London Still Rocks!

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...

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...

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...

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 , ...