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Tour: Wonders of the National Gallery & Social

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The second of three days of Meetup , o n Saturday, I was back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies - very glad to see that the issue with Meetup that required payment on signing up to an event has been fixed.. The tour was Wonders of the National Gallery . Ah, but it was hard to drag myself up, after the night before .. I did though, and set off in brilliant sunshine. I was supposed to take two buses, changing on Strand to get one to take me the length of the street. I was ultimately joined by a whole group of people.. I was quite early, but when I'd been there for nearly half an hour, I said sod it and walked. Any bus would have done, but there wasn't a single bus headed in that direction! No mention of problems on TFL either. Well, I still arrived early.. and actually, most of the group were a little late, what with Tube problems as well. He always waits for a while for latecomers though, and as we waited, we listened to the strains of a classical music conce...
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Horror Social

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Just out of  three days of Meetup - last Friday, I was supposed to be back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for A Fine Idea at the Arcola . A play that looks into the motivation behind the global causes that inspire us. Which does sound interesting - but then, The Hideout scheduled a horror chat and social for the same day, in The Three Johns . I missed the last one of these, didn't want to do that again - as I said to them, any chance they could organise these things earlier?! So I went to that instead. The pub does serve pizza, but that doesn't agree with me, so I booked to eat beforehand in The Peacock . Needn't have - there was plenty of room, and indeed, after showing me to my table - which was in a slightly crowded part of the pub - she said I could sit elsewhere if I wanted. So I did. Service was quick and friendly.. I just had the chicken schnitzel, had to order fries separately. Both were excellent, I have to say - oh, and they do carafes of wine! so...
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Magic Showcase

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Tonight, back with CT for Magic Showcase , a magic variety show at The Magic Circle ! Ooh, first time there.. checking, I saw the closest place to eat was the local Prezzo - and I could walk there from the office, plus the rain had died off. Got a power of work done today - and wow, was I glad when it got late enough to leave! Was seated immediately - and service, I have to say, was on point - friendly to a fault, and as quick as I've seen. The wine was nice and full-bodied - I had calamari to start, which came in bitesize pieces, and was as light and tasty as any I've had. Had spaghetti carbonara with chicken for main - and they asked whether I'd like dessert just in time for me to have some! so I tried the chocolate honeycomb ice cream.. definitely for those with a sweet tooth, very moreish. I was sad to leave, frankly - it's one of the best meals I've had in a while. And so to the unassuming surrounds of The Magic Circle - apparently, they were evicted from th...
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Film: Tuner

This evening , the best film looked like Tuner , about a piano tuner turned safe cracker. Closest evening showing to me was in the Everyman Broadgate  - nice and late, so I could get some overdue work done. Looking for eateries nearby - what should I discover but " Nando's Liverpool Street "! Well, never knew they had one there.. so that's where I headed, on a bus to Liverpool Street Station . Figured the fastest was to cut through the station - didn't realise it was actually in the station! That bit at the end of the station was just under construction when I lived near there. Crikey, it was well needed - there was nowhere decent to eat in the station at the time. Well, it was busy, but I got a table.. WiFi was pretty bad, so I ended up on the station WiFi, which wasn't great either. It took a while to order, therefore.. and it wasn't obvious where to get the cutlery - the lady who took me to my table had said, but she was both softly- and quick-spoken...
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Concert: Symphonic Rock

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Thes e next two days, I was thinking of film - and what was coming up for today was Quo Vadis, Aida? , the Bosnia & Herzegovina entry for Best International Feature at the 2021 Oscars . It's the true story of a UN translator trying to save herself, her husband, and their son during the Bosnian genocide . Showing in the Lexi, Kensal Rise only. But you know, it's a nightmare to get there - so when CT popped up with an ad for Symphonic Rock tonight in the Albert Hall , I was interested.. slightly quicker, and a lot easier, to get to, and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing rock classics, it sounded more fun. I hadn't anything booked - so I booked that! I wasn't in time to make a food reservation there, so booked Stein's Berlin , down the road, for beforehand. My actual concert ticket, which was a lucky dip, was sent to me later in the afternoon - and hey, for £10, I got a seat worth over £40, in the Choir.. not so bad.. Arrived at the restaurant...
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Talk: Ten Years On - Brexit and Britain's Political Future

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Now, tonight was supposed to be the third in a  run of three Meetup s, back with London Social & Cultural Meetups (also advertised, again, with the London European Club ) for a talk at the London School of Economics - this one was Ten Years On: Brexit and Britain's Political Future . But wouldn't you know, I was checking this afternoon - and I never registered for the talk! Lordy.. well, there was no doing it now - so I cancelled my attendance at the Meetup and headed for dinner at the Pommeler's Rest before the talk, which I could still access online. The rain held off, and it was a gloriously sunny evening - I got a table just inside the door, where I could watch both the golden sunshine and the manic traffic. Had a nice meal, nice wine.. a second nice wine.. and reflected that one of the good things about not attending in person was that I had time to eat beforehand, rather than spending the better part of an hour just getting there. And I was hungry.. Got hom...
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