London Still Rocks!

Today and tomorrow are film. Very happy with my choices these days as well - having edited out the chaff at the top of the list, today was  The Holdovers , a comedy about students who have nowhere to go at Christmas, so they stay on campus, with a couple of teachers as "babysitters". The excellent  Paul Giamatti  is one of the teachers given the job.. Oh, and Carrie Preston shows up as something like a secretary or something at the school. Showing in my closest cinema, the  Curzon Aldgate . And when I mentioned that in the   London Movie Club , someone said that'd suit him too, so we arranged to go together.  Looking for food in the vicinity, lo, I came across Cote ! Lordy, I'd completely forgotten there was one on St. Katharine Docks - which isn't especially near the cinema, but is on the way there. I could walk - and as I did so, I came across a sign warning that the bridge would be closed, from 10pm to 5am, from tonight, for about a month! Well, I was in no

Tonight, I headed to  The Hills of California , at the  Harold Pinter . Another of those great value  Seatplan  vouchers.. Looking around for somewhere to eat beforehand near the theatre, I saw there was an Italian across the road - the menu I saw on Google Maps (albeit a year old) looked ok, and I booked. Just about had time to get there, and I'd just about have time to eat - the show is a long one, and starts at 7. I arrived a bit early, actually - to find the place practically empty. From the decor, you wouldn't really guess it's Italian - apart from a picture of Venice (and a couple of Venetian masks), it looks more like many Indian restaurants I've visited. Not specifically, I hasten to add - it's just something about the style. Anyway, service was friendly to a fault - and wow, were they quick! Granted, there was hardly anyone there, but still.. I had my old staples - garlic bread (focaccia here) to start, and a chicken in white wine and mushroom sauce fo

I'm back in Ireland for the weekend again. And ooh, the film for the weekend was a doozy -   All of Us Strangers   stars both   Paul Mescal   and   Andrew Scott ! Dearie me, I shouldn't know where to look.. Plus, it's a ghost story! Andrew Scott returns to his hometown - where he finds, er, his parents ( Jamie Bell   and   Claire Foy ). Except.. they died 30 years before! Right down my alley. Saw it in the   Omniplex , as usual. I kept checking that they hadn't changed the showing time.. Had this to do and that to do.. left a little later than I intended. Had a small conniption when I saw the heavy traffic heading towards town - until I saw they all seemed to be turning right, probably in the direction of Thomond Park . Mercifully, although I was held up creeping through the city centre, it wasn't anything as bad as at Christmas - and it was just five minutes past the scheduled time when I swung into the cinema carpark. Which was completely full.. but I managed to

Helen  was in town today - and suggested we have dinner, and head to the  Canary Wharf Winter Lights ! Excellent idea - I was thinking of seeing them, but didn't have a specific date in mind. We booked  Amerigo Vespucci  for food. And mercifully, it was the mildest I remember, out there.. Funnily enough,  45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners  were also heading there today - for the princely sum of £6, for a free event and a trip to the pub. Drinks not included. We avoided that. And, of course, I didn't want to be dragging my laptop, which is why I was in the office yesterday. Yes, I was late for my (first) bus.. would you believe, for some reason, I started going the wrong way! I had a three-bus trip - the second bus , in particular, which comprised most of my journey, was very crowded. And Buses Due is back to not working again.. a great shame, it used to be so handy. By the time I got off the final bus though, I was already in the glitteriness of Canary Wharf - I just had a slight

Yesterday, back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  for  Blood on Your Hands , at  Southwark Playhouse  - for which I used the second of my theatre vouchers, bought under their  Pay as you Go scheme , where you get them at a discount. Naturally, I headed for Mercato Metropolitano beforehand for food - where I was boring enough to go for the pasta, as usual. Interestingly, the gelato bar across the courtyard, where I've always got wine before, didn't have any this time - I had to go elsewhere. The pasta was lovely, BTW, and ready pretty soon after I returned with my wine - far too much for me, though, given that I'd asked for bacon AND mushrooms AND cheese on top, which, although delicious, left me far too stuffed. Kudos to the cleaning staff - I hadn't finished buttoning up my coat when someone materialised to clean away my things.. And so to the theatre, where I'd learned my lesson from last time , and switched my phone to "light mode" rather than dark, so the

Tonight, back with  North London Friends  for the first time in  ages ! They had one remaining ticket for  Cold War , at the  Almeida  - otherwise completely sold out! So I bit the bullet and bought theirs - albeit above my normal price range .. it was that or not see it at all! It'd be good to see them again, too.. and the weather has definitely calmed down. Although it is a little colder. It's not that bad, getting to Islington from here - it's a straight bus run. Of course, that didn't stop me from making it complicated - three buses I got, in the end. And it unexpectedly rained on me while I was waiting between two of them.. that last bus was delayed, and Buses Due was out of action again. I ended up installing TFL Go , the official app. Both it and Google Maps were united in their opinion of when the bus would come - about 10 minutes away, they said. Both were, happily, wrong.. it came early, and I made Islington in good time. Now, I've been to The Bull fo

Today, I booked with  London Walking Tours, Art & Culture Explorers  for  Jane Austen's London Walk .. and it was great to have a lie-in, for once! Although it should still have been over by the time the   storm   hit. My, temperatures have really improved! What a relief.. Now, the group  cancelled the event because of wind warnings - but apparently the actual walk (organised through   Eventbrite ) was still going ahead, so I said I'd risk it. I could always pull out if it seemed too risky.. and what was nice is that she offered me another free walk some other time if I didn't finish the walk. Very generous! Well, I got there in good time - and yay, Buses Due was working again! Now, we were to meet at Green Park - which is always a nightmare, having so many exits. This is where  Helen  and I missed a walk before! I checked where exactly we were to meet, and the ticket said "North exit". So I crossed the road , and waited. In the wind. Nobody came. When I ch

Yesterday was when I tried to catch up with all those ex-colleagues.. Ivan couldn't move his rehearsal from that day, so three of us met for lunch in  Cambridge Heath , so he didn't have to lug his equipment too far.  The Approach Tavern , to be precise.  I stayed up a bit late the night before - blogging - so cut it fine to get ready. The buses cooperated nicely - mind you, Buses Due was still out of action all day; I hope it comes back, it used to be so useful! Well anyway, I was a few minutes late - arriving at the same time as James, as it happened! Our table was over the side, and it wasn't long before Ivan joined us. Wow, this is really a neighbourhood pub - with the same name as a local estate, it's obviously a lot of people's local! And wow, as the lunchtime rush started, was I glad I'd booked - the place absolutely filled with people, babies, and dogs. Great to see a place that's friendly for all comers. Having said that, we were pretty happy with