Sad to learn of the death yesterday of the actor Jack Wild from oral cancer.   Jack played 'the artful dodger' in both the theatre and 1968 film version of Oliver! which endeared him to many.   He followed this with the oddly fantastical saturday morning show HR Pufnstuf, which also made it to the big screen with Mama Cass Elliot.

Like many a child star before him, he lost most of his career to alcoholism and for much of the 70's and 80's he did not work.

His last notable film part was as Much the Millers son in Robin Hood:  Prince of Thieves, by which time his lifestyle had conspired to give him the cancer that cost him his voice following an operation in 2000.

Big Mike and I spent a very pleasant evening at our regular haunt, Fabrizio's in Clerkenwell yesterday.   The prosciutto of wild boar with rocket, red onion and parmesan remains my favourite, with a new dish of beef fillet cooked in a pastry case with mixed herbs and mushrooms a close second.   A feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.

Imagine my surprise this morning to read of a restaurant nearby where you eat entirely in the dark.   Sounds like a recipe for disaster.  But Dans Le Noir, proud to be a place not to be seen in, believes that the experience will heighten your senses and liberate your taste buds, leaving you with a different appreciation of food.   Oh and it's also a good place for a blind date, apparently.

What a load of old tosh.   Sounds like a cheap gimmick, skimping on the decor and passing off some very average frog nosh to a load of teenage trendsetters to me.    Think we'll stick to Fabrizio's.