Carol Service

Tonight, there was a carol service at St. John's Hyde Park, so I headed over there. I actually saw it advertised on TAC - who charged £2 for it. This was a red flag, as they normally charge more.. sure enough, when I looked it up separately, it was free! so I just went on my own. I booked the local Maximini Chinese restaurant beforehand - and wouldn't you know it, I booked it days ago, but they cancelled just this afternoon, with no explanation! Not very professional, and I doubt I'll bother with them again. Instead, I booked the Thai restaurant at The Heron for afterwards.

I was late leaving - not to mention having to go back and get a coat with a hood, because of the unforeseen drizzle - so took a bus (five-minute wait) to the station and the Tube from there. The Jubilee Line was lovely and uncrowded for once, it being a Sunday - and came immediately. The same cannot be said for the Central Line, which I then changed to - I had to wait another five minutes, and when it came, it was rammed! Add to that me going in the wrong direction, of course, when I came out of the station, and having to push through crowds.. and I ended up 15 minutes late. Never mind, I consoled myself - it's just a carol service, they'll let me in.

And they did - and I wasn't even the last to arrive. On the way in, a couple of ushers gave us lit candles and programmes - this really was a candlelight event, for once! Plenty of empty seats were scattered around - I got one fairly near the front. And by the look of things, I really didn't miss much - just the Kyrie Eleison. I tell you what I was in time for, though - the Dies Irae! Crikey, a requiem that's used widely in horror films - I wouldn't have thought that appropriate for a carol service! I loved it, of course.

Can't say I loved the service as a whole - the choir, while accomplished, were far too operatic, even on the more popular numbers in the repertoire. Not that I was familiar with any - these weren't traditional carols - apart from one I knew from church hymns generally. Some others seemed to be taken from films, but I didn't know them. Still, it's a while since I held a lit candle, it was interesting.. Also interesting was when they were passing the plate around: except they didn't actually, they just had people fairly dashing up and down the centre aisle with it. The only person I noticed to be bothered about giving anything couldn't even grab their attention as they were rushing around, and had to go up to the top specially to give her donation..

They served mulled wine and mince pies afterwards - I wasn't interested, of course, and headed off for dinner, arriving just in time; the service had overrun. Now, the restaurant part of the pub is downstairs, so when I spied the stairs, I headed straight down there. When she heard there was only one of me, she ushered me upstairs again and found me a table in the bar. Peculiar thing about the bar - it turned out I had to wait for someone to come to my table to take my food order, but I had to get my own drinks separately from the bar! Weird, frankly..

The music selection was full of classic rock and pop, and was excellent. As was the food.. lovely prawn crackers, and a decent massaman curry - although they only have it with beef, and I'd have preferred chicken. The real star of the show, however, was the egg fried rice - first time I think I've ever finished the entire rice portion! Their Sauvignon Blanc was described as "floral", which I don't like - so I had the Pinot Grigio, which was very nice - and more expensive, although less than I'm accustomed to paying. So, a very successful meal! And I managed to get buses home - quicker than it would have been outbound, earlier. En route, I passed Winter Wonderland.. the closest I'll get, this year!

Tomorrow, I'm with CT for Shake it Up - the Improvised Shakespeare Show - at the Hen & Chickens.

Two Christmas socials next. On Tuesday, our company's Christmas Party is lovely and convenient for me - at The Oyster Shed, walking distance from home! So I might skip heading into the office that day, which is likely to be manic anyway.

Wednesday is the Christmas Social for The Hideout and their sister group, Movie Roadhouse London (MRL). At the BFI again.

On Thursday, back with MRL for Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as cardinals involved in the election of a new pope. Isabella Rossellini shows up as a nun. Shenanigans are promised. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

Back in London, two nights of music beckon. On the 9th, I'm at a Conductors' Podium student classical concert at the Royal College of Music. 

And on the 10th, I'm at another Jazz Night at Americana. Courtesy of CT.

On the 11th, storyteller Nell Phoenix - who has a newsletter I've signed up to - has just advertised a night of storytelling at Torriano Avenue! Right, that's me sorted..

On the 12th, I'm headed with London Social Detours to a talk on "Painting the Christmas Story" - a history of paintings of the nativity - at the Wallace Collection. Social afterwards, of course. Daytime, yes - but I start my Christmas holidays that day, whee! And Ivan is planning to meet me afterwards, as he could only stay for a little last night, and didn't get much of a chat with me.

On the 13th.. well now, I could hardly skip Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies' annual Dickens in the City, could I? No, and I'm not..

On the 14th - the Christmas social with Ivan, James, and Martin, who couldn't make it yesterday! Unfortunately, The Approach Tavern can't accommodate us indoors in the evening, so I've now booked The Bethnal Green Tavern.. who can only guarantee our table until 8pm. Best I seem to be able to do, though..

And on the 15th, I'm back to Ireland for Christmas, returning on the 5th of January. Have a very merry one!