London Still Rocks!

Today, I was   back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) for  Your Lie in April , at the  Harold Pinter . This musical is based on an apparently very popular  manga  - all official tickets at £25, and annoyingly, it was after I booked that I found out that the seat fillers have it as well, cheaper! (I believe these are preview prices.) Never mind. Got there a little early, met a couple of them in the lobby - the house wasn't open yet. I hadn't eaten, so grabbed some chocolate from the bar, not having much alternative! Huge markup, but what can you do. We hung out there for a while, then were instructed that we could go down by a back stairs to the Stalls Bar, where we were supposed to meet. It's a small space, which, as more of us arrived, we fairly took over! Someone had dire warnings about the overhang in the Stalls, but it was fine for me, for this production: The title projected on the safety screen interestingly switches between English and Japanese : I was a little d

This evening, back with CT for my first classical concert in an age -  Bach Piano Concertos by Candlelight , in the church of  St. Mary le Strand . I set off in good time - and for once, had no bus trouble, my bus arriving promptly! To get to the church from Aldwych , where I got off the bus, Google Maps sent me down an interesting backstreet, beside the Indian High Commission : There was some confusion at the entrance, as the person greeting us had no idea where we were supposed to be sitting! She eventually clarified, from the other person working there, where the CT people were supposed to sit - and it was lovely and close: I'd never been in here before - but then, as the pianist , who was doing his own MCing, pointed out, until the recent pedestrianisation of the area, this church was in the middle of a roundabout, effectively! So it wouldn't have been massively convenient. Fabulous ceiling, mind.. Anyway, his point was, they couldn't start having concerts there until

Yesterday was  film again - so I waited until the film list was done (late on Wednesday night) before finally plumping for one. But realistically, it was only ever going to be one -   The Hideout  wa s off to see   A Quiet Place: Day One . This, starring   Lupita Nyong'o , is the prequel, of course, to the excellent   A Quiet Place , and purports to tell the story of how it all began. Co-written by   John Krasinski , who directed, co-wrote, and starred in, the first one, this is more an action film - the trailer did look excellent. And it's in the   Cineworld Imax   - an excellent choice of venue! (I did have some trouble with the website when I was trying to book, though.) And hey, I love the group.. Dinner, of course, was booked in the terrific   Bella Italia , nearby. Coming by bus, naturally I was late. Slightly. She said they only had an outside table - fine, I just put the coat, which I'd had to take off on the bus because it was stifling, on again. I ordered my food

Last Tuesday, I decided, was film, and what I came up with was  Happy as Lazzaro (Lazzaro Felice) , showing in the  Garden Cinema . It was nearly sold out when I came to it, so I booked. I might have b****y known. It happened the last time I booked an early evening showing in the Garden Cinema on a weekday, it happened again last Tuesday. The bus was delayed - far beyond its expected time. There wasn't a faster way to get there. Sweltering bus trip, I might add. Traffic was terrible - and I was late. So I cut my losses and stayed on the bus until it was closer to where I wanted to eat - in Seven Dials again. Where I was well fed - and it took them but five minutes after I ordered, from the table, to bring me a second glass of wine. Honestly though, I'll have to leave an hour earlier in future, to get to this cinema in time! Yesterday, back with  London Literary Walks  (LLW)  again - this was for  Tyburn Gallows . Meeting at the  Duke of Kendal , so I booked to eat there as we

B ack in London (yay!), and back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  - this time, for an interesting-sounding play called  Visit from an Unknown Woman , in  Hampstead Theatre . Wow, was I ready for food by the time I could find an excuse to wind up work - happily, my work was all done. Unfortunately, this is the hottest day, certainly that I've experienced, this year, and it WOULD be the day I had to take the Tube , bah. At rush hour. Happily, I got a seat around halfway - but it was with relief that I disembarked. Straight to Ye Olde Swiss Cottage , as usual here, where they rock a chicken schnitzel! Sat inside - it was cooler, and more comfortable; I'd been clammy all day, the last thing I wanted was to sunbathe while I ate. And yes, the schnitzel was smashing. Honestly though, the wine is better in the theatre, so I repaired there as soon as I'd finished. Some of us had been upgraded! Some a bit further forward than others, but no harm.. This is the story of a musician, a lotha

I'm back in Ireland for the weekend. Film for yesterday was  The Bikeriders  - now, I'd seen the trailer for this a couple of times, and it looked interesting. Stars  Austin Butler ,  Tom Hardy , and  Jodie Comer  - unrecognisable, in the publicity photos, as a brunette - but wow, what a cast. One review says that Austin Butler is constrained by the role, but that the others are excellent. Apparently based on a real-life  biker gang , and set in 1965.. yep, if this was well done, it could be awesome.. Showing at a better time in the  Odeon Limerick , so I booked for there. Errands to run, as usual, meant I was a little later leaving than I'd have liked. And although I was missing the city centre, traffic as I approached the cinema was really slow.. I could park quite close, but still didn't have time to buy anything to nibble on. Which was a shame, because I really felt like it. But I was already 10 minutes or so past the scheduled start time. As it happened, I arrived

On Wednesday, I was back with  London Literary Walks  (LLW) for  The Chaucer Walk . Meeting at  The Bell , and I ate there beforehand again.  I could nearly have walked there - it was lovely and close, for once. But I could also take the bus, which I did - arrived quite early, was directed upstairs - the stairs, FYI, are all the way at the other end from the entrance. And upstairs was deserted.. I quickly found my table, a sheet of paper marking it as reserved, and a smiley face inviting people to "keep the seats warm" until my guests arrived.. It also had an uncleared plate, which I moved to the side. (It hadn't been cleared by the time I left.) I picked up a menu there while I was at it - it's a Pieminister pub, so - good pies! The kitchen is, handily, on the upper level, but you have to order downstairs - I had the moo pie (steak & ale), as usual. And a Sauvignon Blanc, of course! And I got to watch Germany wallop Hungary .. The pie was delish - comes with gra