Ledbury

I went running yesterday morning on my four-mile route through North Kensington and along the Grand Union Canal. I really enjoyed it, for a change! When my friend Pam visited last month, we talked about how hard running is now that we're in our mid-40s. The younger me used to reach a point of endorphin-fueled euphoria, but that rarely happens now. My runs often seem like one long struggle. Yesterday, though, I hit a good stride and felt, if not euphoric, at least not like I was about to die.

I'm reading a book about Mahatma Gandhi, "Great Soul," by the former editor of The New York Times, Joe Lelyveld. So far I am underwhelmed. Lelyveld obviously put a tremendous amount of work and research into this book, but it is a slog. I wondered if it was just me, but I looked at the reviews on Amazon and it seems others have also had this problem. I'm up to about 240 pages so I'm within sight of the end and I'm going to push forward. Dave doesn't understand my compulsion to finish books I don't like, but I figure, if I spent the money, I'm going to get a return on my investment -- and besides, you never know when a book might turn around. I enjoy the parts that provide a glimpse of Gandhi's psyche, his inner self. The intricacies of early South African and Indian politics, though, make my eyes roll up in my head.

Yesterday afternoon I walked over to Trellick Tower and found a whole new crop of graffiti had appeared over the weekend, like the piece above by Kesh. If I want to be obsessive about it, I could probably go over there every other day and find new stuff. I'm not going down that slippery slope, though!

Finally, last night Dave and I went to The Ledbury, a fabulous restaurant with two Michelin stars a few blocks from our flat. We've been meaning to go for months, but getting a reservation can be a problem -- we made this one back in March! It lived up to our expectations. We had the tasting menu with wine pairings. Terrific!