London Still Rocks!

Tonight, I booked a  Crick Crack Club  event.. this was online from the  Oxford Story Museum , and was  Dark Tales from the Wood . As told by the excellent  Daniel Morden . But as that should be available for a week afterwards (haven't got the link yet, but should tomorrow), I was free to do something else this evening - and with this being my usual weekly day in the office, it was handy that  London Social and Cultural Meetups  were doing something around the corner. It was a  public lecture about homelessness .. The rain that had lasted all day was still at it - and I had to drag that almightily heavy laptop up to Goodge Street Station . Not to mention my shoes, whose soles are so slippy on wet surfaces - I was seriously pissed off by the time I got there. I was shortly to be more pissed off - wouldn't you know it, the woman I've been avoiding for years was one of the four gathered for this event! Grr.. well, we studiously avoided speaking to each other, and I didn't

On Tuesday night, back with  Up in the Cheap Seats   (UITCS)  for  An Enemy of the People , at the  Duke of York's Theatre  - got the very last cheap ticket for this from  London Box Office ! When in the area, I usually eat in the Prezzo at the end of the road - which normally doesn't need a booking (certainly not on a Tuesday). So I didn't book - and didn't need to - but I did end up in the upstairs seating area for the first time! Curiously - because of the layout of the building - it doesn't really have windows. But what the hey - service was really quick, they have an upstairs bar too, and I was fed in good time, off up the road, and although I was in the top level of the theatre, this one doesn't have too many steps! Had a rather insipid Sauvignon Blanc - which is curious, because I see, the last time I was here, I found it much nicer! Perhaps they've changed it.. Anyway, as usual with this group, my first action upon going in was to look for a group

Back to London, and tonight, I was back with CT for Magic Monday at  Americana ! This is a magic show, which I can't even see advertised on their website - but anyway, the booking fee is discounted from dinner, so this sounded good! As you head up Haymarket - from the Trafalgar Square direction - it's just past the Theatre Royal , on the right-hand-side. My goodness though, I had to wait something like five minutes to cross Pall Mall , what with the traffic! Never mind, I had time to kill.. but despite the dire warnings not to arrive too early, they didn't seem to mind at all when I rocked up, five minutes before time. It's a lovely, cosy venue - and service was excellent throughout. Reading the blurb on the table, I discovered they celebrated their first anniversary last week! No wonder I hadn't heard of them. Anyway, the deal I was on is excellent - but you have to be signed up to avail of it. 10% off the a la carte, plus a free glass of prosecco, or a fixed pri

I'm back in Ireland for the weekend. Film for the weekend was  Wicked Little Letters , a comedy starring  Olivia Colman , one of the victims of a series of obscene letters, and  Jesse Buckley  as the Irishwoman accused of sending 'em. Also starring  Timothy Spal l , as   Olivia Colman's father. Ba sed on a true story, apparently! Got the cover picture in Thursday's   free paper , too..  Showing at the  Omniplex , as per usual. Well, unusually, I made it in good time - traffic was unusually light. And the car park wasn't as full as it has been in recent times - goodee, everyone's vanished! Had to wait a while to get my chocolate - there were a lot of people at the other till, but I like to get rid of cash, and there's only one till that handles that. And, of course, I had plenty of time - which does help with patience. When I went in, the audience for this film was a bit elderly - which was probably why the ladies who'd occupied my seat did so; it's a

Tonight, there was a concert at  King's Place  that sounded rather good.  Worksongs  was part of their  Scotland Unwrapped  series, and had the  Maxwell Quartet  playing a mixture of classical music and Scottish traditional. Was at the office today - just as well, or it'd probably have been too far to take the bus! En route, we passed the lifesize Monopoly , which I only noticed when someone pointed it out to her daughters. Looks interesting. Later in the journey, I was joined by one man and his dog - he was eager for talk. Unfortunately, I wasn't, so much - when he asked whether, as I was alighting at King's Cross , I was getting the train home, I volunteered that no, I was going to a concert. And that got him onto how all his family played instruments - classical ones. He'd wanted to learn the guitar, but wasn't let.. Well now, I know from bitter experience how slow the food service in the bar of King's Place can be - so I never eat there anymore, but rath

Tonight, we were at  Nachtland , at the  Young Vic . Three days on roughly the same theme.. and it seems appropriate these days.. this is about a family who find a painting, stashed in the attic. It's by, as described,  a failed  Austrian  artist who abandoned his original vocation for  Nazism .. The thorny question here is, what exactly to do with it.. There are plenty of great places to eat around the Young Vic. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to find one with space.. after four rejected booking attempts, I gave up and headed for Pret . Which, again, allowed me to stay later at work, and finally catch up with something that'd been threatening for a while. I was ages waiting for the bus though.. When I'd eaten, I headed for the theatre - which was rammed. I found the group in the hall - but we rapidly moved into the bar, where we found a little more breathing space. Honestly, even standing room was at a premium.. Anyway, when it was time, we made our way to our seats:

These two days, back officially with   Up in the Cheap Seats ( UITCS). Tonight, we were at  The Merchant of Venice 1936 , in the  Criterion Theatre . This production, in association with the  RSC , like yesterday's show , is based around the  Cable Street riots . Got the very last ticket, as I recall.. with a  Seatplan  theatre voucher. My companion of   Friday   and I were headed to  Brasserie Zédel  afterwards, so I headed out a bit later than I otherwise would have. Arrived at the theatre in time to have a chat with the others - it's funny how many of us are going to the same events this week! "Fascism Week", as one called it.. and the theatre is full of displays "of the time" (CAUTION: Antisemitic images follow..) Well, I was in the rear Stalls - with some others. And my view would have been ok, mainly apart from the guy with the big head.. the other problem was the newsreel footage of the time, projected onto the rear stage, which I couldn't have s

Tonight, I was headed to film - I was finally seeing  The Zone of Interest , a recreation of the story of the  Höss  family, living a normal family life in the shadow of  Auschwitz  (Rudolf  Höss was the commandant).  Showing in my  local cinema  - not that the film listings tend to include the  Curzons , generally.. but, as usual, I know to check separately..  Funnily enough, the same day, a couple of  Meetup  groups were going to a  musical ,  in  Southwark Playhouse ,  set around the same time - it's about the  Cable Street Riots . I'd have loved to have gone, but it was completely sold out by the time I came to think about it! Until.. I got a message yesterday morning that one of the groups -  Buddies on Budget in London  - had had two people drop out because of rail strikes. And the organiser had bought tickets.. so there were two tickets going a-begging! And I got the last one.. Never did get a taker for that cinema ticket, of course.. As always, went to Mercato Metropoli