perks!Drama Matters: Talking to the Dead
This final instalment in Sky Living’s patchy but occasionally inspired run of drama pilots is a two-parter, adapted from Harry Bingham’s novel of the same name. It stars Sophie Rundle as DC Fiona Griffiths, a young murder cop making her way in Wales by utilising an unusual and disturbing skill – which is none-too-subtly hinted at in the title.
Rundle is excellent – vulnerable, likeable, slightly gauche – and carries the piece with sturdy support from Russell Tovey and the reliably devilish Michael Smiley. The side effect of DC Griffith’s gift is a certain mental fragility which makes her easy to root for. The supernatural elements clang a little at time – isn’t it usually thus? – but generally, this is a gently absorbing watch.
Londrino
Dry those tears. So you missed Leandro Carreira’s cooking when he was in residency at Climpson’s Arch. Or perhaps you didn’t, but that flutter of smugdom was short-lived, because he shut up shop in September 2016. When would you be able to eat that eclectic, Portuguese-inspired cooking again? Well, now. Because, in the shadow of the Shard, on a road to nowhere in particular, is Carreira’s first restaurant proper: Londrino. On first sight, the glass-walled space seems stark, minimalist. Yet, surprisingly, not cold. In spite of the industrial proportions, the vibe is nicely noisy rather than flinchingly clattery. Ah yes: sound-absorbing panels are wedged between the girders above. And other thoughtful touches, like walls and floors fashioned from swish interlocking pentagons, not of porcelain, but of (Portuguese) wood. You can actually hear the jazzy, Latin-leaning music. There was also the warmth of service. I adored our Melbourne-born waiter. Not only did he know the menu like it was a good friend but he was so jovial and welcoming that when he talked about us coming back to compare notes on Portugal (he was off on a trip, his first time), I almost booked right back in. But anyway, the food. This is cooking for people who are bored of eating out. Carreira originally hails from Leiria, just off Portugal’s west coast. There’s inspiration from home but he’s also raided the global larder. Dishes are small and modernist. The leeks come glazed in lactose (which becomes dark, syr
