William Kimber turns 80 in Rome

Rome was in its usual tizzy.

Bill and I climbed the Spanish Steps to get to the Chromotherapia exhibition at the Villa Medici.

The show had a grid of Martin Parr's marvellously discomfiting food photos.

These Alex Trager photographs of falling air hostesses gave me a genuine frisson, especially as I had just flown.

On our way to lunch we found paintings by Carlo Levi at the Small Moderna. We know Levi from the film Francesco Rossi made from his memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli. 

Next door at Gagosian Rome we found Avedon's Italian photographs. Bill asked me to photograph him in from of these Marilyn Munros to send to our buddy Harriet Mulder.

And so to Bill's 80th birthday lunch at Bill's fave restaurant Gino al Parlamento. We started with vignarola, a salad available only in early spring.

Cook artichokes, peas and fava beans with guanciale. Add romaine lettuce at the finish.

After a long siesta we went out for an evening stroll and landed at our favourite bar in Rome,

for a bottle of a local, unfiltered, version of prosecco.

We also tried their cheese tray.

And fell upon it. We'll have this again.

Under the eye of the staff we toast Bill's 80th birthday