SATURDAY 10th JANUARY : STRIKING ROCK BOTTOM

After spending much of Saturday listening to the lady's requests for change we/she decided maybe it would be good to spend an evening apart. She went to Soho House NY to meet her friends Amelia and Stace. I jump in a yellow cab to go to Smith Street, Brooklyn. I look out over at the Salvation Army Watchtower neon display to see that it's -11 degrees centigrade and it's 9pm - it felt colder in the apartment....

I met Andrew at Halcyon whose DJs must play some of the best House music to some of the fewest people. The funky vintage furniture they were trying to sell didn't cope well with our big jackets and fake-fur hoods so we shuffled out and down to the Boat where we got accused of being a couple of mods by a Scottish couple.

the Boat proved to be a good drinking den with no name on the door (the door is metal with three slant windows in it - that's all i can say). I suggest you avoid the crowd of Brit designer girls in the back corner by the fire. Yeah, they're fun, yeah, they're friendly but note the NYC uncommon chunky midrift on each and every one and you know these girls have been in training and can drink as much as you. The New York girls are more svelt but that night all I didn't want to make intelligent conversation with anyone - I just wanted to talk good old crap about nothing in particular - and you need a Brit (or maybe Irish) crowd to really do this well. Now that's what I call therapy!

After several pints, catching frost-bite smoking in the cold and a little bit of a sing song, Andrew wanted to go on to shake his booty at a 'locals' club and at this point I declined. I froze on the subway platform but soon found my angel in Bar and Books.

Perfect evening.