London Still Rocks!

Now in  a run of five  Meetups ! For tonight, I got a ticket from someone who bought one, then couldn't go, for  Mrs. President  at  Charing Cross Theatre : an outing with  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS). And that was interesting, a week after seeing  Our American Queen , because Mrs. President is about the  wife  of  Abraham Lincoln , who's mentioned in Our American Queen, and she and the Chases, subjects of Our American Queen, couldn't stand each other! I went early so I could eat beforehand. Now, I checked on Google Maps - and for some reason, couldn't see L' Ulivo , the Italian restaurant across from the theatre where I've eaten before. Never mind, I said, I'll get something somewhere. The bus , mind you, was running late - and Google Maps' advice to walk through Victoria Embankment Gardens ignored the fact that they're locked after dark. So I was late to eat.. and they're slow in L' Ulivo (which, yes, is still there and goin...

Last night, stuck with my plan to see a documentary called  This Is Not a Film , made by the banned  Iranian  director  Jafar Panahi , mostly on a mobile phone, and reportedly smuggled out in a cake - that bit is said to be untrue. Showing, as good documentaries tend to do, in the  Curzon Bloomsbury . I could leave nice and late - and immediately knew the buses were delayed, from the unusually large crowd of people waiting for them. In the pouring rain, I managed to squeeze under the bus stop canopy - and one did come eventually. I had to change, and had to squeeze under another bus stop canopy, watching for any bus to come, through the drips from the edge.. it was only two stops to go, but I wasn't walking in that! It took a while, but I was early - any bus would do, and I was eventually deposited near the shopping centre . And so to my standard for food here, GBK - where only one server was on duty, and a wee bit inexperienced, I think; with the place mos...

These  two days, I was thinking film, but they were not selling out (yet), so I didn't book. Tonight, I was thinking of  Breathless , at the  BFI  - part of their  Ensemble  season to celebrate the filmmakers referenced in  Richard Linklater 's new  documentary  about the  French Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) . Breathless is directed by  Jean-Luc Godard . However, last night I was having a look at what else was on - and lo, TAC came up with a stunning option - so instead of the film, I booked for  Jorvik , an immersive  Viking  experience, based around the capture of  York  by the Vikings, who renamed it Jorvik. Happening in  The Glitch . Regular tickets from  Ticket Tailor . Booked for  The Archduke  beforehand. Ah, TFL - I was surprised, recently, to see "due" buses actually arrive straight away.. this evening, they were back to normal. The bus was "due", and there I was, waiting and wait...

On Friday , second Meetup in a row, I was back with  The Hideout  for  Primate , about your typical tropical paradise, where a group of youngsters have come to party, and there's a pet chimp. Unfortunately, he goes from sweet to savage when bitten by a rabid animal, and carnage ensues. Venue finally announced as the  Vue West End , to  Victory House  before that for drinks, and  Bella Italia  before that for me, for food. I made it slightly late to the restaurant, as usual - sadly, it seems my regular table is no longer in use. To be fair, I was probably the only one that liked it - I could sit inside and look out: but it is a cramped space, and better suited to storage. Anyway, I was seated immediately - and as I perused the menu, something caught my eye that I hadn't noticed before, but that sounded good: so I ordered the beef and red wine tortellini. As usual, I had chicken fries to start. However, not as usual, they were burnt and unpleasant!...

This couple of days , a couple of   Meetups : last night, back with  London Museums A-Z  (LoMAZ, yay!), who were, unusually for them, doing something midweek - specifically, a late at the  Cartoon Museum  - which is walking distance from the office, where I was yesterday. Ah, the hardship of timing work so it finishes neither too early nor too late.. when the time was finally closer to 5.30 than 5.15, off I popped, and walked to the museum. Jesu, my shoulders were aching from the laptop by the time I got there, slightly early - shortly afterwards, someone posted in the WhatsApp group that she had arrived, but was standing in the porch, 'cause it was too cold. As it certainly was - the overnight rain has warmed things up a bit, but it was bitter last night. And we all duly assembled in the porch, apart from a few who were running late. Well, it turned out that there was a tour group, which we obviously didn't want to get mixed up in. So we headed to the comic ex...