Sunday 17th October

We head back out in the morning to meet up with Jim and Steph again - this time at Sloane Square tube to go for a wander round the Saatchi Gallery. Neither K or I have been for a while so it's nice to have an excuse to make the kinda-out-of-the-way journey. Today is the last day of part one of the Newspeak show, and there are the usual range of impressive to uninspiring pieces throughout. By far the most exciting is a stack of 300 domestic stereo speakers in the corner of a large room, playing the distorted sound of a slowed-down pianola and computer-tweaked ambient noises. It makes for a haunting, unsettling installation that is at the same time peaceful and really quite wonderful. We walk around the speakers, careful not to knock anything, unsure of where the next sound will come from.

After the Saatchi we head to Waterloo to catch another free exhibition, Hell's Half Acre, a show put on by the Lazarides gallery in the tunnels under the station. We've pre-booked our tickets so after getting slightly lost looking for the well-hidden entrance we eventually arrive just after 1.30. The exhibition is in a series of darkened tunnels, each of the pieces dealing with the idea of hell, specifically that described in Dante's Inferno. The space is far more interesting than the work - atmospheric and creepy, dilapidated and with a very seedy vibe about it.

After leaving Waterloo we head back up north so that Jim and Steph can dump their heavy backpacks at our house. When we've all rested up a bit and K and I have got dinner for later on the go, we make our way out for a walk around Ally Pally and down through Crouch End. It's a beautiful day and our view is clear across the city. As usual I have fun pointing out the landmarks to our guests.

We have a quick couple of pints at the Queens before heading home with some wine to drink with dinner. We eat K's delicious home made lasagne and watch The X-Factor before playing a bit of Scrabble. Despite the copious amounts of wine it's a very civilised Sunday night in, and when I head to bed later (but, like last night, relatively early) I quickly fall into a contented slumber.