My restaurant column on La Cucina was done and dusted when Rosemarie and I returned on Saturday for another feast at this favourite trattoria. With us were two pals, who managed to polish off between them the huge trayful of rib of beef you can see on the left.

Their status as true trenchermen was confirmed by the fact that this massive main course was preceded by a shared pizza and followed by puddings of tiramisu and panna cotta.

In writing of La Cucina, incidentally, I forgot to mention that we had an interesting neighbour at the Tuscan dinner in the shape of the increasingly high-profile actor Ben Lamb, who was brought up in Oxford. I thought there was something vaguely familiar about the handsome young man seated with two older people at the next table. It was only later that his parents — as his companions turned out to be — told me I had given him a glowing review for his performance in 2012 as the poet P.B. Shelley in Helen Edmundson’s play, Mary Shelley.