Serendipitous London. It throws up random encounters that just don't seem possible elsewhere as it does those incidents that, for a moment at least, make it appear that there really has been a tear in the time space continuum and you're somewhere altogether different.

I went with a friend to see To Rome with Love, Woody Allen's latest film earlier this evening; afterwards we schlepped over to the cafe of the Tristan Bates actors centre for a drink and post film rumination. For a while we were the only people there, then the door popped open and in strolled a rather frail, but oddly hearty Sir Peter Hall plus entourage.

He sat next to us and incredibly we chatted. As they say only in London