I took at taxi from Kings Cross to The Royal Academy on Piccadilly the other night. I had spent a nightmare hour and a half on the tube trying to get into town, but there were delays everywhere, it was hot and crowded and I had to get to my destination.

 

You need to understand that the idea of a taxi is just not something that enters my consciousness. I feel I finally attained adulthood when I stepped into the back of the cab and said ‘The Royal Academy on Piccadilly please’. I felt a bit like the queen sitting in state in the back, observing the world , but more importantly, I felt like a grownup.

 

It was a bit like going into a pub, oddly. Although nobody would mistake me for an underage drinker, I still sometimes feel a bit like a fake wandering into a pub and trying to buy alcohol. A bit like I”m play-acting. It was the same with the taxi. Any minute he was going to realise I had no business getting in all by myself.

Well he didn’t and I enjoyed every minute of the ride. Upon arriving at my destination I was taken on a surprise visit to Tiffany’s where I chose my birthday present, and then on to a private view of the summer exhibition at the the Royal Academy. There, I admired the art, drank far too much champagne and ate some classy canapes. Is it undignified to chase a uniformed woman carrying a plate of mini blinis with caviar?  There you go. I have clearly not yet attained adulthood.

 

Well the long and short of it is, what a life. :  taxis, Tiffany’s and canapes. What more could a girl (ahem, I mean woman) want?