Christmas Social & Christmas Lights Walk

Last Saturday, at The London Horror Film Group's Christmas Social - again, at The Angel on St. Giles High Street. Now, I missed not doing a Laurence walk on a Saturday - but I appreciated the lie-in!

It was to my surprise that I noticed, that afternoon, that it was starting at 4..! Hey-ho, off I went - terrible traffic though, and I was slightly late in arriving. Was slightly confused about what door to go in by (we'd been upstairs last time, were now downstairs, and this pub is complicatedly segmented) - until I saw a Frightfest hoodie, and followed that! No matter that I was a bit late - hardly anyone came for ages after that. My first order of business was food - decided it was cold enough to try the steak and ale pie. And gee, that was a good idea! It's not as large as the Greene King one - more manageable. Recommended it to two others sat near me, who seemed to appreciate it as well - plates were cleared all around.

Conversation was good, and more and more people arrived as the night wore on - the group had booked the entirety of that side of the downstairs. I always like hanging out with horror folks - there's often an interesting edge to the conversation. Anyway, when it was time to leave there, we headed on to a later establishment..

I don't, to this day, know where that was. Because as we went in, I realised my phone was missing. Blasted thing was stolen right from my pocket, seconds after I put it in. Hellfire, I only got this one in July.. well, I needed to call my mother, so made a quick exit after that - when I could figure out my way home, not having the assistance of the internet! So, apologies to the group for my abrupt exit - please don't take it personally!

Well, at least I got to bed at a halfway respectable time. Yesterday, then, began with a trip to the nearest 3 store that was open - mercifully, unlike what happened in July, this time I had a working laptop at home to find this information. Didn't help that no buses were crossing Waterloo Bridge, because of protests - which, mind you, had already finished! So I was on foot. When I eventually got there, I have to say, I got absolutely the best service.. if you ever find yourself in the store on Long Acre, look for Spencer, the store manager - he was amazingly helpful, even sat there and helped me set the new one up. Hallelujah, I was online again within an hour.. 

That afternoon, I was back with Buddies on a Budget (BoB) in London for more Christmas lights - this time, it was a full lights walk, and she charged, sensibly. A joint event with her London Herstory Walks group. So, you see, I needed a camera..

Walked down there, in light drizzle, having a bite in Pret on the way - food hadn't featured in my day so far, and this was all I had time for. Desperately crowded and a bit messy, it was still very welcome. I then passed through Leicester Square:

and Piccadilly Circus:

Ironically, I was to pass most of this again on the walk. Couldn't be sure what route they were taking though! So I was glad to find them still at the start point when I got there. We started soon after.. back the way I'd come! We passed this interesting, medievally decorated place:

And I got a proper look at Fortnum & Mason's Advent calendar:

Down the Burlington Arcade (and I was grateful to those who wore festive hats, it was hard to keep the group together as we ploughed through the crowds):

Bond Street was like a treasure box:

We also had a mooch down Carnaby Street, which always does something alternative - this year, they seem to have an interstellar theme:

Everybody seemed to be getting in on the spirit of the season!

And so to Covent Garden:

We popped in to Somerset House, although none of us were actually skating:

And I see the cat at the Savoy has had a Christmas makeover!

The tree at Charing Cross Station changes colour:

We were headed for Trafalgar Square, but it transpired that their tree only goes up next month! So, straight to the pub - finding one with room was tricky, but we ended up in The Sherlock Holmes. Whose upstairs restaurant apparently houses a Sherlock Holmes museum! Which we didn't visit - but we did get a look at his dog:

So, we had a drink or two there - ran across an interesting young man, who shoved over to make space, but held his ground - and turned out to be something of a globetrotter! And after some interesting conversation, a few of us made our way to Olives and Meze for a meal - in what was now driving rain; we were drenched by the time we got there. But it was a good night.. and helped put me back in a Christmassy mood! I was too tired and stressed to blog all weekend though.. see the next post for today's instalment.