London Still Rocks!

Back to Ireland for Easter - and it was touch and go, with Storm Nelson felling a tree on the line just as I was taking the Stansted Express to the airport ! Not actually on the train, I hasten to add - it was ahead of us though, and the train stopped in Harlow , with the conductor advising us that, if we had imminent flights, we'd be better off in a taxi, and that there was a rank just outside the station . I didn't need telling twice - but oh, what a drag to have to lug the case up one set of stairs and down another. In the queue for the taxi rank, I booked an Uber , figuring I'd take whichever came first. It was the Uber, of course - and as well as the licence plate number, they provided me with a little cartoon of the car, so I knew it was red! A girl behind me in the queue asked whether I'd like to share - so I had her company on the journey. And when it came, she came in handy in telling me how to open the door - it was a Tesla , which I'd never been in befo...

Today, we headed for a team lunch in  All Bar One , to celebrate the latest product release! When we arrived, as soon as someone said we had a booking, he led us straight to the table - didn't need a name, there was only one table booked! Well, they actually pushed three tables together for us, around the L-shaped sofa. 13 of us, there were.. and despite the unlucky number, we were excellently fed. I had fish n chips, which was excellent - I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed it; perhaps I hadn't realised how hungry I was! Like the guy sitting across from me, who said as much about himself, eating his burger in about two bites. We were also allowed one drink each, on the company's dime - mine was a large Sauvignon Blanc (of course). And a few of us had dessert - a couple of us had churros, with chocolate sauce on the side, which were excellent too.. just too many of them, and I left a couple. They are filling, you know! plus, we were supposed to be back for a meet...

Tonight, another Japanese film (!) - this is   Monster (Kaibutsu) , and the closest showing seemed to be in the   BFI , which I booked because, as is typical there, it was nearly sold out. Having said that, the remaining tickets didn't seem to have sold, earlier today.. It's about a little boy who causes trouble at school, and the fallout of that. Another early start, so I booked for dinner afterwards in   Ping Pong , for a change! I was very glad not to have to wait long for a bus - the rain is biblical, and has been all evening! Alighted, sploshed along to the cinema - I was a little early, and a little damp, so treated myself to one of the excellent hot chocolates in their cafe. I got the last table. And with impeccable timing, they opened the house just as I was finishing it! And then I promptly forgot where the Studio is.. I swear, every time I come to it, I think it's upstairs - and it's not, it's right across from the box office! I just don't come here o...

Whew! Well, I managed to get to Ireland at the weekend - was kept so late working, they were nearly finished boarding the plane when I got to the gate. But all's well that ends well. Saturday's film was one I hadn't heard of - Baltimore (aka Rose's War) was showing at Limerick Omniplex only, and is based on the true story of Rose Dugdale ! I'm not sure I ever even heard of her - certainly, the name didn't ring a bell - but she was a left-leaning English heiress who, seeing the atrocities of Bloody Sunday on the tv, was appalled, like so many others. She, however, took the extreme step of joining the Provos .. the film concerns her group's robbery of Russborough House , and her eventual capture while attempting to flee to the safe house at Baltimore (hence the alternate title of the film). Minor confusion when I arrived at the cinema, BTW - the usher who scanned my ticket should really have warned me that the screen had changed. If not for seeing the film...

Oh hellfire, what a week.. I don't know when I've had such a busy one! Read on.. On Tuesday, I went to  Article 370 , a  Hindi  film about a young woman in the NIA (National Investigation Agency)   Indian counter-terrorism unit. And I had to go all the way to  Cineworld Wembley  to see it.. My, it's a long, long journey - at least the Jubilee Line goes straight from where I start to Wembley. I had fun trying to find my way from the station - had to retrace my steps slightly, but I was early. Basically, you do head towards - and then around - the stadium : I had visions of having the same trouble finding the cinema as I did in Stratford - not at all! Ah, here it's much easier, once you find the shopping centre - for one thing, you can see the cinema as soon as you go in; just look up. For another, the helpful signs tell you what floor everything is on - so it took me no time at all, although the escalator only goes to the first floor. After that, it's s...

Saturday was my monthly catchup with ex-colleagues - this time, only James could make it, what with Ivan rehearsing and Martin at the  theatre . Anyway, we booked  Brasserie Zedel , which I had such a great impression of  before ! Lunch, and then I thought I'd like to check out the bar.. We arrived at about exactly the same time, and went straight downstairs to the brasserie - him taking copious photos, for which I don't blame him; I was the same, the first time. We had booked for lunch at midday, and were actually slightly early - it was 12.30 before the band started up! We got complimentary bread, then he had the steak haché - I fancied a change, although still steak, and wow, when I saw they did an onglet, that was absolutely my meal of choice; it came swimming in a sauce of red wine and bone marrow, and yes, was delicious. I see they also do wine by the carafe, so I had that. For dessert, I tried the lemon tart, which was lovely - he had coffee. And proclaimed that it...