I consider myself incredibly lucky that in the middle of their brief tour of family across the UK, James sees fit to factor me into his plans, and so on the day he and Alisha land in Bristol, I take them out for a quick drink and then onto dinner at Root. We sit outside in the heated terrace, grateful for the blankets on offer. I am trying now, a few months later, to decipher the photos I took that night, under the pinkish glow of the heaters and with seemingly no record of the exact menu, a foolish decision on my part knowing just how rapidly Root moves through dishes, with changes day to day based on what they’ve got. The carrots with harissa and yoghurt stand out, though, as do the croquettes. James and I (Alisha being a vegetarian, hence the choice) share what I recall to be trout with caviar, which is exquisite. Between us, we get all three desserts on offer - mine is a Snickers-esque ice cream dish, covered in chocolate and peanut butter, and it’s all very delicious. It’s the calm before some kind of storm, but it’s nice to distract myself from that in some sense catching up with two very dear friends.