London Still Rocks!

These next two days are courtesy of my cheap ticket groups! Tonight, I was with TAC for a  Beethoven concert  at the  Milton Court Concert Hall  - and what was handy was that the tickets were from the venue, with a promo code - so we didn't have to pick them up at the venue, and could choose our own seats; naturally, I picked the most expensive I could get away with (£25 seats for £5 - not bad). Booked to eat beforehand at  Cote Barbican . The bus arrived almost perfectly when I did, and whisked me as close as it was going - including a short stop to even out the gaps in the service. I then had a bit of a walk, but for some reason, Google Maps stopped updating my ETA as I walked. Never mind, I arrived on time - and took a seat by the window. Have to say, I had the loveliest meal - most of this chain are terrific places to eat, great service, great food. And tonight, the worst I could say was that the calamari were a little chewy - but they were tasty, the stea...

T he last of a row of three Meetups was on Saturday evening, finally back with London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ)  for their bi-monthly birthday bash - we were to meet at  Benugo in Waterloo . W hat a delight for a late start, allowed me to get a grip on the day (and the last post done, although only just in time, and I had to run).  Joy, I was just in time for an early #188 - the one I'd been planning to take was delayed. But oh dear, I've honestly rarely seen the traffic so bad on a weekend.. I messaged to say I'd likely be a bit late. And then, of course, we had the driver change. Why always when I'm on..? To be fair, this is the bus I take to the office, and on those runs they don't change driver - just EVERY OTHER TIME I'M ON IT.. Mind you, it's just as well driver #1 was getting off - he nearly neglected to let someone on, early in the journey, because, as he said, he was in a bad mood because of the lady down the back who kept leaning on the buzzer.  Yes, ...

Last night, the second in a row of three Meetups , back with  The Hideout  at last, to see  Dead Lover  - the trailer is so ridiculously OTT, I could only hope the film would be worth it! About a gravedigger, finally finds the man of her dreams, and he goes and dies! Naturally, what can she do but resurrect him..? Showing in the  Prince Charles , and we were meeting in  Victory House  beforehand. Now, I'd normally book at my  favourite restaurant  for this - but would you believe, by the time I decided what I was doing, they were fully booked for early evening! Booked to eat at the  Bear and Staff  instead, I know they're good. Naturally, I just missed the #188 - Google Maps is way too optimistic about how fast I can get to the stop from my room! Not wanting to miss my reservation, I researched my options - and discovered I'd be faster with the C10 , changing to the #176 . Just made the C10, which leaves from the other side...

Just starting  three days of  Meetup . Tonight, back with   Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) for the opening night of  Body and Soul  at  Sadler's Wells  (SW), eating at  The Wilmington  beforehand as usual. I could walk from work, which seemed the uncomplicated option - it was a nice evening for it anyway, and as Google Maps said, "almost flat". Arrived at the pub 20 minutes early - stood at the entrance to the dining room, caught the attention of a waiter, and waited while he went back and forth to a table who, as he explained, were paying - they must have been splitting the bill, he was over and back so many times. He finally sat me at the table I was standing beside, and gave me a menu - I was intrigued by the desserts, thought I might have time for one, unusually for here. It was 15 minutes before he came to take my order - they don't have a huge range of dishes here that I like, so I had the steak, as usual - they have a variet...

Tonight, second film in a row , finally headed to see  No Other Choice , a dark comedy about a middle-aged  Korean  man who, finding himself unexpectedly unemployed and with a family to support, and faced with competing with younger, brighter applicants in the jobs market,  decides that the only reasonable course of action is to eliminate them.. Handiest close showing to me was in the  Curzon Bloomsbury  - I booked it with the last of my year's free tickets. Always good to use a free ticket for something that's not a documentary, and so is priced higher.. A nice late start again.. but the last blog post was such a mammoth undertaking that I wasn't finished it by the time I left! This evening, Buses Due was triumphant again in its prediction of when the #188 would arrive! Mercifully, because Google Maps said I'd just missed it.. Was adding to it as I went in on the #188 - so it helped, although vexingly, when we had to stop for a change of drivers. And t...

Last Monday,  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) was off to another spooky thing -  It Walks Around the House at Night  has an actor playing the ghost that inhabits a remote manor house, scaring visitors.. only to discover that he's not the only one there! Mwah-hah-haa.. Showing at  Southwark Playhouse  ( SP ).  My sometime dinner companion suggested we eat afterwards, it being over early - as I suggested, we could try the   Mercato , although it was closed   last time   we tried to do that, despite the website saying it'd be open much later! So I left later - has been a feature all this week, and is very handy for organising myself! Arrived right after our organiser, and managed to give her a jump scare as we approached the box office. :-) We got a table in the bar, and the others arrived in due course. The Barbie doll on the bar is now wearing a paper boat as a hat.. I fully meant to get a picture, but was a bit rushed, trying to navigate...