Deb’s back again for about ten days, between Sevilla and Cádiz, with friends Clare and Nina, whom I know from previous trips, and we made plans to meet for lunch. I asked if they were willing to do some Tapas Research with me and visit somewhere new that I hadn’t been to yet and of course it was Game On. Well, I say new… it just opened last week and it’s the second restaurant of Javi Muñoz (aka The Sherry Chef), whom I’ve known for years. His La Carboná is excellent, so I had high hopes for Amarío and it did not disappoint.

As usual Debs brought me some treats from home, including mince pies (I can freeze them!), a Decanter magazine, and this lovely red post box biscuit tin (full of lovely biscuits) to put up on the Dan Jamón London Christmas Shelf, a  tradition that began with what would be Dan’s last visit here, though of course we didn’t know it at the time.

It was great seeing the girls again and, as usual, we ended up going for a penúlitima afterwards and, as always, it carried on so long that it became clear I was being held hostage (I couldn’t leave without them because I couldn’t carry the bag of treats on my own and they showed no signs of wanting to go anywhere). So I called Peter to ask if he would come and rescue me, which he did, though they made him stay and have a beer. So it was close to 9.00 pm by the time I finally got home from “lunch”, but it’s fun having girlfriends for a day! I miss them already.