Clo and I decide to treat Mum and Dad on (near enough) their wedding anniversary, me being conveniently in town such that I can fly out to the States the next day. We go not to one of the main family favourites in Harpenden but instead spread our horizons to old Welwyn, and specifically Vita. It’s a quite nice little independent Italian place, very much your more homespun style. This is both for better and for worse. The calamari is disappointing, the batter so lightly fried that it’s still practically dripping off the quite rubbery squid, the tartar sauce not helping much. A pasta dish with Italian sausage and ragu is better, if uninspired. Dessert is a chocolate mousse cake of some description, which again hits the necessary sugar hit but it’s not an intrinsically enjoyable culinary experience. The conversation is fun though, and inevitably we return home to watch a House Of Games virtually taped off the telly some number of months ago, where I prove only really to myself that I can still answer those questions with annoyingly smug speed even after a decent chunk of wine. I suppose it’s never really the quality of food I look for in these family meals these days, though.