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Film: Vie Privée (A Private Life)

Tonight was another film, and what came up was Vie Privée (A Private Life), in which Jodie Foster , mostly speaking in French but with a few scattered words in English, plays an American psychiatrist living in France and investigating the death of one of her patients, whom she believes was murdered. Showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury - I used the last of my extra bundle of free tickets on it, my membership is expiring soon. The road is still torn up because of a burst water main, the #188 isn't an option, so I trudged off to get the #1 , which would take me straight there. Strangely, as I walked to the stop , a #188 passed me.. on a route it wasn't supposed to be going on (i.e. its normal route)! And ironically, it was a #188 that came first, and I ended up taking. I was to discover that that route is stopping short, at Aldwych , until Wednesday, because of gas works! And.. I caught a #1 from there, arriving a little late - but I was in time for the trailers. I spent most o...
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Walking Westminster Tour

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Yesterday, my second Meetup in a row, back with Rewind Tours of London , for a Walking Westminster Tour . I nipped out the door to catch the bus .. of course, had to walk a bit to do that. And wouldn't you know it, a huge crowd again. But what I'd noticed on the way - was that Tower Bridge Road was blocked off. Which was where the buses were diverted by. So.. no buses. I made for the Tube instead.. second day in a row, there were severe delays on the Jubilee Line - this time, there'd apparently been a fire. Well, that was out, and I'd never make it in time on the bus now - but of course, there are alternatives on the Tube.. So I took the Northern Line - and what Google Maps recommended me was to change at Euston , for the Victoria Line . The Northern Line wasn't that well airconditioned - but neither was it that crowded. But O.M.G. what I faced on the Victoria Line..  It's a long and convoluted trek from the Northern to the Victoria Line in Euston - and w...
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July's Science Fiction Meetup

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This weekend, I'm finally back with Meetup - yesterday, it was third time lucky for the London Sci-Fi / Fantasy Meetup Group , who had their social cancelled twice by the Mad Hatter for the World Cup ! Yes, they still had it there.. It's not too far from me, but a little far to walk.. my road is still ripped up so they can fix a burst water main, and sadly is going to stay like that for another week or so.. so I walked to further down, where I could catch a bus . Everyone else evidently had the same idea.. nobody at the intervening stops, but when I got to the stop I needed, there was a huge crowd. A bad sign, if so many people had gathered.. they must have been waiting a while. I tried to check the bus status on Buses Due .. they were "experiencing issues", as happens so often. So I gave up on the bus, and checked the Tube - would you believe, it was experiencing severe delays because of yet another points failure! Again, that's happening a lot these days - m...
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Film: Sherlock Jr.

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Tonight , second film in a row, I decided on   Sherlock Jr. , a Buster Keaton comedy, in which he turns detective when accused of a crime he didn't commit. Showing in the Finsbury Park Picturehouse . And with our company giving us an hour off on summer Fridays, I should have been in time to eat beforehand! Except I wasn't, of course.. got caught up with stuff. Did make it in time for the film, taking the Thameslink , which is quicker, with fewer stops, at the same price. It was cool to look out the window at London as we passed - even when I'm on the bus, I don't see it from this angle.(And yes, don't tap out at the points through the station - wait for the gates at the exit).  Arrived early at the cinema, but not in time for food.. bought a snack and some wine, and settled down in the lobby to wait. I was in the Club Room, to which I was ably directed by a staff member - and wow, every cinema should have a room like this, with cafe tables and a bar at the back...
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Film: The Odyssey

Tonight, I was thinking of The Last Viking , which I'd intended to see on the 12th , but didn't - it's a crime comedy with Mads Mikkelson , who plays a man under the delusion that he's John Lennon . Evening showing was in the Ritzy . Ah, but the big release of the summer is, arguably, The Odyssey , just released, and which I'd have seen at the weekend, had I had the time. The story of the epic poem , it's directed, written, and co-produced, by Christopher Nolan , and for the cast, it looks like they went through the Hollywood phone book and played eeny-meeny-miny-mo.. there's: Matt Damon as Odysseus , King of Ithaca , who spends 10 years fighting the Trojan War , and then gets.. delayed on the way home, spending another 10 years getting there, and giving his name to the trip. I have a vague memory that this was a curse on him after he annoyed some god or other, but can't find anything about it now. Anne Hathaway as his long-suffering wife, Penelope , ...
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Film: Coup '53

These three days seem likely to be films. Tonight, I was delighted to be seeing Coup '53 finally - it's a documentary about the joint CIA/MI6 operation in 1953 to overthrow the Iranian Prime Minister , who had just nationalised the Iranian oil industry, which had previously operated under the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP ). The operation was Churchill 's idea (always far too interested in meddling in other countries, that man). Showings are limited, so I missed it before.. it was showing in the Arthouse Crouch End , and was mostly sold out when I looked, so I booked. It was quite a ways away, but I did want to see this. I had a helluva time getting the last post out, only just getting out in time - only to discover the whole road ripped up! Seems there was a leak in the water mains - major traffic disruption and, crucially, no buses! So I hiked down to the station to get the Tube - too far away to get anything else. Happily, I was only three minutes late...
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I'm Not Myself Today - A Villainous Cabaret & Prom: Also Sprach Zarathustra

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Back to London last Sunday - and a palaver to get home. So glad it's not a regular event anymore. I flew into Heathrow , so had to travel all the way across town.. having not taken the Elizabeth Line on Friday , I didn't take it on Sunday either, having checked and seen that, by the time I was taking it, it didn't go further than Paddington . So, Tube it was.. but I had to change at Green Park for the Jubilee Line , and when I saw how late it was getting, I thought to check what time the last Jubilee Line left there. Sure enough, midnight - all Tube lines that aren't all-nighters finish between midnight and 12.30am. And it was past midnight. That wasn't the most sensible place to exit then.. I checked the map of stations on the Piccadilly Line , which of course is the one that runs from Heathrow, and realised that I could get off at Holborn , from which I could get the #188 bus straight home. I exited the station to the sound of many happy, and noisy, Spaniards,...
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