London Still Rocks!

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...

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 , ...

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...

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,...

Last night, for the first time in a couple of months, I was heading back to Ireland for the weekend. And after months of having nothing to do for one of my teams at work, it would be yesterday that they decided to release, and realised they needed documentation. As the team lead said, it was on him - he forgot all about it - and if it didn't get done, it didn't. Well, I figured I could get it done - and I did. I was waiting to hear about my car before I booked my trip - it was in for repairs - so I booked my flights rather late.   Ryanair , for some reason, would take none of my cards.. probably a website issue. However, that turned out lucky, because when I checked, as long as I checked in a bag (which is the default),   Aer Lingus  wa s cheaper! (Decided to bring a bigger bag, as a result - there are a lot of clothes I want to bring back to London .) Didn't fancy the dangerously overcrowded   Elizabeth Line   though.. I figured I should have time to get the ...

Yesterday, yes, back with CT for Hot Mess , a kind of cosmic musical at The Other Palace . Eating at the Bag o' Nails beforehand.  The bus came in good time - and then wasn't going all the way! I decided to go as far as it was going, though - which turned out to be a good plan, because I had a better choice of buses there . Had to wait a few minutes, which meant I was slightly late at the pub.. went straight upstairs, as I should have the first time, only to discover the upstairs dining room was shut! so I struggled back down with my rucksack and asked at the bar. They'd reserved a seat for me in the corner. I was served quickly, and the chicken was lovely and tasty.. it was close enough to when I needed to collect my ticket that I skipped having another drink and went straight to the theatre when I'd finished eating. Got a very reasonably priced drink there - the bar was really crowded, but I managed to get a seat on my own and finished the drink before I went in....