London Still Rocks!

This evening, fourth Meetup day of six, I was with The Hideout . It was supposed to be for Her Private Hell - a stylized, futuristic psychological thriller set in Tokyo , and starring Sophie Thatcher - but it seems there was, as so often, a distribution problem. So now, instead, we headed to Hope , a South Korean film (the most expensive ever made there, it seems) about a monster attack. Showing in Cineworld Leicester Square , and as usual, we were meeting in Victory House beforehand. I arrived slightly late - someone from the group, knowing my predilection for eating beforehand, asked, and I told him what time I was supposed to be there. I was there enough before him to get a starter - when he arrived, we ordered mains, and I did notice how much easier the rich tortellini go down with conversation! Pawel, the manager, was there this time.. and oh, how much quicker the service was.. as he said to me when I arrived and had been there a minute - "What's happening with the P...

T onight, third in a row of six days of Meetup and the last of three days of mythology, I was at Watkins Bookshop (yes, they have their own Meetup group) for the launch of a book called Pantheon, about the Roman Pantheon and the society that birthed it. Had to leave a bit early, as it was an early start - and thank goodness, as I'd absolutely run out of anything productive to do! but at least I could walk there from there.  Had forgotten where the stairs were, but found them eventually, and got a seat to the side: Hmm. From the beginning, as she spoke about "connecting" with these gods, it was apparent that she considers all gods, from time immemorial, as equally valid and in existence, just disregarded as the civilisations that worshipped them fell. She even described how, when she travels, she always takes the time to give her respects to the local gods where she arrives. She did make a couple of interesting points about, for example, how all the mother goddesses...

Last night  second in a row of six days of Meetups , and of three days of mythology - whee, I hosted storytelling with London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ) again! The Crick Crack Club  (CCC) - in the form of Lucy Lill - performed  Doom Scrolls - The Never-Ending Prophecies of the Sibyls in Folklore Hoxton . Female prophets, the theme - and I was still getting new sign-ups practically up to the end. It sold out at least two days beforehand, as they tend to do - two people cancelled after I said it. One person, mind, went on the CCC's waitlist and got a last-minute ticket! I booked to eat in the Blues Kitchen Shoreditch beforehand. Made it a bit early - the guy at the door recognised the name, and led me quickly to a booth - at that time, it was pretty empty anyway. Service, I have to say, was better than I've experienced here before in general - quite attentive. I had the roast chicken for the first time.. it came with a lovely, thick gravy, but on a bed of chickpeas, which I wo...

Just started six days of Meetup ,  and three days of mythology, in a row. Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Bloodsport - After Helen of Troy , at the Theatre Royal Stratford East .. all about Helen of Troy , and what it means to return to your home, after abandoning it and starting a war . She's played by Michelle Dockery , and it's set in modern-day Essex . To be honest, I don't like the eating options out there - so when it turned out I needed the pharmacy this afternoon, and I was peckish, and not far from The Sun Wharf - I had a late lunch there, which was delicious, and quickly served. All my work done - until the next bit - meant I wasn't in a hurry back. So I could work late, and just head to the theatre in time to meet the group. God-awful noisy Tube to get there, too - although at least not too crowded, and I soon got a seat. Boy, it was packed - the bar was fun to queue at. I saw a message that they had a table near the bar - joined them when I...