Where's the damn recession when you need it?

This is the weirdest recession I have ever heard of.

Last night, Mrs H and I were trying to celebrate her birthday. The actual day was October 31st, but she was in Doha for Reprieve, so we couldn't use our booking at the amazing Locanda Locatelli, which is where we go when we want to acknowledge a special occasion like our first anniversary. (Although actually, as I think about it, for our first anniversary I actually created a table for two in our living room. But you get the idea.)

Anyway, last night, at short notice, we were trying to get a table for two at some species of decent, pretty London restaurant. And in the attempt, we went through pretty much all of the ones listed in Hardens.

Not one had a table between 6:45 pm and 10 pm. 

How many tables is that? How many diners?

So obviously, this was a huge pain in the backside, because we wanted to go and stare lovingly into one another's eyes and be nauseating, but it's also interesting because where's this damn recession I'm hearing so much about? Those places should be half-empty, surely? And yet they're really, really not. They're full to bursting. It's not Christmas yet, and in any case, these weren't office groups or celebrants. When we finally found somewhere to eat (at 10:15 pm) we were surrounded by ordinary punters laying out  fair wallop of cash on wine and ordering the salmon. No holding back, and no special occasions particularly - no cheering, no singing of Happy Birthday, no toasting.

What in tarnation is going on out there?

Weird.