This morning I was giving a briefing to an advertising company on behalf of a schizophrenia charity I am a media volunteer for. It went well. Since I was in the area I thought I would drop by one of my favourite galleries: Contemporary Applied Arts.

I walked in and popped downstairs, there was no one to be seen. Then my eyes drifted to a brilliant Rupert Spira bowl (although it was not as brilliant as ours) and I dropped into ‘art appreciation mode’. I groaned with pleasure and said, “Ooohhh beautiful thing, beautiful thing.”

A muffled laugh came from the dark depths where I know their store room is followed by a voice, “Hello David. Nice to know you approve of what we have on the shelves.”

Nice to be recognised, I suppose, especially if it is for being deeply appreciative.

It is worth dropping by there, they’ve got some top Rupert Spira stuff in and a few really deeply lovely Sarah-Jane Selwood bowls.

I was given a beautiful thing today, a new Sarah-Jane Selwood vase:

I now own seven pieces by her, and consider myself very fortunate to do so. Kisu the cat likes her stuff too:

I really hate building flat-pack furniture, but today I have managed to build two Ikea display cabinets for my ceramics. This one is full of Sarah-Jane Selwood stuff:

And this one has a variety of people's work in it:

I think they are heavy enough so if the cat jumps onto them they will not fall down. They'd better be...

Today I finished off my christmas shopping; I feel I've achieved something. I got some pretty good stuff. Allow me to recommend a couple of galleries that are worth visiting if you are in London; beautiful things are nice to give people for christmas. Contemporary Applied Arts has some really top stuff in all kinds of media. At the moment they have some very affordable tableware by the great Rupert Spira, and loads of really top stuff by the extremely skilled, highly imaginative and reasonably hot Sarah-Jane Selwood. The Contemporary Ceramics Gallery has a worryingly high proportion of rubbish in it, but there is some good stuff. They also have some nice Sarah-Jane Selwood, plus Chris Keenan, Stanley Field, Emmanuel Cooper and many others. Both great places to browse should you be in London.

Today I sallied forth, braved the rain and picked up this utterly beautiful Sarah-Jane Selwood bowl.

I am very pleased with it. I am also pleased that there are some display cases in the post so the bloody cat doesn't smash it.

The bloody cat broke two Sarah-Jane Selwood ceramics a a week or so back. The little bastard... I mean bad ca.. oh well.... Well, this weekend I went out into Town to look for replacements. At the time I noticed one of the galleries was offering interest-free credit on items over £100, but it didn't really click when I saw a beautiful SJS vase for £470. I can afford £47 a month for ten months whereas I cannot necessarily afford £470 up-front. It is a really amazing piece and it will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.

Up extra early this morning. As well and ham, sausage and books from the family my partner has given me a wonderful Rupert Spira bowl:

It is a beautiful, thoughtful piece. I am terribly grateful to my wonderful partner. I will not smash it next time I have a tantrum.

My few days in Washington DC are coming to an end; it will be back to New York this afternoon. Much as Washington seems like a slightly sleepy place, and it is quite hard to get a decent drink, there are plenty of good things to see, do and eat here. The Eastern ceramics in the Freer collection are terribly good.

Well, I must away to breakfast then the Library of Congress. I hope to post more news before my departure on Saturday.

Diet Coke is the general toddler-fuel of choice, but I have recently been informed of the 40 things every drunkard should do before death. Before death, mind, something to light up those few remaining miserable seconds that tick away before one's brief experience of life is snuffed out. What a depressing idea, 'things to do before you die', clearly the kind of thing one thinks if one does not really enjoy life.

Back to the point. I suppose one is allowed regional variations, so for number 37 I feel the Withnail and I drinking game is a suitably local and lethal alternative and clearly number 40 is quite bizarre, so I substitute a trip to John Maynard Smith's office, Sarah-Jane Selwood's studio or Bonnes-Mares. Given these substitutions, I've done the lot with ease. What surprised me was how woefully banal so many of them were. Still, I suppose I can get on with snuffing it now.