which attracted a total of five fellas, one of whom left halfway through without telling anyone. I haven’t rushed to book a spot on a similar event since, perhaps I’ll dip my toe back in this year. Matt said it might be an idea to join SoHo House which is opening a branch in Manchester. I then described my experience to date with that venerable establishment which began with several years on a waiting list in London. When I knew I was moving to Manchester I naively enquired as to whether my spot on the list could be moved to Manchester, only to be informed that I would need to re-apply. Undeterred, I duly went online to restart the process, only to be informed by the electronic gestapo that my email address was already linked to another account (duh). That wasn’t going to stop me - I dropped the membership team an email asking for my email address to be removed from my previous application. They dutifully refused and explained that I would need to use a new email address. With that I gave up. Nothing is worth a fight against such self-aggrandising bureaucracy. I wish them the best of luck with their new location, perhaps this one will actually turn a profit.
Here’s what we think we ate (all delicious):
Wholewheat Bread Rolls And Lancashire Butter
Pea Fritters And Quicke's Cheddar
Golden Beetroot, Goat Curd And Green Tomato
Hand-Cut Wholewheat Pasta With Pork Shoulder Braised In Milk
Something involving veal (?) and lentils
Templegall - Cows's Milk, The Hegartys, Cork, Ireland
Robert Tomlinson's Rhubarb, Custard And Naked Oats
After dinner we ambled over to Red Light for a final libation before heading to our respective homes.
Thanks Matt for a lovely evening!
