London Still Rocks!

Finally in this run of six Meetups , tonight I was hosting another London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ) event! This one was part of our Dracula series.. The Nickel  wa s showing Dracula in Istanbul , and I said I'd run an event. Made in 1952, it was apparently the first film to depict Dracula with fangs.. and has Mina as a showgirl! Thought it'd be fun.  The screening sold out days ago. Well, I tried to book  The Wilmington afterwards, but wasn't able - so, doubtful of getting food, I ate in The Sun Wharf beforehand - still got to the cinema early.  Some of the Whitby crowd came, and it was a great reunion! Apart from that, only two others were signed up in the end - one of whom came, one didn't. It was a lovely, convivial evening. We chatted in the bar beforehand, and managed to squeeze everyone who came into the back row! Now, as to the film.. well, wasn't amazing, TBH. Yes, Dracula had fangs.. it's also apparently the first film to show him scaling the castl...

T onight, fifth Meetup for me in a run of six, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for the second night in a row, seeing How the Other Half Loves , a romcom at the Old Vic . Booked to eat beforehand at Bar + Block Southwark - which looked like to be my last time there, or in any Bar + Block, as the chain is closing down on Thursday! I arrived ever so slightly late - to a practically empty restaurant. Guess I didn't need to book. Anyway - typically for Bar + Block, in fact - although you're supposed to wait to be seated, it took forever for the server to come to me. He handed me a menu with several exclusions on it, explaining that not all menu items were available. Fine, sez I, I'll find something. However, there was no mention of wine - and when I asked, it was to be told that they had absolutely no wine of any kind! I got up and left - never to darken the doors of a Bar + Block again. Frankly, no wonder they're closing. The Cut has several restaurants.. th...

Yesterday wa s a bank holiday, so I managed to slot in my friend Helen , who wanted to come visit. We decided on a long lunch at Bella Italia Cranbourn Street . We were both early, but she slightly beat me to it, and we had a lovely lunch (and lotsa wine). Funnily enough, the restaurant managed to find a staff member I'd never met, who actually asked whether I'd like to taste the wine first! Anyway, we had so much to chat about, we didn't end up finishing our food.. did have room for dessert, though. And then we hit Liberty .. - the Christmas shop (bah, I hate putting Christmas before Hallowe'en..)  ..although having said that, they have some scary decorations.. and haberdashery: And off she went home. Terrific to catch up though! Well, t hat evening, and this evening as well, I booked with Up in the Cheap Seats   (UITCS)   (last night was the fourth in a run of six consecutive Meetups !) . Last night, we were at Holy Fool at the Park Theatre . It's the story ...

Today, hosted my first ever Meetup event, woo! (Third in a series of six Meetups.) It was with London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ), and hey, it's where I've finally found an outlet to advertise storytelling, which regular readers will know that I love. So, this was a Crick Crack Club  (CCC)  event, which I was going to anyway - it was Agni & Amor: Tales of Love & Fire , and happening in The Master Shipwright's House . Ben Haggarty and Steph Brittain were performing, but there was also music and food - a real end-of-summer festival. Pity rain was promised. Part of the Thames Festival Trust . We were to meet in the Dog and Bell beforehand, and optionally afterwards as well. A lot of newbies signed up to come to this one - tickets sold out in advance, and I did worry about people having got them in time. One person did get in touch to say they were passionate about storytelling, but had been too late for a ticket - I couldn't help, but advised them to check the C...

Yesterday, second Meetup in a run of six, I was back with Museum, Art & Culture Socials at the Museum of Soho for an exhibition, The Magnificent Mr. Mole , about a local artist. We were to meet at Cafe Boheme beforehand . I made it roughly on time.. went to the cafe, but couldn't see anyone. I walked right through, then out again, and spotted Jules! sat in a corner. So I grabbed a drink, and we chatted for a while..  ..then wondered where everyone else was! Turned out the organiser, Camilla, had gotten sidetracked chatting to the museum curator. She was with us shortly after that, and grabbed a waiter to get us a bigger table - they ended up pushing two together, and we all ultimately congregated there. Well, except David, who wasn't feeling the best, and said he'd join us at the pub. A nice, cosy corner. And Camilla joined me in a glass of wine - the house wine is very decent! A wander through the streets of Soho brought us to.. a building you'd never peg a...