London Still Rocks!

  I was stuck for something to do today, until I remembered something I saw advertised on  Facebook  - there was a  talk about British Folk Horror  tonight! Courtesy of Seed Talks . I was too late to book an in-person ticket, so I booked one for the livestream - tickets from  Eventbrite . Work finished in nice time to get something to eat first - so I schlepped off to my local Wetherspoon's, the Pommeler's Rest ! Damn cold out, too. Got a table without issue - except that it was a bit snug, and if I moved the table back enough so I could squeeze in without having to push the chair in the way of the stairs, then the gap between my table and the adjacent one would be challenging for anyone to squeeze through.. And I was in line with the door. Which wasn't actually a problem, I was far enough from it - just as well, considering the number of people who left it open.. Had my usual katsu, which was lovely, even the third day in a row - might have been my imagina...

Yesterday, fifth Meetup in a row, and second in a row with London Museums A-Z , wa s an  Unlimited event , where they don't cap numbers - we were off to the  British Museum  to see fragments of the  Mausoleum of Halikarnassos , one of the  Seven Wonders of the Ancient World , as I previewed on  the 1st  of course. It was only as I was getting ready to leave that I remembered to book a General Admission ticket for the museum - they're free, and not necessary, but handy to have. We were to meet at 3pm - which was all booked up when I looked. Funny that! Well, I got a ticket for 2:50pm - they don't check the time anyway, as long as you have a ticket. Got a nice, early bus - it arrived as I was racing for the stop , and the obliging, lone person at the stop kindly delayed getting on, giving me a little smile as I ran up. Just to make sure the bus didn't leave. Thank you, kind stranger.. So I arrived about 2:30pm, made for the security check - they glance...

After three Meetups in a row, t he weekend belongs to  London Museums A-Z .. today, we were off to  Bletchley Park , the ticket for which is valid for a year. I got a cheap train ticket on  Uber , with a promotion knocking £5 off, plus £10 Uber credit - which was most of the cost of the ticket.  Amazing how I can get myself out, sometimes - I ended up getting there early. Our organiser had a teeny sign.. of more use, TBH, was the picture he posted of where he'd be, adorned with a big red arrow. When someone suggested getting a hot chocolate in the Starbucks , just upstairs, while we waited, I thought that was an excellent idea.. in fact, they had a new, pistachio one. So I had the new, pistachio one! And a chocolate muffin. Because, you know, chocolate. No bins. No bins on the train either. On the train, we couldn't all sit together - I unsocia bly sat on my own - in my defence, I had a time-boxed event in my phone game .. which I got finished on the train. Tha...

Tonight,  third Meetup in a run of five,  Up in the Cheap Seats   (UITCS) tempted me back with  Guidelines , at the  New Diorama  - a play about the horrors of the internet, basically. Turned out to be far enough away to take the Tube - and so to London Bridge . Buses were scheduled, but nary a one had passed me by the time I'd walked there. The plan was, Jubilee Line to Baker Street , then take any of three lines one stop to Great Portland Street , where I could eat at the adjacent Greene Man pub. Indeed, I even got a seat on the Jubilee Line! The trouble started at Baker Street - now, it's a maze of a station, but that wasn't the problem - I made my way towards the lines I needed, only to pass stalled Metropolitan Line trains; that being one of the lines I needed, I started to think something was up. Sure enough, there was an announcement - I didn't hear the full thing, but I heard something about "severe delays" on the Circle and Hammersmith and Ci...