Backyard Comedy Club

For tonight, got another CT ticket - this time, for the Backyard Comedy Club. Always good.

Headed off in time to get something to eat beforehand - and ended up being the first in the bar! As I said to the girl behind the counter - "Guess I beat the rush!" They do food in the bar - but I didn't fancy their mains, going for a couple of small plates - onion rings, 'coz they're tasty, and chips, for volume. She gave me a beeper, and I got a table and went to get my name checked off - from experience, I knew the guys checking would be involved in the show, and sure enough - one was the MC, the other one of the acts from the middle section.

My food was tasty indeed, although the chips were too much for me - and I had to get out of the way of people playing at the adjacent pool table. I was just about finished when the house was due to open - queued for a bit, and got one of the first seats. They have tables in there now!

Now, the general way of things is for the less experienced acts to come on first - so as the night progresses, the better acts perform. I have to say, the MC had trouble with the front row tonight - he was getting so little reaction from them, he started on the second row as well - just as well I was in the third. Unfortunately, his negative comments about what a tough crowd this was seemed to rub off on many of the performers, whose jibes about us not laughing started to go down less and less well. Some of the performers were just plain weird, and as I looked around, I'd never seen so many stony faces. Mind you, I guess this is the mark of a good performer; last on stage was Stefano Paolini, who used his Italian roots - and Brixton origins - to blow us away with the first really heartfelt laughter of the night. As usual, talent will out.. a good end to what wasn't the most satisfying of nights.

Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. And yes, the film of choice is still Napoleon - same time, same place. I just hope I manage to get to it this time - I'm not booking it, just in case..

On Monday, making my annual pilgrimage to Winter Wonderland - as usual, seeing the Ice Palace (Norse mythology this year, it seems!) and Cirque Berserk. My goodness though, my bank isn't a fan - this booking caused problems with online payments with my card.. now sorted. Tickets through See Tickets, who just re-sent them to me, conveniently.

On Tuesday, I was heading to a free carol concert at St. Stephen Walbrook. As advertised by Cultureseekers - who apparently have 74 signed up, as of my last peek. So I figured they shouldn't miss me.. but then 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 the following night anyway.. I'd like to see the musical. So I booked - UITCS helpfully let me know that ShowFilmFirst (SFF) has cheap tickets.

On Wednesday, at another carol concert - this with Buddies on a Budget. And my last Meetup of the year! This is at the Actor's Church - St. Paul's, Covent Garden. Tickets from SFF again.

Next Thursday, back with CT to Backyard Comedy - hoping for a better lineup - then back to Ireland for Christmas on the 22nd. Happy Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!

I fly back to London on the 2nd, and on the 3rd, well, there isn't a lot advertised on Meetup - at the moment, I'm thinking of heading to the Winter Light Festival at the Southbank Centre that day.

And on the 4th, I'm off to see The Time Traveller's Wife, at the Apollo. Handily enough, Seatplan was one of the sites with the cheapest tickets to this - and I was eligible for a Seatplan voucher. So I used it, and got my ticket for £5. Let's just hope, from that high up, I can see something..!

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