London Still Rocks!

Well, there was another film on TV that I was interested in - for all my interest in the subject, I'd never seen The Duchess , with Keira Knightley in the title role, playing Lady Georgiana Spencer , who marries the Duke of Devonshire ( Ralph Fiennes ). Charlotte Rampling plays her mother, to whom she was very close in real life. It is, of course, gorgeous. Gorgeous costumes, gorgeous settings - and an utterly compelling story. Keira Knightley does a cracking job of portraying a rather scandalous aristocrat: a woman ahead of her time, a free spirit with an interest in politics (although she couldn't vote), and in love with another man .(In real life, she had a string of lovers, it seems - here, her heart belongs solely to him.) Ralph Fiennes, a consummate actor, has no trouble making us simultaneously hate him as her master, showing her in no uncertain terms what her role is, and how she cannot have the same freedoms as he does - and also pity him, as a man who, himself, is ...

Now   back in Ireland for Christmas. There hasn't yet been anything in the cinemas here that I haven't seen, and want to - boy, it's quiet! Well, saves me going out in the terrible weather . I was delighted to discover the new  Peter & the Wolf on tv on Christmas Day! With narration by Gavin Friday and illustrations by Bono , this was a must-see.. the simple story of a young boy and his relationship with the wildlife around him. Also worth a look is the making-of video ..  Dunno why it didn't occur to me to blog about it at the time - perhaps because it's only half an hour or so long. Well, it's a lovely little thing - accompanied, of course, by the fantastic score . Delighted that they screened it! Nice start to the day. Films on tv are, apart from that, ones I've already seen - until last night, when they showed Mise Éire  (I am Ireland). Dunno how I missed this until now - it's older than I am, and I've certainly heard the famous soundtrack ...

Last night, back with CT to the  Backyard Comedy Club  - hoping for a better lineup - and had to bring my laptop, as yesterday was my day in the office this week. And a very good day it was! Might keep this company - they seem lovely! :-) Not too much of a trial, lugging the laptop, really - I didn't have far to go for the bus , and rode it to pretty close to the club. Damn windy on the last stretch, as I walked to the club - but I managed. The main problem was, I didn't dare leave it at any point, so I was constantly carrying it to the bar with me! Handy travel directions - if you needed them - Google Maps does me fine, thanks! and I wasn't there long enough for the night bus - being on my own, I didn't hang around after the show. I don't hang out in bars on my own without a reason. Ate, again - this time, I chose a table a bit further away from the pool table, and the table tennis - just as well, considering the number of times the ball bounced behind the bar, an...

Tonight, at another carol concert - this with  Buddies on a Budget . And my last  Meetup  of the year! This was at the  Actor's Church - St. Paul's, Covent Garden . Tickets from Show Film First again. Now, my work is flexible - but we do have core hours that, far as I remember, finish at 4.30. So I couldn't leave before then - did leave shortly after, but as Mandy had said she'd be there for 6, it didn't leave me much time to eat! I found the closest Pret - which didn't have any salmon sandwiches left, damnit - ham & cheese it was. Afterwards, I schlepped along to the church: Now, this gaily decorated entrance is at the opposite side to the Piazza - but it did look significant. Still, I couldn't see anyone I know - so I carried on around to the other side. Where lo, there she stood, with one other. When nobody else had arrived, after a while, we headed back around and in. The lady at the door wanted to see my actual email - naturally, I couldn't ...

Tonight, I was heading to a free carol concert at  St. Stephen Walbrook . As advertised by  Cultureseekers  - who apparently had 74 signed up, as of my last peek. So I figured they shouldn't miss me.. but then  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) suddenly (and quite belatedly, for them) advertised an outing to see  Old Friends  by  Stephen Sondheim , at the  Gielgud . And I figured - hey, this concert was free, and I'm going to a carol concert tomorrow night anyway.. I'd like to see the musical. So I booked - UITCS helpfully let me know that  ShowFilmFirst  ( SFF) has cheap tickets. And yay, a number of us subsequently got upgraded - I ended up in the Stalls! Looking around for an eatery close by, I decided on Bella Italia , about a minute's walk away. Turned out to be an inspired choice - when I went in, slightly late, my heart sank at how busy it was: but they stepped up to the mark! Busy as they were, service was unfailingly friendly ...

Yesterday, made my annual pilgrimage to  Winter Wonderland  - as usual, booked the  Ice Palace  ( Norse mythology  this year!) and  Cirque Berserk . My goodness though, my bank isn't a fan - this booking caused problems with online payments with my card.. now sorted. They're very conservative - blocked a duty free payment on the plane on Friday. The cabin steward remarked that this was often a problem with this bank - I managed to pay with another card.  Tickets for Winter Wonderland, anyway, are through   See Tickets , who re-sent them to me at the weekend, conveniently. I left it a little late to head off - but then, times are generally fluid. I had to enter the park between 6 and 8, enter the Ice Palace between 6 and 7, and the circus was at 7.30. So, my goal was to get to the Ice Palace for 7 - in the event, I made it at 6.45. Once you're in, you can stay until closing - the rush is to get there in your allotted timeslot. The Shard , of course...