Lauren and I were invited to at least three openings and/or dinners at Tate Modern, including the “official” opening by the Queen on May 11. Dan Crowe told me there were more then thirty such events, which he learned from his ex-girlfriend, who was involved in organizing them for the Tate. We decided for yesterday’s dinner, which gave us an hour and a half to see the place and climb Louise Bourgeois’ towers. Curious about all these events, I asked Nick Serota, who was greeting the guests at the top of the escalator from the lobby, how many openings and dinners there actually were. “Oh,” he said with a quick smile, “just a few.” After a few words with Lauren, he turned back to me almost confidentially: “This is the most important one, though.” Then he turned to other guests coming behind us. There were about five hundred people at the dinner, and he greeted each and every one by name. That is how smooth Nick actually is.