My Japanese agent, Maiko, came over to meet Bas and me at our flat in London this morning. After showing me lots of recent articles about my books from Japan, we went for a stroll along the Thames, from Tower Bridge up to the Tate Modern, where we had a quick look around. That's one of my favourite walks in London (though I usually continue on to the West End, as I'm normally on my way to a movie when I do it!). All the cool stuff in on the south side of the river, but I prefer walking along the north, as you can see everything better that way!!

We went to see the show of "The Lion King" after the Tate Modern. It was my first time seeing it. The costumes, and the way they recreate the look and movement of the animals, are amazing. The singing and music are first-rate too. But it didn't affect me as much as the movie. I had the same problem when I saw "Beauty and the Beast" in New York a couple of years ago -- I just don't think a real life show can improve on a brilliantly animated film. I enjoyed the play, certainly, but the film was much better (and shorter!!). Having said that, Maiko, who hasn't seen the film, was blown away by it all and said that she couldn't imagine a film improving on the play -- so maybe it's just a matter of which you see first ...

Went for a delicious meal at Cecconi's after that. I shouldn't really have eaten most of what I ate, still being on the Atkins diet, but I decided to allow myself a bit of leeway this weekend -- YUM!!!!!