London Still Rocks!

Tonight, I tried out a new Meetup group;  London Music Showcase - Gigs & Drinks  specifically exists to promote the  Piano Smithfield  bar. So I tried out the gig there tonight - cheap tickets on TAC, as apparently with all theirs. I booked to eat in  The Old Red Cow  beforehand - gee, seems you know there's a place for you if they respond immediately to your booking enquiry; if you don't hear, it's a no. I had to detour because of roadworks, but still arrived early. Upstairs, and I stated my case to the guy behind the bar - I had a booking for 1. He found me a table.. right beside the drinks reception that was just getting going. D'you think he'd forgotten all about my booking? Anyway, he took a drink order, and when he came back with that, a food order. I'd forgotten how lovely the chicken tender starters were - ordered the steak and ale pie, which came promptly and was accompanied by carrots and peas as well as mash. All lovely, no complaints - I ha...

Last night, second Meetup in a row, when I saw  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) were going to  Dracula , well.. showing in the  Noel Coward Theatre , by the time I came to book, "cheap" seats were in short supply. There was one left in the Balcony - £50, and predictably, no legroom. There was one left in the Grand Circle - decent seat. £85. I got that one. It's a one-woman show, and has mixed reviews.. Booked to eat beforehand in  The Salisbury , next door. My travel companion of last year was coming too, and elected to join me for dinner - naturally, having been unsure whether she'd make it in time for the booking, she arrived before I did. At this point I was trudging there in unpredicted rain. When I got to the pub, I saw her just inside the entrance to a ground-floor dining area - they have one upstairs too. I had the steak and ale pie - it's very filling, but it's been so long since I had it, and the merlot sauce they serve with it is scrumptious. They di...

Now in the middle of four nights of  Meetup . Last night , I started two nights of horror, with  The Hideout  again for the first time in over two weeks.. was supposed to be  Psycho Killer  (stars  Malcolm McDowell ), but its UK release seems to have been delayed. Hope to see it at a later date, it looks good, some Satanic elements - from the writers of  Se7en . Instead, we headed to  Cineworld  to see  Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die  - an apocalyptic thing, the trailer looked funny. Directed by  Gore Verbinski , stars an unrecognisable  Sam Rockwell  as a visitor from the future, here to save us from the hell of AI. Meeting in  Victory House  beforehand - and yay, that meant I could eat in my fave  Bella Italia ! Ah, I've missed them.. Arrived a bit early - and my walk to the restaurant was made a bit easier by the fact that many of the roads were blocked off - turned out there had been a parade for Ch...

Yesterday wa s our ex-colleagues' monthly get-together. There was talk that it might clash with a birthday party.. and then, there was the   Ireland-England match . . we played it by ear. Martin, sadly, was busy and couldn't make it. I was surprisingly sprightly, for me, and made it out early, on what was a grey day: Was first there of the three of us that were meeting, and discovered the entire ground floor was reserved, for one time or another - and we'd need pretty much the whole day. Tried upstairs, which, happily, was open, and managed to find a free table there, phew! Messaged the others, ordered my drink, waited till James arrived to order food. Mark, I knew, would be fashionably late. I hadn't been going to have steak, twice in a row - but honestly, I wanted it more than anything else on the menu, and it is so good there. James had fish though - it's also very good. Sure enough, we'd eaten by the time Mark arrived.. and much drinking and chatting was don...

Tonight, headed with a friend to the  Menier Chocolate Factory  to see  Fallen Angels , by  Noel Coward . He booked a table for us beforehand at   Casa do Frango  - I could have walked, but decided to pack my Oyster card, just in case. Sure enough - despite my weather app's predictions - I walked into a horrible night, squalls of wind, pouring rain. Now, I was wearing a highly waterproof coat - doesn't matter, it was still a horrible night to be out. I do pass a bus stop as I leave - had a look, saw a bus was coming in a few minutes that'd take me within two minutes' walk. No competition! Did that - still got soaked on the walk to the restaurant. I was the first to arrive - gave his name, and was told it was a reservation for three (yes it was, he'd forgotten to tell me someone else would be joining us). Upstairs, the table was (sigh). Was in possession of a glass of Sauvignon Blanc before anyone else arrived - unfortunately, they only do small glasses (...

Last   night, a  Meetup  group called  LGBTQ Culture Lovers  was headed to a  performance  of  Bruckner's 8th symphony  by the  Philharmonia  at the  Royal Festival Hall . Now, I don't want to go with them - I don't swing that way - but hey, nothing to stop me going on my own! Heading to  The Archduke  for food beforehand. I walked, feeling strangely sprightly - got there slightly late, being somewhat distracted by a light show on the church of St. Martin in the Fields , which I passed en route: As usual, I got a friendly welcome - and was taken upstairs (could do without that, dragging my laptop bag). Got a window seat again. Had their gorgeous pumpkin soup, and the chicken - had to run after all that to get to the concert in time, and didn't quite finish the chicken. Would you believe, upon seeing I'd left some, they decided I didn't like it, and took it off the bill! Well, ok.. I wasn't going to complain.. Over to ...