Mark Stevenson's diary

I'm not used to luxury. Or rather, I'm not used to the luxury of the rich. I understand the luxury of a really good Yorkshire pudding as much as the next man, but this week started with some unashamed opulence. Since my first book was published earlier this year I've found myself in the company of the rich and powerful surprisingly often (for me). My Monday lunch was at Nobu on Old Park Lane (I wrongly pronounced it Knob-ooh) as the guest of a wealthy fan and international businessman called Mario, who wants me to help him think about big trends and how he can help save the planet. The sushi was very nice, but there was a part of my New Cross resident's brain that found it hard to come to terms with the fact my dining partner thought nothing of the bill (which would have happily covered my trips to Sainsbury's for over month) or flying in from Geneva just to have lunch.

My good friend Jack Milner and I had our first play optioned by a proper production company who want to put it on a national tour and then bring it to the West End early next year. It's a comedy about sex, news-papers, big mistakes and revenge and it was a hoot to write. Douglas Adams once said, 'Getting a movie made in Hollywood is like trying to grill a steak by having a succession of people coming into the room and breathing on it.' Up until this point my experience of getting a play on is much the same, except they also urinate on the steak. Our new producers, however, give me confidence. They also taught me the crucial difference between comedy and farce. Farce, apparently, has many more doors than usual on the set. To celebrate I met up with my good friend, the aspiring (and brilliant) actress and children's TV presenter Hannah Williams, and we proceeded to get very jolly over fruit beer from the Lowlander on Drury Lane. I have the feeling that at some point in the future I'll be meeting her at Nobu in the company of someone called Chuck Wiseballs from Hollywood.

To round off the week it's back to Telegraph Hill Park, SE14 - one of London's great hidden gems, and where I've taken to working out most days now the weather's improving. From here you can see as far as Alexandra Palace ten miles to the north and Chelsea Harbour six miles to the west. I'm reminded that our growing cities are engines of renewal. Their population density makes it easier and cheaper per capita to provide education, health, sanitation, water and electrical power. Cities the world over are also beacons of female emancipation, and one of the key reasons population growth is slowing (city dwellers have far fewer children). But it's the buzzing of possibilities that makes London so iconic for me. As dusk descends, the cityscape begins to twinkle as seven and half million souls reach for a light switch, each one representing a dream, an aspiration, an idea. It's just beautiful.
An Optimist's Tour of the Future by Mark Stevenson is out now (Profile, £12.99)