00:00:35:This programme contains|some strong language and|some scenes of a sexual nature. 00:01:03:"He leaves a message -|a yellow sticky - 00:01:08:"on the dead black|of his computer screen. 00:01:10:" 'Gone to lunch.|I may be some time.' " 00:01:16:"His colleagues won't be seeing|him for the rest of the afternoon. 00:01:19:"Rare joy of truancy, of bold escape|from the trap of work. 00:01:26:"That heap of typescript 00:01:28:"can be left to dwell on its|thousand offences against grammar|and good sense. 00:01:33:"His trusty blue pen|can snooze with its cap on. 00:01:36:"Nobody will notice. 00:01:41:"He shuts the door on the|sleeping dog of his own departure. 00:01:45:"Hurries, not too fast, 00:01:47:"along the corridor,|taps the lift button, and waits. 00:01:52:"To meet even one person at this|delicate juncture would sully|the whole enterprise. 00:02:00:"But he's in luck."|LIFT PINGS 00:02:03:"The lift yawns emptily. 00:02:05:"He steps in... 00:02:08:"..is enclosed... 00:02:11:"..and carried downwards to sunlight 00:02:15:"and London's approximation|of fresh air. 00:02:20:"With one bound... 00:02:24:"..he is free! 00:02:30:"It's a district of literary ghosts|that walk in broad daylight. 00:02:35:"Keep your imagination peeled|and see Virginia Woolf 00:02:38:"loping off to the library|with a trug full of books. 00:02:45:"And there goes TS Eliot, bound for|his first Martini of the day, 00:02:49:"with his gig-lamps|and his immaculate sheen. 00:02:58:"Bloomsbury and its blue plaques. 00:03:01:"The squares and stucco terraces, 00:03:04:"where the little industrious|publishers still like to|hide their offices. 00:03:10:"Leafy literary-land, 00:03:12:"that by some dispensation|has been left to stand 00:03:16:"amid the road drills and high,|swivelling cranes. 00:03:24:"In his 50s, he favours|a younger man's impatient pace, 00:03:27:"skipping round dawdling or|stupidly halted pedestrians. 00:03:34:"You're not properly living in|London if you don't use the dodges,|the short cuts. 00:03:40:"Yet it's 20 minutes' walk|from work to this lunchtime date|with an old flame. 00:03:47:"Gaggles of tourists straggle|more provocatively than ever. 00:03:52:"Never mind, he's making good time -|note the active verb - 00:03:56:"and he expects she'll be late. 00:04:00:"The restaurant is an old haunt,|though he hasn't been|there for years. 00:04:05:"Zanzotti's -|unreformed Soho Italian. 00:04:09:"Chianti in a basket, breadsticks|you snap with a sneeze of dust, 00:04:14:"red gingham cloths,|overlaid on the diagonal|with plain green paper ones. 00:04:19:"Finger smears at the neck|of the water carafe, 00:04:22:"and Massimo himself touring|the tables with his fake bonhomie. 00:04:30:"But Soho has changed. 00:04:32:"The speciality food shops|pushed out of business, 00:04:35:"tarts chased off the streets, and|a new kind of trashiness moving in. 00:04:39:"Cultureless, fly-by-night. 00:04:42:"But hey presto. 00:04:44:"Zanzotti's edges into view,|exactly as memory has preserved it. 00:04:51:"Phew. 00:04:54:"When he suddenly recollects... 00:04:58:"What, precisely? 00:05:00:"Deja vu? 00:05:02:"Some artistic analogy? 00:05:05:"Too bad. Let it go. 00:05:10:"On the threshold, 00:05:13:"on the edge of a shadow-world|that is yet to welcome him, 00:05:17:"he stands and waits. 00:05:20:"Waits for a waiter. 00:05:24:"First disappointing thing - 00:05:26:"no sign of Massimo, 00:05:29:"nor of his old staff. 00:05:31:"Massimo's pirate crew,|as he privately thought of them, 00:05:35:"some of whose names he knew whilst|knowing nothing of their lives|beyond the act - 00:05:40:"grave, flirtatious, resentful,|brisk, droll - 00:05:43:"each brought to the table. 00:05:45:"Instead, young men and women - 00:05:47:"roughly half and half - and not|all looking especially Italian. 00:05:53:"How long has it been? Five years? 00:05:56:"Six years? 00:05:58:"Ten? 00:06:00:"Fifteen? 00:06:03:"God help us all. 00:06:05:"Though time's winged|chariot with the brakes off 00:06:08:"and in full downhill hurtle must|be inaudible, unheard-of, rather, 00:06:13:"to these sprightly boys and girls. 00:06:19:"He is noticed, but not recognised,|by a waiter he does not recognise, 00:06:23:"but who catches his name in his|right ear, then bows clerically 00:06:26:"over the ledger that bulges|from all the names, 00:06:28:"the months and years of names,|written in it, 00:06:32:"and that sits open on a slope|like a church-lectern Bible. 00:06:35:"The Book of Reservations. 00:06:41:"As ever, that pause of|anxiety and mute appeal. 00:06:48:"But there, happily, it is. 00:06:50:"Scriptural confirmation. 00:06:53:"Without a smile, without a word, he|is eyebrowed and nodded to follow." 00:07:00:Thank you. 00:07:01:And the wine list, please? 00:07:05:"On the back. 00:07:07:"I see. 00:07:10:"So things are different after|all under new mismanagement. 00:07:15:"Might have known it.|Did know it, perhaps. 00:07:19:"The very table linen|has lost its patriotism. 00:07:23:"Plain white. We surrender. 00:07:26:"And this menu -|this twanging laminated card - 00:07:30:"big as a riot policeman's shield. 00:07:34:"Hmm. At first glance,|pizzas by the yard. 00:07:37:"More pizzas than there should be. 00:07:40:"And too much designer pizzazz. 00:07:44:"Choose the right wine and have it|ready breathing for|when she arrives. 00:07:48:"There's a mid-price Chianti,|which won't come plump in|tight straw swaddling, 00:07:53:"but will do for auld lang syne. 00:07:59:"Old times' sake being|the precarious purpose|of this tete-a-tete, 00:08:05:"and possibly a great big mistake. 00:08:11:"We said we wouldn't look back. 00:08:13:"Why did she e-mail him|suggesting...? 00:08:18:"No, HE did." 00:08:21:THEY CHATTER AND LAUGH 00:08:26:"He commands - nice word -|a clear view of the entrance, 00:08:30:"lit contre-jour so that|each new arrival,|new candidate for his notice, 00:08:35:"appears to step from brightness|to bathos with a tacit apology. 00:08:39:" 'Sorry, I'm not...' 00:08:43:"But if not, what? 00:08:46:"What will she look like? 00:08:49:"Fwop! 00:08:51:"The cork leaves the bottle|and his quick nose wants to pick up|the escaping bouquet. 00:08:56:"Will it be all right? 00:08:58:"The waiter pours out|the statutory measure - 00:09:01:"one imperial glug - which he lifts|and breathes over thinkingly. 00:09:07:"Not corked." 00:09:10:That's fine, thank you.|Leave it there. 00:09:12:He'll do the pouring. 00:09:22:"It's quite sharp|but should broaden out. 00:09:25:"He takes his tumbler of water,|overweight bubbles mobbing up|to greet him, 00:09:30:"sips that and feels the chill fizz|smash against his palate. 00:09:35:"Thirstier than he thought, 00:09:36:"he drinks till the ice rests|on his upper lip." 00:09:40:WOMAN: Hello. > 00:09:41:"She's here. 00:09:44:"How did that happen? Had he taken|his eyes off the door for so long? 00:09:49:"Flustered, self-reprimanding,|he is still able to start|to rise from his seat..." 00:09:54:Well... 00:09:55:I didn't see... 00:09:57:"..and be met halfway|with a soft peck,|smack in the middle of his mouth. 00:10:01:"Familiar collision|of pout against pout. 00:10:07:"Though there's something different,|too. A new...what? Fragrance? Aura? 00:10:12:"Hint of carefree expenditure? 00:10:14:"Waft of wealth? 00:10:16:"How lovely." 00:10:22:I hope I'm not late. 00:10:24:You're not late at all. 00:10:25:"So, the human paradox. 00:10:28:"The same and changed. 00:10:30:"All that he remembers,|vivid in the differences. 00:10:34:"Is she thinner? 00:10:36:"Somehow there's a sharper outline|which is not just smart tailoring, 00:10:39:"and her hair looks better behaved. 00:10:42:"She hangs her bag,|pampered scarlet leather, 00:10:45:"over the back of her chair|and skips into the seat. 00:10:50:" 'Now,' that movement says.|Quick, eager, a touch needy, 00:10:54:"as if she were beginning a lesson|in a subject she's good at. 00:10:57:"It puts him on his mettle." 00:11:00:There! 00:11:02:Here. 00:11:03:"Lips, eyes, eyebrows|and the new lines in her forehead 00:11:07:"fill out the harmony." 00:11:10:Have some wine. 00:11:12:I'm afraid it... 00:11:13:hasn't really had time. 00:11:15:"He pours into the two glasses, 00:11:18:"measuring by ear identical notes." 00:11:24:This is a disappointment.|Remember the old flasks? 00:11:29:Kitsch, I know, but didn't you|have a soft spot? 00:11:31:Snug in their raffia|like fat cuckoos in small nests. 00:11:35:Still, nothing lasts. 00:11:39:What's the toast? Happy days? 00:11:42:"Happy days" it is. 00:11:44:"Rims meet and clink,|swaying the cradled liquid. 00:11:48:"Dark, sluggish ink. 00:11:52:"And they drink. 00:11:55:"Becoming palatable." 00:11:59:You haven't changed. Oh, I have. 00:12:02:"Witness this morning's|bathroom mirror. 00:12:04:"The grey, the flab, the stoop,|the frown, 00:12:06:"and in the deliberating,|disbelieving eyes, 00:12:10:"something like...terror." 00:12:16:Not to notice. 00:12:17:" 'Was that one of the problems,"|he wonders, 00:12:20:"her blithe rebuffing of such facts|as didn't match an optimistic|outlook? 00:12:27:"He could argue but the waiter|intervenes with a second menu, 00:12:31:"which slices into|the infant conversation|like a sweetly swung axe." 00:12:37:The menu, senora. Thank you. 00:12:45:It's almost all pizzas. 00:12:49:I'm afraid the place has gone to|the dogs. 00:12:51:Don't be absurd - it's fine. 00:12:53:In fact, at first glance,|it's improved. 00:12:57:You know, when you suggested this,|I wasn't so sure. 00:13:00:Almost any other venue. 00:13:02:All that surly waiter business|was much more your kick than mine. 00:13:05:But when I came in the door,|I thought, "Well, OK." 00:13:07:And I'm quite glad to see a menu...
cioccolatobianco